5

Given what he’d seen and read about her in her file, Khalia Patterson wasn’t at all what he’d expected. And Hunter wasn’t the kind of man who liked to be surprised. Not in this line of work.

Next time he talked to Tom, he was going to give him hell for this.

Hunter held Khalia’s gaze as he approached and pushed aside his misgivings about the job. First off, she was a hell of a lot prettier than he’d realized. The few pictures he’d seen of her hadn’t been of good quality, and her face had been all puffy and wet from crying at her father’s funeral. She might not be beautiful, but there was definitely something about her that drew his interest. She moved with a smooth, purposeful gait that spoke of a high level of self-esteem and he had to give her points for maintaining eye contact without flinching because right now he wasn’t making an effort to mask his feelings about this detail.

Taking her out to the tribal region while there was a credible threat against her life? Even if he hadn’t read her file earlier, with a single glance Hunter could already tell she didn’t belong here. It was obvious she was greener than green. That would only make his job harder.

With her long dark brown hair pulled up in a pile of curls, wearing a pale pink sleeveless dress that skimmed her rounded curves and ended just below her knees and those fragile high heels that emphasized a very sexy pair of legs, she looked about as tough as Barbie. Her face was too open, her startling light green eyes unique enough to draw attention, and worse, they gave away her every thought. Right now they regarded him with a wary light, probably because he looked less than pleased.

How the hell was she going to make it in the rugged tribal region? Everyone that met her was going to remember her eyes, and that wasn’t a good thing. He drew up a few feet from her. Pulling his professional demeanor around him, he opened his mouth to introduce himself and started to offer a hand when she beat him to it.

“I’m Khalia,” she announced, holding out a hand, a friendly smile in place.

He shook it politely, a bit surprised by the firm grip she used. And her eye contact never wavered. She wasn’t lacking in confidence, that was for sure. He didn’t yet know if that was good or bad though. In his experience, coming from the kind of money she did tended to give people an overinflated opinion of themselves. He hoped she wasn’t like that. “Ma’am. I’m Hunter Phillips.”

“Nice to meet you.” She released his hand and folded her arms across the

firm-looking breasts he was trying not to notice beneath the conservative yet nonetheless enticing bodice of that dress. “So, Tom sent you?”

He thought he detected a hint of suspicion in her tone, but having never met her before, he couldn’t be sure. “That’s right.”

“And I understand you were a SEAL?” “Yes, ma’am.”

She nodded once. Those pale green eyes, made even more vivid by her tasteful makeup and thick black lashes, swept over him in thorough assessment. And not in an appreciative way. His admission didn’t get him the reaction he usually got from women when they found out he’d been a SEAL. Not even close.

Instead, when she met his gaze again her expression gave him the foreign feeling that she’d measured him against some unknown yard stick and found him lacking. “If you don’t mind me asking, what Team were you with?” This time he was sure he wasn’t imagining the skepticism buried in her polite tone.

A bit taken aback, he eyed her guardedly as he responded. “A few different ones over the years.”

Apparently his evasive answer didn’t earn him any more points. Her gaze hardened, became almost cool. “Ah. And where did you go through BUD/S?”

Okay, this was getting flat out weird and the edge to her tone made it clear she wasn’t asking all these questions out of mere curiosity. Being grilled like this was the last thing he’d expected from her. Tom had told him she was kind and easygoing, and nothing in the dossier he’d read about her suggested she might be difficult to work with. Easygoing wasn’t exactly how she was coming across at the moment, however.

He glanced over her shoulder at her co-worker Ray for some indication of what the hell was going on, but the man seemed to be fighting back a smile and didn’t say anything as he spun around and walked away.

Turning his attention back to Khalia, Hunter set his hands on his hips and fought down his impatience. What the hell did it matter to her what Team he’d been with and where he’d done his initial training? He fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “Little Creek, Virginia.”

Another nod, and that assessing look that made him feel like she had him under a magnifying glass. Did she think he was lying? His spine stiffened. “And what rank were you when you left the Navy?” she continued.

“I made it to Lieutenant.” And that probably doesn’t impress you either, does it? Jesus, maybe he should have brought his fucking resume and a list of references with him for her to double check.

A frown creased her forehead, as though what he’d told her wasn’t adding up

in her head. Or maybe she couldn’t envision him as being capable of leading a platoon of men. “How old are you? If that’s not too personal.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Thirty one.” He swore he could read the dread in her eyes as she came to the realization that he was only three years older than her. Believe me, sweetheart, I’m plenty old enough to guard your pretty little tail for the next week. “Anything else?”

His crisp tone made her lose some of her bravado. A faint tinge of pink hit her cheeks, as though she’d only just realized that she’d been interrogating him in the middle of the lobby. “You’re just…not what I expected after talking to Tom, that’s all.” She flashed a tight, uncomfortable smile.

Yeah, that makes two of us. He’d be damned if he would apologize for who he was though. “He hired me for this detail on short notice.”

That seemed to make her even more uneasy. She eyed him again, trailing her gaze over his torso and back up to his face as if searching for clues to a puzzle she couldn’t quite solve.

He wanted to ask her if he passed inspection, but instinct told him there was more to this than disappointment or even dislike on her part. And as he stood there trying to understand the disquiet in her eyes, realization finally hit him.

She didn’t believe him.

Didn’t believe he’d ever been a SEAL, much less served as an officer in the Teams.

Seriously? He fought the urge to laugh. The last thing he’d thought he’d be doing this morning was having to prove himself to the woman he’d been assigned to protect. What proof could he offer her right now, other than his word? Did she expect a demonstration of his skills before she decided if he was qualified to be her head of security?

He doubted it would ease her mind to know that he could tell her exactly how many people stood in the lobby at that very moment, where they were positioned, where each exit was and the location and make of the vehicles parked under the porte-cochere outside the revolving front doors. Or that he had a pistol tucked away at the small of his back and a spare magazine of ammo in his pocket.

Those pale eyes flicked up to his once more. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long were you with the Teams?”

Why would he mind that one after everything else? “Six years.” Frustrated, he folded his arms across his chest. He knew the move was intimidating because it emphasized his size, but he didn’t give a shit if he intimidated her at the moment. He cocked an eyebrow in silent challenge when she continued to stare at him. “You want my BUD/S class number so you can check up on me? Call up

NAVSOC headquarters and have them run my records?”

Her gaze snapped up to his, a hint of steel entering her expression at his acidic tone. “And how would I know if you gave me the real one?”

Okay, to hell with this. He whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and thrust it toward her. “Call Tom and ask him yourself about my credentials.”

Flushing, she waved his hand away and lowered her eyes. “I’m sure that’s not necessary,” she murmured, clearly embarrassed at being called out.

No? For her it seemed pretty goddamn necessary. “Maybe you’d rather speak to my former commander at Little Creek instead. I’ve got his number programmed in here too.”

That intelligent gaze lifted to his once more, and he felt a shock in his gut as the underlying hint of vulnerability in her eyes finally registered. He’d seen that look enough to know what it meant. Whatever was going on for her, it was based on fear, not rudeness.

She held up her hands in self defense. “Okay, I realize I must seem pretty rude by questioning you like this, but I promise I’m not doing it to insult you. I’m sure you’re aware of what happened to my father here a few weeks ago.”

Better than she’d ever realize. “I’m sorry for your loss. But I wasn’t on his protective detail—our company wasn’t even involved—so I can’t be held accountable for what happened to him.”

“Yes, thank you, and I never meant to imply that you were.” She took a breath, let it out slowly and glanced away before continuing. “I don’t know if you’re aware of what happened, but… The head of my father’s security team claimed he was a SEAL and it turned out he wasn’t, not even close. The truth is he washed out of BUD/S after three weeks. The company he worked for lied about him, his background, and pretty much everything else, including the rest of the men on the team. It turned out they were a bunch of friends who wanted to cash in on the westerners hiring security contractors over here. No one found out about it until…after.” She swallowed.

Well, shit. Hunter frowned, his annoyance evaporating. Tom hadn’t said a word about any of that. No wonder she’d felt the need to question him. Guys lied about being SEALs all the time, mostly to pick up women, but he’d never heard of one of them making it through the rigorous background checks necessary to land a job as a contractor. Which meant the owner of the company John Patterson had hired was a slimy piece of shit too. “I’m sorry. That should never have happened.”

She waved his words away. “Despite how that sounds, my father was a very intelligent man. The security company was recommended to him by someone he met here in Pakistan. Someone he trusted. But they had to have known the

company wasn’t legit. I think they may have been in on it, hoping to get their hands on some of the initial ransom demanded when my father was kidnapped.” She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck, visibly distressed.

For some reason Hunter found he didn’t like seeing her upset. “Is anyone investigating that?”

“Yes. So when you said you’d been a SEAL, it made me suspicious. I’m sure a lot of guys in your line of work claim to be SEALs when they’re not, and I’m not exactly comfortable putting my life into a stranger’s hands after what happened to my father. Sorry if I offended you. That wasn’t my intention, and I apologize.”

Okay, so maybe she was likeable after all.

He inclined his head in acceptance of the apology because he could totally understand why she’d reacted the way she had. And he didn’t appreciate Tom failing to mention the incident with the asshole SEAL wannabe when he’d asked Hunter for this favor. But for now he needed to reassure her that he was the real deal.

“Tom was one of my chiefs when I was in the Teams,” he told her. “We worked together and he can vouch for me personally. Titanium’s background checks are extensive, like all the other security companies checks are supposed to be. They go back ten years, digging through our pasts, service records, living records. Every company I’ve ever worked for has checked me out with my former officers, guys I’ve served with, my neighbors, even my high school teachers.

“These companies often work for the government, so they thoroughly vet all of us because we need certain security clearances to do our jobs. Right now on this detail you’ve got me, a former Special Forces master sergeant, a former Marine Scout/Sniper, and an ex Force Recon member. That’s a hell of a lot of experience and firepower at your back, which hopefully we won’t wind up using. And we’re all legit, or Tom would never have hired us in the first place.”

“Okay.” Her smile wasn’t all that convincing.

They needed to move past this roadblock, fast. “What more can I do to put you at ease about this?”

Her expression tightened at his brusque tone, a hint of anger sparking in her eyes for the first time. “Look, I said I was sorry, and I am. I truly didn’t mean to insult you or your service record. I just wanted to be sure you were telling me the truth.”

“Understood, and I gave it to you, along with ways to check up on me if you want.” He had no doubt she’d do so the moment she got back up to her room, and more power to her. “Whatever misgivings you have about me, rest assured

I’m more than qualified to keep you alive for the next six days. I’ve conducted dozens of high risk missions, most of those as a SEAL platoon team leader, and I’ve never lost a Principal yet. I’ll get you into that mountain village where the school is, and at the end of the week I’ll put you safely on the plane back to the States. That’s all you really need to know about me.”

He swore she hid a flinch at his curt words. “Okay.” At least her nod was decisive this time, as if she was starting to come around to the idea of him leading the detail. “So being that we’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few days…can we maybe erase this conversation and start over?” The right corner of her mouth tilted up, her eyes holding a hopeful look as she offered a hand and raised her eyebrows. “Truce?”

Well, damned if that verbal olive branch didn’t instantly take the edge off his bad mood. “Yeah, truce.” He clasped her hand again, noting how cold her soft skin was. Despite the brave face, she was a hell of a lot more nervous about being here than she let on. Hunter filed that info away for later. He’d do what he could to make her feel secure for the rest of her stay in Pakistan.

Ignoring the slight tingle her touch had ignited in his palm, he released her and stepped back. She was a job, for chrissake, not a potential lay. “Your first meeting’s tomorrow afternoon, correct?”

“That’s right.”

At least she seemed pleased that he’d already memorized part of her itinerary. “You got the rest of your schedule ready for me?”

“It’s up in my room.”

“I’ll come up and get it in the morning.” That would give her enough time to unwind and call Tom, give him a turn in the hot seat if she wanted to go over Hunter’s background before they saw each other again.

As if she’d read his mind, a spark of chagrined humor lit her eyes. “I don’t need to call him. I believe you.”

“You’ll feel better if you talk to him.” They both would. And anything that made her feel more confident in his abilities would make his job easier, so her talking to Tom was a win-win.

Her lips twitched in a tiny grin, and it made her look impish. Like a voluptuous pixie with that riot of dark curls cascading down the back of her neck. In her heels the top of her head barely reached his chin. And while that pink dress wasn’t revealing in any way, the way it hinted at her curves made it disturbingly sexier by the moment. “You’re right, it will. But it’s not because I think you’re lying, okay?”

It seemed important to her that he believe that. He nodded once. “Fair enough.”

“Want me to tell him you said hello?”

“Yeah, do that.” Because God knew, Hunter had plenty to say to his boss the next time they spoke.

“Okay, see you in the morning then. Nine o’clock?”

He nodded and watched Khalia cross the lobby toward the elevators, head up, spine straight, her high heels tapping against the marble floor. It didn’t escape his attention that every other man in the room noticed her too.

Shaking his head, Hunter turned and headed back to the others waiting at the lounge’s seating area, wondering what the fuck he’d gotten himself into.