Survival Mission - Chapter 8
Trevor waited until Ziggy’s steps faded, until he was certain not a single one of the half-dozen men were left in the vicinity. And then he kissed Valerie the way he’d wanted to since he’d first spied her through his binoculars, when her image had been seared into his mind. And maybe his heart, too.
Whoa. He pulled back. What the hell was he doing? She was still a suspect.
“What, why…?” Her soft murmurs hit the same chords of melancholy his heart strummed. They weren’t alone, they hadn’t met by coincidence or some romantic twist of fate. He was undercover DEA and she remained one of his possible targets.
He sensed the reality of their situation sinking back into her awareness, too, as she allowed her leg to fall off his waist, let go of his shoulders. A shiver of disappointment ran over his bare forearms.
“You okay now?” He hoped he sounded detached, as if the kiss had been merely a way to stay alive.
“I’m—I’m good.” Her breath slowed, she faced away from him now. Early hints of dawn began to illuminate her face, the shiny length of her hair that had cushioned his palm only moments before. “You could have warned me before you, ah, we…”
“What were you doing out here, Valerie?” He kept his voice low but grave. Brooking no criticism over his methods.
“I had to pee. Why else would I come out here in the middle of the night?” She faced him again and he swore he felt the heat of her ire flame out at him. The way her passion had.
“It’s a dangerous business going on here.” He gave her another chance to admit what she was doing at this site at this exact time. He’d learned long ago there were no coincidences when it came to drug trafficking. Sure, innocent civilians got hurt, killed, at times. But the odds of Valerie not being involved with the mules were incredibly slim.
Tell that to his heart, though.
“Yes, sounds like it.” She blew out a breath. “But I’m sure it could be completely innocuous, right? Maybe they’re geocaching.” She referred to the outdoor sport of finding placed items all over the world, utilizing GPS.
“They’d need some high-tech gear to use GPS out here. There’s zero cell phone coverage,” he commented, baiting her.
“My phone says SOS, so there are some satellites available.” Her tone had gone flat. “Anyway, thanks for the save. It never hurts to be careful.”
He had no reply as he watched her walk off. He was too busy arguing with his heart.