Chapter 2

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"You mind telling me what in the hell that was?" Gage interrogated her as he followed her into the elevator.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Gage." Sydney said matter of factly as she pressed the button the parking garage with a little more force than what was needed, pointedly not meeting her partner's intense gaze, but she could feel it burning into her none the less.

"You were … fawning over him like a horny school girl!" Gage practically bellowed.

Sydney whirled around to face him and he swore he could feel the heat from her anger born of her Latino roots radiating off of her as sparks flew in her dark eyes.

Fine, Gage! Fine! Yes, as a red blooded American woman, yes I found him very attractive! I am sorry if I offended you, but it was nice to actually be treated like a woman and not just like one of the boys for a change!"

Gage's expression softened. "Is that how you think I see you?" He said.

Sydney gave him a hard shrug, still refusing to look him in the eyes. "I don't know, Gage! One minute you are acting all possessive and jealous, and the next you are flirting and even kissing other women!"

"You are one to talk, one minute you are kissing me, and the next you are giving me the cold shoulder! So what am I supposed to do!" He rallied, taking a step towards her and she held her ground, putting her hands on her hips and jutting her chin out defiantly at him.

The sight of her looking so irritated, so pissed, and so … adorable and Gage couldn't help it, he melted right there in front of her. His budding feelings for his partner suddenly took over and he stepped unconsciously forward, leaving very little distance between them.

"What would you do if I kissed you now?" He asked abruptly, his voice had suddenly dropped an octave and it had a husky undertone to it.

Sydney was caught totally off guard and she tried to maintain her defiant façade, but her reddening cheeks betrayed her. "Wha … what did you say?" She said, unable to keep the waver out of her voice as her hands fell from her hips to her sides.

"I said … what would you do if I kissed you right now?" He asked again, his voice dropping another octave as he closed the remaining space between them.

"Luckily, the ding of the elevator spared Sydney an answer. She took the opportunity to elbow Gage painfully in the ribs, causing him to let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Come on, we'd better hurry if we are going to pack and be back here by seven." She said as she trotted to her vehicle, a souped up older model jeep wrangler, got in, and fired up the engine. She gave him a friendly goodbye salute before laying rubber on the parking garage floor and in a flash, she was gone.


"Ah Gage, Sydney, there you are! Here is the information for your new identities. Make sure you read them until you can recite every last word like its second nature to you." Barker said as he waved another ranger over to them, the flirtatious man was gone and the persona of an all-business cop replaced him.

"Ranger Mills will take you to your assigned vehicles, good luck you two, and be careful." He said, looking pointedly at Sydney.

"You can count on us, sir." Gage intercepted his gaze as he herded his partner away. Barker chuckled to himself. He really didn't have an interest in Ranger Cooke. But he just couldn't resist messing with Gage, he had always been a hothead and hell, maybe this would be the push he needed to finally act on the feelings he obviously had for his pretty partner.


Sydney groaned inwardly, this was going to be a tough one, Gage and her were supposed to be an on/off dating couple looking for work. A scenario WAY too close to home as far as she was concerned, not that they were dating … but their feelings certainly were on and off. Sydney's thoughts landed back to earlier in the elevator and her cheeks flushed again. If that elevator door hadn't opened, he would have kissed her, she was certain of it… and she would have let him.

She rubbed her face furiously. "What was she thinking! This was her partner! Her coworker! Sure she trusted him with her life, and he trusted her with his, but that was it … wasn't it? No, it wasn't and she tried to think back to when things changed, but she couldn't place a specific point in time.

"Well, best to get this over with." She said as she exited her car and trudged up the urine permutated staircase, trying to breathe in as little of the putrid air as possible. 'Her' apartment wasn't any more charming, it had a dingy feel to it that made Sydney reluctant to touch anything without spraying it with disinfectant cleaner first, which she fully intended to do before she sat down anywhere.


Sydney wiped her sweaty brow with satisfaction as she looked at her now totally clean apartment. She flinched when a sudden knock came at her door, she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at the sight of her partner's goofy grin through the peephole.

"Oh … I see your apartment isn't any better, but at least it's … cleaner." He said as he looked around.

"That's because I cleaned it, you should try it." She said, her tone was flat but her eyes held an amused glint.

A moment passed between them as they got lost in each other's eyes.

"So … why did you stop by anyway?" Sydney said, wincing mentally at how harsh her words had come out.

Gage tried to hide it, but she swore she saw a look of hurt flash in his eyes, but it was only for a split second, so she could have imagined it. "Well … I thought we could go over our new identities together so we could be as seamless as possible." He said, recovering quickly.

"Wow, why do they always give you a jerk as a cover!" Sydney said with a laugh as she read over Gage's cover file.

Gage shrugged. "Maybe because I am so good at playing one." He said, grinning shamelessly as he looked over her file. "What about you? Why does it always seem that you are playing some sexy seductress?"

In an instant, Sydney leaned in close to Gage, the sweet smell of her perfume mixed with her own unique scent floating on the breeze her movement created.

"Maybe because I am so good at it." She whispered into his ear, her voice low and sultry, her breath tickling his cheek. She smiled inwardly as she saw goose bumps erupt on his arms.

She hung there for a beat before sitting back against the couch with a satisfied smile as she raised her eyebrows at him. A now very flustered Gage exhaled sharply the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding as he quickly stood up.

"Well … I'd better go and turn in, I want to be at the top of my game tomorrow. I'll stop by here to pick you up about seven." He said, regarding her for a moment before letting himself out, leaving her even more confused, if that was even possible.