Crossing the Line

by Candace Irvin

  The heck with Eve, he was the one who needed to relax.

  He turned to Anna, doubly anxious to get this over with.

  “The chopper? Our gear?”

  Anna leaned forward, adjusting a gold necklace as she got down to business. “It’s all set. A taxi will pick you up at the staff entrance at exactly 0400 tomorrow morning. You’ll be driven to a private airstrip. From there, you’ll be given the gear you requested and then you’ll board the Huey. Once the chopper inserts you both at the position you’ve requested, the pilot will head home and wait. You’ll have seventy-two hours to check in at the number keyed in on the cell phone he’ll provide you with. Don’t worry, it’s encrypted. You can fine-tune your extraction then.”

  “How?” He didn’t bother elaborating for either woman. They both knew exactly what he was asking.

  Anna stared at him for several moments, as if gauging how much she should tell him, how much she could.

  She finally nodded.

  “I’m sure Eve told you I’ve been staying with my cousin while I’m assigned down here. What she couldn’t have told you, because she didn’t know, is that my cousin has connections. Connections that aren’t exactly…respected. Once I downloaded the file containing the list of your requirements, it was obvious the best way to help you was not to go through the regular but obscure channels we discussed, but to go through my cousin. He’s agreed to help.”

  His earlier suspicion snapped back. A hundredfold.

  “Why?”

  Anna held his gaze steadily for several more moments, then shrugged. “Good question. Unfortunately, it’s one I can’t answer at the moment. What I can do is fulfill your request.” Her gaze narrowed, steadied. “Are you still interested?”

  He felt Eve’s thigh tense beneath his hand. She was afraid he was going to walk. He might. If he didn’t get the answers he needed. “What do we owe your cousin in return?”

  “Nothing.”

  He felt more than saw Eve blink.

  He just smiled. “Try again.”

  Anna glanced at Eve. “Is he always this suspicious?”

  “Yes.”

  He flicked his gaze to Eve, not so much surprised they’d answered in unison, but at her certainty. She flushed beneath his stare and shifted, sending his hands precariously close to the one spot it had no business seeking.

  Her flush deepened.

  So did the silken heat beneath his hand.

  As he inched his fingers away from the danger zone, he was aware that Anna’s wandering stare had once again moved beyond his shoulder. Had she anticipated his distraction when she formed her plans? Did she need it?

  If so, she’d gotten it.

  While he’d played this game many times before, he’d never done it with his hand a hair’s-breadth from the apex of Eve’s thighs. It was playing hell with his concentration.

  Eve was playing hell with his concentration.

  He shifted his hand once more, this time executing a full retreat. He hooked his arm around Eve’s shoulders instead and trailed his fingers down the curve of her neck. She tensed as he moved to trace her collarbone, as if absently. Her flesh was softer here, smoother, but cooler.

  His concentration returned.

  “Expecting someone?”

  Anna’s dark gaze shot to his. “Of course not.”

  “Then answer my question.”

  “Rick, please.”

  He ignored the hiss. Sorority sisters or not, even Eve couldn’t believe that some absentee cousin of Anna’s would be willing to front their entire mission without expecting something in return. He sure as hell didn’t. “Look, lady. I don’t care how good a friend you are. This guy may be your cousin, but he’s still a man. He’s not sticking his hand into a puddle this deep and this muddy without knowing he can fish out something he wants in return. Now, what do I owe him?”

  “I told you, nothing.”

  He tugged his arm from Eve’s shoulders and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet along with him as he stood. Just as he was about to reject Anna’s help and supplies, he caught sight of the sudden panic that snaked through her eyes.

  It must have been instinct.

  Before he realized his intent, he’d released Eve’s arm and spun around. Shock ripped through him as he stared.

  Recognized.

  There might be fifty feet and thirty-some-odd tables between them, but it was him all right. Just inside the bar, mingling with natives and tourists alike, stood the man Anna had been searching for all evening—Captain Tom Wild, U.S. Army. He was certain of it when Tom stared back.

  Openly.

  What the devil was Tom Wild doing here, in Panama City, with his hair five shades lighter than the color the good Lord had given him? Just don’t let him be on the job.

  But he was.

  The subtle twist of Tom’s hand confirmed his worst fears. Delta Force had a deep and abiding interest in the one woman to whom he’d spilled his plans to reinsert Eve and himself into Córdoba. Bloody hell. What was he going to do now?

  “Rick?”

  He ignored Anna’s query and turned to Eve. “I need to use the latrine. Be just a minute.”

  Eve stared in disbelief at Rick’s departing back.

  The latrine?

  They were finally in Panama, in the middle of solidifying plans that would either reinstate her career—or kill both of theirs—and he had to go to the bathroom? She watched, amazed as he reached the restaurant’s foyer and hung a left through the doorway that led to the rest rooms she’d noticed on her way in. She turned, only to become even more amazed at how much the man’s departure had transformed her friend.

  Though they hadn’t seen each other in two years, Eve could have sworn Anna had been on edge since she’d arrived.

  Was it coincidence?

  Or had Rick said something before she’d arrived that set her friend off? She knew Anna didn’t dislike him. She’d have picked up on that. Maybe Anna was suddenly nervous with how far she’d stuck out her neck on their behalf? Except, that didn’t make sense either. Anna had offered her help willingly.

  At any rate, she seemed fine now.

  But definitely concerned as they took their seats. “Are you sure you trust that man to guide you to your chopper?”

  “Yes.”

  She might have serious doubts about Rick’s sanity at the moment, but of his professional skills, she had none. It was strange. Her innate trust of the man on that level was as much a mystery to her as he was. Evidently it was a mystery to Anna as well, because she shook her head in disbelief.

  “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day—”

  “You haven’t.”

  Anna’s brows arched at her too-quick response, but she remained silent. Unfortunately, that secret smile Eve had gotten to know all too well in college spoke volumes.

  Eve frowned. “I mean it.”

  “Did I say you didn’t?”

  “No, but you were thinking it.”

  If anything, Anna’s smile deepened. “Wrong. I was thinking how much he wasn’t like your usual type.”

  There was no way she was going to touch that one.

  Mostly because it was true.

  She’d learned a long time ago to stick to guys who were overtly footloose and fancy-free. The ones who went into a relationship knowing they had no intention of staying and were honest about it were even better. It tended to save wear and tear on the heart when they lived up to their word instead of breaking it. She smiled brightly as she shook out her napkin and laid it on her lap. “So, what does a tourist have to do to get a menu around here?”

  Anna wisely took the hint. “We already ordered.” She lifted her hand. Moments later, a waiter appeared at their table, his bow slight but innately respectful.

  Odd.

  Especially given the way most of the native women had been treated by customs at the airport.

  “¿Señorita?”

  “La comida, por favor.”

  Another
bow, and the man retreated.

  “I asked him to bring dinner.” Anna lifted the bottle of spring water beside her plate and winked as she cracked the seal. “I know I said we ordered. I should have said he. Either your tastes have changed or this new guy of yours is desperately trying to fatten you up. Not—” She swept Eve’s face and torso frankly. “—that you couldn’t use a few more pounds.”

  Yup, Anna was definitely back to normal.

  “My tastes haven’t changed, and Rick Bishop is not my guy.” Eve shifted her scowl across the room to avoid another of those blasted secret smiles.

  Still no sign of Rick.

  Just how long did it take a Green Beret to powder his nose, anyway?

  Long enough to put this one in a better mood, she hoped.

  Speaking of the man’s mood, there was only one thing that stood a chance of improving it. An answer. She waited while Anna leaned over to retrieve her purse before asking the question. But as her friend straightened, she no longer needed to ask. As Anna adjusted her necklace, Eve spied the charm dangling from the end of her stunning gold necklace. With it, came her answer.

  She gasped.

  Seconds later Anna tucked the gold charm beneath the understated neck of her dress, but not before the ruby winked at Eve—a single telltale ruby that dripped like blood from the tip of a scorpion’s deadly stinger. The sight was more than enough to confirm her worst fears. No wonder Anna rarely mentioned her cousin. If she was wearing that scorpion, the man didn’t just have connections. He was the connection.

  Sweet Mother in Heaven. “Rick was right. We’re going to owe—”

  Anna’s hands shot out, encircling her wrists. “No.”

  “But—”

  “Honey, I swear to you on Carrie’s grave, you won’t. I meant what I said. You two owe him nothing.”

  “But…why? How?”

  Anna smoothed her hand down the neck of her dress, the determination in her eyes as black as the fabric beneath her fingers. “Because Luis owes me.”

  Eve swallowed the bile threatening at the base of her throat. “Then why do you wear that—that—thing.”

  “Protection.”

  Eve couldn’t help it. She scanned the room quickly, praying she was searching discreetly.

  “Don’t worry. My shadow finally left.”

  “Don’t worry?” Eve twisted her hands around until she was gripping Anna’s. “I call you up out of the blue, spill out my woes without even bothering to pick up on yours and you’re worried about me?”

  “I’m glad to help. Right now, frankly, I need to. Eve, you’ve got to believe me. I’m fine. Nor are things as they seem right now. That’s all I can say. You have to trust me.”

  Anna she trusted.

  It was the woman’s cousin she didn’t.

  Anna must have sensed her reluctance, because her hand took on the strength of a death grip. “Remember how you were there for Carrie when her mother passed away in college, no questions asked? Well, now I’m here for you. We all are. Samantha, Meg, me. I’m just the one in the position to help. All we needed was to know that you needed us. Now we do. I do. I have to leave soon to take care of something. Don’t worry, your gear will be ready as promised. The Huey will be fueled and fired up. All you and Captain Bishop need to do is board that chopper. I’ll take care of the rest from here.”

  “Who will take care of you?”

  Anna stared at their hands for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally looked up, a light Eve had never seen before burned fiercely within her eyes. “You’d be surprised if I told you. But I can’t. Can you trust me?”

  “Always.”

  “Then go save your career and bring Carrie home.”

  “She was pregnant.”

  Anna stiffened.

  Before her friend could open her mouth, before she lost her nerve, Eve forced the rest out. “The father was enlisted—and one of her regular passengers.”

  This time Anna just sat there, gaping at her.

  Eve knew exactly how she felt.

  She let go of Anna’s hand and reached past her own empty water goblet and the fat, flickering candle in the middle of the table to grab Rick’s full goblet. She wrapped her hands around it, somehow comforted by the thick heavy glass as she settled into her chair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I wasn’t even sure I should tell you. I didn’t want to put you in the position of ever having to lie.”

  The tears that had been welling up in her friend’s eyes slipped free as Anna finally closed her mouth. She sighed heavily. “Bring them both home.”

  “I will.” If it was the last thing she ever did. She lifted her goblet and stared into the candle’s flame as she drank, wishing the water could wash away her own tears.

  “Eve?”

  She set the glass on the table. “Yes?”

  “Don’t be careless with your life. We can’t lose you, too. We all love you, you know. You’re not alone.”

  Eve froze.

  For a moment, she swore it was Carrie’s whisper searing through her. But when she looked up, she realized it couldn’t be. While Anna’s hair was black, it wasn’t short, and it wasn’t layered with curls. And those soft, shining eyes weren’t blue.

  This wasn’t Carrie Evans. This was Anna Shale.

  Her other Sister.

  With that realization came another, more startling one. One she should have made weeks ago. While this Sister sitting beside her might not have been her best friend in the world, she was a pretty damned good one just the same. Anna was right, just as Carrie had been. She had Meg and Sam, too.

  She really wasn’t alone.

  For the first time in weeks, Eve could feel the heaviness easing from her heart.

  Oh, it was still there.

  The grief was still there. But she also knew that it was time to move on with it, not in spite of it. That it truly was okay to smile. To laugh, to love.

  To live.

  She scrubbed the tears from her cheeks and did just that. She reached out and wrapped her arms around her sister and felt the pure release of joy as Anna hugged her back just as tightly. The world seemed clearer as she pulled away, crisper. She was still trying to process the sounds of music, laughter and muted conversations that had somehow been dulled to her a mere minute before when Anna’s stare snapped behind her.

  “Is it—”

  She shook her head. “It’s your guy. He’s coming back.”

  No! Not now.

  She wasn’t ready.

  Even in the deepest, mind-numbing throes of her pain and grief, Rick had somehow managed to reach through and touch her. What would it be like now? How would she survive the onslaught of pure, naked sensation without the buffer?

  Before she could blink, she found out.

  His scent enveloped her first, then his heat as he leaned over the back of her chair. His breath swirled into the curve of her neck providing a split-second warning before his lips pressed softly into her flesh. Goose bumps rippled down her arms as he drew out the caress, leaving her grateful her dress had long, concealing sleeves. She locked her fingers around the linen napkin in her lap, holding on for dear life as blood surged through her veins at breakneck speed before flooding into the most embarrassingly intimate places.

  Get a grip.

  This was a charade. An act.

  She stiffened her resolve, determined to see the mission through for Carrie’s sake and her passengers’, if not her career. She could do this. She could spend an hour in Rick’s company, even stare into his eyes and graze her fingers down his shoulders and across his jaw every now and then. She could even turn her head and meet those dangerous lips ever-so-briefly if that’s what it took to cover their tracks. She could do anything, as long as he didn’t ask her to—

  “Dance with me.”

  Chapter 7

  S he was in trouble.

  Eve knew it the moment her fingers touched Rick’s outstretched palm. The electric shock that sparked
between their flesh should have been enough to convince her to remain at Anna’s side and hunker down for the count. But it wasn’t.

  And she didn’t.

  She did manage to avoid the magnetic pull in his eyes as she stood. Unfortunately, his other hand came up as she turned, compounding the assault on her senses as his fingers splayed out against the small of her naked back. This time, her flesh sparked with an entirely new sort of pain. She considered changing her mind, but it was too late. He’d already guided her away from Anna and the relative safety of their table. It was everything she could do to put one high-heeled foot in front of the other as he escorted her through the maze of tables that led to the small wooden dance floor at the far corner of the restaurant.

  Halfway there, the canned music ceased.

  She was certain she’d gained a reprieve…until the featured guitarist who’d been playing when she’d arrived retook the small stage.

  Great.

  Not only was she going to have to dance with Rick Bishop, she was going to have to do it in this dress. She wouldn’t even have brought it had it not been for Anna’s formal-clothing criteria. None of the others she owned would have made it though a customs inspection without needing a touch-up ironing afterwards.

  Rick tipped his head down as they reached the edge of the dance floor. His warm breath filled her ear.

  She promptly fumbled.

  He snagged her elbow and smoothly righted her before she fell flat on her face. “I said, watch your step.”

  “Sorry. Couldn’t hear you.”

  She’d been too busy feeling him.

  Then again, that’s probably what he’d intended.

  Yes, he’d agreed to Anna’s plan. But that was before he’d argued with the woman over her cousin. Eve sincerely doubted the eternity he’d spent in the bathroom had changed his mind. She was about to question him when his hands slipped around her waist. He drew her into his arms as the opening notes of a Spanish classical number floated across the floor. Trapped, she linked her hands behind his neck as he guided their bodies into a slow rhythm set by the elderly guitarist.