Page 61 of Elite Metal: Warriors

He frowned at her. “You don’t need to look.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Let me look. I’m an analyst, remember.”

“Anal-ist,” he muttered, but he handed her the scope.

She set it to her eye and leaned closer. He was aware of her scent, curling around him. That, and her warmth. Damn. He wanted her. He wanted her bad. What a pity that would never happen.

Her breath caught and she pressed even closer. Her breasts flattened against his shoulder. Heat scudded through him. It took all his determination to remember who and what and where he was. “What is it?’ he asked by way of distracting himself.

“I think I know that man.” She pushed against him harder in an effort to see better. He didn’t have the heart to tell her it really wouldn’t help. Because it felt so damn good. “Oh, shit.”

Her tone didn’t bode well. She eased away and he sent her a curious glance. “Well?”

Her throat worked. She nodded, a tiny bob of her head. “He’s one of Ralley’s men.”

“Ralley?”

“Ralley Carson. My boss. The man who’s hunting me.”

“Shit. Fuck.” Benedict didn’t even wince when he realized he’d cursed in front of a lady. “How did they know where we were going?”

Her shoulder lifted. “How could they know?”

“They couldn’t.” Unless… Unless he’d missed something. Unless there was still a tracker, or some mic on her person. The thought horrified him because if he’d missed something, that meant her boss had some kind of surveillance tech he wasn’t aware of. Something new. Something really small. Really powerful.

He’d stripped her naked. She’d been bare. Utterly bare—

His gaze snagged on the lobes of her ears, at the winking diamonds, and certitude roiled through him. “Where did you get those earrings?”

She blinked. “I…they were a gift.”

“From your boss?”

“I… Yes. It was a Christmas—” She stilled. “You don’t think…? Oh God.” She quickly unfastened one and then the other and dropped them in his waiting palm.

Benedict studied them. They looked like…earrings. There was nothing about them to suggest they were anything more. But what else could it be? How else could her boss be listening in?

A cry from the airfield caught his attention, and Benedict glanced over to see men running toward them. They had weapons. “Shit,” he said, and he tossed the earrings out the window and gunned the engine, tearing off down the frontage road.

“Hey,” Michelle cried. “Those were diamonds.”

“Were they?” he clipped.

She sat back and crossed her arms. “Probably.”

“Well, they were listening in on something. Any idea what else it could have been?”

“No.” It was clear she was disturbed by the revelation that her boss had been privy to each and every conversation she’d ever had. She sighed. “Well, what do we do now?”

“Go to plan B.”

“Is there a plan B?”

He shot her a grin. “There’s always a plan B.”

Silence hummed in the cab, and then she said, “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“No.”