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the time to tell me it was a woman they’d send me, I still wouldn’t have envisioned a woman like you.”
    With silky menace, she repeated, “Like me?”
    â€œIt’s not an insult, Ray.” He shook his head. “In fact, it was a compliment.”
    â€œThere’s more to capability than brute strength, and looks can be deceiving. But as far as trying to compliment me, don’t. We’ll be spending at least one night in Central America, maybe two. Trust me, I look pretty bad after a couple of days roughing it. More importantly, I don’t care. I don’t waste time caring.” Her dark gaze swept over him before she turned down the road that led to his building. “Remember that.”
    He didn’t believe her. She wanted to be cold and indifferent, but she bloomed with warmth. For whatever reasons, she just didn’t want to admit it.
    Minutes later, she parked the hideous, rust-covered truck in the parking garage amid the array of expensive, richly colored cars. Ray didn’t seem the least bit impressed with the difference. In fact, she almost seemed contemptuous of his money.
    He liked that about her.
    Part of her present nasty attitude was due to surprise, he thought. She’d apparently expected some resistance on his part when she’d first shown up. What she didn’t know was that he’d called her agency primarily for a guide and only secondarily for backup in case of any physical confrontations.
    He could hold his own, so he didn’t expect her to have to engage in any physical battles, despite her more than capable display at the bar. She knew her way in and around Central America, and that was her value. The necessity for stealth made bringing along more than one person risky, and she had the credentials to prove she was the best, so she’d have to do.
    Ray walked to the front of the truck and waited for him. Long-legged, slim but with subtle curves, she had the appeal of natural, healthy good looks. She wasn’t classically pretty, not with that strong jawline. But her full lips and wide, very dark eyes were quick to catch and hold attention. And that attitude . . . He smiled. Ray wielded her attitude like a sledgehammer, using it to clear the way of any resistance.
    She riffled her fingers through her long, midnight black bangs, watching as he left the truck. Eli raised an inquiring brow. “Do you have a bag or anything you need for the night?”
    â€œIt’s under the seat.” She cocked out a hip in an impatient pose. “I was waiting for you to get out of the way.”
    Except for the few times he’d managed to take her off guard, her voice was soft and husky, seldom raised above a moderate tone. To maintain that air of control, she also kept her stance deceptively casual.
    Even when she’d thrown the man at the bar, she hadn’t tensed. She’d just sort of . . . maneuvered, bent the right way, and the big man had gone flying. Eli figured it was a necessary pretense on her part because she couldn’t really be that calm and indifferent to the circumstances of her ability. Much of what she presented to the world was a ruse.
    He intended to sift fact from fiction.
    Pulling the bag out for her, he started forward, but when he reached for her arm, she casually sidestepped, evading his grasp.
    To cover the nervous gesture, she said, “You’re taller than I first thought.”
    Eli stared down at the top of her short, glossy black hair. Usually towering over most women and a fair amount of men, he was pleased, though he didn’t know why, that Ray was only about five inches shorter than him.
    â€œI’m six-four. But you’re pretty tall, too.” And then, just to tease her, he added, “For a woman.”
    Somehow, when she glared at him, she managed to look him dead in the eye without seeming to tilt her head at all. He liked it. “Is this your only