“I’m getting ready to shoot a video. What you’re doing here is the real question,” she said, a polite smile stretched her mouth as her eyes flicked from her uncle back to him.
“Trying to have a career. And not have your uncle shoot my balls off,” he said.
“I think you might be overreacting a little—Uncle Mac’s not in charge of my love life. And I thought you were just a surfer.”
“And I thought you were out of the country, so we were both wrong. And the admiral can never know about any of this, surfing or beyond, especially because I enjoy life. So we’re going to pretend that night never happened,” he said, plastering a fake grin onto his face and nodding, like they were having a pleasant conversation about the weather. “That’s the story we’re sticking to.”
“I never do things like that.”
“I know. You mentioned it.”
“I mean, I don’t usually sleep with men on the first date.”
“It wasn’t exactly a date,” he said, and she crossed her arms and stared at him. “Well, hell, technically it wasn’t a date because I don’t do dates or flowers or romance or any of that other junk. So if that’s what you’re looking for, or expecting, you came to the wrong place.”
“Is that your motto or something?”
“My motto, in my private life, is, if it feels good, do it. And you definitely felt good to me, Rina, but we won’t be having a repeat performance.”
“No, we won’t,” she said assuredly. Same old, same old. Her instincts that intimated he might be different must’ve been skewed by the Mai Tais and fantastic sex. Both should come with stronger warning labels: Objects appear more stable than they really are.
“I didn’t mean…oh,” he said, because he could tell he’d hurt her, and she hated that she was so transparent. “You said it yourself—what happened would only happen that one night.” When she still didn’t answer him, he started to mutter how this was never going to work.
She wasn’t about to let him screw her up again. After a deep breath and some refocusing on her ultimate goal, she pushed the hurt back and got on track. “The Navy’s given me one month to complete the film on the SEALs,” she said. “And I can find my own way around. I was on base back in August. Uncle Mac wanted to introduce me to his old team then, but—”
“We were OUTCONUS,” he finished for her. “We’d just returned, and I went straight to Hawaii.”
“I’m a grown-up girl, Cash. We can get through this. It’s strictly a professional relationship.”
He nodded, and she wondered why that didn’t make her happy at all. It was what she wanted, what she needed to happen for this job to work, but would it be too much to ask that he get on his knees and beg for one more night?
“So, I’ll need an area where the crew can set up without getting in everyone’s way,” she said, consulting the list she’d made over the past half hour because it was time to get back to all-business. Especially because that Cash-on-his-knees thing wasn’t panning out at all.
“Crew? I don’t want a crew around here. From what I heard, it was just you when you shot the Marine video.”
She bit back a small smile of victory at his words. He’d been checking up on her. Asking around. “This is different. I couldn’t possibly do this alone.”
“You’ll do it with a skeleton crew, then,” he said.
“You’re not my boss.”
“Actually, in this case I am. This is my base, my team, especially while my CO and senior chief are tied up.”
“But it’s my project.”
“Not without my cooperation.”
“I was already promised the Navy’s full cooperation, remember?”
He didn’t answer, instead, he remained stoic with his arms folded across his chest and stared her down. He was really, really good at that, and she made a mental note to ask if that was a Navy SEAL thing, or only Cash’s thing. Either way, it would look hot on film because he appeared a living, breathing wall of man even though he was going to make all of this very difficult.
She wasn’t about to give him a second opportunity to ruin her chances at catching this grant by the tail. And so she smiled, let her gaze trail from his feet all the way up to his face.
He shifted slightly, and his jaw was clenched when she finally met his eyes. “What are you doing?” he asked.
She shrugged innocently. “Just thinking about Hawaii.”
His expression didn’t change, but his voice lowered. “You wouldn’t. You said it yourself, that you couldn’t tell him.”
“I’ve got a lot less to lose than you if I talk about Hawaii,” she reminded him. She looked pointedly between his legs and this time he blanched visibly. “And I’ve got a lot more to lose if I don’t get this piece done.”
“You’re still pissed that I didn’t sign that release.”
“I don’t hold grudges, Lieutenant.”
“You’re still so freakin’ uptight, Rina,” he said.
“And I suppose you still think you’re the person to change that.” Instinctually, she’d moved closer to him because the answer had to be yes, was yes, even though she’d never admit that to him. Not again, anyway.
“You weren’t uptight when you were in my arms, begging for more,” he reminded her, his voice rough and full of all sorts of reminders. But she still had the upper hand.
“I think I’ll go have lunch with my uncle.”
He sighed, unfolded his arms and ran a hand through his hair in frustration and she knew she had him. For now, at least. “You. Zoot. Stella.”
“I’ll need someone for lighting,” she said, and he narrowed his eyes. “Zoot’s assistant is named Keith.”
“Fine. But you’re doing most of the work. They can be here for the last few days, but you alone are doing the entire prelim. My CO would not be happy if he knew I was letting you traipse all these people in front of a high-security team,” he said, knowing he hadn’t been able to remain in control of the scene at all. His team would kill him when Rina waltzed in with her staff, no matter how small of a gang it was.
“Cash, can I see you for a second?” Mac called, motioned for him to step out into the hallway. Cash turned and nodded, did a quick sweep of the area for an easy escape route and gave Mac a once-over for weapons. None apparent, but that didn’t mean anything. Mac was a master at concealed weapons.
But there were too many witnesses in the hallway and surrounding areas for Mac to do anything serious to him. Besides, Rina had sworn she hadn’t said anything to her uncle, but Mac always did have some kind of strange sixth sense.
“I don’t want to hear any of your bullshit, Cash,” Mac said without any preliminary discussion.
“O-kay,” he said slowly, not taking his eyes from Mac’s, but keeping his peripheral on Mac’s hands for any sudden movements.
“This video means a lot to Rina. She needs this to be a success. Apparently, some jerk on her last shoot screwed up the whole video and put her grant in jeopardy. She said he was one of those beach-bum types, and everything was all about him. Refused to sign the waiver and nearly ruined the film she was working on, too. Man, if I ever track that guy down—”
“So, this is important to her,” Cash interrupted, and dammit, did Rina not remember that he’d done everything in his power to help her? Jerk?
He’d never be able to figure women out.
“It’s very important to her,” Mac said. “Which means it’s important to me. Which means you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure she’s got the kind of access she needs. It’s up to you to make sure the team cooperates to the best of their ability, since Jason and Pat are tied up in meetings most of the week. I know I can trust you, Cash. The others will follow your lead.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, because there was nothing else he could say. Like a man down, but not defeated, he shook Mac’s hand and calculated how many ways a man could be tugged before he broke.
And, lucky him, he was about to find out.
MAC WATCHED Cash walk back toward the office where Rina was waiting. If anyone could get the team to go along with this idea, it would be Cash. He had that kind of infectious enthusiasm that made it impossible for anyone not to join in. When he was in the mood to be enthusiastic, of course. When he wasn’t in the mood, watch out. He could be hell on wheels and then some—grim, pessimistic and a general pain in the ass.
Not unlike Mac himself, which is probably why the two men got along so well.“You didn’t mention that your niece was dating Lieutenant Cashman,” his secretary, Nancy, whispered. She’d come up beside him, files in hand, and he wondered what he was going to do without her when she retired at the end of the year. But that thought was quickly pushed to the back of his mind when she mentioned Cash, Rina and dating in the same sentence. Christ, he hadn’t exactly put a ban on his niece, not in so many words, at least, but he’d hoped to hell that was understood.
“Dating? Rina and the lieutenant aren’t dating. He’s showing her around base,” he said, his voice gruffer than necessary. And that’s all Cash would be doing, if he had any sense at all. Which Mac knew he did, or else he’d never have made it this far in the Navy, in the SEALs, and in life.
“Oh.” She tilted her head and looked at Rina and Cash. “I’m usually not wrong about things like that. There was some kind of spark coming off the two of them when they were together, so I thought…”
“Rina’s not dating a military man. Definitely not a SEAL. Her mother would kill me, and I’m already on her bad side.”
“For the past ten years now.” Nancy smiled. “But dating a SEAL certainly worked out well for Jenny.”
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, Nancy. We didn’t date, remember?” He grabbed the files she held for him, the briefings he’d need to look over for the next day’s cases in order to get the wrap-up from all the lawyers under his charge.
“True. I guess I’m losing my touch,” she said, and went off to answer the constantly ringing phone, leaving him with the usual smile that slipped through whenever he thought about Jenny.
They hadn’t had a single date before they’d married, and they’d eloped toward the end of what had been an already long and wild night ten years ago next month.
Felt like yesterday…
“She’s the one looking for information about her brother’s death,” his buddy, Trey, had told him, shouting above the ever-present rock music in their usual hangout. “Marines won’t give her the time of day.”
“Never a good idea to let a civilian put his ass on the line,” Mac muttered, took a pull on his beer and wished he could help himself from staring at the pretty, petite blonde sitting at the corner of the bar. She looked sweet. Innocent. Like she didn’t belong here.
Granted, the way she was pounding beers and shots did make her look like she fit in, just a little, but the Grateful Dead tie-dyed T-shirt made her stand out strong in a sea of military camouflage.
“You’d better get her out of here, before she gets into trouble,” Trey said.
“When did I become the babysitter?” he demanded, and Trey laughed and pushed a beer at him.
“When you got promoted to XO,” he said. “Take care of her and I’ll meet you for a round of pool. Got to win some of my money back.”
He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and knew he looked nothing like an officer tonight, not in the scruffy jeans and T-shirt and the beard he hadn’t bothered to shave yet. His team had just come off a five-day training mission and R&R called him out hard. Besides, he’d never had any problems attracting women, scruff or no scruff.
But he wasn’t trying to attract this woman—he needed her to leave as much as she needed information regarding her brother, a journalist, killed when he was filming with the Marines on the outskirts of Zambia, which was soon to be called the DRC if the rebels had their way. And, in true military fashion, the family of the guy hadn’t been privy to much information at all regarding the circumstances surrounding the kill.
“Hey,” he said as took the stool next to her and slid onto it easily.
“Hey,” she replied, barely glancing at him. Her voice was throaty, sexy, not what he expected from the slim young woman with the biggest brown eyes he’d ever seen. Her hair was caught in a loose ponytail, and she brushed some stray wisps out of her eyes before she downed another shot of what looked like Jim Beam.
Damn, he could easily fall in love. “Look, I understand why you’re here…” he began, but she interrupted him almost immediately.
“Does everyone know who I am? What, do you guys tag the civilians when they enter this godforsaken town?”
“Only sometimes,” he said, but his attempt at a joke fell completely flat, especially when she held up a hand practically in his face. Obviously, she didn’t know he had the power to make grown men cry with a single look.
He had a feeling she wouldn’t care even if she did know.
“I’m not here to do any investigating,” she said, a bit too defensively, and damn she was pretty. And young. “I’m here to blow off some steam. I’m here to get drunk and find someone to take to bed.”
“I think you’re two for two,” he said, mainly because he couldn’t stand the thought of her taking anyone else in this bar back to her bed besides him. She started for a minute, then looked up at him and smiled.
“I am legal, you know.”
“I’m assuming you’ve got the ID to prove it.”
She smiled again, and yes, he was going to take her to bed tonight, and hopefully to a few other places she’d never been under the sheets. And sure, there were men around here who were younger than he was, and better-looking and laid out a better line of bullshit.
He didn’t need bullshit, and knew that it wasn’t bragging if you could back it up. And he could damned well back it up, on so many levels, and so much better than any man Jenny had ever met.
Hoo-yah.
“Admiral, the senator’s on the line for you. Something about tomorrow’s case,” Nancy was saying, having materialized by his side during his trip down memory lane. “And should I get Jenny on the line so you can say hi?” she asked with a smile.
He nodded yes, and then looked down the hall at where he supposed Cash and Rina were making plans for the first week of shooting. And then he looked back to Nancy, who smiled and shrugged, and he shook his head and went to talk to his wife.
7
HER UNCLE WALKED both Rina and Cash partway out to the lot where she’d parked her rental car, said his goodbyes and headed off to another meeting. She’d met Mac at his office, since he’d gone in much earlier than she needed to be on base, and after telling both men that she had to do some prelim work that was more important than a tour, Mac asked Cash to point her in the right direction.
Like that was going to happen.“Do you remember enough to backtrack to Mac’s house or should I write out the directions for you?” Cash asked once they were alone.
“I’m not staying at Mac’s. I’m checked in to the hotel in town,” she said, and he looked at her curiously.
“Why aren’t you staying with your uncle?”
“I’ve got Stella and the guys coming in—we’ve got too much gear and we’ll cause too much disruption. Once the filming gets underway, we’ll be working close to twenty-hour days. We had to get an extra room just to house the computer equipment we rented,” she explained.
“The film’s got to be completely finished before you leave?” he asked. She’d been busy looking around, anything but look at him again, since that’s where she tended to get in to trouble, and her eye caught on what might be a perfect pan-away shot for the opening sequence she’d been dreaming about for weeks. So when she answered him, it was in that slightly absent, “I’m working, here,” voice.
“No, not for my boss. But I’m on deadline for a grant proposal, so I’ve got to prepare a finished product to submit to the committee. And then I can go home and finish out the rest of the edits according to the way my bo
ss wants them done.”
“For the grant?” he asked, and then had to ask it again because she hadn’t been listening. “You really do space out when you work, don’t you?”
“I tend to. What did you ask me?”
“Are you subbing part of what you film here for your grant proposal?” he asked, and she nodded, slowly, because he didn’t look happy when he said those words. “So, you’re going to have two separate tapes, then? Two completely different videos?” he asked, his voice tinged with more than a hint of suspicion.
“Not really, no. The whole subject of this video ties in perfectly with my grant proposal.” Just like Hawaii.
Suddenly, she wished Mac didn’t have meetings, since she figured that any moment now she was going to need protection from her so-called protector.
“But the Navy’s got final say over the cut you’re showing to your boss, right?”
“Yes.”
“So who has final say over what you show the grant committee?”
She swallowed hard, because he’d busted her. “Look, I already agreed to the Navy’s rules. I’d never put anyone’s career on the line.”
“Rina, you’re going to have to show me a copy of the tape before it makes it to that committee. There’s no way I can risk any kind of sensitive information getting leaked. No way.”
He wasn’t kidding, and what was worse, he was right. She needed to learn to keep her mouth shut a little more often.
“Okay, okay. Fine. You can see the final cut.”
“In enough time for you to make changes without having a hissy fit?”
“I don’t have hissy fits.” It would mean she’d have to work even faster than she thought, but she’d do it. No choice. No pain, no gain.
But Cash wasn’t paying attention to her at the moment. Instead, he was checking his phone, which was beeping, and when he flipped the screen over he cursed softly under his breath.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Fine. Just missed a doctor’s appointment,” he said.
“Mac said you were hurt. How did that happen?”
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