“Touché.”
“Look, you can keep putting up a fight, or you can just make it easy for yourself and accept that we’re in this together from this point on.”
There was no mistaking the reluctance creasing his handsome features, but after several seconds of silence, he finally capitulated. “Fine,” he muttered. “You can come with me—”
She beamed at him. “Thank you. I knew you’d see it my—”
“—on two conditions,” he finished.
Wary, she waited for him to go on.
“First condition, you follow my orders. If I say jump, you jump. If I ask you to stay behind the way I did tonight, accept that it’s for a good reason and don’t fight me every step of the way.”
Although she hated answering to anyone, she shot him a grudging look and said, “I will follow your orders.” She paused. “Within reason.”
“There you go, being difficult again.”
She grinned. “Hey, I’m just sayin’. You can’t expect me to follow you blindly. If I disagree with an order, we’re darn well going to talk it out.”
“You’re a big fan of talking, huh?” He looked torn between laughing and strangling her.
“Yep. Now, what’s the second condition?”
“Anything we might discover, every lead we stumble on, every gory detail—it’s all off the record.” His expression turned steely. “When this is over, we’ll sit down and discuss the best way to get the story out. Before that, you don’t write anything down, you don’t put it on camera, you don’t consult with your network. Deal?”
She had to admit that sounded fair. It wasn’t like he was suggesting she sweep everything under the rug and pretend there wasn’t a story, just that she ought to wait before making anything public.
Which kind of irked, because what did he take her for, an amateur? She would never go ahead with a story until every last t and i was crossed and dotted.
Nevertheless, she stuck out her hand so they could shake on it. “Deal,” she agreed.
The second their palms touched, a jolt of electricity coursed from his hand to hers.
Actual sparks heated her skin, and he must have felt them, too, because he abruptly withdrew his hand and muttered, “Huh.”
Rebecca gave him a knowing look, enjoying the tiny glimmer of heat that lit his eyes. “So when do we leave?” she asked brightly.
* * *
She wasn’t expecting them to get a flight out of Mala so ridiculously fast, and yet three hours after Nick returned from his meeting with Salazar, the two of them were climbing into the back of a twin-engine Cessna in the most derelict hangar Rebecca had ever seen.
The scent of jet fuel, exhaust and rubber permeated the small cabin, and the blue vinyl seat she lowered herself onto was torn in several places. Their pilot, a stone-faced man with a head of long, oily black hair, didn’t say a single word as he went through his preflight check.
Rebecca scooted closer to Nick and brought her lips right up to his ear. “How do you know this guy again?” she whispered. “Are you sure he won’t murder us before we even get off the ground?”
Nick responded with a soft chuckle. “Relax, Red. Manuel is the most harmless man on the planet. He used to be a priest.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Did you just call me Red? ”
“Yeah.” To her amusement, he actually flushed. “You didn’t seem too thrilled with darling. ”
“Says who?”
“Says the way you called me that earlier, all mocking like and whatnot.” He offered an adorable shrug, then buckled his seat belt. “So Red, it is.”
“I don’t mind darling.”
The admission slipped out before she could stop it. Shockingly, she felt herself blushing, too. Oh, for God’s sake, what was she, a preteen with a first crush? She really needed to get a handle on her strange reaction to this man.
“Good to know,” he murmured, and then their eyes locked, and Rebecca’s heart did an excited little flip that made her want to make fun of herself.
“So...our pilot was a
“Look, you can keep putting up a fight, or you can just make it easy for yourself and accept that we’re in this together from this point on.”
There was no mistaking the reluctance creasing his handsome features, but after several seconds of silence, he finally capitulated. “Fine,” he muttered. “You can come with me—”
She beamed at him. “Thank you. I knew you’d see it my—”
“—on two conditions,” he finished.
Wary, she waited for him to go on.
“First condition, you follow my orders. If I say jump, you jump. If I ask you to stay behind the way I did tonight, accept that it’s for a good reason and don’t fight me every step of the way.”
Although she hated answering to anyone, she shot him a grudging look and said, “I will follow your orders.” She paused. “Within reason.”
“There you go, being difficult again.”
She grinned. “Hey, I’m just sayin’. You can’t expect me to follow you blindly. If I disagree with an order, we’re darn well going to talk it out.”
“You’re a big fan of talking, huh?” He looked torn between laughing and strangling her.
“Yep. Now, what’s the second condition?”
“Anything we might discover, every lead we stumble on, every gory detail—it’s all off the record.” His expression turned steely. “When this is over, we’ll sit down and discuss the best way to get the story out. Before that, you don’t write anything down, you don’t put it on camera, you don’t consult with your network. Deal?”
She had to admit that sounded fair. It wasn’t like he was suggesting she sweep everything under the rug and pretend there wasn’t a story, just that she ought to wait before making anything public.
Which kind of irked, because what did he take her for, an amateur? She would never go ahead with a story until every last t and i was crossed and dotted.
Nevertheless, she stuck out her hand so they could shake on it. “Deal,” she agreed.
The second their palms touched, a jolt of electricity coursed from his hand to hers.
Actual sparks heated her skin, and he must have felt them, too, because he abruptly withdrew his hand and muttered, “Huh.”
Rebecca gave him a knowing look, enjoying the tiny glimmer of heat that lit his eyes. “So when do we leave?” she asked brightly.
* * *
She wasn’t expecting them to get a flight out of Mala so ridiculously fast, and yet three hours after Nick returned from his meeting with Salazar, the two of them were climbing into the back of a twin-engine Cessna in the most derelict hangar Rebecca had ever seen.
The scent of jet fuel, exhaust and rubber permeated the small cabin, and the blue vinyl seat she lowered herself onto was torn in several places. Their pilot, a stone-faced man with a head of long, oily black hair, didn’t say a single word as he went through his preflight check.
Rebecca scooted closer to Nick and brought her lips right up to his ear. “How do you know this guy again?” she whispered. “Are you sure he won’t murder us before we even get off the ground?”
Nick responded with a soft chuckle. “Relax, Red. Manuel is the most harmless man on the planet. He used to be a priest.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Did you just call me Red? ”
“Yeah.” To her amusement, he actually flushed. “You didn’t seem too thrilled with darling. ”
“Says who?”
“Says the way you called me that earlier, all mocking like and whatnot.” He offered an adorable shrug, then buckled his seat belt. “So Red, it is.”
“I don’t mind darling.”
The admission slipped out before she could stop it. Shockingly, she felt herself blushing, too. Oh, for God’s sake, what was she, a preteen with a first crush? She really needed to get a handle on her strange reaction to this man.
“Good to know,” he murmured, and then their eyes locked, and Rebecca’s heart did an excited little flip that made her want to make fun of herself.
“So...our pilot was a
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