Classified by Debra Webb

from her throat. He checked the mirror to see what was so funny. The two hombres were attempting to upright the vehicle.
    Casey collapsed in the seat. “Mercy, that was close.”
    “Too close.” Levi swallowed back the panic that had swollen in his throat those last few seconds.
    “You can turn me loose now.” She wiggled her foot.
    He’d forgotten. Another breath hissed past his lips as he forced his fingers to release.
    She faced forward and twisted open a bottle of water, downing half of it before she took a breath.
    Levi shook his head. This was wrong. Way wrong. He turned to stare at her.
    “Don’t slow down,” she ordered before he could speak. She made a breathy sound, kind of a chuckle. “Those guys are persistent. You have to give them that.”
    He stared forward, tried to calm down. Not possible. He wasn’t going to pretend the past eighteen or twenty hours hadn’t been off-the-charts bizarre. He had questions and by God she was going to answer them.
    Anger lit in his gut.
    He’d tried to get right with the idea that none of it mattered as long as they accomplished their mission but he had been wrong. He couldn’t do this.
    He gritted his teeth and let the fury simmer. He drove, fast, just like she said, until he reached the outskirts of the city. At the first row of businesses he encountered, he whipped into the parking area. The truck jostled and bounced.
    Casey swore and grabbed her bag from where it had landed in the floorboard. “What the hell are you doing, Stark?”
    He parked in front of the convenience store and shut off the engine. “The engine needs water.” He didn’t know if it did or not but that sounded like a reasonable explanation.
    “We have water,” she called after him but he was already out the door. He shoved it shut and kept walking. A smart man would cool off a bit before confronting a woman. Usually he was reasonably smart.
    Somehow that had changed amid long silky blond hair and big blue eyes. Not to mention shapely legs and skimpy panties. Then there was the way she’d savored her breakfast. He’d almost lost it watching her lick that spoon. How could a woman that gorgeous be so damned crazy? She had to be out of her mind!
    Levi didn’t slow down until he was inside the convenience store. Halfway down the first aisle the crazy woman caught up with him, that big fringy bag resting on her hip. He ignored her and focused on trying to decipher the Spanish labels.
    “What’s wrong with you?” She frowned up at him. “The truck is fine. We need to get swallowed up in that city instead of hanging out here where we’ll be spotted easier.”
    She was right. He knew this. He picked up a bag of chips and attempted to determine if they were regular or barbecue. A cola would be nice, too. Didn’t matter that he wasn’t even hungry.
    “Stark! What the hell are you doing?”
    He looked up, as did the attendant at the counter and the five other patrons perusing the aisles.
    “Look,” she said more quietly. “Let’s just calm down and talk about whatever’s bugging you.”
    Calm down? Bugging him? Levi jammed the chips back on the shelf and grabbed her arm. He dragged her toward the far side of the store, right past the counter and behind the newspaper and magazine racks where no one was standing around staring at them. She didn’t resist, in all probability because they’d both already drawn too much attention.
    When they were out of direct view of the other customers he turned on her. “Who are you?” They had just survived a scene right out of a high-octane action movie, 3-D stunts included. He was just a P.I. But she…she was no P.I. At least not one like he’d ever met.
    Her face blanked. Gone was the frustration, the irritation. There was absolutely nothing to read. She tugged her arm free of his hold. “We’re wasting time. Do you want to do this or not?”
    Another blast of outrage rammed into his gut. He moved his head side to side. Yes, this mission was