Page 52 of Croatia Collateral

Her heart stopped for a moment as she stared into Dax’s eyes. Then it beat so fast it made her head spin. She opened her mouth to speak some of the thoughts flying around in her head but closed it again.

Too soon.

If she told him she was having feelings for him, he could spook and run in the opposite direction. He’d obviously loved his wife very much. Though he talked about humans having room in their hearts to love so many more, was he ready to be open to more? To her?

He had asked her to join him on the island with all his friends and loved ones.

A seed of hope sprouted in Giva.

Dax’s brow wrinkled, his lips quirking on the corners. “You look like you have a thousand thoughts running through your head. Care to share?”

She almost burst out with a nervous laugh. Giva clamped her lips shut to keep that from happening. When she had control of her thoughts and mouth, she said, “Just going through different scenarios of how we can handle the situation.”

It was a lie. She should have been thinking about their options and how they could get back into the command center and destroy the system and device Maas had created to send EMPs to specific targets.

“Even if we are able to shut down this attempt,” Giva said, “what then?”

Dax’s brow furrowed. “Maas has more than 7000 satellites in orbit. I’m not even sure how many of those he equipped with the ability to send electromagnetic pulses. We’d have to locate and destroy those.”

“Dmytro is very good at computers, hacking and the like. Is he good enough to locate the satellites and effectively disable them?”

“I don’t know. We have to stop Maas first, then gain access to his data and programs. There are a lot smarter people than me who could make that happen. They chose me for this job because of my looks and combat skills.” He grinned.

“Same.” Giva reached out and brushed the lock of hair that had fallen over Dax’s forehead. “But you’re much better looking than Evan Maas.”

“Flattery will get you anywhere you want to go.”

Giva trailed her fingers from his forehead, across his temple and down to follow the line of his jaw to his mouth. “What if I want to stay here?” she whispered and leaned in to press her lips to his.

His arms tightened around her, crushing her to his chest as he claimed her lips in a hungry kiss.

She opened to him, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust. For a moment, she forgot where she was and the danger they faced. She pushed the weight of the world to the back of her mind and lost herself in the kiss.

When he finally raised his head, he smiled down at her.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about that king-sized bed and a rain check.”

“We have to get out of here alive before you can collect on that rain check,” she said.

Dax nodded, his smile fading. He glanced around the desk, skirting to the door the guards had gone through.

“Has it been long enough?” she asked, not ready to leave his arms, but knowing they couldn’t stay hidden forever. “Do you think they’ll come back?”

“They’ve been gone a while. Maybe they’re outside, searching the streets for us,” he suggested.

“If that’s the case, that would make four less guards we have to fight our way through.”

He nodded. “A pistol and a stun gun aren’t much when we’re up against guards armed with submachineguns and military-grade rifles.”

A heavy weight settled on her chest. “We’re going back to the command center, aren’t we?”

“I’m going back. I need you to stay here and watch for the opportunity to get out when you can. You have to get to the team and let them know what we found.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere without you. We’re partners in this gig.”

He captured her face between her palms. “Twenty-five million people need one of us to get out and spread the word. I’m going back to do what I can to stall or stop Maas from starting World War III. Promise me you’ll get out and let the team know what’s happening…? I need to know you’ll do this.”

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