offer?”
She sounded genuinely puzzled, he thought. Then again, what man would question anything she said in that smoky velvet voice of hers? He looked at the way her hair haloed her face, and he remembered the pleasure he’d felt when he’d held a lock between his fingers.
Was that another reason she’d been chosen for this mission?
The pleasure dissolved. He straightened up from the door frame and moved toward the sitting room window.
“Please, keep away from the window, Dr. Lemay. The curtains are closed, but the lamp casts your shadow on the fabric.”
He still didn’t have enough facts to form a definite conclusion, he reminded himself. He changed direction, crossing the room to the inlaid-walnut desk that held the suite’s fax machine and one of the telephones. He steepled his fingers on the desk’s glossy surface. “What do you know about my work, Captain Fox?”
“You research nuclear fusion.”
“My goal is to develop fusion power as an economically viable energy source.”
“Yes, I’m aware that you published a landmark paper on the subject several years ago, but you’ve kept your research confidential since then. That’s what you plan to speak about before the closing ceremonies on Saturday, isn’t it?”
“Correct.” He lifted his gaze to the mirror that hung on the wall beside the desk so he could watch her reflection. “Two days ago a representative from our government visited me at my lab in California. He requested that I continue my research under their supervision. All my results would be the exclusive property of the Department of Defense.”
She hesitated. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“No?”
“No, sir. That information was not in any of the sources I accessed.”
“Don’t you find that odd?”
“Yes, it’s definitely odd. A fact like that should have been made available to me. You said you refused?”
“Yes. I turned them down. I gave them nothing.” He folded his arms over his chest and faced her. “Less than twelve hours later, they suddenly discovered someone wants to kill me. I find that odd, too.”
“What does that have to do with—” Her breath hissed out. “Surely you don’t think the government is trying to kill you simply because you wouldn’t work for them.”
“No. I don’t think anyone’s trying to kill me, especially not the government. They don’t want my death, they want my work.” He studied her face. “And what better way to get it than to place someone, say a bodyguard, in a position where they had a reason to stay with me night and day?”
“Dr. Lemay—”
“Even better, what if they sent a beautiful woman, one whose healing injury would arouse my sympathy? She would have unlimited opportunities to gather information. Not only about my work but about whom I associate with while I’m at this conference and what other offers I might receive.”
He watched her string the facts together. It didn’t take her long. He could see the exact moment she understood his point. Twin spots of color bloomed in her cheeks—he’d bet it wasn’t because he’d called her beautiful.
Her lips thinned. “You think I was sent here to spy on you.”
“Were you?”
Her jaw flexed, as if she were clenching her teeth. “My appearance, my sex and my physical condition are irrelevant. I am an officer in the United States Army. I am not a spy.”
“You’re not regular Army, you’re Delta Force. From what I’ve heard, you’re all trained in unconventional warfare. Your stealth and secrecy are legendary. You don’t play by the rules.”
“Sir—”
“In addition, you’ve admitted you’re an intelligence specialist. You’re trained to gather information.”
“Call my C.O.,” she said. “Major Redinger will confirm my orders. I am here to protect you.”
“But that’s the problem. Would he be telling me the truth, or only confirming the cover story you agreed on?”
The color in her cheeks deepened. Her knuckles whitened as she balled her hands into fists. “I didn’t risk my life by running through four lanes of traffic for the sake of a cover story, Dr. Lemay. And I didn’t knock you to the ground and add another bruise to my shoulder for show.”
Her struggle to control her temper was so obvious, Hawk found he wanted to discard his logic and believe her. “There’s another possibility. Perhaps you aren’t yet aware of the true nature of your mission.”
“I saved your life today, sir. That should be enough truth for both of us.”
“Who wants to kill me?”
“We don’t yet know.”
“What evidence do you have the threat is real?”
“I can’t give you details, but Delta’s intelligence-gathering network is extensive. Our informants let us know when Americans abroad are in jeopardy.”
“In other words, you have no hard proof, do you?”
“The only way I can prove beyond a doubt that I’m right is to let you be killed.” She reached behind her for her gun, glared at him for an instant, then turned and ran lightly to the door.
Someone was knocking, Hawk realized belatedly. He’d been so focused on this woman he hadn’t even noticed.
She pressed herself to the wall beside the door and called out in Swedish. A male voice replied. She took a long look through the peephole before opening the door as far as the security chain would allow. After a brief conversation, she replaced her gun at the small of her back, unhooked the chain and swung the door wide.
A thin blond teenager in the hotel’s blue-and-gold bellhop uniform wheeled a folding cot over the threshold. He smiled shyly at the captain, pocketed the tip she gave him and left.
Silence descended on the suite. Hawk looked from the cot to the black-clad woman who stood by the door. The flush in her cheeks slowly subsided. Her breathing steadied. She walked around the cot, inspecting it as carefully as she’d inspected everything else in the suite. By the time she had finished, she appeared to have her temper under control once again.
Hawk wondered whether she ever allowed herself to lose control completely. Then he found himself wondering what it would be like if she did.
She returned to where he stood, clasped her hands behind her back and braced her feet shoulder-width apart military fashion. She focused on a point somewhere behind him. “I will endeavor not to let your doubts about my honor or my integrity interfere with my duty, Dr. Lemay.”
Hawk raked his hands through his hair. She had turned his argument around. He tried to tell himself his skepticism about the death threat business had a logical basis,
