Page 18 of Under Pressure

“What the fuck did you do?” Hunter’s voice hit her from the side. “You could have gotten hurt or worse, Kendra.”

She turned to him, struggling for words. He was shooting looks between her and Delta, who was momentarily distracted, fielding questions from his boss.

“I-I didn’t do anything,” she stammered to Hunter in disbelief.

Delta spun, apparently realizing she was getting grilled. His shoulders tensed as he shot Hunter a fierce look.

“Is there a problem here?”

Hunter stepped in between her and Delta, snarling. “Yeah, there’s a fucking problem. You almost killed her.”

“I did, did I?” Delta remained cool, studying his opponent.

“I’m taking her home.” Hunter grabbed at her arm.

“Sit the fuck down.” Delta took one intimidating step closer.

“Fucking SEALs.” Hunter fell back, grumbling as he released her. “She’s my fucking sergeant. Who is she to you?”

“She ain’t yours like that.” Delta squared himself, planting his body firmly in between them.

Before Hunter could counter, Inspector Hall spun back around, looking between the three of them. Kendra wondered if he saw what she saw—a protective SEAL and a retreating staff sergeant.

As she cast a side glance at Delta, he shot her a mysterious grin, like he had something up his sleeve. There was something glinting in his eyes. Then, he stood to his full height, confident and solid, calling out over the crowd.

“First round’s on me, boys,” Delta boomed, and his announcement was met by cheers.

She slipped the rappel belt off her shaking thighs, wanting to disappear.

“You need to refuel. Dinner?” Delta said down to her, pressuring her to accept. “Come on.”

“I—” Kendra started, searching for words. “I shouldn’t—”

He crossed his arms, scowling down his nose at her in his ‘don’t fuck with me’ way—both intimidating and stirring. He was simply undeniable.

She bit her lip as she grew the courage to ask him, “Why did you help me?” She nodded back to the obstacle course. “You were the only one—and I just want to know why you did it?”

“You don’t know?”

A little grin tugged one side of his mouth up, exposing his row of straight white teeth. Dipping his head and locking eyes with her, he demanded, “Just come.”

Her lips parted at the words, a hot pink flush running up her face. Did he mean to say it that way? She stirred, nearly jumping out of her skin. He curled his lips at her reaction, and Kendra knew then exactly what his game was. It was just that under his gaze, something inside her felt electrified. It was the something inside that had been alone, lost in her books for too long.

He wanted her to trust him.

And so, she cautiously accepted his invitation.

Chapter Eight

Present day

“I’m starting to get the feeling you really wanted to know what was in that blood.” Lily leaned against the lab counter, fiddling with test tubes while side-assessing Kendra.

Kendra exhaled slowly, knowing it was true. “But it’s not possible now, is it? We didn’t get enough of a sample, and I’ve lost the glove now. It’s gone.”

She bit her lip, hating how the glove had suspiciously disappeared in the car accident days before. She’d had the repair shop search her car for anything left inside, but its absence only led her to one conclusion. Delta had taken it back.

Lily grinned, looking down into the microcentrifuge between them. “Well, you may not have the glove, but we still have that small sample.”

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