Roger McMillan cocked his corpulent head as if he hadn't heard her correctly. "I need hardly remind you about the geographic mobility agreement you signed."

She couldn't really blame him for being astonished. This was the first time she'd ever turned down an assignment, especially one of this magnitude, but it couldn't be helped. She'd managed to avoid air travel thus far and had no wish to end her no-fly streak. Delaney pulled at her starched shirt collar in an attempt to get more air into her lungs.

His penetrating brown eyes narrowed. Delaney fought the urge to shift under his steely regard. McMillan was a bull of a man—thick, balding and heavily muscled. It was difficult to tell where his neck ended and his barrel-shaped chest began. Most people simply followed the mustard stains on his tie.

"I don't have a problem with traveling, sir. I just prefer to do it on the ground."

"Are you afraid?" The last word slipped from his lips like a curse.

Delaney flushed, crossing her arms over her less-than-ample chest. She hated that she felt the need to defend her stance. She knew she was an exemplary agent without a single blemish in her file, and she intended for it to stay that way. The Bureau shouldn't hold her fear of flying against her, but Delaney knew it would, if she didn't take this mission.

"I asked you a question, Carter. Are you afr