Page 9 of 72 Hours

In that very instant, I fell heavily, and hard, for Niall Sutherland.

“Tanner?”

Did he notice? I reckoned I covered my reactions well, though maybe I was fooling myself.

“I see your problem.” His voice was low and calm, recalling me from my embarrassing thoughts. “It’s a rather mixed bunch, right? You’ve got your work cut out for you. Judith’s only ever asked me to look at people with established technical qualifications. My evaluation’s only good for finding guys who’ll load a weapon and be prepared to use it, according to my orders. Who’ll set a fuse as I tell them, then stand well back.”

“Yeah.” I grinned. I felt light-headed. “Sounds a lot like my job description too.”

He didn’t exactly laugh, but his eyes flickered across to mine, and they looked warmer. They looked interested. Shit, I nearly hopped like an Easter bunny.

“Thanks for the input, anyway,” I said. “Guess I just like to do things my own way. You heard Judith. I like to work on my own at this preparatory stage, that’s all.”

“Others can’t keep up?”

“No.” I felt myself flush. His smile was very distracting. “Just too much of a maverick.”

He nodded. And dammit, despite the fact my words were arrogant and facile—which wasn’t unheard of, for me—he looked amused by them. Or maybe he was just looking at my mouth, at my lips. It was a very sensual action, though I didn’t know if he realised it. Whatever the reason, my cock reacted shamelessly to it, right there and then, my groin feeling a strange, prickly tingle. At that moment, he could’ve looked at anything of mine if he’d wanted, and I wouldn’t have minded. My worn socks, my ancient set of original comic books, my kindergarten report card. Come to think of it, that last one might have given him a good idea of what I was like, it was as accurate in its way as my most recent appraisal.

I shifted my legs carefully, trying to get my comfortable position back. He was still nodding but his eyes followed my movement. “A maverick,” he said, softly. “Not always a bad thing.” He glanced at his watch and looked surprised at the time. “You want to grab some late supper and talk some more about it?”

Did I? I tried out that insouciant look and probably just looked sour. I’d checked his hand; no ring, though I knew a lot of guys didn’t wear one anyway. Checked the way he related to Judith, because she was pretty damn fit, but he’d been nothing but professional. I nodded agreement to the supper. I nodded; and I prayed for more.

WE WALKED TO THE SMALL Italian restaurant a few doors down the street because they knew the staff from the Department there and because the food was always good. As far as they were concerned, we were just plain office workers who kept odd hours. I nodded to a couple of familiar waiters, but the rest of the time my eyes were glued to my companion. The way he shrugged off his jacket; the way he folded his long legs under his seat. The polite smile he gave to the wine waiter, and the approving nod he gave as he looked around at the cosy décor. The menu arrived under my nose, and I looked right through it like I had Superman’s X-ray vision. God knows what I ordered! I like my food, you know? But I could’ve asked for Table Napkins Carbonara, and I wouldn’t have cared.

We both chose a rich red wine and the same thick, creamy pasta. And we started to talk. Even when the food arrived, we continued, the conversation flowing comfortably and easily.

Niall mentioned his involvement in a few higher profile Department missions. Not boasting, you know, I had to give him that. Mind you, he didn’t need to; his reputation was already established, from what I could gather. In fact, one of the missions he mentioned was the very job where Judith had earned her best promotion. Despite myself, I was impressed.

“She thinks a lot of you, right?”

He shook his head dismissively. “I’m just going to be one of the team. But I get on very well with her. She’s fair. She’s a good boss.” He smiled easily, but there was restlessness in him, too, and I didn’t think it was anything to do with this evening. I suspected Niall Sutherland was a field man, through and through, and looking forward to getting involved in something more challenging. More risky. I liked that thought a lot. I didn’t have much time for routine myself.

“I have a meeting with Simon tomorrow,” he said. “To get up to speed.” He paused in his eating for a second. “Great guy.”

“You like him?” I was being mischievous, of course. Simon was a valuable colleague and he’d become a good friend. Nothing more, though; he was gay, too, but we didn’t find that attraction in each other, and neither of us minded. But he did get included in all the high level meetings. Sometimes I thought he must know as much as Judith about the mission plans, and probably more when it came to knowing how the hell they were going to be put into practice.

Niall raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I like him,” he said. “Judith speaks about him a lot.” And then he grinned as if he’d seen right through my clumsy prying. “Apparently he and Brad Richards have got up to speed already, but in a different way. Am I right?”

“Yeah. They’re together.” We both laughed, but I could tell Niall respected that. And I could also tell... what? That he liked guys too? Seemed like Judith had found a few of us for the Team so far. A happy coincidence, or maybe we’d found a place that accepted us just as we were. In my case, at least, it had coloured my upbringing and helped create the kind of man I was today—a man who’d never fit elsewhere in the Department’s more rigid establishment. But that was their loss, of course.

And it didn’t necessarily mean Niall would like me.

“So what are you hoping for from your move to the Project Team?” I hurried on. “It’s been great for me, something really challenging. And the guys are the best to work with.”

“I’m looking forward to that,” Niall said. “Working with you.”

I felt a terrible ache inside, and all I could taste in the salad I was eating was the sharp flavour of need. Hell, had it been that long since I dated? Since I touched anyone? Since I had some rich, wet, sticky satisfaction?

It wasn’t just that, of course. It was all about him.

Meanwhile, he talked some more about new weapons he’d been testing, and his hope of working with more cutting-edge equipment. Judith often took advantage of prototypes in the market, offering a professional evaluation in return for exclusive use, at least until it came out to the public. He talked about some high-speed, low-weight models that had been imported from Eastern Europe; some exciting new developments in chemical research. I listened with only half an ear, the other half fascinated by the timbre of his voice, the rhythm of his careful enthusiasm.

He was also intrigued to know more about my role, which, let’s face it, didn’t lend itself to a normal job title. “I work with the people,” I explained. “Ours, and the target’s. I identify the people we need to manipulate, then help discover their motivations, suggest what triggers them. I coach people in developing alternate personalities and how to cope with undercover work. It’s like acting. I help them find the right clothes, the movements, the mannerisms. Then it’s up to them to carry out the rest of their shit.”

His eyes caught mine. That had been happening a lot, all through the meal. “Like a chameleon,” he said, and it didn’t sound sarcastic or like he’d been listening to water cooler gossip about me. “That’s quite a talent.”

Fuck, I didn’t blush, did I? “It’s just part of the process.” I shrugged. “Not as glamorous as blowing up strongboxes, or like guys in sunglasses providing security for international celebrities, or charging into riot situations, armed and dangerous.”