Page 4 of Going Rogue
When his eyes softened and he stepped toward her, she backed into the wall. She didn’t want pity; she wanted justice. Her stomach churned with fiery rage over what she’d been through in the last twelve hours. It burned up her throat as she growled in a low voice, “What the hell happened?”
Their team had infiltrated the militant’s base to find and extract an American who aided terrorists. The intel they’d been fed claimed this group had captured him despite his supposedly being on their side. The job Tactical Operations & Protection had been tasked with required them to turn the traitor over to the authorities in the U.S. so he could stand trial for his crimes. It should have been a quick grab-and-go, but that wasn’t the way it went down.
“He wasn’t here.”
“Tell me something I don’t know, Crane. I saw their cell block, remember?” She wanted to scream her frustration but could only whisper-shout at him. No need to give away their location to the men who wanted them dead.
“Hey, squirrel. Don’t bitemyhead off. Icame back to help you.” His low rumble and earnest stare didn’t sway her.
Rogue straightened and stared him down. “Why?”
TOP was all about the money. The one thing she trusted was her team members would do whatever proved necessary to ensure the mission’s success so they could cash in. The minute the op had gone sour, they lost that opportunity. She hadn’t expected them to come back for her. But here stood Crane.
What is he getting out of saving me?
Instead of breaking her gaze and giving some non-answer to hide the truth, he surprised her. Little alarm bells went off as those caramel eyes darkened, and he stepped into her space, practically caging her against the wall. Her leg twitched, ready to knee him in the balls if necessary.
He’d pulled the balaclava off and his dark head gleamed with sweat as he tilted it toward her. “Do you really have to ask?” His eyes burned into hers, a curious mixture of anger and relief.
She swallowed around the sudden knot inher throat as his musky scent surrounded her. Team member or not, he’d always had the ability to put her on edge. They’d been working together for two years. She couldn’t say she’d gotten close to anyone on her team, but there’d always been . . .somethingbetween her and Crane. An energy that pulled them together every time she tried to push them apart.
Like magnets.
She felt his eyes on her whenever they’d been in the same room. Staring into them now, she said, “I knew the risks.”
His hands lifted, but instead of reaching for her, he placed them against the wall on either side of her head.
To intimidate?She wasn’t sure. Her muscles tensed in anticipation but not of a fight.
Squaring her shoulders, she told him the truth. “I didn’t expect a rescue from any of you.”
As the only female on the team, she fought constantly for acceptance. One member in particular had even made it clear he didn’t like having her along for the ride. Jordan had told her a woman on the team was a liability, and she hated that he’d think her current predicament proved him right.
He had to be former CIA. Not that he’d ever said. Most of the rest of the team was prior military like Crane. Either special forces or spec-ops, and a couple hard-liners still weren’t sure she could hack it. But shewouldprove them wrong . . .
“Maybe you should’ve.” Crane gritted the words out, and she stood close enough to see the muscle in his jaw work before he said, “Cinnamon and vanilla. Even with the smell of shit around us, I can’t get you out of my lungs.”
Over the course of their time working together, she’d seen him angry, but he wore an easygoing attitude more often than not. He’d hit on her in the beginning, but after she’d turned him down, he seemed to have gotten the message that she wasn’t interested.
She didn’t really date; plus they worked together, which made him off-limits.
She’d lived by the rule since her time in the military. Being a woman in charge of agroup of men could be a precarious position. It meant she’d never wanted to do anything to compromise herself in their eyes. Respect was too important to sacrifice for lust. But truthfully, she’d never been tempted to cross the line . . .untilCrane.
He never failed to tease her and call her the grating nickname—Squirrel. But this . . . this side of him felt different. It only made her more wary.
“And that’s my fault, how?” she bit out, ignoring the stirring in her belly at having him hovering over her close enough to—
“Rogue . . .” He sucked in an audible breath.
Breathing in my scent or steadying himself?Her analytical brain couldn’t help wondering.
“Would you have leftmebehind?”
Her stomach cramped on the question. She opened her mouth to tell him yes, but the word refused to come out. Instead, she shot him a glare hot enough it could’ve peeled paint.
A smirk tilted the corner of his lips as he pushed off the wall. “That’s what I thought.”
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