“What do you want?” she asked.
“We have to talk.”
“No, we don’t. You’re not my training instructor anymore. You can’t punish me or humiliate me or tell me I’m not good enough. I made it,
He stared at her, his dark eyes as unreadable and bottomless as the road to hell. “Who do you think told Danville you were the best recruit we’d hired in years?”
“Wh-what?”
He grabbed her elbow. “Which room?”
“801.”
He steered her down the wide, silent hallway, then waited while she fumbled with the plastic card key.
The corner room was a mini-suite with a king-size bed, a sitting area and a wet bar. She’d been told not to expect this kind of treatment during all her stays in the capital, but this time was special. She’d graduated and survived her assignment. This was her reward.
Once inside, Zach led her to the sofa in the corner. She sat down, still trying to absorb his words. He’d told Danville she was the best recruit?
“But you hate me,” she said, glancing up at him.
One corner of his mouth turned up in a decent facsimile of a smile. “Yeah. More and more each day. That’s why I rode you so hard, Sanders. To make you drop out.”
“Well,
“I said women had problems they had to overcome. You only heard what you wanted to hear. You made it personal, Sanders. You always do.”
Moving with the liquid grace she’d always admired, he sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. They both had long legs. Her knees were together; his were apart. If she slid to the edge of her seat, her knees would brush against his inner thighs. The intimacy of their positions startled her. Suddenly it was difficult to breathe.
Zach didn’t seem to notice. He leaned closer and grabbed her right hand. He stared at the raw sores on her wrist.
“Hurt?” he asked.
“Yeah. They gave me a medicated cream. It should help me heal pretty quickly, and I probably won’t have a scar.”
His touch was surprisingly gentle…as it had been in the jungle. His fingers brushed against her skin, sending a powerful current humming up her arm. She felt her eyes widen and she glanced down so Zach wouldn’t see.
No, she told herself. She wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of him. He must never know that she admired and respected him, and that she had spent countless hours of training seminars staring at his butt.
He released her hand, and she nearly whimpered in protest.
“I wasn’t pleased about having a woman in my class,” he said. “I’d had them before. Too much work and trouble. They slept with all the guys and stirred up resentments. Besides, only one had ever passed the obstacle course in the time allowed.”
“I almost didn’t.”
“You worked your butt off for it, Sanders, and I respected that. You know when I knew you were going to make it?”
He respected her? The elation was powerful enough to make her giddy. She kept her gaze firmly on the small square of carpet visible between their feet and struggled for control.
“No, sir,” she said quietly.
“When I came out of the forest on a run one morning and saw you practicing. Sleep is a premium during training, but you gave up some so you could practice. Why do you think I helped you in the gym?”
She looked at his face. “You helped me? On purpose?”
He shrugged. “You had determination. I wanted you to succeed.”
“But you were so hard on me.”
“I was hard on everyone, Sanders. Who do you think granted your appeal on the obstacle course?”
She stared at him. Had she been misreading him the whole time? She thought for a moment, then voiced the question that had troubled her for days. “Did you really request me on the mission?”
“Yes, and I’m glad I did.”
He stood up and in the blink of an eye, the pleasant man she’d been speaking with disappeared. He placed his hands on his hips and glared down at her. “What the hell were you thinking? You let some snot-nose macho kid take charge when you
His quick change in personality left her gasping. “I…I…”
“Well? Explain it. You’re smarter than most of the agents. They’re not going to like you for it, Sanders. So what? Get over it. Do your job. You’re no good to the agency if you’re dead.”
She sprang to her feet. “I made a mistake.”
“You’re not allowed mistakes. Why did you do it?”
“I thought I could keep track of where we were.”
He leaned toward her. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I-” Her eyes began to burn. Dammit, he wasn’t going to make her cry. “Rick’s a friend of mine. I didn’t want to make him feel bad, okay?”
“Not okay.” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“Never okay. If you know you’re right, be right. Follow your instincts. When the skin on the back of your neck crawls, do something about it. If Rick or any other man is heading in the wrong direction, speak up. Use your brain, your intuition and every other ability you’ve been given. Because if you don’t, you die.”
She swallowed hard. “I was confused. I didn’t know why he was acting like that.”
Zach leaned closer, until she could feel his breath on her face. “He acted like a jerk because I ordered him to. It was a test and you failed.”
She brought her hands up and knocked them against his forearms, pushing his hands off her shoulders. She stepped back because the alternative was to slug him high and hard in the rib cage, just as her track coach had taught her. One part of her mind noted that Zach let her break his hold. She knew he could have taken her easily.
“Bastard,” she said, her voice low and angry. “Who gave you the right to play games with my life?”
“My job. I suspected this would be a weakness for you. You failed the test this time, Sanders, but you’ll never fail it again.”
She was speechless. Betrayal, pain and anger all swirled together. He’d set her up. Worse, he’d used a friend to do it, damn him.
“Get out,” she ordered.
“Not yet. There’s one more piece of business we have to discuss.”
“I have nothing more to say to you.”
“Don’t blame Estes.”
She glared at him. “I don’t blame Rick. I blame you.”
She turned away and walked to the window. From here she had a view of the capitol, but she couldn’t see the historical building or even the traffic snarling below. She couldn’t focus on anything except the fact that Zach had set her up.
She wasn’t mad at Rick. He’d just been following orders. But Zach. She’d hoped for something else from him. She grimaced and stared at the view. Funny how the broken dreams still had the power to hurt her.
“I did it because you can be more,” he said quietly. “You can be the best. Rick will stay with explosives. He’ll be a good man to have on a team, but he’ll never do the thinking.”
“Oh, and I will?”
“Maybe. Go ahead and be mad at me all you want. Just don’t forget what you learned. Next time I might not be there to rescue you.”
“May I remind
“I know.”
His voice was gentle. Too gentle. She felt her defenses slipping away. She tried to hold on to her anger, but it faded, leaving her vulnerable.
