Page 10 of Fatal Love
Flipping her lids open, she found Connor staring at her. The dashboard lights made his coffee brown eyes flash with gold as he narrowed his lids. “You okay?”
Panic attack instantly averted. How could she not feel calmer looking into his rugged face and those soulful eyes?
Although when he looked at her like that her pulse did a funny hop and skip, and her mouth went dry. “I, uh…yep, all good.”
As the awkward moment passed, she pretended to be busy checking the instrument gauges, feeling a warm flush rising in her cheeks. “How come you never leave the office?” she asked. As long as she had him at her mercy, she was going to find out more about him. Ask him the questions constantly burning in her brain that she never seemed to find the right moment for.
His voice was modulated somewhat by the headset, but she still heard the incredulity in his tone. “What?”
“You never seem to leave the office, except for those support group meetings at the church.”
“How do you know about those?”
“The PTSD group? Everyone knows about them.”
…didn’t they?
From the look he was giving her, it was a touchy subject. With most veterans it was.
Time to shift gears. “You’re always at SFI headquarters, whether I’m coming or going. Do you have a clone?”
He relaxed a bit like she’d hoped, giving a small snicker that caused his lips to twitch in an almost smile. “I live upstairs.”
“No way.” She shot him a surprised look, even though she’d already figured it out. “You live at SFI headquarters?”
His expression turned sour. “Yeah, so?”
She’d flown plenty of SEAL teams in and out of hotspots for top-secret operations. They were a proud lot, and who could blame them? With their training and expertise, they were definitely the elite of the elite.
But score another one for her doofus team, she’d stepped on his toes yet again.Real smooth, Sabrina. How to fix it? “I think it’s cool. Some days, I wish I could live there.”
She glanced over in time to see him about to ask why, but he hesitated and his lips snapped shut. He resumed staring out the windshield.
Okay, so the drop-dead sexy, former SEAL riding shotgun didn’t want to get personal. She could respect that, even though she wanted to jump his bones. Which in Sabrina World meant knowing him on a personal level. Lots of intimate questions and hanging out sharing deep, dark secrets.
She wasn’t into hookups or one-night stands. Never had been. Too many guys in her youth had seen her last name and figured they could somehow increase their personal wealth and/or fame by riding her coattails straight to her father. Was it so ridiculous to think a guy might want to get with her just to be with her?
So yeah, she was a total sucker for fairy tales and Disney movies where two people fall in love—even when they were clearly from opposite worlds—and live happily ever after.
Unfortunately, she was no lost princess or damsel in distress. She was simply a science geek who loved to fly, occasionally had a panic attack, and seemed to have a particular penchant for getting herself into trouble.
Case in point—Connor McKenzie. The man himself was obviously trouble, with the secrets he so carefully guarded while keeping the whole place running with careless ease. All the men who worked for Rock Star Security and Shadow Force International had something ugly in their pasts. No biggie. Sabrina was no angel either.
But Connor wasn’t like the other men. He wasn’t a bodyguard, never went on missions out of the country. He stayed in the office, answered the phones, and did Beatrice’s bidding.
Not that he didn’t have some righteous skills with the copy machine, and his coffee was to die for, but…
There was a whole lot more to Connor than met the eye, from the dragon tattoo under his usual conservative, white, button-downs to his extensive knowledge of all the latest tech gadgets and weapons he stocked in the war room.
Was he a geek, too? Except his passion was technology and guns, instead of forensic science and helicopters?
“ETA four minutes,” she told him. “We’re almost there.”
“Your orders stand, Red.” He pocketed his phone, grabbing a different type of headset from his bag. One equipped with night vision goggles and a light. “Stay with the helo. I’ll radio you with the sitrep once I’ve determined the threat. If we need a hot extraction, I need you in position and ready to fly. Do you copy?”
God, she loved that he called her Red, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in her, so it was probably better not to go gaga over him. “My Rock Star code name is 21 Pilots, sir,” she said, giving him a grin, along with a proper salute. “And by the way, I’m still coming with you.”
