Making It Right (Most Likely To #3)

“I think you’re a hypocrite.”


He made sure to look at her again, kept looking until she met his stare. “I could have snuffed you out, cut you into tiny pieces, and hidden your body in a place so remote they wouldn’t discover it until it was an anthropological find.”

“You’ve given this some thought.”

His jaw tightened, his eyes darted back to the road in front of him before he turned in the direction of what Jo assumed was the training center. “You do that often?” Something in his voice changed.

Sarcasm was needed. “Every Saturday night. Living in a small town affords me all kinds of opportunities to pick up strangers. The seedy motel is a little hard, however. Is that a government approved hotel, or just your personal choice?”

He pulled the car to an abrupt stop, threw it in park. “I know what to expect in places like that.”

“Armed criminals in the next room?”

“Sometimes.”

“You left your weapon in the bathroom once we got there, didn’t you?”

Gill whipped off his sunglasses and stared. “The fact you didn’t know I was carrying one should tell you something.”

Actually, she assumed he did . . . but didn’t think he wanted to use it on her. He had other needs.

So did she.

“I’m not an invalid, Rocco.”

His eyes narrowed with the use of the name that wasn’t his.

“And I’m not an idiot. If you wanted to hurt me, I would have sensed it before we left the bar.”

“You don’t know that.”

It was her time to look over the brim of her glasses. “Did you hurt me?”

“That’s not the point.”

She pushed her glasses higher, reached for the door of the car. “Yes it is.”





Chapter Five




There wasn’t much that ruffled Gill. He knew at the time something about Anne wasn’t up-front. But a small town sheriff? No, he didn’t see that coming. When he’d woke just before dawn and she wasn’t there, he was surprisingly disappointed. She’d been demanding . . . a little needy, even. Then there was the fire that she lit with a touch. JoAnne Ward . . . Little Miss River Bend Nowhere, Oregon, gave as much as she took and asked for more. They’d gone at it for hours. Not something he often did. It was like she was saving it up, soaking it all in to last.

Yeah . . . that crack about hooking up in a small town was laughable. He’d have to ask Burton about what she knew when it came to Sheriff Ward’s love life.

He watched her ass as she moved through the doors of the training center. There were plenty of law enforcement officers there for the very same training as Jo. They mingled on the sideline while several receptionists took in the newcomers.

Gill approached the desk by Jo’s side.

“Agent Clausen? What are you doing here?”

Gill shook hands with an old friend. “Agent Ault, this is JoAnne Ward. Sheriff of River Bend, Oregon. She’s on the roster this week.”

Agent Ault looked over his printed sheet, found her name, and checked it off.

“Welcome to Quantico, Sheriff.”

“Thank you,” Jo said.

Ault twisted a waiver in front of her. “You need to sign this.”

She skimmed the document . . . the one saying if she was hurt or killed she had no right to sue the federal government. The part about her being dead and not being able to sue never managed to be questioned.

“Have you been with us before?” Ault asked.

“No. First time.”

Gill made sure Ault knew to take care of her. “She’s a close friend of Agent Burton,” he told him.

“Ah, right. Shauna said she was coming in later to help with the hand-to-hand. Had a friend coming.”

“This is her.”

“Great. Locker rooms are in there.” He pointed down the hall. We’ll be starting in fifteen.” He looked at her feet. “I hope you brought running shoes.”

Jo smiled, something Gill had yet to see since she arrived.

He liked it.

“Burton suggested it.”

“You’re all set, then.”

Jo stepped away and turned toward him. “Well, Agent Clausen, thanks for getting me here.”

“I can’t let my partner down.”

Jo put her hand out as if she was shaking it good-bye. “It was a pleasure.”

He took her one hand in both of his briefly before she pulled away. “No, it was mine.”

A tiny bit of heat rose in her face before she walked down the hall to the locker rooms.

As she did, he envisioned the tattoo she had on the small of her back. The simple, geometric design women want when they’re young as a form of rebellion but have no true idea what they want in life.

Didn’t matter if it was rebellion or not . . . Gill thought it was sexy. He’d wanted to eat breakfast off it the morning after.

Only she’d left.

“You and Burton are on tap for instruction this week, right?”

“We volunteered to help.”

“See you out there.”



Dressed in dark blue from head to toe, with FBI Training written on her T-shirt, her hat, and even the belt they’d given her . . . Jo walked out with several other female law enforcement officers with the same purpose.

They met their male classmates in a large room that housed close to two hundred of them.

Gill hovered in her head. The idiocy of him suggesting she couldn’t take care of herself burned.

He didn’t know what he was talking about. And after this week, she’d be even better equipped to ward off any unwanted man.

She’d wanted Viking Man.

Arrogant Fed that he was.

She forced his image from her brain and switched her attention to those around her.

Reminiscent of her days in the academy, Jo stood shoulder to shoulder with the other officers while the instructors filed out in front of them.

As they lined up, the room grew silent.

When Jo saw him, she cussed under her breath. She didn’t see where Gill’s eyes fell from behind his sunglasses, but she felt the weight of them nonetheless.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Agent Ault. Welcome to Quantico. Where we help take your skills you’ve obtained in your local law enforcement agency and help you find your weakness and attack it. We will hone and teach you what you may not know . . . use what you’ve forgotten, and remind you every day that you’re one bullet away from being a statistic. We’re here to help you stay alive, help you keep your civilians breathing, and above all else, know what you are capable of doing and what you are not. We are not on a military base by accident. This week will feel like boot camp. It will challenge you, leave you bruised and exhausted. Welcome the pain. It will make you stronger.”

The woman standing to Jo’s right shifted and muttered something she couldn’t hear.

Jo looked back up and felt Gill staring.

Agent Ault explained how the days would progress before dismissing them to their preassigned groups.