“Thanks,” Ellie said to both women. “I appreciate it. That being said... Fiona has got to be the snow leopard. Right?”
Fiona looked mildly impressed. “I am.”
“Two for two,” remarked the tatted guy, breaking off his scuffle with Rafa. He stuck out his hand. “Nick.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Nick gave her hand a hard squeeze, gripping to the point of pain. Ellie suppressed a wince and squeezed back, pretending she was juicing a lemon. She looked right into Nick’s eyes as she did so, thinking, If the Godfather couldn’t scare me off, you sure can’t.
Ellie wasn’t any
where near as strong as Nick, but he quickly let go. “Hey, no problem. Just checking.”
“What the hell did you just do?” Hal demanded. Then he caught Ellie shaking out her fingers. “Want me to crush his hand for you?” Staring straight at Nick, he added, “I could do it.”
She hastily stopped wringing her hand. Nick reminded her of Ethan when he’d been younger, all bad boy attitude and rebellion, backed up with real courage and grit. “No, we’re cool. Right, Nick?”
Nick gave her a real smile this time. “We’re cool.”
Hal let out a long-suffering sigh, then snapped his fingers. “Shane. Don’t be shy.”
“Hello.” The voice was a man’s, quiet but attention-catching.
Ellie nearly jumped a foot in the air. She hadn’t seen him before, nor could she figure out how he’d managed to get all the way across the room to lean against the wall beside her without her noticing.
Shane was almost as tall as Hal, but less burly. His muscle was lean, like a long-distance runner. His hair was cut short as a Marine’s, covering his head like a plush black pelt, and his eyes were blue as the sea in winter. Like Hal, he seemed habitually watchful; unlike Hal, he didn’t seem relaxed even in his own headquarters, surrounded by his teammates.
“Pleased to meet you.” Shane held out his hand.
He didn’t challenge her, glare at her, or try to crush her hand. His expression showed nothing but politeness. His hand was warm, his grip firm but no more than that.
There was absolutely nothing about him that should have scared her. And yet he did. A chill went down Ellie’s spine. She found herself taking a step back as soon as he let go of her hand. Then, again without meaning to, she edged toward Hal, instinctively seeking his protection.
“Goddammit!” Hal’s yell made her jump. He slammed his hands into the wall on either side of Shane. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Shane didn’t flinch or reply.
Confused, Ellie began, “He didn’t do anything...”
“Yes, he did!” Hal growled. “Shane, you fucking apologize to my girl.”
Her bewilderment was replaced with an irresistible wash of happiness. My girl. She’d already guessed it, with the whole “Meet the family” thing, but Hal had actually said it now. Impossible as it seemed, fast as it had happened, the bond between her and Hal was real. It wasn’t just her who felt possessive of him, who wanted him to be hers and hers alone. He felt the same way about her.
There was a long pause while Hal and Shane had a stare-down contest.
“Put your hands down,” Shane said at last. When Hal dropped his hands and stepped aside, Shane turned to Ellie. “I apologize.”
“For what? You didn’t do anything. I just...” She didn’t want to admit that she’d gotten scared by absolutely nothing. It made her feel like a crazy person.
Then the penny dropped. Obviously, Shane had been hazing her, just like Nick and Rafa had. Only instead of verbally or physically challenging her, he’d deliberately frightened by her by sheer... power of will, or something. Her confusion was replaced by anger, then curiosity.
“How do you do that?” Ellie asked.
“Natural talent,” Shane replied.
The team was all smiling at her or shooting irritated looks at Shane. It seemed like she’d passed their tests, even if Shane had managed to scare her. Maybe it was a “best falls out of three” thing.
As if Shane had read her mind, he said, “You passed my test too. Most people would have run.”
Ellie turned back to the last three animal photos. She knew she didn’t need to prove anything any more, but she wanted a more decisive win than “backed away instead of outright fleeing in terror.” And also, she wanted to know if she was right.