Page 22 of Under Fire in Big Sky

His gaze dropped and his shoulders tensed.

Any other time, under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes.

Instead of proposing or offering to assist, he was pulling away from her. None of this was going the way she expected.

Olivia clasped her hands over her stomach to keep from wringing them. “I thought you would be eager to go after NDR.”

“I am, but…” His voice trailed off, his eyes still averted.

“But not with me.”

Eli didn’t deny it. She supposed he didn’t even want to work with her now.

She took a moment to absorb the situation.

It was as though everything that had once been solid had turned to sand and was shifting around her and beneath her, and she didn’t like it.

“I can have Aegis send backup.” But it wasn’t what she wanted. He was right. She failed to prevent an attack by NDR. Her reputation was at stake, not to mention her impeccable track record. She didn’t want any glory-seeking operatives, who might be as likely to help her as they were to toss her under the bus, to steal credit for her work. “But I’d prefer to have you,” she said, and he met her gaze. This time she could read his face clearly. Uncertainty was written all over him. “Did you mean it when you said you could do whatever is necessary, give me anything I need?”

His Adam’s apple moved with a hard swallow. “Yes.”

“I need you on this case. Help me see it through to the end.” She hated backing him into a corner, especially after putting his life in jeopardy, and springing a surprise pregnancy on him, but there was no one in the world she trusted more than Eli Easton.

“There’s nothing I can say to persuade you to drop this?”

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a pointed look.

“I didn’t think so.” He sighed. “I’ll do it, but under one condition.”

“Name it.”

“I get to call in the rest of my team at Ironside on this.”

She knew everyone who worked at IPS. A capable bunch and she liked them all. She didn’t see any problem with that. “Okay.”

“And if I tell you something is too dangerous,” he added, “you’ll listen to me and do as I say.”

What part of field-trained operative did he not understand? “That’s two conditions. Not one.”

He shrugged. “I was always bad at math.”

She couldn’t help but smile. He was an engineer, for goodness’ sake. If he was cracking a joke, maybe they would be okay. At least as friends.

“That’s the deal,” he said.

E and his deals. “I’m good with the first condition. The second I’ll have to assess on a case-by-case basis.”

“I need both, Liv. You take too many risks. Big ones. And you don’t know when to cut your losses and move on, even when you’ve been given an out and it’s for your own good,” he said in a steely tone that grabbed her full attention.

Was he talking about work or something else? “For the record, I’ve never lied to you either.” She put her hand back up to the glass. “Don’t make me start now. If there’s a promise I can’t keep, I’d rather not make it. This is the best I can do.”

Holding her gaze, he considered it for a moment. “Your best has always been enough for me before. I guess it’ll do now.” He placed his palm up to hers over the glass, and she wished she could feel the warmth of his skin against her hand. “If this is really what you need, then I’m with you. Until the end.”

Chapter Six

Hauling Olivia’s suitcase and satellite phone, Eli trudged into the hospital room, where Liv had been moved once she was released from the hyperbaric chamber.

He had driven back to the hotel. The fires had been more widespread than he first realized. In addition to the restaurants, the spa, and ballrooms, they’d also torched the housekeeping department and security office, as well as the maintenance and engineering section. The fires had been contained, but the authorities weren’t letting anyone back inside the building yet. Fortunately, Jason, the security guard, was still on-site and knew one of the firefighters. After an introduction, Eli convinced the firefighter to grab his and Liv’s belongings from the room.