Okay, so she was mad. Or was at least waspretendingto be mad. The jury was still deliberating.
Either way, the woman clearly wasn’t happy with him. But hey, what else was new?
The important thing was that soon, the stubborn agent would be locked safely away inside her room. And he could go back to his place without spending the entire night worrying.
Lyin’ to yourself now?
The image of Talia flying backward from the force of that damn bullet filled Jagger’s mind.
Okay, fine. He’d worry. But the decision to deny medical treatment was ultimately hers to make. And though Jagger hated to admit it, if it were one of the guys who’d been in her position, he’d already be home in bed.
“Bullying is such an ugly word,” he countered her claim. “I like to think of it more as…well-intended encouragement.”
Talia’s unladylike scoff was as instant as the incredulous look she sent his way.
“You made me promise—sorry—pinkypromise that I’d call you if there were any new symptoms or concerns.”
“Which you did of your own free will, as I recall.”
And a little…okay, alotof badgering on his part.
“It was extortion. You threatened me with a forced trip to the E.R.”
“So now I’m a bully and an extortionist?” Jagger’s brows rose dramatically with feigned offense.
He wasn’t offended in the least. If the boot fit, and all that. But pushing her many buttons was quickly becoming his new favorite pastime, and it also gave him an excuse to keep her talking.
The longer they stood here, the more time he had to better assess her condition. A ruse the former CIA agent fell for hook, line, and sinker.
“You said, and I quote, ‘Either I drive you to the hotel and personally see to it that you make it up to your room, or I’m tossing you back into the car and driving you to the hospital. Kicking and screaming, if necessary’.”
Okay, fair. But still?—
“You swayed like a willow branch blowing in the wind the second you stepped out of the SUV.”
After leaving the port, Jagger, Talia, and the others had arrived at the building that housed Delta Team’s office. Thesecond they parked, Talia opened her door to get out…and nearly face-planted onto the pavement.
“I’ve told you a thousand times, I simply lost my footing.”
“Lost your footing…nearly passed out…” Jagger pretended to weigh the options with both of his hands. “Guess this is one of those potato-potahto situations, huh?”
Talia rolled her eyes and looked away, holding the keycard to the electronic pad mounted to her door. When the light turned green, the beautiful brunette turned the knob and pushed. But rather than vanish behind the heavy, wooden door she stuck the toe of her boot between it and the frame.
“I’m sorry.” Those golden eyes of hers were filled with regret when they slid back up to his. “It’s been a long few days, it’s about to be a very short night, and it feels like there’s a drumline going for some sort of world record inside my head. Still, that’s no excuse for me to be rude.”
“Listen, Talia.” Jagger pushed himself off the wall, standing tall before her. “I get that you’re this super-tough, former CIA-turned-Homeland badass, but you’re not as invincible as you’d like us all to believe. That hit you took to that pretty head of yours was a good one. And when you almost…lost your footing…I was worried about you getting behind the wheel.”
“And I appreciate it.” She rewarded him with a ghost of a smile followed by a muttered, “The whole bodyguard routine to my room was probably overkill…”
“You mean walking you to your room like a gentlemen?” He slid his hands deep into his front pockets. “Well, that’s just good, Texan manners.”
“We’re in Chicago.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “My mama would still tan my hide if she knew I let a beautiful, injured woman come all the way up here unescorted.”
The gaze he wanted to lose himself in burned with a combination of pain and…No. Couldn’t be. And yet…
I’ll be damned. Is that desire I see?
