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For some reason she held her breath waiting for him to say something. Swear at her, shake her hand, anything would be better than that empty stare he was giving her.
    “Son of a…” he said, then turned and kicked the chair behind him.
    Walt felt Sam flinch slightly when the chair sailed to the other side of the tent. He wanted to wrap his arm around her, protect her. But he knew she could protect herself. His muscles went on alert in case Kong came for her. He wasn’t sure what went on in the woods, but this guy was not happy that it came from a woman.
    Sam had no idea why she flinched or why she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
    She only knew this wasn’t the reaction she’d hoped for. And why that was confused her even more. Feeling her uncle move closer to her made her snap out of her self-pity. She watched Kong’s back as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. When he turned back toward her his face was neutral but his eyes still told his true feelings.
    “Sam, this is Lieutenant Ben Campbell.” Walt said hoping to draw attention away from Kong.
    “Nice to meet you Lieutenant.” Sam said then reached out to shake his hand.
    “My pleasure and it’s Boomer.”
    Walt continued, “This is Lieutenant Carl Underwood.”
    Sam reached out to shake his hand and smiled when he took her hand so gently. “They call me Ricochet.”
    “And this is Lieutenant Mark Lowe.”
    Sam didn’t reach her hand out to him. She’d shake his hand when he decided the time was right. Instead their eyes met and held for a brief moment. Sam felt her stomach flutter and her knees shake. Just when she thought it was time to move on, he reached out to shake her hand.
    “They call me Kong,” he said calmly.
    Sam put her hand in his and swore she felt electricity shoot up her arm and directly into her heart. She held his eyes the entire time and knew he felt it as well. Immediately they dropped the handshake and both reached to rub their arms.
    “Now, if you’ll all take a seat you can ask Sam some questions to put your minds at ease. But keep in mind she won’t be able to answer them all,” Walt said.
    All five sat, Kong sitting in the chair that he’d kicked across the tent. He’d placed himself so he could have a good view of her face while they spoke. He knew something wasn’t right and now he knew what it was. He’d never worked with a woman like this in his life. Especially one so beautiful.
    Boomer and Ricochet sat on each side of her firing questions at her. Kong wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying. He could only look. She was petite but strong. Her muscles showed underneath her black turtleneck. She wore her jet black hair in a short wispy style that accented her high cheekbones and creamy skin. He could tell she wasn’t wearing any makeup, probably because she didn’t need to. Her eyes were a light gray, gun metal gray was how he would describe them. They almost sparkled when the light hit them just right. Her dark eyelashes made them stand out even more.
    When she glanced up at him he felt as though she could see into the deepest depths of his soul.
    Kong’s eyes slid to her mouth, which at the moment was smiling. Her lips were lush, pink and looked as soft as rose petals. His stomach clenched then fluttered when he started wondering if they felt as soft as they looked. Not good, he thought to himself, not good at all.
    “Kong, hey Kong. Is there anything you want ask her?” Ricochet asked when he noticed Kong sitting there staring at her.
    Kong groaned silently to himself. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t even know this woman and here he was eyeing her like she was a piece of prime beef. God, this wasn’t going to work out very well.
    “Yeah, I have a question. What kind of training have you had?” he asked with a smug look on his face.
    Boomer’s voice rumbled through the tent. “How can you ask that? Does it matter? She’s been on more ops than the three