Red, Hot & Blue 09 - A Prince Among Men by Cat Johnson Read Free Book Online

she nodded. “Sure. What?”
    “What the hell is a woman like you doing here in Afghanistan?”
    A woman like her? What was that supposed to mean? The judgment in his voice and the disparaging sound of the comment got her immediately riled up.
    She leaned forward in the chair. “I’m here because these women need me. They have no voice of their own. Even women supposedly with a voice still have no say. Listen to this.”
    Vicki whipped a file folder and some papers out of her bag and waved them in his direction. “Reporters Without Borders reported in this article that on May 31, 2007, a twenty-two-year-old female Pashtun television personality was shot at point-blank range in her family’s home in Kabul. When the police arrested the man two days later, he reported he’d been hired to punish her for refusing to marry. Surely even you, Sergeant Hawkins, see how wrong that is.”
    She immediately regretted her last sentence as his face hardened. When he leaned menacingly forward, she’d never seen a man look scarier in her life.
    “Of course I see it’s wrong.” He spoke slow, low and even and so near her face she felt the air of his words rush at her. “I risk my life and the lives of my men each and every day for the rights of these people. Men, women and children.”
    “Of course you do. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything.” Damn, she was messing this up in a major way.
    Hawk leaned back in his seat and Vicki felt able to breathe again. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Vanover?”
    Ignoring that they were no longer on a first-name basis, Vicki nodded. “Yes, you can take me to your base.”
    That request visibly took him by surprise. “What? Why?”
    “So I can talk to the locals and get the real story.”
    Hawk shook his head. “No. Definitely not.”
    “Why not?”
    “For one, there are no women at my base.”
    “So?”
    “So? There’s a reason for that. It’s not some resort or spa you can just flit off to. You wouldn’t like it. Trust me. There are no women because women don’t belong there, and you definitely couldn’t handle it.”
    Vicki let out a huff of air at that insult. “Saying stuff like that, you sound as bad as the Pashtun men.” One angry look from him had her backpedaling immediately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’m just frustrated.”
    Then an idea struck her—a terrible, wonderful idea. Pretending she was hot, which actually she was, she opened the front of her body armor and fanned herself lightly with a folder.
    “Hawk, if you decided to take me with you, I’m sure I could make it worth your while.” Vicki unobtrusively pulled the hem of her shirt slightly lower in front. The neckline dropped deep enough to show just the swelling tops of her not inconsiderably sized breasts. She leaned toward him. Vicki watched his gaze drop predictably to her cleavage as he raised his brows.
    Hawk drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. After what seemed like a really long time, he finally spoke. “Just so there’s no mistake, let me get this straight. Did you just offer yourself to me if I take you to my base?”
    Hmm. What answer was he looking for here? Should she play innocent and deny it? Or was he interested and she should confirm the offer? Not that she’d really go through with it. She could worry about the consequences of crossing Hawk later. After she was at his base and had a story.
    As she tried to decide which way to play this, he shook his head and stood.
    She panicked and jumped up from her own seat, trying to figure out how to stop him from leaving.
    Flinging his empty coffee cup in the garbage, Hawk glanced back at her over his shoulder. “I leave tomorrow at thirteen hundred. Be packed and ready to go.”
    Holy Crap. “You mean you’re taking me with you?”
    “Yes, and if you’re smart, you won’t say another word or I may come to my senses and change my mind.”
    The thrill of getting what she wanted coursed through