* * *
Dana stared at the veggie burger in her lap as Wolfe continued driving through the rapidly heating day. Why wouldn’t he tell her more? She’d learned a long time ago that one way to get answers was to start guessing and see if she was close. “You do know that nothing is going to happen to you, right? You are not going to die in some final battle.”
“We’ll see.” He lifted a massive shoulder. “Maybe not, and I’m certainly going to try to remain breathing, but it’s nice to be prepared.” His voice was calm and reasonable—even thoughtful.
So the person on the phone had been Rock. “Why won’t you let me help against this Rock person?” Her temper detonated. Sometimes she wanted to smack him on his hard head and just see if she could knock some sense into him. “You absolutely drive me crazy sometimes. You want to live, right? I mean, you see you have people and things and life to live for?”
He pursed his lips, taking a right turn. “Lately, yeah. At first, after I was blown up, I didn’t care if I lived or died. Then I found out about my teammate betraying us, and I wanted to live long enough to rip off his head. Now, I don’t know. It’d be nice to live.”
Nice to live? “That’s all?” Her voice rose.
“I don’t want to get your hopes up,” he said reasonably.
Yep. She might just smack him in the head for the fun of it. “At least tell me that your obvious plan of mutual destruction and personal sacrifice with this asshat has changed since you’ve made connections with the team and, well, me.” Yeah, she was beating her own head against a brick wall here, but the guy had gotten under her skin, and it wasn’t just because of multiple orgasms. There was a lot more to Clarence Wolfe than muscle, and she wanted to know more of him. Wanted him to know more of her. That was enough for now.
He pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant with a stone facade and bright lights. “My plan has changed, and now I do care if I live or die.”
Well, that was something. But apparently Wolfe wasn’t done.
“I like you, and if I’m able to kill Rock, then I’d like to ask you out.”
Ask her out? Somehow, it felt like they’d moved past that moment, but his honesty was sweet. “I don’t believe in waiting for life to happen—I’m more of a make-it-happen type of gal.” She cocked her head, studying him in the too warm morning.
“Yeah, no kidding.” He released his seat belt and partially turned his bulk to face her. “I know you don’t understand this, but I can’t be thinking of you or Nari or Force when I go after Rock. It has to be just me, with no thought of the consequences to my relationship with any of you.”
She swallowed. “You think what you’re about to do will change you in our eyes?”
“Maybe. You’ve never seen that side of me, and I hope you never do.” His eyes were stark, but his voice strong. “Some things in life change us, Dana. Whether we like it or not.”
What would it be like to be on the other side of that wall he’d erected around himself? “Do you ever let anybody in?”
His chin lifted. “Be careful what you wish for. You might not like being in.” He opened his door and jumped out, letting the dog bound into the parking lot and hustle over to a wide grass field.
She stepped down and grabbed her pack, shutting the door. “Please tell me you’re not keeping distant for my own good? You’re not that much of a dumb ass, are you?”
“I don’t think so,” Wolfe said thoughtfully, visibly scouting the entire area. “I’m just trying to keep everything locked down until I finish this op. It’s how we were trained to conduct missions.” He rubbed his whiskered jaw. “Complications are to be ignored until they need to be dealt with.”
Oh really? Against all logic, she stepped right up to him, body to body. “Am I someone who needs to be dealt with?” Her voice dropped low. Husky.
He reached up, his thumb caressing across her cheekbone and down her face, his chest rising with a deep breath. “Definitely.”
Well, at least that was something. “What now?” Her body tingled with warmth, ready for action, primed after just one touch from him.
“Now?” He dropped his hand. “Now we grab an early lunch, try to keep Roscoe out of trouble, and then head to a family wedding where I’ll stick out like a serial killer who’s chasing you.”
She snorted. “You’re not that big.” In fact, he’d fit right in.
“If you say so,” he agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Wolfe drove through the Tennessee countryside, feeling like he was going into battle. He’d never been to a family wedding. There were norms he had no clue about. Dana watched the trees fly by outside, in a cheerful mood, anticipation turning her eyes a sparkling emerald.
His normal phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear after glancing at the caller ID. “Hi, Brigid. What’s up?”
“Hallo. Force says you’re on the road, and I wanted to update you.” Her soft Irish brogue came through the line like a sound from home. Papers shuffled, and she continued. “I’ve done a deep dive on that fella Frank Spanek, and he owns several properties across the Northeast. I’m emailing you a list of properties as well as other police reports on him—most inconclusive. Several state agencies have looked at the guy.”
“Did you find connections to Albert Nelson?” Wolfe asked.
