Read Online Running Hot by Helenkay Dimon - Free Book Online

your cover is going to be blown. We probably have two days.”
    Instead of getting angry or flipping into denial mode, she nodded. “Maybe less.”
    Of course she handled the news fine. That’s what she did. Danger didn’t appear to shake her. She didn’t whine or complain. She adjusted and moved forward.
    That didn’t mean she liked him. Unfortunately. “Don’t blame me for being found out.”
    â€œI want to.”
    Her grumbly voice made him smile. “I can tell.”
    She looked through the binoculars again. “Is this the part where you tell me to leave the island for my safety?”
    â€œNo.” As if he’d turn away competent help. The CIA might not approve of a joint international operation on this job because of the little problem of losing sight of the missiles, but his boss wasn’t here to whine about protocol, so cooperation was happening. “This is where I point out our window to grab Tigana just tightened. Someone will put the pieces together and figure out you aren’t who you say you are, which means figuring out there are people on this island who might just be here for Tigana.”
    â€œHe could move.”
    Probably inevitable but not Ward’s biggest problem. “Worse, he could start the military coup early, and then we’re all fucked, which is why you’re staying instead of jumping on a plane back to London.”
    She slowly lowered the binoculars. “But you CIA guys get the credit, right?”
    The woman had a thing about the CIA. Ward vowed to break her of that. “I’m not sure why you think I’m keeping score.”
    â€œYou want to be able to go back to Langley and tell everyone you took down Tigana.” Her expression stayed blank. “Isn’t that the goal here?”
    She didn’t get him at all. “I want to leave this country with the Stinger missiles secure.”
    The idea of a wild card narcissist using stolen weapons to shoot down planes and destabilize a country scared the shit out of Ward. Once that war started, Fiji would turn into a battleground. Drunk with power, Tigana could go anywhere after that. He held too many missiles to be ignored. This was a die-to-get-the-job-done assignment.
    â€œYou’re saying the missiles are your only concern here.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
    Looked like they’d need to find some time to work on her trust issue. Damn. “That’s the assignment.”
    â€œAre we saying the same thing?”
    â€œYes.” And they needed to start now. With the SUV uncovered, the countdown had begun. “We need to get secure so I can contact Ford.”
    â€œI have a place.”
    Now she said that. “Of course you do.”
    â€œIt’s nothing fancy or even all that secure.” Wiggling on her stomach, she pulled back from the edge of the hill. “But you could be more grateful.”
    â€œFair enough.” But she wasn’t the only one who could make demands. “Once our location is secure, you should get ready to tell me why you’re so worried about me taking credit for this job.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    No way was she that clueless. “See, Tasha, if we’re going to work together, we’re going to have to trust each other.”
    She shrugged as she dragged her body farther out of viewing range. “Not necessarily.”
    Crawling on his elbows, he followed her. Once they made it down into a dip and were surrounded by trees again, he lifted off the ground but stopped at a squat while balancing on the balls of his feet. “Right. You only need to trust me if you plan to get out of this alive.”
    â€œIs that another goal?” After one last scan of the area, she stood up and reached a hand down toward him.
    He grabbed on and jumped to his feet. “Always.”
    â€œThen tell me the truth.” She didn’t drop his hand or move back. “How many