LITMIR.BIZ

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pants down past her knees and let them drop. She had to toe off her sneakers before she could take them off completely, but he didn’t seem to mind. Once the jeans were off, she went to phase two. She turned around.

      Normally, she wouldn’t want any part of her butt exposed to this kind of light, but for this, she made an exception. When she turned her head to look back at him, bingo. She expected his eyes to boing out like in a cartoon.

      No longer able to hold it in, she laughed. Really laughed. Jeez. How was it possible?

      That, naturally, got his attention. He looked her in the eyes and blushed a deep, satisfying red.

      “Busted.”

      He coughed, his gaze on the carpet.

      “Certainly an experienced soldier like you has seen one of these babies before.”

      “Christie,” he said, in a warning growl.

      “Oh, no, big guy. I could have had my gun out and popped you right in the kneecap, and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

      “Are you finished?”

      She laughed again. “Yeah. I figured I’d eat like this.”

      His blush renewed. “Put on some pants.”

      “What?”

      “Please.”

      “My, my. Panties, huh? I’d never have guessed.”

      In response to her taunt, he did the mature thing. He turned his back and folded his arms across his chest.

      She pulled on another pair of jeans, giggling the whole time. Was he not the cutest person ever? Of course, this wasn’t over. She would have to think about this new piece of data very carefully. Strike when he least expected it.

      “All clear, Rambo.”

      He didn’t turn. But he did put his right arm out, to show her his special finger.

      She closed her suitcase, then took another look around. If she needed anything else, she wouldn’t be far away, but given a choice, she wouldn’t come back here. Maybe after the bastard was caught. Maybe.

      “Ready?” Boone had the door open.

      “As I’ll ever be.”

      MILO SAT RIGHT NEXT TO CHRISTIE as they ate dinner, and Boone noticed she would slip him pieces of chicken as she ate. Even though it wasn’t that good for the dog, Boone understood the motive. She was worried about her old pal. So was he.

      Seth had explained that he was going to use a modified electromagnetic pulse to zap the RFID. It wouldn’t hurt the dog, not for the duration that would be necessary. She and Boone would go to a vet first thing in the morning and get the damn thing taken out. Seth wanted it. He was going to see if he could identify the source. Figure out where the geek would have gotten it.

      The other matter at hand was to lock up the doggy door, and make sure Milo never went out unattended. He’d have felt better if Seth could have taken Milo, but he didn’t want to do that to Christie. She’d already been scared out of her bedroom, she didn’t need to lose her best friend.

      He tried to concentrate on the meal. It was good. Not enough vegetables, but still, it tasted great. He knew that was Kate’s contribution. She was a hell of a cook, didn’t matter what she had to work with. In Kosovo, she’d made them some incredible cevapcici and her sarma couldn’t be beat.

      It was great to see her and Seth working together. After the Balkans, they’d all split up. He’d lost touch with some of them. Kate had gone deep underground. It was only a few months ago that Seth had heard from her. That first night, when she’d come back, was when she’d heard about Nate. She hadn’t disappeared again. Not from them, at least.

      “You know what?” Christie said. “I think I have some cookie dough in that fridge of mine.”

      Kate smiled. “What kind?”

      “Who cares? It’s cookies.”

      “I stand corrected.”

      Christie lifted her hand for a mighty high five by Kate. All Boone could do was let it go. One night of cookies wasn’t going to blow her training. If he could have given her champagne to go with it, he would have. Tomorrow, they’d get back to it. Different track. Different gym, which was going to be a real pain. Different shooting range. They had to get the geek to come here. Not out there. Here, Boone had control. Here, he could take the man down, and there wouldn’t be a hair follicle left for anyone to find. They just had to get him angry enough to attack.

      He listened to Christie’s voice as she talked so easily to Seth and Kate. He wasn’t concentrating on the words, just the voice.

      He’d been strong last night. He’d thought of her, focused on his responsibility. With every word she said, with every gesture of her long, graceful fingers, he felt himself weaken.

      He thought again about what had happened in the closet. She’d made him stupid. It was still hard for him to reconcile that he’d held it together when she was naked and willing in his arms, but that he’d become thirteen again when he’d seen her damn panties.

      Tonight would be a struggle. One he wasn’t at all sure he wanted to win.

      “GOOD BOY. WHAT A FINE DOG. You’re the bravest of all the animals in the kingdom.”

      Boone smiled at Christie’s chatter. She held her beloved Milo’s head in her lap while Seth worked his voodoo. It took a tenth of a second and it was done. The EMP had destroyed the chip inside the RFID. The end, except for removing the chip itself.

      It was also the end of the night for Seth and Kate. They’d disappear, go back to the worlds they’d created for themselves, but he knew if he needed them, they’d come back. No matter what. No matter where. They were a team.

      Christie hugged them both. She invited them back under happier circumstances. No one asked what she meant. Then they were alone.

      Finally and truly alone. Every bug and camera the geek had planted was gone. He’d lost his eyes and his ears. And now he’d lost his tracking system. There wasn’t much left for him to do. Come back and plant more bugs? Maybe, but Boone doubted it. He’d come to claim what was his. Christie.

      “I’ll wash, you dry?”

      She led him into the kitchen where the table was cleared and all the dishes were piled in the sink. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to grab the dishtowel, to stand, leaning against the counter, as Christie soaped up her sponge.

      “So you guys were all in the Balkans, right?”

      “That’s right.”

      “With Nate.”

      “Yep.”

      She paused, her lips slightly pursed. “What did Kate do?”

      “She was part of the UN peacekeeping force.”

      “How’d she get mixed up with you guys?”

      “We had mutual acquaintances,” Boone said, turning away from her.

      “You mean she was a spy.”

      He shouldn’t tell her anything. Especially when he wasn’t one hundred percent certain no one was listening. “No, she wasn’t. She helped the people in Kosovo.”

      Christie washed dishes for a while in silence, while he watched her, wanting so much to tell her everything. When she spoke, it wasn’t about Kate.

      “Seth, I assume, was the electronics expert, yes?”

      “Surveillance.”

      “And you did communications, which is different.”

      “That’s right.”

      “What was it you were sent over to do?”

      He

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