Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set by Patricia Rosemoor, Toni Anderson, REBECCA YORK, Dana Marton, Sharon Hamilton, Kaylea Cross, Debra Burroughs, Lori Ryan, Jill Sanders, Marie Astor

contingencies and exit strategy with her?”
    Hunter hid his instinctive reaction to outright reject anyone else going to her right now. Keeping his distance from her was probably in everyone’s best interest, but she trusted him and Hunter would be lying if he didn’t admit that he liked how it felt. “She’s got a lot on her mind right now and I don’t want to make it worse by giving her anything else to worry about. I’ll tell her what she needs to know tonight before I head out.” After he did what he could to ensure she had as many stress free hours as possible to unwind. Yesterday had left more marks on her than just cuts and scrapes. The bombings had been a brutal reality check for her, let alone that late night news from the State Department.
    “Roger that.” Ellis and Dunphy filed out of the room to go over their gear.
    Hunter began tidying up while Gage checked on the radios and batteries. Briefing Khalia was necessary so she knew what to do in case of emergency, and it couldn’t be avoided. When he finally told her, it would probably scare her shitless no matter how he worded it. He wished there was something else he could do to shield her from all this. He hated her being in harm’s way over here.
    She was kind and gentle and only trying to make a difference. Not many people would go to these lengths to step up and do something to better the lives of complete strangers halfway across the world, let alone someone who’d just lost her father in such a horrific way and now facing a lethal threat of her own. Knowing those militant fuckers wanted to kill her filled him with a deep, protective rage he had to keep locked down if he wanted to be sharp out there.
    “Sure you want to be the one to give her the heads up tonight?” Gage asked as he packed equipment into his ruck.
    “I’m sure.” She was already scared, even if she tried to hide it. No, this had to come from him. He was head of her detail. And dammit, he wanted to put her mind at ease before he left. Tomorrow was going to be hard enough on her as it was without her losing even more sleep over things she couldn’t control. He’d make it short and sweet, to the point, then get out.
    Glancing over, he caught the flash of Gage’s knowing grin before he masked it. “That’s one hell of a bedtime story for her, Hunt. Think you’d better stay with her awhile afterward, just to make sure you don’t give her nightmares. Maybe tuck her in. I promise not to wait up for you.”
    He shot Gage a narrow-eyed look that warned him to mind his own fucking business. “Hey. Long walk. Short pier.”
    Gage only chuckled and went back to packing his gear. Hunter scowled to himself and stalked across the room to check his weapons. He already cared about her on a personal level, and if Gage could see it too, he was in serious fucking trouble here. His reputation was on the line with this job, as was his chance of winning a partnership with Tom. With a sigh he pulled out his cleaning kit and SIG.
    Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough. At least then he’d be away from her, and able to do his job with a clear head.

Chapter Seven
    The four men with her in the vehicle seemed relaxed enough once they passed through the final military checkpoint in their journey, but Khalia’s stomach was in knots as they drove deeper into the northern part of the infamous Swat Valley. Hunter had come to her room late last night to give her a brief rundown of emergency and safety procedures for the school. He’d listed them quickly and calmly, stressed he was only reviewing them all with her as standard procedure, and when she didn’t have any questions for him, he’d left. Surprisingly, knowing the procedures ahead of time actually made her feel more secure and she’d managed to sleep until her alarm woke her well before dawn.
    Once known as the Switzerland of the region, it was easy to see why. If she hadn’t known it was Pakistan, she’d half expect to see Julie Andrews