Page 18 of Dozer

"Good catch," I say.

"Thanks." She says with a small shrug. “It’s what I did for the DOD, too.”

Hunter shuts down the screen. "We're changing the recovery point."

Kenzi packs her laptop and we both stand.

She looks up at me, and I realize the top of her head barely reaches my shoulder. That shouldn't matter. It does. I’m not sure why it does, but it does.

"Dozer," she says. I look down at her and she smiles. "Try not to look so thrilled about spending the next several days with me."

"I'll try." I mutter.

"That sounded painful."

"It was."

She laughs, again and I hate how much I like the sound of it.

We roll in twenty. I check my equipment for the third time while Kenzi stands beside the truck, studying it like she's deciding whether it meets her standards.

She opens the passenger door. "Does it at least have heated seats?"

"No."

"Tragic."

"It's a truck." I tell her.

"Some of us have standards."

"You have stickers on your laptop,” I remind her. What kind of standards could she possibly have with a laptop covered in stickers?

"They're tactical stickers."

I stare at her. This woman is going to be the death of me. Tactical stickers? What the hell are tactical stickers? "That's not a thing."

"It is now,” she says as she climbs inside the truck. I shut her door for her. Something I’ve never done for an asset before. I won’t think about that.

For the first time ever, I have the strange sensation that this mission is different than any I’ve ever been on and it’s not because I’m transporting a body with a conspiracy attached to it. It’s because Kenzi Sullivan has walked into my carefully controlled world wearing paint-splattered boots and a smile that refuses to be intimidated and is already goading me. Instead of feeling annoyed, I keep biting back smiles. I don’t want to encourage her level of nonsense. Tactical stickers. I shake my head as I walk around the side of the truck.

Why do I get the feeling that she is the one variable I won’t be able to control. Protecting her is my assignment and Hunter trusts me with her life. I take that responsibility very seriously.

Kenzi leans across the console. "Dozer?"

"Yeah?"

"Just so we're clear..." I glance at her. "If something goes wrong, I'm not going to scream."

"Good." I can’t stand it when an asset starts screaming or crying in the middle of an op, but I highly doubt Hunter would send someone like that with me.

"I might swear,” she says like she’s making a confession. "I might also panic internally."

"That's allowed." I reassure her.

She smiles at me. "Excellent. We're going to get along."

I start the engine. "No promises."