The fact Yael had pushed him away seconds after she’d come apart in his arms was driving him nuts—as if the sexual connection they shared was nothing out of the ordinary. He was still furious, with himself mainly.

For the first time in years, he was the one trying to prolong a relationship. They seemed to share something amazing. The fact he hadn’t been completely honest at the start made him feel like a jerk, but he’d had legitimate concerns and hadn’t been thinking straight.

Now she’d shut him out and he didn’t like it. Not at all.

Male ego? Maybe.

He understood that she was angry with him for the lack of trust and the invasion of privacy but, considering EG had infiltrated the task force via Parker’s team, his initial suspicion wasn’t so far-fetched. She was spooked but he didn’t think it was his actions that scared her—more the thought of getting involved with someone and he totally got that. She was still in danger from this psycho motherfucker though. It wasn’t like he could walk away and let her fend for herself, even if he wanted to.

He figured that they needed to catch this asshole and then he could work on things with Yael.

“Reminds me of Mallory’s home when we first met,” Alex said wryly, glancing at the houses on the edge of the trees.

Shane grunted again. He liked Alex well enough but he didn’t want to talk about the guy’s perfect life or ideal wife.

Alex shot him a look. “You and Yael have a falling out?”

“What gave it away?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the icy silence or awkward atmosphere on the flight down here? Or maybe your current brooding demeanor. I take it there was an argument?”

Shane made another non-committal sound. He couldn’t make out the guy’s expression in the darkness. They were both dressed completely in black including balaclavas and thin gloves. No FBI markings or insignia. They both glowed a ghostly green through night vision goggles. This was an off-the-books op that Ashley Chen said it was better she knew nothing about.

“Hard to argue when the other person refuses to talk to you.” Pretending she’d only been into him for the sex? It was laughable. He’d done plenty of only-for-the-sex relationships and this wasn’t it. Yael was too complex for a relationship to be that uncomplicated or two dimensional. What really surprised him was the fact he wanted more.