Page 45 of Edge of Danger

They were stopped at a red light, and he had the grace to look genuinely regretful as he glanced over at her. “You’re right. I should have. I’m sorry.”

Dammit, he even apologized well!

Frustrated all to pieces, she searched for and found a kernel of suspicion in her gut that he was playing on her emotions. Hell, playing her. He was an ex-SEAL, after all. That bunch was traditionally known to dislike the idea of equality for women in the Special Forces field.

She subsided against the seat, thinking hard. She reviewed their interactions from the time they’d met, looking for signs that Ian thought she didn’t belong in the field with him. Examples were abundant, now that she stopped to think about it. The way he kept charging to her rescue over and over was proof enough. As if she couldn’t take care of herself and needed a big, strong man to barge in and haul her out of danger. Shecouldtake care of herself, damn it.

He guided the truck into the upscale neighborhood surrounding embassy row as if he had a destination in mind. “Where are we going?” she finally asked.

“To see a hacker.”

“A computer hacker? Why?”

“All we’ve got right now is a money trail. Since I had to stick around the Scientist’s house to pull you out of the fire instead of following him, I lost his physical trail.”

There it was. The subtle dig about having to save her. Was he even aware he was doing it? “You didn’t have to come into that house after me. I could’ve gotten out on my own.”

“Oh yeah? How long would it have taken you to figure out the house was burning down over your head? We barely made it out alive as it was, and only because I dragged you out of there against your will.”

“When that far section of the basement ceiling collapsed, I would’ve caught on pretty fast.”

“You didn’t want to leave even after that happened. If I hadn’t been there and forced you to leave, you would’ve stuck around too long in that basement collecting evidence. And when you got upstairs, you didn’t know which way to go to get out. Face it. I saved you. You and your evidence would have burned up without me.”

Yup, she had been right to suspect his motives. He didn’t like women doing his job. Well, that was just tough. Eyes narrowed and jaw tight, she asked, “Who’s the hacker?”

“We’re here. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

They’d parked behind one of many multi-story brick row houses. In this part of town, these big old structures had mostly been converted to condos. They stepped inside a building, and sure enough, a lobby and elevator waited inside.

Ian punched a number code into the pad in the elevator, and it lurched into motion. He must know this hacker pretty well to have the elevator code to the guy’s place. Maybe the hacker was a woman. That would explain the stud muffin ex-SEAL having the code.

Damn him! Now he had her jealous over some random woman he’d slept with! He’d gotten way inside her head without her even noticing.Begone from my mind, Ian McCloud.

God. If only it was that easy to quit thinking about him. Or to quit craving sex with him.

The elevator door opened at the top floor and Ian knocked on the lone, snazzy stainless steel door that occupied this smaller lobby. Penthouse, then. The door buzzed and opened, and a petite blond flew through it, launching herself at Ian with a squeal of delight.

Hehadbrought her to see one of his other conquests. Seriously? A knife of…something painful…twisted in her gut and she pasted on a polite smile out of long habit.

The blond finally unwrapped herself from around Ian enough for her feet to touch the ground.

Piper was staggered to see the change in him. Genuine happiness lit his face and…crap…love shone in his eyes. Helovedthis woman.

The knife completed gutting her and she felt her heart and entrails spilling out onto the ground as she stood there. Was he effingmarried? Her brain exploded into swearing and mental hair tearing. Surely, he wouldn’t have the gall to bring her to meet his goddamned wife?—

“Piper, this is Katie. My baby sister.”

Sister. Oh holy fuck. Hissister.

Thank God. She was actually hyperventilating a little. Piper shook herself mentally and took a belated step forward, holding out a hand to Ian’s sister. “Ian’s talked about you. And I’ve heard of you from André. I’m an aid worker for Doctors Unlimited.”

“Awesome!” Katie looked back and forth between her and Ian observantly. It wasn’t like she would see anything going on between them. Ian had pretty much taken care of that when he’d broken into her room in Djibouti. “Come on in.”

Piper restrained a gasp as they stepped into a magnificent and modern space. If this was what the future of interior design looked like, she was all for it. “Wow. This place is gorgeous,” she blurted.

Katie looked around fondly. “Alex decorated it. But I wouldn’t change a thing.” She bent down to scoop up a lime green plastic thing that looked like an oversized tablet computer. “Except for adding more baby toys.”

“Where is my little princess?” Ian asked, looking around expectantly.

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