The Military K-9 Unit Collection. Valerie Hansen

wanted to know.

      “Diplomacy, if you can believe it.” He laughed lightly. “We are definitely not alike.”

      “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve seen you handle lots of touchy situations since you’ve been assigned to me. You’re an impressive negotiator, too.”

      “Yeah, well. I’ve made some mistakes.”

      Like kissing me? she wondered. Rather than ask and chance confirmation, Zoe let it pass. “We all make mistakes,” she said. “Some more than others. Take my—take the Red Rose Killer. He had every opportunity to turn his life around and refused.”

      “Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Linc said. “The same goes for lots of criminals, including my own father. They seem oblivious to the harm they’re leaving in their wake and the people they’re disappointing.”

      “I suspect they just don’t care, for the most part,” Zoe suggested. “I mean, look at the two of us. We could be offered any reward on earth and it wouldn’t be enough to turn us against our country.”

      “You’re right.”

      “Of course, I am, as I’ve proved before. I’ve come to another conclusion, too. In spite of the possibility that the RRK has likely been on the base, I don’t think my problems can be pinned on him no matter how we twist the clues. It just isn’t his MO.”

      “Listen to you,” Linc said with a low chuckle, “sounding like a professional cop.”

      “I get bored and watch a lot of TV after Freddy’s in bed. Well? Do you agree or are you still including you-know-who among your suspects?”

      “No. I’m convinced it’s somebody else who has it in for you.”

      “What about the blood?”

      “The blood that wasn’t real? The shooting that didn’t happen? Missing babysitting money? A car with a useless bomb?”

      Zoe gasped. “What bomb?”

      “I guess I forgot to tell you.”

      “Yeah, I guess.” Arms folded across her chest, she struck a formidable looking pose. “Talk.”

      “Nick Donovan’s bomb sniffer didn’t react and the ordnance people didn’t see anything under the chassis. But when they looked in the gas tank, they found a cell phone wired to what looked like a really thin pipe bomb. According to them, there was no way the thing would have detonated after soaking in gasoline for so long.”

      “Hold on.” Her eyebrows knit together. “What about sooner? Suppose I had ignored your warning and driven?”

      “That’s unknown.” Linc held up a hand. “Don’t get excited. Whoever put the device in your tank was a doofus when it comes to ordnance. Believe me, I’ve dealt with serious bomb makers, and they don’t fool around with untried methods.”

      The darkness in his gaze and the hurt in his tone were enough to stop her from giving voice to the questions that rose in her mind. Just what kind of experience with bombs had he had? She changed the subject. “Never mind that now. What are we going to do about taking care of Freddy?”

      “I thought I’d request permission to crash in my car outside your apartment building while the regular guard takes inside duty as usual.”

      “Oh.” That solution, while logical, did not include her personal preferences. How could she express them without making Linc think she was pursuing him? Why, oh, why, had she let herself get carried away making jokes and bringing up the subject of marriage, particularly after he’d told her how he felt regarding a lifelong commitment?

      Zoe’s mind provided no ready answer. There was no way to go back in time and retract her faux pas. Therefore, she reasoned, the best plan for going forward was to agree with Linc’s ideas and bend her will to his. His being parked outside was more sensible and far less stressful—for both of them. Zoe didn’t know about Linc, but her heart beat faster the instant she dared relive even the most innocent moments of their embrace. And that fantastic kiss!

      Thousands of romance novels had been written about such things. Until then, she had assumed a reaction like the one she’d had while in his arms was a figment of an author’s creative imagination. Well, no more. She and Linc had ignited a forest fire, and he was trying to put it out with the equivalent of a teaspoon of water, when what they should have been doing was turning from each other and running in opposite directions as fast as they could.

      Only he would never abandon his duty, would he? And there was nowhere she could go, no way she could hope to safely escape both her antagonist and the dedicated Security Forces man who was trying to protect her. She was in the air force. She went where she was told.

      Besides, she admitted with a dose of self-criticism, she was not going to purposely flee from the only person who had made her feel totally secure in more years than she could count.

      Forcing a smile, she slipped her thumbs into the front pockets of her jeans, struck a casual pose and said, “Whatever you decide is fine with me. C’mon. Let’s go get Freddy.”

      * * *

      In Linc’s mind, he had wandered empty-handed into a swamp filled with hungry alligators. Or perhaps barefoot into a cave of venomous snakes. Whatever the inane analogy, he was up to his neck in trouble with a capital Z for Zoe.

      I can’t possibly have fallen for her, he told himself. That would be disastrous. Despite her joking manner, he suspected she’d been serious when she’d vowed to never remarry. That was fine with him. Wasn’t it? If so, then why was his gut tying in knots every time he saw her threatened or remembered the times she’d been inches from injury?

      Because I’m an idiot, he replied. What good was it to plan his career, his life, if he let a pretty face distract him from reaching his goals?

      What he could do was request he be relieved of duty regarding Sergeant Sullivan altogether. The thought had briefly crossed his mind in the past but certainly not lately. No. He was going to stick it out and prove to himself that he could rise above emotion and that he was in total control, mind and body. Thankfully, rigid self-discipline would keep his actions in line. His errant thoughts were a very different story.

      He’d been to church often enough to recall Scripture insisting that a wrong thought was the same as the deed. They sure didn’t feel the same to Linc. And there lay the conundrum. His feelings had taken control and were running rampant, urging him to do or say something he knew would bring pain to himself and to Zoe. Linc clenched his jaw. Not to mention Freddy.

      The little guy deserved a better father than he could ever hope to be. If Zoe didn’t realize that, maybe it was time to remind her.

      Linc led the way to his car, put Star into the rear and held a front door for Zoe. As she passed close by to slip into the SUV, he caught a whiff of her shampoo. She smelled like flowers. Her hair was down again, brushing against her shoulders in silky light brown waves. And those expressive eyes. He knew better than to dwell on her hazel gaze because every time he did, it became more difficult to look away.

      He climbed behind the wheel and gripped it hard. Out of the corner of his right eye, he could see her peering over at him, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “Do you have all the groceries and housekeeping supplies you need? If not, we should stop at the BX before we pick up Freddy.”

      “I’m good. I try to stock extras so I don’t have to shop too often. I hate wasting time.”

      “A woman who doesn’t like to shop? Now, that is something for the newspapers.”

      “Well, you could contact Heidi Jenks.”

      “Not likely. There’s a strong suspicion she may be our mysterious blogger. I sure don’t want to feed her any more information, even accidentally, and see it turn up on everybody’s computers.”

      “You mean like the time that blog