Hungry Like the Wolf(22)

But how was she going to get her hands on it? Her day with Gage and his SWAT team was about to come to an end, and she wasn’t sure if a return visit was in the plans—regardless of the casual invitation to do some target shooting.

“I hope I didn’t bore you too much,” Gage said when they reached the gate. “I couldn’t help noticing you weren’t interested in what I was saying about the NVGs. Not that I blame you—it’s pretty dry stuff.”

Mac felt her face heat. She hadn’t realized he’d seen her zone out. “I wasn’t bored. I was just a little distracted, that’s all.”

“Distracted, huh?” His smile was so knowing that for a moment she thought he was onto her. “Why’s that?”

Damn, he was making this almost too easy.

“Well…” She gave him a sheepish look. “I was thinking about the fact that I sort of fibbed to you a little before.”

“Fibbed about what?”

Despite the way he crossed his arms over his chest to show off those exceptional biceps and pecs of his, he didn’t seem angry. Or even mildly annoyed.

“Being here for an in-depth story about a day in the life of a SWAT officer,” she said slowly.

His eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here?”

Now came the really tricky part. Straying too far from the truth could get her into trouble, but she couldn’t be too honest, either. Usually, that didn’t bother her if it meant getting a story. But in this case, it did.

Mac ignored her guilty conscience and pushed ahead. “My editor sent me to confirm a rumor he’d heard about the SWAT team.”

“What rumor is that?”

She felt another twinge of remorse and immediately squashed it. This next part wasn’t really a lie—not completely anyway. “That your team is using performance-enhancing drugs.”

Gage didn’t say anything. Instead, he regarded her with those beautiful dark eyes of his. Crap. What if she’d tread a little too close to the truth?

But then he smiled that gorgeous smile. “Since you’re telling me this, I assume you don’t believe that?”

She moved a little closer, letting her arm brush against his. The brief contact made her body tingle all the way down to her toes, and she quickly stepped back. He was supposed to be the one getting flustered, not her.

“Of course not,” she said when she finally found her voice. “But my boss is going to need more to go on than my assurances. Especially since I’ve only spent a few hours with you.”

He considered that. “I can see how that might be a problem. Any idea how you can convince him the rumors are wrong?”

She threw him a quick glance from under her lashes to see if he’d caught on to her game yet, but his face gave nothing away. “I thought I could hang around the compound for a few days, maybe watch the SWAT team train…”

“Then your editor would be more likely to believe you when you told him you thoroughly checked everything out and concluded that none of us are using PEDs?” Gage finished for her.

She grinned. “Exactly.”

Gage didn’t return her smile. “I wish I could okay something like that, but the department has policies against giving a journalist complete access to the unit.”

Damn. “Isn’t there anything we can do to get around that policy?”

He thought a moment. “I suppose I could tell the department we’d been planning this story for a while and that I’m okay with you hanging out with us while you write it.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Sure,” he said. “I think we should spend a little more time talking about what you have in mind for your story before I agree, though. Say, over dinner tonight? If you’re free.”

Okay, she hadn’t expected that. Not that she minded going out with the handsome SWAT commander. In fact, she should have thought of it herself. What better way to get Gage to open up than over an intimate dinner for two?

Mac smiled. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

***

Gage heard two men come up behind him as he watched Mackenzie Stone walk back to her car. He didn’t have to turn around to know it was Mike and Xander. And he didn’t have to look at them to pick up on their disapproval.

“You know she was playing you the whole time, right?” Xander said. “She’s not here because she thinks we’re taking steroids. Her heart was beating too fast when she said it. She was lying.”

Gage didn’t answer. Instead he watched Mackenzie bend over to move something around in the backseat of the car. Damn, she had an amazing ass. He could stand there and gaze at it all day. As she straightened and closed the back door, he admitted her butt wasn’t her only amazing asset—she was supermodel beautiful with long, shiny hair, curves in all the right places, and a killer smile that could make a man do stupid things. He was going to have to be extra careful around her. Mackenzie might not look it, but she was dangerous. And it wasn’t only because Xander had been right about her lying to him.