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“Because you’re convinced I’ll like it there.”
“You have highly specialized training. A brilliant skill set. It’s fantastic for field work, I’m not going to lie about that or even dissuade you from that purpose, as part of your career. Much as I’d like to…”
“You feel as though I put myself in unnecessary danger.”
“I’m not going to call it unnecessary. What you do is crucial. It’s a vital function relative to search and rescue. It’s bold and it’s brave, and I fully admire and respect you—and your friends—for what you’re willing to do. But do I like it? No. Not in the least. Not when I happen to know you were in the stairwell of a hotel that was about to be blown to bits at any moment. With you inside.”
“We’ve discussed this,” she reminded him. “You can’t claim it’s not acceptable for me to be in hazardous situations when you willingly put yourself in them as well.”
“An impasse we can’t breach?” he quietly asked with a crooked brow.
Nikki drew in a deep breath. Let it out slowly. “You know I can help your mother and Mads. It’s not the reason you brought me here. I think I’m here because it’s currently the safest place for me while terrorists want my computer and also might consider I’m a part of yours and Garcia’s organization—the very reason I ended up with the information in the first place.”
“Are you hinting at fate playing a hand in us meeting?”
“Are you going to be quick to deny it?”
“I’m not that strong of a believer in the cosmos.”
“A day ago, I would have said the same. Otherwise, a love as strong as mine and Conner’s would not have been destroyed.”
“Ah, but, Nikki…” Damen’s fingers whisked through her hair as he continued to gaze at her. “It hasn’t been destroyed. It never could be. Separation by death does not end love.”
Her gaze narrowed. “If you truly affirm that, you wouldn’t be obsessed with whether or not I like the QTango med facilities. You wouldn’t be trying to get me to consider a safer approach to my work. Correct?”
His jaw clenched.
She clearly had him on this one.
But then he shifted away and swung his long, powerful legs over the side of the bed. He leapt to his feet and stalked out of the room. Only to return a minute later, wearing boxer-briefs.
She sighed. And frowned.
“I happen to prefer all the nakedness,” she commented.
He didn’t grin. Alarming her. Because even when they were locked in a heated discussion, one quip from her could turn it all around. Not this time.
As he returned to the bed, she noted he had her laptop in hand. He thrust it toward her.
Now, she was thoroughly confused.
“You need this in order to pass the intel onto an ops-approved drive, right?”
“Yes. Once that’s done, you can have your laptop back. However…” His expression turned grim and his eyes deepened in color. Deepened with torment.
“Damen…?” she tentatively asked. Instantly fearing the worst… Though she didn’t know, precisely, what that was.
He told her, “I’m certain I’m capable of offloading the information. What I’m not sure about, Nikki, is what it’ll do to your internal hard drive. As in… Whether or not it will wipe it out. As in… Whether or not it will corrupt or…erase…every piece of data on this machine.”
She stared up at him.
Her heart lurched into her throat.
Her breaths stopped as she gaped.
The torment reflected in his eyes and his suddenly bunched muscles was solely related to causing her excruciating pain.
He confessed, “I can’t guarantee every piece of Conner that you’ve preserved on this laptop will be intact when I’m done.”
