“I’m happy to hear you say that. What kind of a man would sleep with someone he suspected of murder? And, for the record, I didn’t like being interrogated.”
He couldn’t blame her—not when she was already dealing with grief. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I’m in command of this mission, but I don’t get to call all of the shots.”
He explained how all of Cobra’s resources were being thrown at this investigation and how the analyst team used the interviews to come up with a short list of people for them to question a second time. “They don’t know that you and I are involved, and they can’t find out. I shouldn’t have crossed the line with you, but I did.”
She stopped still. “You’re saying you regret last night.”
“Not at all.” Maybe he should, but he didn’t. “I have no regrets—not one. Last night was perfect. But I’m walking a tightrope here, duty on the one hand, desire on the other. Try at least to understand that.”
She started walking again but said nothing.
For helvede. Damn it.
They reached the Dark Sector Lab and walked up the stairs and indoors. Thor probably ought to have gone back to the station, but he wanted to make this right. So, he stripped out of his cold-weather gear, needing to talk to her without the masks.
She hung up her hat and mask and looked up at him, the hurt in her eyes mingled with grief. “You mean it when you say you don’t regret last night?”
“Yes.” But words were cheap, so he decided to prove it to her. “Come here.”
He drew her against him and kissed her. He meant only to reassure her, but the moment his lips touched hers, he wanted more than that.
He drew back, searched her face for any sign that she understood his situation. “I’m sorry you’re caught in this awful mess.”
She looked up at him, fragile hope in her eyes. “Duty versus desire?”
“That’s it.”
“And you still desire me?” Her lips curved in a teasing smile.
“So damned much that I’d be fired if my bosses knew what was running through my head right now.” He lowered his mouth to hers and—
The alarm went off on both of their phones at the same time.
“Shit.” He drew his phone out of the pocket of his snow pants, turned off the alarm. “Well, look at that son of a bitch.”
She took her phone out, too, stared. “Lance? What the hell is he doing?”
“It looks like he’s searching your room for something.” Thor grabbed his radio. “Jones, Segal, this is Isaksen. You two seeing this?”
“Isaksen, Jones here. Affirmative, we see him. We’re on our way there now.”
“I just got Dr. Park to the Dark Sector Lab and am heading back to the station. Detain him. Remember, you’re deputies. You have arrest authority. I’ll alert Hardin.”
Thor grabbed his parka, his hat, and his mask, and got ready for the trek back. “You stay here, lock the door, and don’t open it for anyone but me, Jones, or Segal. I’ll let you know what’s going on. You just focus on your work.”
“To hell with that.” She grabbed her parka. “I’m coming with you.”
14
Samantha followed Thor up the stairs, into the station, and down the hallway toward the A1 berthing area, where she could see a small crowd gathered.
She stripped off her hat, gloves, and mask. “Why would Lance break into my room? Does he think you hid the… uh… package there?”
“I’ve got a few ideas about that, but we’re going to find out.”
She heard Lance shouting before they reached the A1 pod.
“Get off me! You stupid bastards! You don’t understand!”