They reached the designated safe house around one in the morning. It wasn’t much more than a shack really, located in the middle of an arid landscape. They weren’t far from the Grand Canyon, though far enough. The house was small, tucked away on a plot of land where nothing grew other than scrub and cactus.

Cody stood in the kitchen and dialed his HOT brothers. Viking answered this time.

“Good to hear,” he said when Cody informed him they’d arrived at the safe house. There was a pause. “We did a little digging on Miranda Lockwood.”

Cody watched the bedroom door where Miranda had disappeared. She’d been quiet when they’d arrived. Lost in her own thoughts. He’d actually thought she was warming up after the visit to the diner, but she’d gone silent again as the hours ticked by.

“Yeah? And?”

“And the CIA nearly had a shit fit when her name was mentioned.”

Cody’s neck prickled. “Really? Did they say why?”

Viking sighed. “You aren’t going to like it. They say she’s gone rogue. Say she’s dangerous and not to be trusted. They also want to know where she is so they can bring her in.”

The prickling sensation grew stronger. “Did you tell them?”

“No. But man, Mendez wasn’t happy when that phone call was done. He looked like he’d swallowed a nest of angry hornets.”

Cody didn’t like to think of Colonel Mendez unhappy. He’d seen the skipper angry once, and it had been memorable. Not something you wanted to call down on yourself, that’s for sure. The dude was legendary in HOT—and legendary in spec ops.

Since Cody’s team had joined HOT—the first SEAL team to do so—he’d learned a lot about the Army colonel in charge, though not as much as there was to know. He suspected that nobody would ever know the full story of Mendez. The legend was enough.

“Mendez doesn’t believe she’s turned rogue, does he?” It was intuition that told him that much, but he knew it was true. If Mendez had believed it, Cody and Miranda wouldn’t have made it this far. They’d have been picked up hours ago.

“Nope. But there’s something going on, something big, and you’re going to have to lie low out there for a few days while we figure it out.”

“Roger that—but is this something we’re officially involved in now?”

“Officially? No. But we aren’t turning her over. Yet.”

Yet. That was the word Cody didn’t care for. “I don’t think she’s gone rogue. I think she’s scared of something.”

“We’ll do what we can. You know that.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Cage says if you didn’t want to go to the wedding, you could have just said so.”

Cody laughed. “Tell him I’ll be there.” It was a week away. Surely he wouldn’t still be holed up in the desert with a sexy CIA agent by then. HOT would figure out what was going on, and it would all be over.

“Hooyah. We’ll be in touch.”

Cody hung up and went over to the bedroom door. He stood there for a long moment before knocking. When there was no answer, he knocked again, his pulse kicking up. Surely she wouldn’t run out on him now. It would be foolish to try to escape out here in the middle of nowhere. He had the keys, so she couldn’t take the truck. And leaving on foot was a suicide mission.

Still, he shoved the door open when there was no answer. It took a moment, but the trickle of water in the shower told him where she’d gone. He had to be sure, however. He didn’t really know Miranda Lockwood, didn’t know that she wouldn’t try to escape. She could have turned the shower on to throw him off his game.

Cody strode toward the bathroom door. It was open a few inches, and there was steam rolling through it. He heard nothing beyond the water, however. Nothing to indicate there was anyone in the shower.

He stood, straining to hear her—and then he pushed the door open all the way. At the same moment, the shower stopped and the curtain squealed open on plastic rings. Miranda blinked, her golden eyes wide, her body glistening with moisture.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away. Her blond hair was piled on top of her head, the ends damp and clinging to her face. Her breasts were firm and round, her nipples stiff in the cool air wafting over them after the hot shower. Her waist dipped inward before her hips flared out in an exaggerated curve. Her skin was creamy, pale. She trimmed. That was his first thought when his gaze landed on the triangle between her legs. Her hair was short, golden, trimmed almost bare but not quite. He could see her pussy lips, the pink clitoris between them.

His dick grew instantly hard.

“What the fuck?” she demanded, grasping a towel and hiding her assets.

It was too late for his dick, but he swallowed and tried to regain his equilibrium. “I thought you’d tried to escape.”

Her face was red, and not just from the shower he’d bet. She wrapped the towel tightly around her and held on to it as if he planned to rip it away in the next moment.

“Why the hell would I do that? Where would I go? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s nothing but desert in all directions.”

He had noticed. But it was dark, so he wasn’t sure she had. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, sunshine. Could be anything.”

“If I was planning to run away, I wouldn’t slink off into the night. I’d put my fucking gun to your head and demand the keys, asshole.”

He held up both hands, partly to keep her gaze from straying to his crotch. If she saw his response to her naked body, she’d be even more pissed. “Hear you loud and clear, babe.”

“Fine. Now get out and let me dry off. And don’t call me babe.”

He backed away, then stopped and met her angry gaze again. “Just for the record, you put a gun to my head and this isn’t going to end well for you.”

Because it had to be said. She was a trained operative, but so was he. And he wasn’t going down easy.

She stared at him evenly. “I don’t plan on it, cowboy. For now, you’re all I’ve got.”