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“And I thought I was the voice of doom.” She bounced her palm against her thigh. “Point taken. I’m sure Ross is handling it, but I just want to warn them, you know? But if I try, I’m afraid that will give Morcos an opening if hedoesn’thave the information.”
Carson could practically hear her teeth grinding. “I get the impression you don’t do afraid.”
“Almost never.”
His grandmother always insisted they tackle trouble head on, no matter how simple or complex the problem. Eva was on the complex end of the trouble scale when her days didn’t involve old enemies and new snipers. “When was the last time?”
“Can’t remember,” she mumbled.
He laughed. “You said you didn’t lie.”
“I don’t like you much right now.”
Did that mean she liked him at other times? It was the wrong detail to seize on and he felt like the awkward kid in school for doing so now. “A common complaint in my line of work. Answer the question.”
“The last time I was afraid was on an assignment.”
“Which you can’t talk about because it’s still classified.” He felt the long look she sent his way, but he kept his eyes on the road.
“I’m not going to apologize for my career.”
“No one’s asking you to. I was going to ask what helped you over the fear factor the last time you were afraid.”
“Bart.”
Carson gripped the steering wheel, telling himself it didn’t matter. He had no claim on her. Just a significant interest. A crush really. And wasn’t that a demeaning admission?
“And the rest of the team,” she added, “even the night I screwed up the analysis.”
He didn’t know all the details, but he knew something about her after keeping an eye on her these past weeks. She didn’t jump to conclusions. She was thorough, no matter the size of the task. He thought this whole thing sounded like a set up, but figured she wouldn’t want his opinion. Being a deputy meant challenges and sacrifice, but he knew it couldn’t compare to what she’d gone through to make a covert Army team.
“So how did Bart help you through?”
She toyed with her necklace, sliding the pendant over the chain. “He completed the mission without ending up dead.”
She was making this difficult on purpose and he should accept the cues and back off. His job was to stick with her and keep her safe. Emotional support wasn’t on his to-do list and she clearly didn’t want it.
He turned off Main Street into the motel parking lot and pulled to a stop in front of her room.
“You can wait here.”
“Thanks, but you’re stuck with me.”
She laughed. “Ross has a bark much worse than his bite.”
“Doesn’t matter.” And he didn’t believe her. “You forget I grew up with him.”
Her eyes danced with mischief. “Maybe our time together will pay off. Will you tell me his deep, dark secrets?”
“Only the ones that don’t incriminate me,” he said following her into the motel room.
That sultry laugh rolled over him again. He closed the door and planted his feet before he did something rash like spin her around and kiss her. It didn’t take a vivid imagination to know that would backfire.
He studied the room, if only to keep from watching the way she moved as she gathered her belongings. The bed was perfectly made and he knew it wasn’t because of the maid. Various chargers and cords were lined up on the edge of the desk and the few clothes on hangers were organized left to right by type and color. “You could have rented a real place.”
She shrugged. “My stuff was already here. They cut me a weekly rate since I didn’t want maid service daily.”
He’d heard that through the grapevine but decided she’d rather not know that detail. She packed swiftly with an efficiency he appreciated. The longer they were out, the more he worried about the sniper. He checked his phone, but hadn’t missed any messages.
