Chapter 7

The warm breeze shifted past Abby, wrapping her in the humid fragrances of the deep, tropical vegetation as the white orb of the sun heated her with a steady hot blast.

She barreled forward, in the midst of an argument with a man she didn’t love. Didn’t care about. Hated, in fact.

Bastard.

Though a niggling thought crept into her mind. Her energy level had spiked and she was feeling more animated than she’d been in ages. Was she, on some level…enjoying the fight?

Nuh-uh. Not possible. But as the scenery flowed past her, thanks to the frenetic speed of her legs driving her forward, she noted that part of her wanted to be as far away as possible from him, while the other part…

…wanted to tear him from limb to limb.

Ah, better. She smiled, satisfied. She was thankful too, no one was monitoring the moods on her face, changing quicksilver fast as they were.

She purposefully unclenched the fists her fingers had become. Yeah, she wanted to do serious damage to the ingrate.

Yep. Much better.

The ingrate caught up to her, breathing heavily. Hah. She’d already outpaced him, despite the fact he was practically a wall of muscle.

She glanced over and his taut abs caught her attention. Still bare-chested, his dusty shirt was tied around his hips. Did make it a bit hard to keep the thread of an argument. The arms of it were knotted in front, riding his junk. Her breathing sped up a bit.

Yeah, he was in okay shape, she admitted grudgingly. Decent shape. And make that numerous networks of walls of muscle. Make that…

“Why are you so flipped out about getting these pictures for McMaster?”

His words catapulted her back harshly to the reality of her life and her situation.

Why was she so flipped out?

Because everything was riding on them. All of her plans for placing in the contest, for proving her abilities in a tangible way. If she didn’t get the pictures and implement her plan, everything would be lost.

But she’d be damned if she’d share her worries with him. “Why do you care?”

“Just saying, It’s an awful lot to go through when you’re already swamped on this shoot. You kowtowing to McMaster. For a contest?” His lips formed into a wince. “Just saying.”

What, he was her buddy now?

But he’d fixed her with a gaze as they walked side by side, and it was that old, unrelenting look.

Tell me. Share your heart with me. Damn it girl, you’re important to me. Spill.

Something in her, one tiny sliver of a nanoparticle jumped toward him. Toward connection. Toward the relief of unburdening herself to someone who saw her. Who really cared.

Hah. She looked at his cheater’s face, and shook the urge off purposefully.

“Either you’re in or you’re out, but I’m getting those shots. And they’re that way.” She crooked a finger in the direction of Devil’s Taunt. “If you’re not into it, you’re welcome to get gone. I’ve got my GPS. Though your buddy may not be happy if you abdicate. Just sayin’.”

She threw a sideways glance back at him and the expression that streaked across his face surprised her. As did the sudden loss of color in it. A realization formed in her mind. A hunch. And she knew.

He needed those pictures, or McMaster’s goodwill, or something, just as much as she did.

What the hell did McMaster have on him?