She took the hood from him, sounding resigned. “If that’s how this has to work.”
She unfolded the black hood and slid it over her head. He heard her breath change just slightly, the only indication that she could be ruffled.
Ash tore his gaze from the confounding woman and locked his attention on the road. But staying focused on driving didn’t mean he wasn’t rolling around facts in his mind.
She wasn’t afraid. Or surprised. She definitely wasn’t just an accountant.
And he had a feeling that bringing her to base wasn’t going to provide answers. It was going to raise way more questions.
* * * * *
Ellory had expected chaos when she arrived at the bank. Shattered steel. Federal agencies tripping over each other.
What she hadn’t expected was to be escorted out, hooded and driven away by a man who hadn’t spoken a word in five minutes. Oddly enough, she wasn’t afraid. Mostly, she was annoyed she hadn’t worn a lighter sweater because the hood made her hot.
Reaching up, she adjusted the hood.
“Don’t take it off.” His gruff tone would rattle most people. Ellory wasn’t most people.
“This is breathable, right?”
He grunted. A second later, she felt cooler air blowing straight at her as he adjusted a vent.
Another few minutes passed with only the whir of air and the hum of tires on pavement filling the dead air.
“Is the silence part of the experience?” she asked.
He didn’t respond.
“Do you always go quiet when you can’t see someone’s face?”
He issued a snort. “Do you always talk this much when you can’t see one?”
She didn’t have an answer for that.
It felt like he sped up and when he took a corner, she had to brace herself in the seat.
“Do you always take corners that fast?” She curled her fingers tighter into the seat.
“You can’t be a backseat driver if you can’t even see the road.”
She prickled at his statement but drew in as deep a breath as possible when the hood didn’t allow much air to enter it. She reminded herself she was the epitome of calm. It was her job to be.
What felt like hours later but was probably much less, she felt the SUV slow. They stopped and then rolled on again.
When they parked, her driver spoke. “Keep the hood on. I’ll get you out.”
She gave a sigh of acquiescence and waited. She heard the door open. When he touched her arm, she felt her body go stiff at the way he didn’t just latch on to her arm—he wrapped his long fingers around it gently and guided her to the ground.
Setting her high heels firmly beneath her, she let him lead her across an expanse of ground. The air changed when they entered the building.
“Can I take this off now?”
He didn’t answer at first. Was he studying her? She swore she felt his stare on her, too intense.
“Fine.”
She reached up and tugged off the hood, her eyes barely focusing on the man’s insanely broad chest. When she smoothed a hand over her hair, her gaze collided with his.
