The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [19]
Tori saw Drake's face darken and recognized his facade for what it was. He was trying to scare her off, at the least intimidate her with his boorish attitude. But what he didn't know was that she wasn't easily scared or intimidated. Besides, she knew that hidden behind his mean and rough demeanor was a man with a sensitivity that would astound most people considering everyone thought there was nothing soft about him. But she happened to know another side of him. He was loyal and dedicated to those he loved and at one point in her past life she had been one of those individuals. Although she knew that losing Sandy had taken away some of his warmth and kindness, she refused to believe that part of him was eradicated completely. A part of her had to believe the human side of Drake Warren still existed even if he thought that it didn't.
"Look, Tori," Drake said, interrupting her thoughts. 1 have nothing against you personally, and to be quite hone^ a part of me does believe that you can hold your own, but 1 prefer doing the solo act for reasons I prefer not to share. I don't like having a partner, especially one who's a woman.
"Because of Sandy Carroll?"
Stunned, taken aback by her question, Drake's eyes darkened. He took a step closer. "What do you know about Sandy Carroll?"
Tori forced herself not to squirm under the intensity of Drake's gaze and the hard sound of his voice. She had thrown out the question before thinking about it. But now that it was out there, she had to answer it and tread carefully while doing so. The last thing she wanted was to raise his suspicions about anything.
"Only what I heard."
"And just what did you hear?" he asked, taking a step closer to her, his face almost turning to stone.
"I heard that the two of you were close. Some say you were engaged to be married. I never met Captain Carroll although we were in the marines about the same time but I did know of her. Most female marines credit her with proving that a woman can hold her own against any man as a Recon."
He lifted a brow. "Sandy was never a Recon."
"No, but she very well could have been since she accompanied a lot of Recons on missions and proved how good she was."
Drake stared at her for a moment, then asked, "Did you do basic training in South Carolina?"
Tori wondered if he was trying to make some sort of connection between her and Sandy. "No, I did all my training in California at Camp Pendleton, which is probably one of the reasons my and Carroll's paths never crossed."
When she saw Drake's slow nod, she breathed easier as she continued. "Because of your former relationship with Carroll, I can understand your reluctance to take on another female partner. Although I understand and can even sympathize with you, I still have to do my job, Drake. There's a Woman whose life is depending on us working together to
rescue her and I don't plan to let her down." She then gave him a challenging stare and asked, "Do you?"
Drake hesitated in responding, opening his mouth and then closing it. He turned and looked out into the night and for the longest time wasn't sure what he would say so he decided to remain quiet for a second to gather his thoughts. Tori Green had a way of throwing him curves. Sighing internally, he turned back around and met her gaze. "No, I don't plan to let her down nor do I plan to let you take unnecessary risks."
"Why…" Tori asked in a low voice, "can't you forget that I'm a female on this mission, Drake?"
A corner of his mouth flexed in anger. "Because that's not possible. You're too much woman for that," he said grumpily.
Caught off-guard by his offhanded compliment, Tori dropped her brows slightly as she tried to ignore the ache she felt in her heart. During her last year as Sandy Carroll, Drake had become her whole life. After her grandfather's death, she had joined the marines. It had been her rough-and-tough Granddad who had taught her how to fight and shoot. He had retired as a marine and had been proud to serve in that branch of the military. When her