Soldier For Hire

She nodded, secretly glad she’d slept through that. As many times as she’s flown and jumped from an airplane on missions, she wasn’t a fan of flying and always white-knuckled the bumpy spots.

Whenever Scarlett felt out of her element, she clung to training. “When we land, we’ll rent a car and get a hotel off the main path. Somewhere without a lot of traffic.”

Xander leveled his gaze her way. “Look, I appreciate you willing to come and see this thing through with me but you’re off the clock.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, you’re not my TL right now. This is my detail and I call the shots. If you can’t do that, you might as well take the next flight back to McClean.”

“So you’re saying you’re in charge,” Scarlett summed up, amused and a little wary. “You’re the boss.”

“Exactly.”

Scarlett wasn’t on company time, so technically Xander was right. Although on the flip side, she was doing him a favor by not clapping him in iron bracelets, so a little respect wasn’t out of order.

She supposed it was better to work side by side than against one another, especially if they had the same goal, so she conceded with a nod. However, she didn’t hesitate to add, “If it turns out you’re guilty, I’m going to take you down.”

“I would expect nothing less, but I’m not guilty so I’m not worried.”

“I guess that’s what we’ll find out.”

Xander shrugged. “Yep.”

As the plane began its descent, Scarlett wondered if she was putting her faith in a really good conman or a man who had demons but was ultimately innocent.

The clock was ticking.

Please be innocent. I don’t want to have to arrest or kill you.

Chapter 5 (#uacb5bfd1-8f56-5df2-bcbf-8a8117fb8080)

He hadn’t planned on a travel buddy, but he was happy to have Scarlett with him while he figured this cluster out. Scarlett was a worthy adversary. The last thing he needed was her chasing after him while he tried to save his own ass.

“So how long do I have before the FBI starts sending in the goons?” he asked as they climbed into the rental car.

“A week.”

“How’d you manage to get a week?” he asked, impressed.

“I pulled some favors.”

“For little ol’ me? I’m touched.”

Scarlett cut him a wry look. “Don’t be. This is about Red Wolf, too. This situation makes all of us look bad. Especially me. People are already questioning my skills because of this situation. How’d I not know that one of my own was a psychopath? All anyone had to do was pull your psych eval and it was all over. Your file reads like a tragedy waiting to happen.”

Xander remembered his last evaluation. He hadn’t exactly been cooperative but then the doctor hadn’t exactly been warm and friendly. “That doc was an uptight prick. I wouldn’t trust anything in that report as fact.”

Scarlett shrugged with mild disagreement as she ticked off a few of the bullet points. “I don’t know... Unsociable, problem with authority, adrenaline junkie... Sounds about right.”

“Some might say those are my good qualities.”

“Only an idiot would say that.”

Xander scowled. “Yeah? Well, nowhere on that report does it say I’m a danger to society. There’s no law against being an asshole.”

“True enough. So let’s just get to brass tacks... Why would someone want to frame you for McQuarry’s death?”

Xander wished he knew. Unfortunately, the list of people who might hate him was probably longer than the list of people who would throw some water on him if he were on fire. A sergeant had once told him, You got a way of pissing people off, and he hadn’t been wrong.

“I don’t know,” he answered, navigating downtown Tulsa traffic. “But I aim to find out and when I find the bastard, I’m going to show him the error of his ways.”

“What makes you think it was a man?” Scarlett retorted and Xander had to admit, it could be a woman screwing him over. “Got any disgruntled lovers?”

“Do I know of any woman pissed off enough to kill innocent people just so I would take the fall? No. Contrary to what you may think... I’m not an asshole to everyone I come into contact with.”

Scarlett chuckled. “Okay, well, someone wants you to take the fall and we better find out who and fast. So what’s the plan?”

“First, I need to find out who hated McQuarry enough to want him dead. That’ll give me a direction to head in. I figure the best way to find out the skinny on a politician is to ask the press.”

“You can’t talk to the press,” Scarlett protested, flabbergasted at his idea. “Word has probably already spread that you’re on the run and you’d make a juicy story. No, forget it. No press.”

“Look, everything you just said is probably true but journalists have a way of sniffing out the dirt faster than anyone can. I don’t have the luxury of asking around myself. I need a shortcut to information—which means asking a reporter who was familiar with McQuarry and his work.”

Xander knew he’d made his point when Scarlett buttoned her lip, even though she still wasn’t happy. “Fine,” she bit out, her scowl darkening. “But we’re not just going to walk into the Tulsa World office, bold as you please, and start asking questions. We should meet somewhere private and you should wear a disguise.”

He barked a short laugh. “A disguise? Like a hat or something? Or maybe a Rastafarian wig?”

“I’m being serious, Xander. My ass is on the line, too. You shouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.”

Xander knew she was probably right but he didn’t want to wear a disguise. “I’ll swap my ball cap for a cowboy hat,” he said. “Does that work for you?”

“How have you lived this long?” Scarlett grumbled in irritation. “You’re just bound and determined to do things all your way, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, darlin’, that’s just how I roll.”

“Oh, shut up and don’t call me darlin’. I might not be your TL right now but I’m not your sugar-tits, either.”

His brow climbed and there was no mistaking where both their minds went.

That night.

Did she have to bring up her breasts? Like it wasn’t hard enough already to forget how it felt to have those dusky rose nipples pearled in his mouth. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell her that. She was likely to turn him from a rooster to a hen just for bringing up the subject they’d both agreed to forget ever happened.

But funny thing about that... He couldn’t seem to honor his end of the deal.

That night with Scarlett was all he thought about in private moments.

Judging by the warning in her expression, Scarlett wasn’t interested in a repeat of that night. More’s the pity. He could use the tension relief of a good orgasm, and so could Scarlett if that pucker between her brows was any indication of her stress level.