Accidental Commando

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Book: Accidental Commando by Ingrid Weaver Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ingrid Weaver
Tags: Suspense, Romance
annoyed because I ran after you, but—”
    “You placed yourself in danger.”
    “I was just following the story.” The door swung shut, cutting off the last of the daylight. She blinked to help her eyes adjust and continued upward. “I thought I’d be able to do it better from where the action was.”
    “Is this story so important to you that it’s worth risking your life?”
    “Is your mission?”
    “It’s not the same. I know what I’m getting into. You don’t.”
    “You’re just worried that if I got blown up, I wouldn’t be able to identify El Gato.”
    “I won’t deny that you’re useful to our mission,” he said. “You know that yourself. But while you’re with us, your safety is my responsibility.”
    “I’ll sign a waiver, okay? It’ll release you from any liability.”
    “There’s more to it than that. Because of your actions, Sergeant Norton was pulled off his assigned patrol route.”
    “What do you want?” she asked. “Another apology? Fine.” She rounded the corner of the landing for the second floor and increased her pace as she started up the next flight. “I’m sorry I interfered, but don’t you think you’re overreacting? I didn’t need you or your friend or anyone else to babysit me. I didn’t mean to go near the bomb. I’d only wanted to stay with you.”
    “I didn’t want you with me. If something had gone wrong, you could have been hurt.”
    “And you would have been killed. ” She halted and turned to face him. He stopped two steps below her, so for once she was looking down at him. Not that she could see much, since the nearest light was on the landing behind him. “You’ve got a lot of nerve scolding me about safety,” she said. “Doesn’t the army have robots or remote control gizmos that can go poke at bombs?”
    “I was closer. It was the best course of action. Didn’t Jack explain it to you?”
    “He said the bomb was meant to be a diversion.”
    “That’s right. El Gato was counting on us evacuating. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put the bomb where President Gorrell’s men would be sure to find it.”
    “Sergeant Norton said it was under a shelf inside a cabinet. I wouldn’t call that easy to spot.”
    “The public rooms are swept twice a day by dogs that are trained to sniff out explosives. That’s a fact anyone who took one of the daily tours would know. Even if the bomb hadn’t been found and it had gone off, it would have served the same purpose. We believe El Gato found another vantage point near the palace and was counting on forcing the envoy into the open.”
    “It seems like a pretty convoluted plan. Why wouldn’t he try to plant a bomb where the envoy is staying?”
    “The security measures in this wing of the palace are tighter.” He blotted his forehead with his arm. “Much of the public areas are overseen by the local police.”
    “The police. That’s why you don’t trust them, right?”
    He inhaled slowly. “Let’s talk about this some other time.”
    She peered at him more closely. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing. We should get moving.”
    Instead of going upward, she descended a step, bringing her face level with his. “You’re not as cool as you want people to think you are.”
    “It was at least a hundred degrees in that reception hall by the time I pulled out the last detonator.”
    “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Staying in control all the time and showing everyone how calm you are costs you, doesn’t it?” She touched her fingertips to the side of his jaw. “You’re in knots.”
    He caught her wrist. “Forget it.”
    “I could tell you were tense when I saw you. I hadn’t meant to argue with you.”
    “You could argue about gravity.”
    “That’s how I react to stress.”
    He rubbed the base of her thumb. “Don’t be stressed. Not over your story. It sounds as if Jack kept you informed. You didn’t miss anything.”
    “It wasn’t my story I was concerned about. It was

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