Secret Agent Under Fire. Geri Krotow

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СКАЧАТЬ work out there this morning, Abi.” He didn’t look up from the report he studied, and he waved at his coffeepot. “Don’t drink that crap from the break room. Have some real joe.”

      “Thanks, this is fine for now.” They had to be in the briefing room in less than twenty minutes and she needed a comfortable spot to sit more than she needed a cup of better brew.

      Rio and Abi were the only Trail Hikers on the case at the moment, if she didn’t count the police chief. As such, they took pains to keep to the storyline that Abi was a contractor hired to help with the arson cases. Her prior experience as FBI wasn’t a secret and served her alibi well, as she posed as simply an arson expert. As the case was almost certainly entwined with the cult, it made her presence more validated. Since the FBI was being called in to work with SVPD to take out the True Believer Cult once and for all, no one questioned Abi’s role. And better, no one suspected she was part of anything clandestine.

      “Close the door for a minute, will you?” Rio spoke quietly and she knew he needed to talk about something Trail Hiker–related.

      “Sure.”

      Once the door was closed Rio leaned forward, his forearms on his cluttered desk. “I can’t afford for you to be exchanging barbs with Keith Paruso. I’m pretty sure he’s aware of Trail Hikers, abstractly, but he doesn’t have any official knowledge of the agency. As much as this case may necessitate the need to pull him into TH, with his compliance, we’re still obligated to maintain our cover story.”

      “I get that, Rio.” She tried to not let him see how stung she was by his statement. Did he think she was going to jump in the sack with him and tell Keith whom she really worked for? “I understand what a security clearance is.”

      “It’s not about Keith as much as it’s about every other officer and firefighter who’ll never be part of TH, who don’t need to know about Trail Hikers and what we’re doing.”

      “Understood.” She dug her bottom teeth into the foam cup. It felt like her father, lecturing her for dating the wrong kind of boy. And she wasn’t considering dating Keith Paruso—she didn’t know the man.

      “Abi, I’m not saying this as any kind of reprimand. You’re the perfect Trail Hiker agent—Claudia doesn’t hire deadweight.” Claudia Michele, the former US Marine Corps General who was the Trail Hiker CEO, had been a tough sell when Abi had reported for her initial interview. Even though Abi had been recruited for the interview by the government shadow agency, she’d still had to prove her worthiness to Claudia, both in the field and at the desk.

      “I didn’t take your comments personally, Rio. You’re not the first alpha male I’ve worked for, you know.”

      He smiled. “Alpha male? What the hell does that mean? Is that like some kind of millennial code for ‘dickhead’?”

      She laughed. “God, I’ve missed laughing with teammates since I left the FBI. It was the best choice for me, to make a change and come here to Silver Valley, but this kind of camaraderie is rare in the civilian world.”

      Rio grunted. “I’ve found it to be nonexistent, frankly. Law enforcement is a family, for sure.”

      “Working for Colt Todd has to be enjoyable at times, doesn’t it?”

      Rio’s eyes flashed. “Chief Todd’s the best, hands-down. And you know he’s fully invested with the Trail Hikers, too, but more on a need-to-know basis.”

      Abi grunted. “From what I’ve seen, he’s more than interested in Claudia.”

      Rio’s eyes sharpened. “Don’t be so quick to judge, Abi. All of us in Silver Valley end up working very closely together. It’s inevitable that the dangerous circumstances and heroics required to keep Silver Valley safe lead to deeper relationships off the clock.”

      “Like you and Kayla.”

      Rio’s expression faltered and she saw a red tinge on his cheekbones. He-man, detective and Trail Hiker team lead was blushing over his woman?

      “Yes.”

      “I’m sorry, Rio, I didn’t mean to fluster you, for God’s sake.”

      “Save it. You know you fit in almost too well here, don’t you, Abi?”

      “Maybe. How did you meet Kayla?” Rio’s girlfriend was a local florist Abi had met at the SVPD police picnic last week. Before the arson case had escalated.

      Rio’s smile disappeared and his jaw tensed. “At a murder scene. The second time.”

      “Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Rio.”

      “It wasn’t a personal friend of either of ours, but by the time we closed the case Kayla had been shot at, more than once.”

      “She sounds pretty tough.”

      “That she is.” The look of bemusement and absolute adoration that changed Rio’s demeanor from grim to grateful shot stabs of jealousy through Abi. Would she ever elicit that kind of emotion from a man?

      She sure hadn’t in DC: all the more reason to consider her relocation to Silver Valley permanent. As the song said, a change might do her good.

      A short rap on Rio’s office door interrupted her thoughts and was the only warning they had before the door opened and Keith Paruso entered.

      “Hey, Rio, great work—” He cut himself off as he took in Abi’s presence. “Abigail.”

      “I’ve already told you, Chief, it’s ‘Abi.’” She stood and held out her hand. “Nice to see you again.”

      “Right.” Despite the doubt in his reply he took her hand, and she had to admit she wasn’t impartial to the heat, the damned sexual electricity that she felt engulf her as fully as his hand enveloped hers. “Only if you call me Keith.”

      “Fine. Keith.” She smiled and sat back down. Keith didn’t take a seat but stood near Rio’s desk as he greeted Rio.

      Damp hair and the pungent scent of soap weren’t all that told her he’d gone home and had a quick shower. His worn but clean jeans and collared shirt emphasized his broad shoulders and how his torso tapered to the waist of his unbelted jeans, where she noted he had a button fly.

      Oh, God, was there anything sexier than a man in button-fly jeans?

      Can it, Redland. Rarely had she become involved with a fellow officer or agent on any case. It seldom ended well and, in her case, it had been disastrous. A flash of memory had her in the stifled surroundings where a drug dealer’s last stand had cornered her and Frederick. Fred, the one man she’d ever thought she could make a life with...

      Until he’d married said drug dealer’s daughter, after freeing her from the clutches of the crime ring.

      “That’s where Abi comes in. Abi?”

      “Abigail. You’re up.” Keith’s hand was on her bare forearm, his breath whispering over her cheeks as she looked up at him. She looked at his hand, strong and warm against her skin. His face revealed nothing save professional courtesy and collegial concern. But his eyes flickered with—patronizing glee. Wait, did he think he was doing her СКАЧАТЬ