Crossing the Line by Meghan Rogers

thought for a moment. “Agent Edwards is good, but she’s not the kind of challenge you need if you’re going to be in top form for fieldwork. You’ll train with Elton from now on.”
    My defenses went up. “I’d rather be by myself.”
    â€œThat may be, but you can’t challenge yourself the way an opponent can,” he said. I tried to argue, but he cut me off. “I need you to do this. I’m taking a risk keeping you here and pushing to have you in the field. I need you at your best.”
    I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. He was right. I owed him. “You think he’s going to go for this?”
    â€œI don’t care what he wants. He’s the only person in this place who can give you a real workout and who won’t try to kill you if put in that kind of situation.”
    I gave him a doubtful look. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
    â€œHe has the strongest sense of duty,” Simmonds said. “If I give him the assignment, he’ll carry it through.”
    I arched an eyebrow. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
    Simmonds stood and walked around his desk. “I’ll handle it. I called him down shortly before you showed up. He should be waiting outside.”
    â€œCan I stay and watch?” I asked, smiling at the thought.
    Simmonds tried to keep a straight face, but I caught him holding back a laugh. “I think it’d be better if I spoke with him alone. Send him in when you leave.”
    Â â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢Â 
    I leaned against the wall across from Simmonds’s office, waiting for Scorpion to finish his meeting. I knew he’d be pissed, but if we had to work together, there was no point putting it off. A couple of girls had showed up after a few minutes. They seemed around my age and took it upon themselves to wait as far away from me as they could.
    It was about fifteen minutes before the door was flung open.
    Scorpion’s nostrils flared in frustration, which quickly turned to aggravation when he saw me. “What did you say to him?” The two girls at the end of the hallway glanced, wide-eyed, at each other, before skirting around Scorpion and disappearing into Simmonds’s office.
    â€œI didn’t say anything.” I shrugged innocently as the door shut behind him. “According to Simmonds,
you
were the one telling him about my training habits.”
    His shoulders tensed as his annoyance grew. He sauntered ahead of me and I kept pace with him. “We have to do this.” He was practically spitting. “He’ll be checking up on me.”
    â€œI’m not exactly thrilled about this either,” I said.
    He snorted. “Right. What do you have to complain about?”
    â€œDo you really think I want to spend time with you?” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and I could see I’d surprised him. “We spent the last three years fighting each other. I don’t like you any more than you like me. And despite what Simmonds says, I don’ttrust you not to kill me.”
    He kicked his jaw out and laughed. “If I wanted to kill you, Simmonds wouldn’t be able to stop me. And you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
    I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really,
Travis
? So all those times we squared off you just
let
me go?” He glared at me out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t speak. “China. Russia.
Thailand.
You weren’t actually
trying
to kill me there, is that what you’re saying?” Again, he stayed quiet. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
    I yanked on the door to the training room, but Scorpion came up behind me and shoved it closed. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it my way.”
    I let my hand drop to my side. “Of course.
Everything
gets done your way.”
    He shook his head, his irritation increasing. “What is that supposed to