Danger Close by Kaylea Cross Page A

can fill you in on the details later,” Bill said to her, “since he’s already told you so much about everything else.”
    Erin’s face flushed and she flicked an apologetic, almost guilty glance at him. There was nothing for her to feel bad about. Wade wasn’t angry with her for telling Bill what he’d said to her last night. He’d never tell her anything classified or something that would put her in further danger anyway, and Bill had to know that.
    “He’s being transported here for questioning,” Bill added. “Flight arrives tonight at twenty-one hundred.”
    “I’ll talk to him,” Wade said.
    “No, you won’t. Until we’ve questioned him and found out who set you up, you’re staying at that safe house and you’ll only be involved in the investigation on a consultant basis.”
    Wade set his jaw. “You need me on this one. You know it, and I know it.”
    Bill inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Not yet. We’ll bring you in when necessary. It’s for your own protection, Wade.”
    Yeah? Well it fucking sucked. He’d rather take his chances with Rahim and his network than stay stuck in one spot, waiting there like a sitting duck out in the country while the most important manhunt since the search for bin Laden took place without him.
    ****
    Erin wasn’t sure what the story between Wade and Bill was, but their relationship wasn’t what she’d expected. When Wade had told her that Bill was his handler, she’d assumed they’d be on much friendlier terms than they actually were. Not outright hostility, perhaps, but an undercurrent of friction was there. Maybe it had something to do with Wade being off the grid for so long and having all kinds of rough edges, she wasn’t sure. What she did know was that he’d been quietly seething all the way back during the drive from Langley. Now that it was just the two of them alone in the farmhouse again, he still hadn’t relaxed. He was prowling around the lower floor like a caged lion and she’d been very careful not to say anything as she did her best to keep out of his way.
    He stood at the window with his back to her, hands braced above him on the window casing, every muscle in his back stretched taut beneath the light gray T-shirt he wore. While she loved the view, she knew he was upset about the investigation and this latest development he’d seen in that file.
    She took a few steps into the room and cleared her throat. “I was going to make something for dinner. You up to eating?”
    He turned slightly to look back at her, and the anger in his eyes faded. “Not really hungry right now.”
    “You need to eat,” she answered, the nurse in her taking over. The man already had no body fat on him. This wasn’t the tribal region of Afghanistan. With a full refrigerator in the kitchen, he shouldn’t be starving himself and making his body start metabolizing his muscle tissue.
    He let out a deep sigh, visibly pushed his frustration aside, and nodded. “I’ll help you.”
    Not about to argue, she turned back to the kitchen. “What do you feel like?”
    “Whatever you want is fine.”
    She wasn’t so sure about that. She could think of a great way for them both to burn off their excess frustration, but she doubted he was thinking along the same lines, or that he’d let his guard down that far. And it probably wouldn’t be smart for them to cross that line while they lived here together anyhow. Just made things messier when it was all over.
    From the fridge she pulled out a bunch of greens and veggies, some berries and goat cheese for a salad. “You want chicken or anything to go on the salad?”
    “Sure.” He stood there in the middle of the kitchen, looking awkward as hell, and Erin took pity on him.
    “Can you grab a cutting board for me from the cupboard next to the stove?”
    He found one and put it on the counter, then pulled a knife from the butcher block beside the stove and started to cut up a red pepper she’d just washed. She