I couldn’t believe I had been tasked with babysitting duty. The last thing I wanted to do was micromanage some beef head. I had plenty of other things I’d rather do, and Cruz knew it too. And yet, here I was.

“I’ll be your mentor.”

“I know,” he answered, his voice smooth and confident. His eyes were dark and impenetrable, like he was incapable of feeling deeper emotion.

“Good. So I expect you to be on your best behavior.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he mocked, the corner of his lips twitching with amusement.

“You better whip that smirk off your face before I do it for you.”

“I think I’d like that. Come on, sugar, show me what you’re made of,” he taunted, turning his head and exposing his cheek in my direction.

Suddenly, I grabbed him by the hair, straddling his lap so that our faces were but inches apart. “I’m not here to play around with you.”

He chuckled. “Then what are you doing on my lap? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you couldn’t resist me.” His smirk deepened.

I pulled his hair harder, my teeth bared in frustration. Apparently, I was babysitting a brat. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Without hesitation, I grabbed his earlobe between my fingers, twitching it hard.

“Ow!” He bucked his hips, throwing me off of his lap.

Effortlessly, I landed on my feet, picking up his file and browsing through it.

“Was that really necessary?” he griped, rubbing his ear. “Also, think you could take off these cuffs? You already have me in an ankle bracelet. It’s not like I’m going anywhere. Despite what you all think of me, I’m not stupid.”

I looked at him, my eyes narrowing in suspicion, trying to gauge whether this was a trick or not. In the end, I relented, undoing his cuffs.

He rolled his wrists before placing his hands on his jeans.

“So, you were discharged from the SEALs.”

“I don’t know why you’re asking me when the answer is right in front of you. Trying to harass me isn’t going to help you, honey.”

“It wasn’t a question,” I responded, my voice icy. “Says here that you nearly killed your bunkmate, going crazy one night. What happened?” I jumped onto the table, sitting with my legs on either side of him and staring into his dark eyes.

I was surprised. Most men would be ogling by now, but he seemed cool and collected – like he couldn’t be phased by anything in the world.

“I don’t talk about it.”

“I’m not giving you a choice. You’re going to tell me,” I hissed, grabbing him by the shirt.

“Oh, I’m so scared.”

“You should be. I’ll be your worst nightmare if that’s what it comes down to.”

“Trust me, baby, I’ve faced much more than you.”

I smirked. “You’re in for a rude awakening.”

“I’m sure.” He rolled his eyes.

His attitude was going to drive me insane. I couldn’t take much of this childish behavior. I had my four-year-old for that.

“Says here you were shot in the thigh.”

“Yep. Very observant. I’m so glad you can read.”

“Shut it.”

“Am I making you mad?” he asked, his voice innocent.

“How’d you get shot?” I continued with my questioning, knowing that it would only make things worse if I showed that he was getting under my skin. But really, I didn’t have time for this shit.

“By a gun.”

I ground my teeth, my temper already rising. If he kept at it, he wouldn’t make it out of this interrogation room.

“Do you want to see the scar? Because if you wanted me to drop my pants, all you had to do was ask.” He winked, his hands moving to his fly.

Before he could do anything, I kicked him so hard that he doubled over, crumbling to the ground and holding his stomach. I got down and stood before him. “Not so tough now, are you?”

“That was… a… low… blow…” he gasped, his eyes scrunched shut. “You coward.”

“You do what you must to survive,” I said. “Now, the way I see it, you’re nothing more than a scared kid. You went to war, and you shat your pants. You got shot, and you were scared. So scared that you started to break down. War neurosis set in, making you fear everything around you until even your comrades turned into enemies.”

“You don’t know what it’s like,” he spat out, sitting up, one eye still forced shut.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I was a SEAL myself.” I squatted down beside him. “Didn’t they ever teach you that old saying? Never judge a book by its cover? I may be small, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

“I never said you were. But that was still a low blow.”

I ignored his comment, getting back up and waiting for him to join me.

When he rose to his full height, he towered above me, his body strong and rippling with muscles. I knew that if it came down to it, he could probably overpower me, but I wasn’t going to let that happen.

I was the one in control of this situation.

“So, what now?” Emil asked, his voice husky.

To my surprise, it sent a shiver through my spine. Goosebumps formed on my skin like I had heard the sound of a lover. I shook away the feeling, dismissing it as a hiccup in my arousal. I couldn’t possibly be attracted to a criminal like him, could I?

Even the thought was preposterous. Of course I wasn’t.

“We start your training.”

“Training, huh?” He smirked. “What are you going to do? Transform me into your perfect little boy toy? Because I might just like that.”

“You wish,” I growled, instantly turned off by his lewd nature. It was obvious he only had one thing on his mind, and I didn’t have the time for such nonsense.