“I haven’t read the brief yet.”
“There’s a brief? Let me read it.”
“No can do, baby.”
“It’s about me, let me read it, goddammit.”
“Keep your voice down,” he said, grabbing her arm and leading her outside.
Malin’s eyes were wide, and he could feel her heart rate pick up beneath his fingers resting on her pulse. “Am I being burned?”
“Not that you’re jumping to conclusions or anything.”
“This is my life, Dutch. Don’t fuck around with me.”
“What happened to you?”
She glared at him and put a hand on her hip. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t remember such colorful language.”
“Fuck off, Dutch. That colorful enough for you?”
“I didn’t say I wanted to hear more of it. Although, in a way, it is kinda sexy.”
Her knuckles were white, and she was digging her nails into her own palms while shooting daggers at him through her hazel eyes. Now probably wouldn’t be the best time for him to tell her how much he loved those eyes.
“Why would you think you were being burned, Malin? Because I blew up your op? I’ll tell you what, the agency insisted we didn’t. It was a condition of them giving us Ghafor’s twenty.”
“And yet you did it anyway.”
“Yeah, I did. We already talked about why.” He looked outside when he saw the helicopter approaching. “Time to go.”
“Dutch?” She put her hand on his arm. “Am I being burned? Just tell me the truth.”
She spoke softly, so he did the same, leaning closer. “I haven’t heard anything to indicate you were. You’
re going off the grid for your own protection. I’ll tell you this much. You’re headed to Langley and, from there, to Shaw.”
“I’m asking you again, who authorized this?”
“I did.” She probably thought he was being a smartass, but he’d just told her the God’s honest truth.
Malin bit her bottom lip and followed him out to the helicopter.
Once she was settled in her seat, Dutch climbed in next to her. Whoever the woman was who was bringing food to Langley better bring a hell of a lot of it. If not, he’d swipe a car and go get a few bags of burgers.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m starving.”
Malin nodded.
“I could really go for some of your spaghetti and meatballs right about now.”
She scowled at him and then turned her head.
“What?”