Free The Phoenix by Rhonda Nelson Page A

simply want to annoy you.” She tossed a wave at Burt as she continued on to the other side of the fence. “Have you thought of that?”
    “You have no reason to want to annoy me,” he said. “I don’t know you and, ostensibly, you don’t know me, therefore there’s no past history to interfere with what should be a simple working relationship. That you clearly want to annoy me means that this is personal. And since I don’t know you—have never heard of you until today—it only stands to reason that you do know me. Or at least of me.”
    She couldn’t argue with that well-reasoned rationale, so didn’t bother trying. With a huff of resignation, she drew up short and turned around to face him.
    Only he wasn’t right behind her as he’d been only seconds ago. He’d stopped several feet back and was inspecting something in his hand. Oh, hell. Now she’d missed something.
    She backtracked only to watch him slide the mystery item into his front pocket. He smiled down at her, the wretch.
    “What did you have there?” she asked. She’d told him about the peanut butter, dammit. Tit for tat, right?
    “How do you know me?”
    She blinked innocently at him. “I don’t know you.”
    He chewed the inside of his cheek and appeared to be summoning patience from a higher source. Irrationally, she got a perverse sense of pleasure from this.
    “How do you know of me?”
    He was going to find out soon enough, anyway, Charlie told herself. The instant he called in to Ranger Security to update his bosses on the status of the case he was certain to mention her involvement and the cat would be out of the bag, as it were.
    At least this way she could enjoy his reaction. And she wouldn’t have to tell him everything.
    “I hacked into their computer system several weeks ago and saw your file,” she said, lifting her chin. “Quite impressive. All-star pitcher at Pennyroyal High, ROTC scholarship to the University of South Carolina, completed Jump School at the top of your class, HALO training.” She reeled off the majority of what she’d read and watched his expression slowly atrophy.
    She wasn’t sure if he was more angry or appalled, but his displeasure practically thundered off him like lightning off pavement. He’d gone white around the mouth and, though she knew she must have imagined it, she thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of fear lighting his blistering, mad-as-hell gaze. But that couldn’t have been right. What did he have to be afraid of? What secret was he afraid she’d uncovered?
    She’d gone too far, she knew, but was too proud to admit any contrition. In her experience, when she gave a guy an inch, he’d take a mile. And she instinctively knew that any ground she lost with Jay Weatherford was going to be doubly hard to regain. Still, something about his expression—that single look of vulnerability—haunted her, gave her pause.
    He glared at her for what felt like an eternity, then turned abruptly on his heel and left without saying another word.
     
     
    “DID YOU KNOW?” JAY asked Payne without preamble when his new boss answered the phone.
    A significant, telling pause ensued.
    Jay swore and sat heavily on his bed.
    “You’ve met her already?” Payne asked.
    Admittedly, he was new to the job and unfamiliar with the rules, but this was bullshit. Payne was his boss, not his commanding officer, and if the former Ranger expected blind obedience, then clearly he’d hired the wrong man.
    She’d read his file.
    He didn’t have a fucking clue what was in the damned file, but given the level of expertise Ranger Security was known for, he couldn’t imagine that it was anything less than thorough.
    He mentally recoiled at the thought, his anger detonating once more. Since he was likely going to get fired anyhow he saw no reason to hold his tongue. Not that he would have been able to do so, anyway, but…
    He flicked a match against his finger, watched the tip ignite. “Look, Payne, I realize