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and the silence spun out between them. After what seemedlike an eternity, she stepped away, the movement casual.
    At that moment Dane was quite sure he could spend hours simply watching her move, talk, walk. Anything. Everything. With great determination, and not a little irritation, he again found himself having to force his mind back to the matter at hand. “And what’s to keep her from blabbing that all over the papers? Surely she didn’t just spill everything because you played the poor defenseless employee?”
    All amusement fled her face, leaving it empty and austere. “I’m better at playing defenseless than you might imagine. I had years of practice.”
    Before he could even open his mouth, not that he knew what he’d have said, she went on. “She obviously knew I was the suspended controller when she called. You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you I didn’t give away anything. You’ll also have to trust me that I don’t think her source is from my end. Mark Beck is the only one, except you and the pilots, who knows about the third plane.”
    “And what makes you so sure it wasn’t Beck who talked?”
    She faced him squarely, her hands on her hips. “Because he’s a walking, talking regulations manual. And because he’s almost asmuch of a tight-ass as you are. Hard as that is to believe.”
    She stalked off toward a small turquoise-colored sedan, opened the door, and got in. Dane managed to get to her car before she pulled out. He rapped once on the roof and motioned for her to lower the window.
    She resisted for a moment, then did as he asked, lowering all four windows. Heat rolled out in a wave over him, but it was nothing, Dane thought, compared with the heat that rolled through him whenever he was around her.
    “Yes?” she said.
    “We aren’t done discussing this yet.”
    “No,” she corrected him calmly. “
You
aren’t done discussing this. Frankly, I’ve had about all the subterfuge, interrogation, and doubt I’m willing to take for one day. If you want to talk about this any further, call me when you think you’re up to doing it without all the attitude.”
    She started to roll her window up, but Dane placed his hand over the edge. He was almost certain he was about to have his fingers smashed, but he stubbornly held on. In the end, she finally relented.
    His jaw tightly clenched, he leaned down and brought his face level with hers. “I’m not doubting your word. It’s just that I never take anything at face value. It’s what makes megood at what I do.” It was a fact, not a boast. “If you want to make sure you keep your job, then you have to work with me. And when you work with me, you play it my way. When I want your help, I’ll ask for it. No more meetings with reporters.” She opened her mouth, but he leaned a bit closer. “And no more running away the minute things get tough.”
    She didn’t appear the least offended, or intimidated, though he’d used his very best—and always effective—“take no prisoners” tone.
    “Yeah, well, that was always my problem, Colbourne.”
    “What? Running?”
    “No. Staying through the tough part and only realizing afterward that I should have run.”
    Dane watched in silence as she drove away.

FOUR
    Dane let his finger fall away from the doorbell, deciding a sharp knock would be better. His uncustomary hesitation had him pounding more forcefully than necessary on her door.
    He’d managed to go almost forty-eight hours without giving in to his need to see her again. Of course, this visit was entirely business-related. Just as the reprieve had been necessary so that he could examine and analyze additional information before confronting her again. So what if this was a bit outside usual investigation protocol? With Adria Burke, outside of protocol was fast becoming standard operating procedure. A good investigator was flexible.
    So why did it feel that by coming here—coming to her—he’d lost a battle?
    And he never