Taking Cover (Wingmen Warriors 2)

In midair.

A rope clutched in her hands, she rappeled from the mission roof. Her tennis shoes thudded against the stucco walls before she pushed off again, silhouetted by the burst of sunrise fire licking the sky.

Tanner's heart stopped for the second time in twenty-four hours. Except this time, her life wasn't in danger because of some accident or threat.

She'd risked her own fool neck out of recklessness.

One misstep, one lingering dizzy spell from her concussion and she would catapult to the ground. He didn't dare shout for fear of startling her, but when she landed, she wouldn't be so damned lucky.

Kathleen pushed off the side of the building, launching herself into the clear morning sky. Pilots had it all wrong. Who needed a plane? Flying solo offered the greatest rush, rappeling, parachuting, just the air and nothing else.

And she desperately needed that escape today.

Tanner was getting too close. He had her number, and that scared her. The tree, the name, those strong arms holding her through the night. She could too easily lose herself in him.

Her feet thudded against the stucco wall before she shoved herself back into the air. Rope glided through her grip. She needed to do something to work off the frustrated energy. Sex would have been a more satisfying way, but he'd been right to stop them.

She would work off her nervous energy out here. Alone. Rappelling was a lot less dangerous than relationships anyway. The risks were calculated and all her own, affecting no one but herself.

Watching him sleep had been far too enticing. Studying that square jaw softened by sleep, shadowed with stubble a shade darker than his hair. Tracing the outline of his full bottom lip, his brows, his nose.

Slipping free from his arms hadn't been easy. His hold was firm and her resolve was weak.

She was going to cave. Soon. And that whirled a mix of excitement and all-out fear inside her.

If a night spent sleeping in his arms scared her this much, what would a night spent awake in his arms do to her? Worse yet, what would happen to her afterward when one of them walked? Given their histories, she knew without question eventually there would be a foot race for the door.

Her feet pounded the side of the church with more force and less grace than before. She flexed and shoved for the last leap before she had to face Tanner—and herself.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Tanner's shout sent her sprawling on her butt. Stunned, she stared up at the harsh lines of his face tight with unadulterated anger.

She forced a smile and extended her hand for him to help her up. "And who the hell are you to talk to me that way?"

He pulled her to her feet, his gentleness definitely at odds with the ice flecking his blue eyes. "I'm supposed to be your partner. So? What made you do something so crazy?"

"Crazy?"

"Reckless."

She yanked her hand free. "I was scouting for the best way out of here. Good thing I did, too. There's a house not more than an hour's walk due east on another side road."

He jabbed a finger toward the horizon. "That house would have been there a half hour later if you'd taken the time to wake me up. Did it ever cross your lone-ranger brain to take me along?"

"No." Of course it hadn't because she'd been running from him, couldn't stop herself from running now. "In case you haven't noticed, hotshot, I'm not one of your girlfriends needing you to take care of me."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, come on. You've got to realize every woman you want needs helping, saving, protecting. Like with what's-her-name. Mindi. You took a whole weekend installing new locks on her doors to protect her from some stalker ex-boyfriend."

"That makes me a bad guy?"

"Why not call a locksmith? And it's not just Mindi. It's all of them. Haven't you noticed the protector-syndrome pattern? You don't have to coddle, cosset or save me. I can take care of myself." Even as she rolled through her arguments, she wanted him to step in and disagree. Prove her wrong. "Kind of interesting the past two times we kissed were tied into times you thought I was in danger or hurt."

His eyes blanked, no signs of either the angry or playful Tanner in sight. "I didn't realize your degree included psychology, Doc."

Part of her wanted to recall her words. Except they were true. "What was I supposed to do? Wake you up so you could haul your injured back up there, instead? I don't think so."