Page 70 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Brandon came into the room, carrying a tray. Straightening, Sean stepped out. He went into the other room directly across the hall. She spotted a desk inside, with a large, printed document on top, possibly a map or a blueprint. Various pictures were pinned on the wall, but she couldn’t get a good look at them from her vantage point.

Sean poured scotch into a glass. Shutting the door again, he came back. “Thank you,” he said, and the other man left them. Sean sat and held up his glass. “Let’s toast to the baby.”

She grabbed the jug and a paper cup.

“It’s bad luck to toast with water.”

Olivia set the jug down and eyed the orange juice. The sweetness could hide any number of sedatives.

Sean took the cup from her and swallowed half the juice. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t drug you,” he said, and she tilted her head, scrutinizing him. “Not while you’re pregnant.”

He handed her the cup and raised his glass again, his green eyes beaming. “To a smooth pregnancy, a healthy child, and your heart’s desire,” he said, his earnest tone warming her.

After telling Eli about the baby, Sean would’ve been the next person. Even before her parents.

Smiling, she tapped her paper cup against his glass and sipped the juice.

“I mean it.” He took a swallow of his drink. “I only wish your heart’s desire wasn’t Eli. You deserve so much better. How long have you two been together?”

The question was a taunt. He knew exactly how long.

“Five years? And he’s still stringing you along. I bet he doesn’t even want to be a father.”

Her tiny spark of joy turned to ash in her mouth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Had she pleaded with Eli in the room, to tell her how he felt, with her bleeding heart on her sleeve, with Sean listening? “He wants to marry me.”

“Of course he does. Eli is nothing if not predictable.” Sean crossed his legs. “Tell me about the proposal. Was it a grand romantic gesture? Eli down on bent knee holding a ring?” His tone was laced with sarcasm. “Did he tell you he couldn’t imagine his life without you? That he loved you?”

Stiffening, she pursed her lips. Trying to drive a wedge between her and Eli only made sense. It’d make it easier for him to recruit her. She couldn’t blame Sean for the effort.

But the blow was perfectly aimed, hitting its mark, and it stung.

Sean chuckled. “From your expression, I doubt it. Let me guess how it really unfolded. In bed. Postcoital. In a rather clumsy, perfunctory manner. No declarations of love. No ring. Because he only proposed out of a sense of obligation.” Another scathing laugh. “I’m glad you didn’t say yes and instead hung on to your dignity.”

She wanted to squirm from humiliation but resisted. Sean had overheard the most embarrassing part of her conversation with Eli.

Now Sean’s words echoed in her head, chipping away at her heart. Precisely as he had intended.

During their time as partners, she’d shared too much with him. He knew her too well, understood her vulnerabilities, her one weakness, and stabbed her right in the soft underbelly.

“At the motel, why did you make the bed?” Anything to change the subject. “Instead of simply leaving the note.”

“To see if being with Lover Boy dulled your edge. A keen eye is essential to survival in our world.”

True. It was also true that she’d been distracted because of Eli. She should’ve noticed the made bed as soon as she walked in the room.

“I need to share something with you.” He eyed her carefully. “Something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time.”

“You’re back from the dead. If not now, then when?”

Smiling, he leaned toward her and put a hand on her knee. “When I was trapped in the OmniSight server room and I swore I was going to die, do you know the hardest part? What made it excruciating?” Staring into her eyes, he paused. “It was the thought of never seeing you again.”

Her gut clenched.

Was he serious?

Was Eli right about him, that Sean’s feelings for her weren’t platonic or familial in nature? Or was this part of the game to lure her to his side?

“I love you,” Sean said. “I have since our first mission.”