Beyond The Limit by Lindsay McKenna Page A

Roland. This isn’t the only third world country you’ve worked in.”
    Ms. Roland. He’d called her Cali before. Yeah, he was pissed, all right. “Save your scolding for another time, Major. I’m fine.” She glared at him, furious that he would dress her down like a child in front of her security team. And she wasn’t about to tell him about the bullet that had nearly hit her.
    â€œThings will get easier once that fence is in place,” Barnes said soothingly, running a clean cloth down the stock of his rifle. “That was just an advance team to see if we had security. So don’t get uptight just yet, Major. This kind of thing will go on all the time out here, so you might as well get used to it.”
    Cali saw Pete scowl at Barnes, his mouth thinning. Then he glanced around the darkened plain. “Okay, let’s get back to our trailers. Barnes, we’ll review security later today. We may need more hardware. You did good under the circumstances.”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    Cali turned and walked away, fuming, her pistol in her hand. She wasn’t wearing her holster, either. Was Trayhern going to dress her down for that little infraction, too? Halfway back to her trailer, she heard someone jogging after her. Trayhern, probably to give her a lecture on desert safety. The sky was brightening above the mountains, and she could see his facial features a little more clearly. He looked concerned.
    Pulling up next to her, he murmured, “I shouldn’t have chewed you out like that in front of the security team.”
    â€œThey work for me, Major. I’m number two person at this site.” Her nostrils flared. Cali glared and she glowered at him as they walked on across the desert. “Next time you have anything to say to me in the way of criticism or critique, we do it in private, not in front of my employees. Got it?”
    â€œIt won’t happen again.” Okay, so he had that coming. Jet lag combined with the unexpected attack and deluge of adrenaline through his groggy system had made Pete forget himself for a moment.
    Cali bridled beneath his stubborn look. He said the words, but she could tell he wasn’t sure about it. Trayhern was infuriating! She halted at the corner of her trailer. “Midday, the fencing material arrives here at the site. In the meantime, I’m going to introduce myself to the regional warlord, Sheik Baider Hesam. He’s got a small place in a village less than a mile from here.” Cali pointed northeast. “I need workmen, and that is my priority for today. I can’t hire anyone without Hesam’s blessing.”
    â€œWhen are you going to see him?” Pete saw the banked anger in Cali’s narrowed eyes. As a manager of people, he knew better than to have handled the situation with her as he had. And if he’d thought she was going to be soft because she was a woman, he could see that wasn’t true.
    â€œSooner rather than later. I’m going to have my driver, Hakim, take me over at 0800. I’m taking my general foreman, Ray Billings, with me, as well.”
    â€œI’d like to go with you.” Pete saw surprise flare in her eyes, quickly replaced with irritation.
    â€œIf you want to join me, we’ll pick you up five minutes earlier at your trailer.”
    Nodding, Pete said, “Sounds good. How many men do you think we’ll need to install the fence?”
    â€œWe’ve got several miles of fencing to erect, Major. Even though it’ll happen in stages, we’ll need a large crew initially, a smaller crew for long-term modifications and additions.”
    Ouch. Okay, it was no longer “Pete,” but “Major.” Well, he’d burned a bridge with Cali, hadn’t he? The woman was as hard as the granite slopes of the Hindu Kush. He had no one but himself to blame for her tough facade and detachment from him now.
    â€œI’ll bring my interpreter