He was on the verge of telling his conscience to go to hell when the elevator doors opened. He stepped inside and pushed the button for the lobby, then leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He only prayed Mackenzie Stone, the journalist, would drop her story and be content to be Mackenzie Stone, the woman. And soon. Because he didn’t think he could hold out much longer.
Chapter 7
“Did you even hear a word I just said?” Zak asked as they drove to the SWAT compound the next morning.
Mac gave herself a shake. “Yeah, of course I did.”
Zak raised a brow.
She felt her face color. Damn it. He could always tell when she was lying. “Okay, not all of it. Sorry. I was thinking.”
He gave her a sideways glance as he turned the news van onto the road that led to the SWAT compound. “About what?”
Gage. Or more precisely, the handsome SWAT commander’s promise—the one about the two of them making love all night. But she wasn’t going to tell Zak that.
She’d hardly slept a wink after Gage left. How could any woman expect to fall asleep when they were fantasizing about a man like that? She’d been so turned on she finally pulled out her vibrator for some relief. But unfortunately, the bunny didn’t keep going and going, and she was still unsatisfied. When she finally fell asleep, she’d alternated between dreams of making love with Gage and wondering why the hell she was so crazy for him. She’d never had it this bad for a guy in her life.
“Let me guess,” Zak said when she didn’t answer. “You’re not sure you want to keep investigating Gage and the SWAT team, right?”
Mac didn’t say anything. Besides the fact that investigating SWAT would probably end up being a waste of time, there was the bigger, ethical issue of writing a story about a man while she was desperately trying to get him into her bed.
People in her line of work called that a conflict of interest. She just called it stupid.
“Yeah,” she finally said. “I’ve been thinking that maybe there isn’t as much going on here as I thought.”
She waited for Zak to question where this sudden case of self-doubt was coming from. But he surprised her.
“I know I’m just your photographer, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re right. These guys seem clean to me.”
Mac stared at him. Who was this guy and what had he done with the real Zak? Because the Zak she knew never hesitated to call it like he saw it. Besides, he was more than her photographer.
“O-kay,” she said slowly. “I agree with you, but why do you think so?”
“I spent a lot of time with them yesterday while you were out shooting with Gage. And then I went out to some clubs and stuff with them last night.”
It was her turn to lift a brow. Zak didn’t usually go clubbing. And he especially didn’t go clubbing during Shark Week. “That must have been interesting.”
“Hey, I get out sometimes, you know. But I was just saying, they were really cool to hang with. They didn’t get drunk. Or stupid. We just sat around, had a few beers, and talked.”
“You’re telling me those guys went clubbing and all they did was hang out with you?”
“Well, they danced some, too. Actually, they danced a lot.” He frowned. “Women seem to gravitate to them for some reason. But the important thing is that we talked long enough for me to get a good feel for them. I really think they’re stand-up guys.”
She could have ragged Zak about his legendary instincts when it came to telling the difference between good guys and bad guys. But she didn’t because she knew he was right this time.
“Yeah, I think so, too.”
“So, what are you going to do?” he asked.
That was a damn good question. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just let the next few days play out. If you’re right and we don’t find anything, I’ll drop the story.”
His mouth edged up into a smile. “I’m guessing the fact that you’re attracted to Dixon sort of makes your decision a bit more complicated than it should be?”
Zak didn’t miss much. “When did you know?”
“The moment you walked out of the operations vehicle on Belmont the other day.”
She laughed. “Now you’re just making crap up. Even I didn’t realize I liked him at that point.”
Zak shook his head with a sigh. “You always were a little slow about that kind of stuff.”
Mac opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t slow, thank you very much, but the two SUVs heading out the gate just as they were pulling in stopped her. The big operations vehicle was right behind the first two vehicles. Gage leaned out of the window just long enough to tell her he was going on a call at a shopping mall in Arlington.
“Xander’s inside. He’s arranged for you to sit down and talk to some of the other guys.” Gage flashed her a smile. “I figured you’d want to get some background on someone besides me.”
Not really. But he was gone before she could even consider telling him that out loud, or try and invite herself along.
Mac climbed out of the news van and fell into step beside Zak. Maybe it would be a good idea to talk to a few of the other guys. Just to get a different perspective on her theoretical story. God knew she couldn’t focus on anything when Gage was around.
The rest of the team was waiting for her and Zak in the classroom in the training building. While they greeted her warmly—and fist-bumped Zak for bringing more donuts—there seemed to be a weird vibe in the room. Kind of like walking in a friend’s house after she
