Whirlwind (SAI Book 2) by Lea Hart

balked at the whole thing. Lord have mercy. Slamming the door shut, she turned and checked the clock. All of this before eight in the morning.
    Moments later, her phone rang, and she answered it with a growl. “What?”
    When Sammy’s voice came on the line, she felt foolish. Why should she take out her frustration on the only man who stood between her and danger? “Sorry.”
    “I’m calling you on Skype. I need to see your face and make sure that you’re not cracking under the pressure.”
    “I’m cracking, all right. But it’s because of my neighbor.”
    “That’s why I’m calling.”
    All she could hear were the birds calling to each other outside her window. The sound seemed at odds with what was currently going on in her life. As though the soundtrack to her current situation should include a heavy bass from a rap tune and not the melodic harmony of calm birds. “I’ll grab another cup of coffee and be ready in a couple of minutes.” Patting down her hair, she considered brushing it. “I might need longer if you can’t control your scream when you see me. I haven’t had time to put myself together yet.”
    “I never scream. I merely expressed my surprise at the way you appeared the last time we spoke.”
    “You keep telling yourself that, but from where I sat, it sounded like the scream of a fourteen-year-old girl. And not in a good way.”
    “If you’re done taking out your bad mood on me, I’m going to hang up.”
    She remained silent for a minute and thought about it. “I can harass you when we’re face-to-face.”
    “I look forward to it.”
    Sammy ended the call, and she shuffled over to the coffeepot and poured a fresh cup. When she dumped some cream into it and tasted it, she realized that it wasn’t as good as Grady’s. How annoying. He even made great coffee. The sound of a call coming in allowed her to quit thinking about him as she moved to her laptop. When Sammy’s face appeared, she tried to smile. It was fairly evident that it wasn’t working, because he cringed. “I told you not to be shocked.”
    “I’m not shocked…just surprised. How do you get your hair to stick up in so many different directions at once?”
    “Wild monkey sex. It’s not easy, but totally worth it.” She tipped back on her chair, drank her coffee, and waited for Sammy to get over his coughing fit. Apparently he wasn’t ready for true confessions so early in the morning. The fact that none of it was true just made it all the more entertaining. Glancing at her sketch pad, she noticed how handsome Grady was even in a pencil sketch. All she had done were quick drawings, but even with so little effort, she couldn’t deny how very appealing he was. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of all of his annoying qualities. While there was quite a list, none of it made a difference. Because even she couldn’t deny that he was a good and decent man at his core. Bossy and autocratic. But sweet and overbearing. God, she was giving herself a headache.
    “I’m back,” Sammy stated. “Got it together and fully operational.”
    Raising an eyebrow, she studied him. “If I say monkey sex again, can you hold yourself together?”
    “All I can do is try.” He straightened his tie and folded his hands.
    “For a man who was a Delta operator and then was on the HRT team, you sure are easy to rattle.”
    “Being in the Army and on the Hostage Rescue Team did not prepare me for the likes of you.”
    “Ahh…you say the sweetest things.”
    “If you’re done yanking my chain, then I would like to give you the latest. It seems your new boyfriend has been busy. He has his guys digging up everything they can find about you. SAI has access to some impressive programs, and in a couple of hours, Grady is going to know what grade you got in algebra.”
    “B-minus. That was my grade. It was never my thing.” Gulping down the rest of her coffee, she tried to compose herself. “Is this a bad thing or a good