“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked.
“Mike and Xander have some squad-level training they’ll be doing. We can go watch that.” He gestured to the magazine on the table beside her. “Or since you seem to have taken a sudden interest in handguns, I can take you out for that shooting lesson we talked about yesterday.”
Mac’s heart beat faster. She knew she shouldn’t do it. Her best chance to learn something—if there was even something to learn—was to stay with the largest number of team members. You never knew who’d slip up and say something, so the more people you were around, the higher the probability.
But that was logic talking. And right then for some reason, logic wasn’t making decisions for her. Her rapidly increasing heart rate was. Besides, she’d just been thinking this story was looking more and more like a bust anyway.
“Just the two of us, you mean?”
He gave her a sinful smile, as if he knew that was exactly what she was hoping he meant. “Well, yeah. Unless you’d prefer to have a few other people come along with us?”
She didn’t.
***
It turned out that Zak had been right about the donuts. The SWAT guys did indeed eat donuts—voraciously.
She’d been shocked when her friend had walked into the training classroom with six boxes of assorted death-by-sugar bribes. It was one thing trying to get on someone’s good side, but it was another to do it so blatantly or with that many donuts. That was crazy.
But it was kind of scary the way the men ripped into the boxes. They’d cleaned out three boxes before she’d even picked through them, looking for something with sprinkles on it.
Zak looked at her smugly. She ignored him.
After the donuts were gone, Xander and Mike gave the training briefing. She and Gage sat in the back of the classroom so he could explain what was going on.
“This is a standard hostage training scenario for us,” Gage said softly into her ear. His breath felt deliciously warm against her neck. “Xander’s team will play the part of the bad guys, while your photographer will play the part of the hostage.”
Mac almost laughed. Zak wasn’t going to like that. Then again, he might. He seemed psyched about the idea. Probably all those video games he played.
“I thought maybe Ms. Stone could be the hostage,” Becker said, half turning in his seat to give her an expectant look. “You know—give her a better perspective on how we operate.”
The rest of the men nodded in agreement.
“Ms. Stone won’t be taking part in the training exercise,” Xander said firmly. “But she will be sticking her head in occasionally to watch, so you might want to pay attention to the briefing. That way, you won’t make idiots of yourselves when she happens to look your way.”
A few of the men laughed, but Becker looked positively glum. It was enough to make Mac feel bad. She leaned over to whisper in Gage’s ear. “I guess we could put off our shooting lesson for a little while, if it would help. I can play a very convincing hostage.”
The muscle in Gage’s jaw flexed. “Zak will work fine as the hostage. Besides, Becker just wants to see you tied to a chair, squirming to get loose. I think he has a thing for you.”
Mac laughed, until she caught Becker studying her. And he wasn’t the only one. She wouldn’t go so far as to say their looks were predatory, but she could have sworn the temperature in the training room jumped up three or four degrees. She didn’t mind being the center of attention in a room full of hot guys, but this was a little more than she might be ready for.
She looked at Gage. “Maybe it’s time for that shooting lesson?”
“Good idea.” He swept the room with his gaze. “Ms. Stone and I will be down at the lower shooting range. You probably should stay well clear of that part of the compound. I wouldn’t want an errant shot going wide and putting a hole through any of you.”
As they left the training building and headed for the armory, Mac gave Gage a sidelong look. “Your guys really need to spend some more time around the opposite sex. You ever thought about getting a few women on the team? Maybe mellow them out a little bit?”
She’d meant it as a joke, but Gage must have thought she was serious. “I’ve considered it, but it’s damn hard finding women who can fit the specific requirements I’ve put in place for the team. I’m always looking, though.”
When they got to the armory, Mac leaned back against the counter and watched as Gage took several pistols and boxes of ammo from one of the safes and packed them in a soft-sided bag about the size of a carry-on.
“Are you really that worried I’m a bad shot?” she asked, enjoying the view as he bent over to pull out some hearing protection. Damn, what she wouldn’t give to see him do that naked.
He turned to give her a curious look. “No. Why?”
“Well, you warned everyone to stay away from the shooting range. I figured you were worried I’d miss the target and accidently hit someone.”
She tried to sound casual about it, but honestly, she was a little concerned about the possibility of screwing up.
