Panic swamped her. She needed to escape. She tried to get leverage with her knees, to throw him off, but he was too strong. Too heavy. “Why are you doing this?” she choked out.

Hands ran down her body, checking pockets.

She could barely breathe. “Are you a looter?” she rasped in a low, breathless voice.

The man above her froze, hands stopping mid-pat down. “What?”

“Why are you doing this?” she repeated.

The man placed a hand on her shoulder and flipped her to her back. She lay there, her arms trapped beneath her, digging into her spine.

He straddled her with his gun pointed to the clouds. He wore a military combat uniform, which included a tactical vest and helmet with night vision goggles mounted to the crown. His face was coated in forest-colored paint. But his eyes weren’t hidden or disguised.

Tears and panic ceased, replaced by shock. It was like the wind had been knocked out of her. Again, she couldn’t speak or breathe.

She was staring into the eyes of Xavier Rivera, the father of her unborn child.

Chapter Two

Xavier stared down at the woman he couldn’t get out of his head, the woman he’d ruthlessly wronged, and saw shock and terror in her eyes.

He wanted to rear back, pull her to her feet, and apologize for being rough with her, but through his earpiece, he heard Cohen say, “What’s the deal, Rivera? Is she here to stop the training?”

His focus snapped into place. He holstered the gun, which only fired paint-tipped rounds. She’d never been in any real danger from him, but he’d wanted to scare whoever was attempting to break into the basement.

From the look in her eyes, he’d succeeded. But Audrey Kendrick wasn’t a threat. He knew that much at least. He responded, “Gimme a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute. What’s going on?”

“Subject is in custody. I need to question her.”

He ignored Cohen’s reply.

He needed answers, fast. He met Audrey’s gaze again. Her fear had faded, replaced by anger. He deserved her anger, but if she’d come here to stop the training, then she’d earned his.

When he’d seen the woman in a thick raincoat skulking around the building, it hadn’t occurred to him it could be Audrey. He’d assumed she was an antimilitary activist who’d gotten wind of the exercise and shown up to cause trouble. Then he saw her go for the basement and figured she was there to do damage.