gear.
Kane pulled into the street, shooting her a glance. "Since when has T-FLAC ever left a man behind?" They were more obsessed with retrieving their operatives than the Navy SEALs were.
"Never." She rubbed at her forehead with a grubby hand.
"Headache?"
"No. Yes. Of course I have a headache. Some goon hit me with what felt like a frigging two-by-four." She shot him a glance and he noticed she had blood smudged on her eyelids—possibly from the blow to the head. Didn't seem to faze her any, but it sure as hell bothered Kane.
The air-conditioning was on high, and he noticed her nipples poking at the front of her T-shirt. Heat shot to his groin and he got a semi-hard-on just looking at her. Christ. This was all he needed. He was shocked, and pissed, at his reaction to her. He pulled his attention back to the road, and gripped the wheel more tightly.
"Did the others make it to the safe house?"
"Escobar caught transpo home a couple of hours ago. Struben's waiting for us at the apartment."
"How long was I in there?" AJ stroked the barrel of the Sig absently, her attention on the buildings they passed. Kane turned down a main street and kept to the speed limit. Even at this hour of the night there was traffic. He stayed in a middle lane, hidden in plain sight. He wished to hell she'd put her hands in her lap and stop stroking the gun. Her slender fingers on that barrel were not only erotic as hell, the movement was distracting. "Four hours."
She looked at him. "The two men in the other cell?"
"Raazaq's people. Dead."
"Shit." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry."
"For what? You're not responsible for the death of those men."
"I'm responsible for Raazaq getting away. Jesus God, Kane. I'm humiliated… Worse, I'm disgusted with myself for screwing up that badly."
"You're a professional. Use what you learned here and you won't let it happen again," Kane advised unsympathetically. God only knew he had his own suitcase of rocks to haul around. But he'd be damned if he'd listen to her feel sorry for herself. He wasn't going to give her any slack for being female, and he sure as hell wasn't giving her any slack for the screwup.
"You'll be back at the Academy tomorrow," Kane told her. "Have yourself a little chat with the shrinks. Deal with it."
AJ twisted in her seat to look at him, her face gray in the light from the street lamps. "You're really sending me back?"
Kane canted his head to glance at her. Her face might be filthy, but her skin still looked smooth. He knew it was flawless. Soft. He realized his attention had dropped to her mouth and jerked his eyes back to the traffic milling in front of them. Goddamn it. "Yeah. Really," he said harshly.
"Let me stay. Prove myself."
"You had your chance."
"And I only get one?"
"This go around, yeah."
"The best man for this job is a woman, and you know it," AJ said, talking fast now in an attempt to convince him. "You might be a master of disguise, but even you can't pull that one off. Admit it. You need me here."
"Having a female operative smoke out Raazaq was one choice. You were there for the briefing. The other choice was me going in alone."
"Not alone. With Struben and Escobar," she reminded him. "And you won't get within five hundred feet of Raazaq. He's even more paranoid than you are, Wright. Raazaq trusts nobody. You know that. This op is far too important to let egos get in the way." She shot him a glance, her pale, cat eyes gleaming in the lights from the dash. "Don't be pissy because I made a mistake—Okay, a frigging huge mistake. But a mistake, nonetheless. The next time I have the son of a bitch in my sights he'll be dead as a doornail. I promise."
"I have no fucking idea what that means but I told you last night. No do-overs. You're on your way home, Cooper. Buy yourself a souvenir at the airport." Kane picked up the pace, crossed an intersection, and slipped into the dark cavern of the next alleyway for a shortcut to the freeway.
She
Kane pulled into the street, shooting her a glance. "Since when has T-FLAC ever left a man behind?" They were more obsessed with retrieving their operatives than the Navy SEALs were.
"Never." She rubbed at her forehead with a grubby hand.
"Headache?"
"No. Yes. Of course I have a headache. Some goon hit me with what felt like a frigging two-by-four." She shot him a glance and he noticed she had blood smudged on her eyelids—possibly from the blow to the head. Didn't seem to faze her any, but it sure as hell bothered Kane.
The air-conditioning was on high, and he noticed her nipples poking at the front of her T-shirt. Heat shot to his groin and he got a semi-hard-on just looking at her. Christ. This was all he needed. He was shocked, and pissed, at his reaction to her. He pulled his attention back to the road, and gripped the wheel more tightly.
"Did the others make it to the safe house?"
"Escobar caught transpo home a couple of hours ago. Struben's waiting for us at the apartment."
"How long was I in there?" AJ stroked the barrel of the Sig absently, her attention on the buildings they passed. Kane turned down a main street and kept to the speed limit. Even at this hour of the night there was traffic. He stayed in a middle lane, hidden in plain sight. He wished to hell she'd put her hands in her lap and stop stroking the gun. Her slender fingers on that barrel were not only erotic as hell, the movement was distracting. "Four hours."
She looked at him. "The two men in the other cell?"
"Raazaq's people. Dead."
"Shit." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so damn sorry."
"For what? You're not responsible for the death of those men."
"I'm responsible for Raazaq getting away. Jesus God, Kane. I'm humiliated… Worse, I'm disgusted with myself for screwing up that badly."
"You're a professional. Use what you learned here and you won't let it happen again," Kane advised unsympathetically. God only knew he had his own suitcase of rocks to haul around. But he'd be damned if he'd listen to her feel sorry for herself. He wasn't going to give her any slack for being female, and he sure as hell wasn't giving her any slack for the screwup.
"You'll be back at the Academy tomorrow," Kane told her. "Have yourself a little chat with the shrinks. Deal with it."
AJ twisted in her seat to look at him, her face gray in the light from the street lamps. "You're really sending me back?"
Kane canted his head to glance at her. Her face might be filthy, but her skin still looked smooth. He knew it was flawless. Soft. He realized his attention had dropped to her mouth and jerked his eyes back to the traffic milling in front of them. Goddamn it. "Yeah. Really," he said harshly.
"Let me stay. Prove myself."
"You had your chance."
"And I only get one?"
"This go around, yeah."
"The best man for this job is a woman, and you know it," AJ said, talking fast now in an attempt to convince him. "You might be a master of disguise, but even you can't pull that one off. Admit it. You need me here."
"Having a female operative smoke out Raazaq was one choice. You were there for the briefing. The other choice was me going in alone."
"Not alone. With Struben and Escobar," she reminded him. "And you won't get within five hundred feet of Raazaq. He's even more paranoid than you are, Wright. Raazaq trusts nobody. You know that. This op is far too important to let egos get in the way." She shot him a glance, her pale, cat eyes gleaming in the lights from the dash. "Don't be pissy because I made a mistake—Okay, a frigging huge mistake. But a mistake, nonetheless. The next time I have the son of a bitch in my sights he'll be dead as a doornail. I promise."
"I have no fucking idea what that means but I told you last night. No do-overs. You're on your way home, Cooper. Buy yourself a souvenir at the airport." Kane picked up the pace, crossed an intersection, and slipped into the dark cavern of the next alleyway for a shortcut to the freeway.
She
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