Page 5 of Deadly Threat
Maybe he should bribe one of the Taskforce members to help him out. Coop would never do it, but Thomas? That ballbuster loved a dare and could be bought off with a good steak and a bottle of AMASS Los Angeles Dry Gin.
He’d also give a bunch of crazy answers and make Malachi’s analysis look as if a five-year-old wrote it. It sure would be interesting to peer into that guy’s mind, though. A West Point grad with serious undercover work under his belt, he was probably more dangerous than most of the criminals the Cahill brothers brought to justice. He’d heard but never confirmed that Mann had done a stint with a spec ops unit, as if the rest of the package wasn’t already a first class deal.
One of the books slipped from its lofty height and Malachi caught it. The woman startled, blinked, then accepted it from him as he handed it to her. “Thanks.”
“What class is that for?” he blurted. Anything to keep from working on his assignment.
She glanced at the edition and flipped it open. “None. Just research.”
“Going into medicine?”
Her petite brows dipped as she focused on the table of contents. “God, no. I’d be lousy at it.”
“History?”
Her tentative gaze rose to his. “I thought you were almost done with whatever you’re working on?”
Burned.
Her voice was soft and gentle but the brush off was there. He was no idiot and could take the hint, yet couldn’t seem to help himself. He wanted to keep her talking, see those perfect cupid lips move again. Why was her face so familiar? “I think I’m in over my head.”
The faintest of grins tugged at her mouth as she flipped past several chapters. “Aren’t we all?”
Under the table, the animal moved and Mal glanced at it. He knew service dogs were off-limits, but therapy and ESAs were used to attention. “What’s his name?”
She didn’t miss a beat, her finger scanning a page. “Hers is Ladybug. Yes, she’s a therapy dog, and yes, you can pet her, if you wish.”
The answers were so automatic and pat, he knew she’d been asked a million times. He liked dogs, had thought about getting one. Maybe bring it to the office. Joe and Samantha had a dog; Caleb, his twin, and Josie had some cats. Malachi had to admit, he felt a bit left out, both with his lack of human companionship and that of any animals. His brothers had found their soulmates, and here he was, focused on a marathon and college courses. Although he was nearing thirty, he didn’t want a relationship, didn’t need it, either. But a dog? That he could do.
Ladybug’s licorice eyes stared at him, her tail thumping against the woman’s ankle when he smiled. She sat on her owner’s foot and leaned into her legs.
Lowering his hand, he let her sniff it, then laughed when she gave him a lick. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”
Another lick and more wagging. He shifted a bit so he could scratch under her chin. She seemed to enjoy it and did a play bow, stretching out her body.
Big dogs were more his thing, but one this size might be easier to handle. He could travel with it, take it with him on surveillance or when he was going after a fugitive.
He could even train it to assist him with takedowns.
The click of typing met his ears. The woman had an assortment of colored sticky note pads out and she’d parked a pen in the crevice at the top of her ear. She scanned the open book page, marked it with a blue tab, then entered info into her laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard and he envied her that.
“You’re a teacher’s assistant, aren’t you?” He repositioned his big body in the wooden chair that seemed normal, but felt like an elf chair with his bulk in it.
She didn’t so much as blink. “Not quite.”
It’d been a long time since he’d struck out with a woman, but he hadn’t gotten one iota from her, except about the dog. Not that he was flirting or anything, but she would barely meet his eyes.
A research assistant of any kind could be a boon for him. If he could convince her to help him with his project…
Plus, he liked a challenge.
“I’m sorry I took your table,” he offered, hoping to score some points. “My office was chaos this morning and I needed peace and quiet to work on an assignment.” She glanced at him and he went on. “Yeah, I’m a little old for college, even as a grad student, but I enjoy learning, and taking a few night courses seemed to be a good idea at the time.” He blew out a disheartened breath. “Unfortunately, my current class is kicking my butt. I really hate failure—as inpassionatelyhate it—but I have to face facts. I’m going to fail this course.”
She finished typing and closed the volume, shuffling it into the stack and drawing out another. “There’s this thing called a tutor. You might you look into it.”
Humor? That was unexpected. “Can you recommend one?”
Her saw her bite her bottom lip. Her hands paused before opening the book and she stared down at it, but didn’t seem to be seeing it. “What are you taking?”
