She didn’t smile like he expected her to, but got all serious like a woman intent on knowing and exposing the secrets of his soul. For a man like him, it was a terrifying look, but he couldn’t make himself break eye contact or turn away.

He needed to hear what she thought of him. Of why he did what he did.

“Maybe,” she said after several seconds of intense silence, “but you’re an agent because you care, not because you need your adrenaline fix. You’ve got a superhero complex and I, for one, find that irresistible.”

Then she did smile, but he couldn’t match her lighthearted expression. Her attitude touched something deep inside him that no one else, not even his family, had ever come close to. She was right. He did want to be a hero for his country. Not so others would look up to him; he didn’t care if anyone ever knew what he sacrificed for the greater good. But he needed to be part of making the world a better, safer place.

It wasn’t something he’d ever admitted out loud. Not even when he told his dad he wanted to do something besides ranching. Back then he’d been too embarrassed to admit to such lofty goals and since then, he’d gotten used to hiding his true nature behind his adrenaline junky image.

Beth saw through him though. “I think you’re the only person who sees that about me,” he admitted quietly.

“I doubt it. A discerning person couldn’t know you very long before realizing you want to save the world from evil.” Again the smile. So darn sweet. So incredibly beautiful to him.

“But the fact is, others don’t see it, Beth. Why do you know me so much better than anyone else?” It really was a puzzle to him.

They’d only been “together” for a matter of weeks and he’d never told her any of this. Or even hinted at it.

“You’ve been my obsession for two years, Ethan. A woman learns a thing or two about a man when she spends so much time thinking about him.”

“So, it wasn’t all sex…even in your fantasies.” Man, he liked hearing that.

She looked startled and then shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. But it did. To both of them.

“We’ve gotten off topic,” she said a little primly.

She was running again, but he was a natural-born predator. When prey ran, predators followed. Though sometimes, they bided their time, which was what he planned to do. For now. Beth was cagey and she had a lot of hang-ups about their relationship; he had to tread carefully. But he liked knowing that she’d noticed more than his great body for the past two years.

“Have we?” he asked.

She bit her lower lip and nodded, looking wary. “Yes.”

He drew her into his arms. “What were we talking about?”

“The fact that I got a listening device into Prescott’s office.” She sounded really pleased with herself.

And she had every right to be. “I’m proud of how well you think on your feet, baby, I really am, but I still want to knock the toad’s teeth in.”

She patted his chest, her small hand settling right over his heart. “Maybe you’ll get the chance when we move in for the kill.”

“There is no we about the collar. You are not an agent and will be far from the scene when we go to arrest him.”

“Whatever you say.”

He tried to read her expression, but couldn’t find any evidence of subterfuge. “You make me nervous when you get agreeable like this.”

“I don’t know why. I’m not an agent and I don’t want to risk the operation by being where I’m not needed. I used we strictly in a generalized sense.”

“I should feel reassured.”

“But you don’t?”

“No.”

“You need to trust me, Ethan.”

“I do.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m not stupid, you know?”

“I do know.”

“Then you should know I would never risk you or the case.”

He sighed. “I’m being overprotective, aren’t I?”

“Considering the fact that I agree with you, um…yes.”

“I’m not internalizing projected feelings,” he admitted, wishing the psychological phenomenon she’d mentioned the day before could explain his behavior. “I have this caveman-like need to make sure you’re safe at all times.”

“And here I thought you were the epitome of the modern sophisticated male.”

“I did too,” he acknowledged wryly.

She laughed, rubbing his chest in what was no doubt supposed to be a soothing gesture, but which turned him on. Everything about her excited him. “Don’t let it upset you. I’m learning stuff about myself I didn’t know either.”

“Like what?”

“I like the adrenaline rush of fieldwork.” She said it like she was admitting a deep, dark sin.

His heart stuttered as his head swam with images of Beth taking risks he’d approved for other female agents. “I’m not sure my heart can take that, but it’s not a crime, sweetheart.”

“I know. It violates what I believed about myself though.”

“Does it bother you that your dad might be right?”

“That I’d make a good agent?”

“Yes.”

“A little, but mostly it just throws my view of the world and my place in it off-kilter.”

“Maybe the job change you need when we get back to D.C. is to take more extensive agent training instead of leaving the city looking for a place you fit better.”

“You might be right.”

As much as he hated the thought of her ever being in danger, he felt nothing but relief at her willingness to consider staying in D.C. and continuing to work for The Goddard Project. Maybe she would rethink her views on long-term commitments with agents as well.

Chapter 19

They hit pay dirt with the bug in Prescott’s office two days later.

“He’s planning an auction at the end of the month for controlled technology classified as unexportable,” Ethan told Beth. “He’s bringing the potential buyers back for a video demonstration of a UGCV along with specs. The auction will happen two days later, but so far we don’t have a line on how he intends to pass the plans on.”

“You know, I think the man is arrogant enough to store the plans at his house. The security there is tight.” She kitty-combed Beethoven’s fur while the growing kitten lounged in her lap on the sofa.

“I agree, but I’ve been over the house plans until I can see them with my eyes shut and there are just too many places he could have a hidey-hole. Going in with a warrant wouldn’t necessarily net the goods.”

“My guess is that he’s got the plans stored on a media device, maybe even his computer. He thinks its foolproof.”

“His security is better than most. I’ve been trying to hack his system and there are so many layers of ICE that my fingers are getting frostbite from the keyboard.”

“Ouch.”

“You’re telling me. The intrusion countermeasure engineering Prescott’s invested in is the best. There are several signatures, as if he’s got graduating as well as same-level layers of security from different sources.”

“You’ll get through.”

“Maybe we should call Bennett in on this. This is really his thing.”

“But you’re no slouch at it, Ethan. Besides, he’s on assignment in the Middle East. He left three days ago.” The cat jumped off her lap and Beth dropped the special brush down on the coffee table.

“You been checking up on the other agents, Beth?”

“I can’t help myself. Maude and I talk daily.”

“She handling things okay?”

“Of course. The woman is a miracle worker.”

“We all feel that way about you.”

Beth smiled, clearly pleased. “I’ll remind you of that the next time you give me a hard time about turning in your expense reports.”

“I never forget it, baby, but I still don’t like doing expense reports. I think miracle workers should be able to generate them without any help.”

She launched herself toward him as the phone rang.

Ethan grabbed it and her at the same time. He pressed the button to talk while pulling Beth into his lap. “Ethan here.”