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Sarammlover - Novak is the kind of guy who thinks he can do whatever he wants. Well, not with Maria.

Emadaps - Michael won't be able to calm down, after seeing how Novak behaved with Maria.

Jana1977 - It's a complicated situation, with Michael and his dreams. One that will be solved in the end.

Luluzita - Yep, Michael was dreaming of that scene in ID.

ItsMeSila - Yep, Novak is about to get a serious warning from a pissed off Michael Guerin. He deserves it. He has to learn that no means no.

Valentinebaby - Gabriel didn't want Michael to use the bottle as a killing weapon. Although Michael's hands ARE killing weapons.

Candysteffi- Yes, possessive Michael, he has come a long way from who he was in the beginning of the story.

Lume P - Michael from this universe is starting to understand what love means and he gets that the other Michael wouldn't have let anything happened to the woman he loved.

Marsis - Michael's hair? No, just Michael being lazy and not taking care of that. Hmm, can't say anything about the ID dream, you know that, right?

Part 47

Maria glanced at Novak, furious that he had dared to put his hands on her. "Get your hand off of my ass," she gritted out through clenched teeth. "I don't know what else I need to say for you to - " Her rant was just getting started when a large hand wrapped around the man's throat and jerked him away from her.

Her eyes widened in shock when she realized it was Michael who had grabbed the other man. As she watched, he practically lifted Novak off of his feet and slammed him down on the surface of the pool table. His hand was still wrapped around Novak's throat and he didn't seem the slightest bit worried about the man's inability to breathe.

She hurried over to face Michael, wrapping both hands around his wrist as she tried to get him to release the other man. She didn't understand why no one had moved to stop what was happening. "Michael, you need to let him go."

His dark gaze lifted from Novak's terrified eyes to look at Maria. "You're okay?"

Maria nodded, transfixed by the intensity in his expression. "Let him go," she repeated softly. She was relieved when his hand loosened and Novak rolled over, fighting to pull air into his oxygen-starved lungs.

"Gabriel took my beer."

Maria smiled. "That's good. There's no telling where you would've stuck that bottle. I'll get it for you." She paused to glance at him. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, but…"

She nodded in understanding. "I'll fix you something when we get home. Let me get your beer and then finish my shift, okay?"

As soon as her back was turned and she was on her way to the bar, Michael's hand tightened on Novak's throat and he slammed his head back down against the pool table. His eyes were black with anger as he leaned over the prone man who was clawing at the back of his hand. "You ever put your hands on that woman again and I will tear your fuckin' throat out." He searched Novak's gaze for several seconds before letting him go and stepping back. He reached for the eight ball and rolled it into the corner pocket. "Looks like you just lost, Novak; I think if I were you I'd call it a night." He pulled his hand back and was turning when he came face to face with Maria. He plucked his beer from her fingers and grinned at her. "Novak was just sayin' how he's not gonna bother you anymore."

"Uh-huh. I have my doubts that he said much of anything."

Michael shrugged and took a drink from the bottle in his right hand. "It wasn't so much a verbal statement."

"Uh-huh."

He motioned to something behind her. "I'm just gonna go talk to Sanchez until you get off."

"I think that's a good idea." Maria watched him as he made his way over to the table where Sanchez had been sitting all evening. Maybe he would talk to Michael, she thought. It was unusual for the man to hang around the bar until closing and he had been even quieter than usual.

She glanced at Novak once more before going to check on her section one last time before closing. She hadn't wanted Michael to hurt the man, but she didn't have a problem with him using brute force to get Novak to understand that she wasn't interested.

She couldn't deny that there was a part of her that responded to Michael's actions, some elemental thing inside of her that reacted to his primitive display of jealousy. It was that type of behavior that made her want to silence that little voice in her head, throw him on the nearest flat surface, and rip his clothes off. She hurriedly shook those thoughts off and grabbed one of the gray tubs so she could start clearing tables.

*****

Michael dropped down in the chair across from Sanchez, greeting the man in his native tongue. The Hispanic man raised his shot glass in greeting and nodded once. "You straighten him out?"

"I think he understands my position a little better now." Michael placed his bottle on the table between them. "What're you doin' here so late? You're usually home with the wife an' kids by this time."

"Some days it's hard to go home." He sighed as he leaned forward over his glass. "I think maybe it's time to find another line of work." He shook his head and reached up to rub his eyes with both hands. "I was interrogatin' a young man with ties to a terrorist organization earlier today…" He shook his head. "He was just a kid; 19, in over his head, scared to death… pissed himself when I got in his face and told him what we'd do to him if he didn't give up his contact's name."

Michael had seen Sanchez in action and no one who hadn't seen that side of his personality would ever suspect that he was capable of such cold, calculated, viciousness. "Kid or not, you know what they turn into once those organizations get their claws into 'em, Sanchez." He paused. "You break him?"

"We got the information, threw him in a cell, and while I was signin' off on the paperwork he dug a spring out of the mattress and slit his wrists." He slumped back in his chair and tossed the shot of tequila back.

Michael's first instinct was to simply say, 'Good, one less terrorist to deal with', but he could see that the other man wasn't seeing it that way. More of Maria's damn influence, he thought. "Fuck, you didn't make him do that, Sanchez."

"I pushed him to it though and now he'll have to live the rest of his life knowin' that he tried to kill himself." A small smile slid over his face as he shook his head. "I know you don't understand why this bothers me, but goin' home to be with my wife and kids after a day like this is difficult."

Michael shrugged. There was no point in denying the man's statement.

"I've been where you are," the older agent said with a humorless chuckle. "And back then I wouldn't have understood these feelings anymore than you do now. It was a lot easier when things were black and white, and there weren't so many shades of grey. 17 years of marriage and six kids changes things, though… makes you look at things in a different way."

Michael slouched down in his chair and stretched his legs out under the table. "What would you do if you left the Company?"

"Make wine. I promised Ana years ago that when I retired from this job we'd buy land in the valley and we'd have our own vineyard." He smiled as he stared into his glass. "She'd like that."

Maybe he didn't understand what Sanchez was talking about, but he could see that the man was losing his focus and that was dangerous to him and everyone he worked with. "Then get out, Sanchez." Michael shook his head. "You start sympathizin' with a suspect you become a liability. Once you start to humanize them you lose that edge that allows you to do this job; that's how you get yourself or one of us killed. All it takes is one mistake, one slip up, and your wife's a widow and your kids are fatherless, so get out before that happens."

Sanchez chuckled, surprised by the man's advice. He wondered if Michael had any idea how much he had changed over the past few months. "Looks like that woman of yours is just about ready to go," he commented, interested in the other man's reaction.

"Have any of the others gotten outta hand with her?" Michael asked, glancing back to watch Maria as she gathered her things together and talked to a couple of the waitresses.

"There've been a few comments that she quickly put a stop to and she's dodged Novak's wandering hands on more than one occasion. He's never gotten as bold as he got tonight though, puttin' his hands on her like that."

Michael's blood started to boil at the memory of Novak's hand sliding down over her ass. "Why didn't Gabriel step in?"

Sanchez finished his drink and shrugged one shoulder. "She told him she could handle Novak. If it had looked like she had lost control of the situation he would've stepped in, you know that."

"Motherfucker had his hands on her," he grated out. "It was already outta control."

"Okay, boys, it's time to go," Maria said as she came up to their table. "Sanchez, your cab's waiting out front, and no arguments. You have a family waiting for you at home and you've had more to drink than usual, so you're taking the cab."

He had opened his mouth to protest but changed his mind and nodded instead. "Right." He stood and glanced at the other man as he reached for his jacket and slid it on. "Some things are more important than the job."

Maria frowned at his choice of words. What'd his job have to do with him drinking too much to drive home? She looked at Michael as he tipped his bottle in Sanchez's direction before taking a long drink. She had no idea what their exchange was about and she probably didn't want to know, so she decided to just leave it alone.

*****

Michael headed straight for the shower when they got home and Maria busied herself with looking for something quick to fix for him. She finally settled on reheating the chicken parmesan she had made the day before, throwing a salad together, and then warming up some garlic rolls in the oven.

She was putting everything on the table when he came into the kitchen a while later, dressed in a pair of low-hanging cargo pants and a sleeveless tee shirt.

"You're not eatin'?" Michael asked, disappointed when he only saw one plate on the table.

No, she hadn't intended to eat; she really just wanted a hot shower and then eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Her plan had been to talk to him while he ate and then head for the shower. Instead, she found herself going to the cupboard to get another plate.

"How was your assignment?" she asked once she was seated with a plate of food.

Michael had dug into his meal like a starving man, but he slowed down to talk to her. "Boring. I didn't do anything but stand around in a monkey suit the whole time. I'm surprised I made it out with my sanity intact."

"You don't find functions like that interesting?" Why did she even ask questions like that? She already knew the answer; Michael would always be Michael, and official parties like that would only bore him to death.

He groaned, not even wanting to remember the assignment. Or, non-assignment. "No. It's all a bunch of political bullshit. People getting what they want because they're willin' to kiss some politician's ass." He chewed on a mouthful of chicken and pasta. "Most of 'em completely compromise their own belief system just to get what they want." He tore one of his rolls in half and mopped up the marinara sauce left on the plate. "I've gotta give Covington credit in that respect though; the man doesn't compromise his integrity. He told more than one stuffy politician to go fuck themselves." He chuckled as he popped the roll in his mouth. "That right there made it worth spendin' four days in D.C."

"So, are you home for a while now?"

"Not really sure."

"You haven't really had much downtime between assignments lately."

"Well, I've got one that's pending; Xavier's waitin' on some Intel from an undercover agent in Brazil." He shrugged and leaned over to spear the remaining chicken on her plate. "He wants to send me an' Stone in to recover some American doctor that was kidnapped by the rebels down there."

Maria felt as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice down her back as soon as Stone's name was mentioned. He was gonna be with STONE, of all people, on a mission?! "Well, if he has an agent already there, why does he need to send you in?" She couldn't help asking why his presence was necessary. Wasn't Stone capable of gathering the Intel by herself?

Michael smirked when she didn't even mention Stone. "Because the agent is undercover and if he were to be involved in the doctor's rescue he'd compromise his entire mission."

"Why can't they send someone else?" She just couldn't let it go; she felt like Stone was a threat to her. The woman had already slept with Michael, so what was to stop them from doing it again?

"They could, but Stone's already got contacts established there since she's done a lot of her work in that region."

"Okay, that explains why they're sending Stone, but I didn't ask about her."

"She trusts me to watch her back." Michael wasn't stupid; he could see that the upcoming mission was bothering her a lot. Good. She had to admit that she wanted him eventually, and if she was alone at home while he was out of the country with Stone, Maria would have plenty of time to think about them engaging in sexual relations while out of her sight. If everything went according to plan they'd be together when he got back; she'd be so ready for him that she wouldn't be able to deny it any longer. This mission would be a revelation for Maria, Michael mused, nodding to himself. The time would finally come for her to make her decision.

"Uh-huh." Maria finished off the last of her beer before getting up to get another one. She viciously twisted the cap off and threw it in the trash can, taking a long drink before turning to look at him. "She probably just needs to get laid."

Michael laughed at that. "Hell, Stone's not waitin' around to fuck me anymore than I'm waitin' around to fuck her." He really liked it when Maria got jealous and he didn't know why. Jealousy was something that insinuated ownership or possession and he had always avoided that where women were concerned.

"Whatever." She set her beer on the table and reached for their dishes. Her gaze shot to Michael when his hand wrapped around her wrist.


"I got this. Go on and go take your shower."

"Really?" It wasn't the first time he had offered to load the dishwasher, but she was always wary of any offer he made to do things he didn't like to do.

"Sure." He shrugged and released her to snag her beer and take a drink. He leaned back and slouched down before lifting his legs and propping his feet up on her chair. He ran his tongue around the mouth of the bottle and he saw her hands tighten on the back of the chair across from him. He had backed off in his pursuit of her; he wasn't pushing as hard as he had been before their visit with Dupree, but he still liked to push her buttons when she was least expecting it.

Her gaze was locked on his mouth and he forced down the grin that wanted to surface in response, knowing it would tip her off and she'd realize what she was doing. He took another drink before running his tongue around the rim again and then dipping his tongue into the opening. He couldn't stop the grin this time and he didn't even try to when he heard her sharp intake of breath. Her gaze flew to his and her expression said she knew she'd been caught. He tipped the bottle towards her and winked as he moved to stand up. "Think about me while you're in the shower," he whispered huskily as he leaned in close to her.

He laughed at the muttered "fuck" that escaped her lips as she snatched the bottle from his hand and glared at him as she hurried from the room. He still wanted her and he knew she wanted him, but they were still dancing around each other. If she honestly wasn't interested he would've dropped his pursuit long ago, but he could see it simmering in her eyes when she thought he wasn't paying any attention. He started to stack the dirty dishes as he let his thoughts wander to his upcoming mission.

*****

Maria cursed a blue streak as she stepped under the ice cold spray, using every single filthy curse word she'd learned in the past six months. She had long since passed the point where touching herself brought any satisfaction; it was nothing more than a way to achieve temporary relief now. There was only one thing that was going to ease the ache between her legs but she refused to be a slave to her sexual desires. She would not trade her Michael's memory for a briefly satisfying sexual encounter with his double.

Briefly satisfying? her mind taunted, laughing at her. Satisfying, yes, but there would be nothing brief about it. The man was built for sex and there was no way he was the type to leave a woman unsatisfied; his ego wouldn't allow it.

"Hey, Maria?"

She winced when she heard him moving things around on the counter next to the sink. "What?"

"I'm gonna brush my teeth, so think twice before you step outta the shower."

"Fine," she grated out. It wasn't a fight worth having. The last time he had come in to brush his teeth while she was in the shower she had insisted he leave and brush his teeth when she was finished. Well, he had left, and after her shower was finished she had found him brushing his teeth and spitting in the kitchen sink. God, they had gotten into a huge fight over that!

"You need any help in there?"

Maria rolled her eyes when her body responded to his rough voice in spite of the freezing water pelting her. "Aren't you done yet?" she snapped. "How long does it take to brush your damn teeth?"

"Well, I'm done with that, so I was thinkin' 'bout shavin'," he mused. "Y'know, since cold showers don't make the mirror fog up an' all."

She could hear the smirk in his voice and it was as sexy as it was infuriating. She glanced down at the soapy bath sponge in her hand and without pausing to think she pulled the curtain back just enough to take aim at him.

Michael jumped back when something cold and wet landed against his neck and his left hand shot out to catch it. "Wow, I didn't realize the water got quite that cold." He chuckled and tossed the sponge over the shower rod and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. "Payback's a bitch, Maria," he called over his shoulder. "Don't forget that."

Sarammlover - Novak learning his lesson? Unfortunately, he isn't the kind of guy to do that.

Luluzita - Michael is playing dirty!

Jana1977 - Well, Michael isn't an easy going kind of guy, normally, but now that he knows about his feelings for Maria, anyone hurting her is in deep trouble.

Lozz83 - Maria is seeing a change in Michael, but it's her problem, now.

FHERIAN - Oooooh, no, Maria is so not loving Stone going on that mission with Michael. She knows that they have slept together in the past and she is afraid that they will again.

Emadaps - Good analysis about this mission leading to Maria acknowledging some truths. That's what Michael expects anyway.

Valentinebaby - Michael, cruel? Naaah.

Candysteffi - Michael is going to be busy preparing this new mission.

Marsis

So, Michael is setting Maria up with the trip to Brazil laying out his trap to finally get her to give in, huh?

That's his plan. Now, we all know that plans don't always work the way we intend them to.

Part 48

Maria was jolted awake the next morning at the ungodly hour of six a.m. when Michael jumped in bed beside her, nearly tossing her on the floor.

"Michael! Damn it, what're you doing?"

"At the moment?" He propped his elbow on the pillow and cradled his chin in his hand as his gaze traveled over what little he could see of her body. "Wonderin' if you're wearin' panties." She was wearing the tee shirt he had put on her after he had taken care of her that night in the park; she had never returned the shirt, choosing to keep it as her own and use it as a sleep shirt.

"No." She groaned and rolled over to bury her face in her pillow, blaming the slip on the early hour.

"Really?" He was intrigued. Normally that question earned him a glare as she told him to go to hell. He shook himself out of his thoughts; he wasn't interested in a cold shower before his morning run. "So, anyway, I hate to change the subject because, no panties? Sexy. But, that's not the point."

"God, if you have one, I wish you'd get to it."

"Right. Remember how I told you payback's a bitch?"

"What d'you want? Breakfast?"

"Nope. Wanna know what her name is?"

Maria rolled over to look at him in the pre-dawn light that was creeping in through the curtains. "What, Michael? What is her name?"

"Dawn."

"Oh, my God," she muttered. "I don't know anyone named Dawn and it's too early for riddles."

Michael grinned at her confusion; she was never coherent first thing in the morning and she'd only had about three hours of sleep. "Nah, you know 'er." He pointed at the window. "Dawn."

Maria shook her head and rolled back over. "I don't have time for this nonsense. I'm going back to sleep."

"You've got all day and night to sleep, woman. Get up and go runnin' with me."

Maria snorted as she burrowed deeper into the blankets. "Yeah, Michael, because that's gonna happen."

"Hmmm, so you'd rather we stayed in bed and slept in?" He shrugged and kicked his running shoes off. "Okay."

Maria jumped when cool air brushed against her bare legs and she rolled over, grabbing the blanket from him and holding it against her body. "What are you doing?"

"Well, if you won't go runnin' with me then I'll just hang out here and snuggle with you."

"You do not like to snuggle!"

He grinned lazily but his eyes were full of heat. "Part of me likes to snuggle."

"Fine. You win." She threw the covers back and climbed out of bed, careful to keep the tee shirt tugged down to cover herself. "I'm up," she growled as she hurried from the room.

Michael chuckled and glanced down at himself. "That makes two of us." He shook his head. "You'd better just calm down because we're goin' for a run and it's gonna suck for both of us to run in this condition." He got up and collected his shoes before going out to the living room to wait for her.

*****

Maria limped into the house an hour later, irritable and ready to take Michael's head off. "This is all your fault," she grumbled, shaking his hand off again.

"How is it my fault? I told you to be still, but no, you insisted on jumpin' outta the way."

"There was a snake on the path!"

"The fuckin' thing wasn't botherin' anybody," he shouted, slamming the door, "and if you had stayed still like I told you to do instead of jumpin' outta the way, the snake would've gone on its way and you wouldn't have fallen on your ass." He was pissed that she didn't trust him enough to stand still while he got the snake out of the way.

"You know why I moved, Michael? Because I've got a cramp in my leg and I couldn't stand still any longer!" She turned to glare at him. "I'm not used to running - "

"You said you stretched," he accused, returning her glare.

"Well, you know what? I lied!" She moved to limp past him when he suddenly scooped her up in his arms. "What're you doing? Put me down!"

He ignored her ranting and carried her into her bedroom, easing her down on the bed and sitting down by her feet. She had worn a pair of shorts so he had access to her leg and as he ran his fingertips along the back of her calf he could feel the knotted muscles. "Why didn't you say somethin'? You have any idea how badly you could've damaged the muscles by staying on this leg?"

"Ow!" Maria protested and tried to pull her leg out of his grasp.

"You just won't do anything the easy way, will you?" He tightened his grip on her ankle, shifting it to his lap as his right hand gently worked to unknot the muscles. "You should probably take a bath so you can soak this leg for a while."

Maria pulled her leg free of his grasp just as soon as the muscles relaxed. "I'll be fine after a shower."

"Why do you have to fuckin' argue with me over everything? I'm tryin' to tell you what to do so you'll feel better - "

"Because I can take care of myself!" God, she needed to get away from him! His touch was driving her insane! "I've had cramped muscles before!"

"I'll bet if you had been out with him," he snarled, snatching the picture frame off of the nightstand, "and he had told you to stand still you would've fuckin' stood still."

"Yeah, you know what? I probably would've." She stormed out of the room, still limping just a little because the muscles were tender.

It took every ounce of control for him to put the frame down without breaking it first. He was sick of being measured up to a dead man that he was never going to live up to no matter how hard he tried. He left the room, hands clenched into fists to prevent him from doing something that he'd regret.

*****

Maria avoided Michael for the rest of the morning, hiding out in her room so she wouldn't have to deal with his bad mood. The bad mood she was responsible for, she thought. She had taken the cheap shot earlier just to get away from him and she regretted it now that she'd had time to calm down and think about it.

She stood at the window and watched him as he carried engine parts back into the shop. He had gone out to the shop several hours ago and methodically carried every single thing outside before going back inside and cleaning the entire building out. She knew she had overreacted, taking everything he said and did as sexual overtures, but there was no excuse for her parting words to him.

She rubbed her hands over her face as she moved back away from the window. She owed him an apology and God only knew what he would expect as restitution. Dinner probably wasn't gonna do the trick this time because it wasn't just a matter of pissing him off; she had seen the brief moment of hurt before he had masked it. She sighed. That was just one more reason why it was getting so difficult to keep her distance with him.

He had never talked about whatever had happened to him the night he had gone out with Indigo in Santa Fe, but something had changed… something that had made him more approachable and harder to resist. She chewed on her thumbnail for several minutes before deciding that it was time to take the bull by the horns.

Michael was lifting the large piece of plywood that had served as a table off of the pair of sawhorses when she stepped down off of the deck. He ignored her as he carried it inside, putting it away and coming back for the sawhorses. He lifted the first one up, lining it up above the other one, and dropped it into place so he could carry both of them inside at the same time.

She stepped inside the dim interior of the shop and looked around, taking in the perfectly arranged items lying on his worktables. "Look, I know you're pissed - "

"Just leave it alone, Maria." Michael didn't bother turning away from the tools he was wiping down and carefully placing in the top drawer of the large toolbox. "You said what you had to say."

"I know, but I wanted to - "

"To what, Maria?!" he yelled as he slammed the wrench down in the metal drawer. "Did you wanna stick the knife a little deeper? I got the point, okay?"

Maria shook her head. "I wanted to apologize."

That caught his attention and he glanced over his shoulder to look at her. "For what? Remindin' me once again that I'm not as good as a dead man?"

"Michael, that's not…" She shook her head. "It was a cheap shot, and I shouldn't have taken it. The truth is I would've moved regardless because that muscle was cramping up too badly to stand still."

"Why're you tellin' me this?"

"Because I don't want you to think that I don't trust you; I have no doubts that I'm perfectly safe with you and I know that you'd never let anything happen to me."

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged and went back to wiping the tools down.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really." He rolled his shoulders back and pulled the next drawer out.

Maria bit her bottom lip as she watched him and she suddenly realized how to make an apology that he would accept. "Maybe a backrub would help?"

"Maybe." His tone was noncommittal. "I'll let you know after my shower."

*****

Michael still hadn't decided to take her up on her offer by the time dinner was ready several hours later. He had showered and changed, and then spent most of the afternoon studying a map and going through a stack of reports on his desk. He had completely focused on what he was doing and there wasn't any indication that he was aware of her presence.

He had made and received numerous phone calls throughout the day and she could tell from his end of the conversations that it wouldn't be long before he was given a green light for the mission. There was a different kind of tension settling over him and it was only increasing with each new call.

"Michael?"

He grunted but his gaze never left the open file lying on the desk.

Maria bit her bottom lip, worrying it with her teeth as she debated how to deal with him. She couldn't tell if he was being short with her because he was still mad at her or if it was just because his mind was on his upcoming mission. "Did you wanna just eat in here?"

"What?" Michael finally looked at her and shook his head. "What'd you say?"

"Dinner's ready."

"Oh." He glanced down when his phone rang again. "I'll be there in a minute." He hit the call button and brought the phone up to his ear. "Guerin," he barked into the mouthpiece.

Maria walked away slowly so she could listen to his side of the conversation. His temper quickly escalated as he disagreed with the person on the other end of the call. "No, I understand that, but 48 hours is pushin' it." He shook his head and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, a sure sign that he was developing a headache. "No, I'm not sayin' we can't handle the mission," he snapped. "What I'm sayin' is the distance we've gotta cover would be pushin' a 48 hour limit if the trail was cleared; the rebel camp is located in a small valley at the base of - " His expression showed irritation when the caller interrupted him and he immediately started shaking his head. "I'm tellin' you you're cuttin' it too close!" He paced around the living room, his right arm waving maniacally as he argued with the caller.

He was beyond pissed by the time he disconnected the call and he quickly dialed a number and brought the phone back up to his ear. "Stone," he greeted, and immediately launched into a rant, "have you talked to that prick who's fillin' in while Xavier's out?" He nodded in agreement to whatever she said and his agitated pacing slowed by degrees. "You know 48 hours is pushin' it and we're fucked if we don't make the pickup time. I'm not interested in getting stranded down there." He shook his head, already not liking the odds they were looking at. "We wouldn't just be stranded in the jungle; we'd be stranded in the middle of rebel territory. We get caught down there and it's all over; motherfuckers aren't gonna keep us around and hold us for ransom."

Maria swallowed hard and went back into the kitchen. She wasn't used to Michael being so tense before leaving for one of his jobs; most of the time he didn't show any concern whatsoever. Seeing his reaction was making her worry and she couldn't help the fear that was residing in the center of her chest and affecting her ability to breathe or think about anything else.

She lifted her head when Michael came up behind her, his arms coming around her so he could cover her hands where they were gripping the edge of the counter.

"Don't worry about me," he said, his tone gruff. "I can't be over there, sneakin' through a jungle to rescue some idiot who never should've been there in the first place, thinkin' about you and knowin' you're makin' yourself sick with worry. I can't afford the distraction, Maria."

She nodded, swallowing hard as she pulled herself together, easing her hands out from under his as she turned to face him. "I'm not worried," she lied. "You can handle yourself in the field, I know that."

Michael nodded, knowing she was lying but not calling her on it. His gaze drifted down to her mouth and it was so tempting to just lean in and kiss her, but he forced his focus elsewhere. "What's for dinner?"

Relief warred with disappointment when he lowered his arms and moved away from her.

"Tilapia. It's a kind of fish." She shook her head and waved him toward the table. "You'll like it."

"No meat?"

"Fish is good for you."

"You said I'd like the salmon too, and I hated it."

"All fish does not taste like salmon." She shook her head as she placed a large piece of fish on each plate before adding a serving of angel hair pasta that she topped with mixed vegetables. "You liked the catfish."

Michael frowned at the plate she set in front of him. "Well, you fried it and there were French fries, too." He picked up his fork and poked the fish, frowning at the crunchy things that flaked off. "This is baked and there aren't any fries. And what's the crunchy stuff?"

"It's a parmesan crust. Just try it," she insisted as she sat down and placed a bowl with garlic rolls next to him. "If you don't like it I'll make you something else."