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thought of touching another person
except through the rush of extracting information from an unwilling subject.
The thought of someone being so close to him was distressing. But he had to put
on a façade for his men and there had been no shortage of disposable female
candidates abducted from nearby settlements.

 
    Chapter 8
    Carlie looked at the note from Shane a
fourth time and then at her watch, which revealed she had only an hour. She
quickly showered and changed then strode upstairs, past the cafeteria to the
end of the hallway. She knocked on the door to the lounge but got no response.
She opened it and slowly entered the dimly lit room, making out a silhouette of
a person standing in the corner, his arms folded. She instinctively placed her
hand on the folding knife in her pocket while inhaling a pleasant aroma of pasta
that saturated the air.
    “Welcome to La Restaurante de Shane, my
good lady.” Shane moved forward from the shadows into the glow of candles illuminating
the decorated table in the middle of the room. The table was set for two with a
steaming bowl of noodles, spaghetti sauce, and rehydrated beef. Alongside it
were assorted dishes of crackers, cheese, and two goblets of wine.
    She straightened up, walking inside and
closing the door. A smile began creeping out, peeling back her ever-present
warrior exterior and revealing a side of herself she barely knew.
    “I know we had a dinner date once in
Tucson after we first met on some inter-agency event but I always hoped we
could pick things up again someday. I’ve decided that the time has come.” He
smiled and motioned with his hand to the table.
    “Did you now?”
    He pointed to her hand on the folding
blade. “And this is a crime-free zone, at least for tonight, so you can ease up
on your weapon there, Agent Simmons—or may I call you Carlie.”
    She eased off her defensive posture and
moved forward, slapping him on the arm. “You are something. I didn’t anticipate
this move.” She looked at the food and surroundings which had been neatly
arranged. “I’ve seen how you grill food in the field—did you have some help
with this meal from Eliza or Matias or am I to assume that you undertook this
operation on your own?”
    “Oh, you’ve never tasted cooking like this
before, I assure you.” He reached for her arm and escorted her into her chair.
“Plus the dessert of rehydrated ice-cream will have you pleading for more.”
    “More what—Tums?” she said, laughing.
    “Now, now—you go easy on ole Shane. I had
to make these room reservations way in advance and barter some of my contraband
tequila to Duncan.”
    “Ugh, great, does anyone else know about
this other than all of our friends and colleagues?” She held up her wine glass
as he poured in some chardonnay.
    She looked around at the setting once more
and up at his beaming face. “Well, good sir, it’s all very impressive and very
surprising—you totally caught me off guard and that’s not easy to do.”
    Shane tilted his head. “No—no it’s not. I
thought that if this didn’t work or you came in the door, guns ablaze, doing a
room sweep, that things might turn out differently. But here we are,” he said,
sitting down opposite her, his face fully illuminated by the candles. Carlie hesitated
to drink as her eyes widened at Shane’s smooth facial features. “Dear Lord, you
even shaved. Why Shane Colter, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
    He rubbed his chin and then held up his
glass. “A toast then, to new appearances, a hot meal for a change, and great
company.”
    She tapped glasses with him, emitting an
easy smile, her eyes drifting over his jawline and down his shoulders. Carlie
took a sip and then set her glass down. “You know the last time we did this in
Tucson, you left me to pay my portion of the bill. Did it ever occur to you
that that’s maybe why there wasn’t a second date?”
    Shane arched his back and leaned into his
chair. “Now wait a minute, I