With Honor. Rhonda Lee Carver

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СКАЧАТЬ confused him as his brother. Identical twins, he and his brother always had been mistaken for each other. In fact, as teens, they’d taken each other’s spots on dates just to see if they could get by with it. They’d done everything together, including getting matching tattoos when they joined the Air Force.

      A lot had transpired since his brother did the piece for the magazine. Shane had been deployed for secret duty, disappearing in days, suspected of foul play. After pleading with higher ups, Shawn was brought in to cover as Shane. Shawn had left deployment, come to Lackland, and took up as Shane.

      Shawn didn’t believe for a second that his brother had been involved in any illegal activity. Reports said he’d taken a trip off course and then crashed. He hadn’t been heard from since. Shane had also been blamed for stealing secret maps and information from the government. Shawn knew Shane as well as he knew himself, and both of them bled red, white and blue. Neither if them would ever do anything to hurt their country.

      And now, coincidentally, this strange lady showed up with a story of how Shane slept with her. How could he trust that this woman told the truth about the circumstances? How could he trust anyone right now? He didn’t know her. Yet, she knew private details about his brother.

      Maybe he should tell her that he wasn’t Shane. But he couldn’t possibly, even if she deserved to know. The best he could do was try to convince her to chalk the experience up to a lesson learned and move on. Then he could get back out with the boys and see if any of them had any pertinent details.

      Before Shawn could open his mouth to persuade her to leave, a loud thud sounded at the door. “Hey in there!”

      Jasmine didn’t move a muscle. She just stared at him. Whatever his brother had done, he’d definitely burned his bridge with this woman. Shawn decided the knock might just be his savior. “Are we going to hold the toilets hostage much longer?”

      She shrugged one arm of her sweater down her shoulder, giving a subtle, but enticing view, of cleavage. Shawn had an arcane thought. He’d have liked to meet her under different circumstances. Too bad he didn’t have the time now, and she’d met his brother first. Shane had the natural ability to draw women in just to piss them off when things turned sour. This wasn’t the first time Shawn had gotten stuck fixing a mess.

      “You tell me, Shane. I’m more than willing to occupy this space for as long as it takes.” She tapped her heel against the tiled floor. The loud popping sounds echoed off the walls.

      He pushed away from the sink. “As long as it takes for what?”

      Pound pound pound. “Conner, what the fuck you doing in there? I gotta piss, man.”

      Shawn recognized the voice. “Hold your horses, Johnson.” He kept his gaze steady on the feuding woman. Shawn didn’t like getting wrapped up in feelings, or his brother’s relationships, but a part of him felt sympathy for this woman. “How about you list me as an ignorant son-of-a-gun, count your blessings that it was only one night, and head back home,” he urged in his gentlest tone. Sure, he’d never been the best person to comfort anyone, but when her bottom lip trembled he had a feeling he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear.

      She glanced around the room as her pert nose wrinkled. “This is not a place I’d have chosen to tell you. But how choosy can I be? I wasn’t too choosy when I met you.” Her eyes narrowed down his body.

      “Tell me what?” Again, the door rattled under Johnson’s wrath. Shawn ignored it. What was the holdup with what she had to say? What was so hard to tell him? He didn’t have all damned night.

      Her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something, but must have thought better of it. Finally, she blurted, “Why would you renounce the interview I did for you?”

      His heart skipped a beat. Another mystery. “I guess I thought it was best.”

      “You sent a letter to the editor of the magazine saying you felt the interview depicted you unfairly and inaccurately. The editor nixed the interview because you didn’t respond when our researchers tried to call you.”

      His chest tightened. “I’m surprised you didn’t go ahead and run the story.”

      Shaking her head, she sniffed loudly. “No. As I had told you, but I’m sure you can’t remember, our magazine got a lot of bad reviews after we were accused of falsifying information about a certain political figure. The editor didn’t think this would improve our reputation.”

      Shawn buried his forehead in his palm. When one thing failed, all else tended to follow. He wasn’t sure if the article and then the recanting had anything to do with his brother’s disappearance, but he sure couldn’t rule it out. “You came all this way to tell me this?”

      She hesitated. “Not exactly–”

      “I’m gonna break this fucking door in,” Johnson bellowed.

      “Not exactly? What do you mean–” The room shook under his feet, literally. The mirrors clanged and the soap dish on the sink vibrated and fell to the floor, cracking into pieces.

      “I didn’t expect that reaction,” Jasmine whispered.

      “This’ll teach you a lesson not to hold a man hostage in the bathroom.” The room continued to shake from an earthquake, unless her temper had literally raised the roof. Grabbing her by the elbow, he tugged her behind him and shoved her against the wall. He braced his large body against hers to protect her if the roof should come tumbling down. Who knew if the building could withstand a tremor? “First freaking earthquake in who knows how long and it happens at a time like this.” He gritted his teeth.

      His intention wasn’t to get personal with her, but he did notice how good her petite frame and full breasts felt against his chest. His cock stiffened. Damn. Under the circumstances, that wasn’t nice. He felt embarrassed…almost.

      Her amazing eyes came up and she looked at him. “Uhhh…is this your way of getting fresh?” She pressed her hands against his chest and gently pushed. “I’d never fall into that trap again.”

      He looked down at her, waylaid by the sweetest scent he’d ever smelled. “Yeah, this is my MO. I planned with Mother Nature ahead of time for an earthquake so when a beautiful woman came along I wouldn’t have to come up with a jazzy pickup line.” So much for protecting her. “I’m being a gentleman and keeping you safe. Who the hell knows how sturdy this building is?”

      “Beautiful?”

      “Nice. We’re standing here in the men’s restroom, amidst a tremor and the only word you picked up in an entire paragraph is the part where I called you beautiful.”

      Her eyes warmed and her lips parted slightly. The look could give a man a serious hard-on, if he didn’t already have one.

      “You could be a little more concerned about your well-being than trying to sleep with me again.” He partially teased.

      The icy stare returned. “Let me ask, does it take a lot of work to be a cold-hearted snake, or do you think this makes you more attractive?”

      “Lady, you’re the one who took me hostage in a bathroom. I’d call that overreacting. We could have sat down over coffee, with Xanax for you.”

      Her jaw tightened. “Of all the low-down, pathetic things СКАЧАТЬ