The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(37)

“What? Can you see in my room?” She set her coffee down and crossed her arms.

“No. They’re only in the main living areas. And they only work if I activate them. So . . . don’t make me activate them.”

“No way. I don’t need another person spying on me.”

“I would feel better knowing that I could check up on you from anywhere,” he mused. Then he shook his head. “Please, just don’t leave. I can’t be on a call with the government talking about ISIS and—”

“Wow. You’re helping the government with ISIS? That’s a bit intense.” She tilted her head and looked down at the floor, realizing her problems were rather minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

“Be good and stay here,” he said. “There are cold cuts in the fridge. Help yourself to lunch, and I’ll bring some Thai food back with me for dinner.”

“Thanks.” Once he was out of sight, she glanced down at her drink, no longer hungry or thirsty.

She needed to run. Do yoga. Do something to distract herself before she lost her sanity altogether.

*


“We need you back. At the very least, we need you out in the field to train the men directly. We appreciate that you’ve been helping out at Camp Lejeune, but we need more from you. Your country needs you,” General McKinsey said, leaning back in his chair.

Michael stared at the general, whose image and audio was live-streamed via the secure internet at the office. He tried not to betray his shock. He looked down at the pen he was tapping and let it go. “I need some time to think about it.”

“I know you left because of your injuries, but—”

“That’s not why I left. I left because my family couldn’t handle the pain of worrying about me anymore.” That, and because I just don’t know if I can kill again . . . and stay sane. He shifted in his seat and ran his hands through his hair.

“Your family needs to understand that you’re keeping them safe with your time in the service.”

“I’ll think about it.” He glanced over at the family portrait that he had taken with his parents at Hilton Head. “I’ll be in touch.” He ended the call and hung his head low.

They had spent hours discussing military tactics in relation to his intelligence designs, which were currently used to locate terrorist cells. Then bam! The old man had tried to rope him back into service. It wasn’t enough for him to be one of the leading experts in observation technology—what his sister called spy shit—they wanted him back in the Middle East, too.

I can’t think about this right now, he decided. He checked the clock. It was already close to six. He dialed up his favorite Thai place and preordered the food before leaving the office. He had left Kate alone for far too long.

He called her name as he walked into his living room, but there was no answer. Panic had begun to grip his throat, but he noticed a flash of blonde hair on the balcony. He set the bags of food down on the coffee table and walked toward the double glass doors to the terrace. “Kate.”

She rose from the lounge chair. “Hi.”

“I thought we agreed you would stop dressing like that.” He was joking. Well, sort of.

His eyes combed over her white shorts and yellow halter top. “Okay. You need to get your eyes checked,” she teased. “I am completely covered.”

“I think a baggy T-shirt would be good,” he said, eyeing her chest. “And loose-fitting pants. Maybe a pair of my sweats.” He grinned at her.

“Well, that’s not going to happen.” She clasped her hands together and peeked inside the house. “You bring food?”

“Yeah, I got sushi, Pad Thai, and Red Curry Chicken. I remembered that you like spice.” He smiled again as she walked past him and into the house. His eyes followed the sway of her hips as she moved.

Stop. He shut his eyes for a moment, hoping to quell his desire for her, and he took in a deep breath and stepped inside. He looked over at Kate as she sat down on his couch, and he reached for the remote to turn on the radio.

“Lady Gaga’s Poker Face?” A smile slipped to her lips.

Michael was about to change the channel but stopped when he saw the bright look in Kate’s eyes. “You like this song?”

“Just reminds me of playing poker with you.” She was beaming, which he preferred to sulky and depressed. Most people would have tended toward the latter if they had a shadow creeping after them.

He set the remote down, leaving the song playing, and he took a seat next to her. He watched her shut her eyes and move her shoulders a bit. There was no way he’d survive the week.

They dipped back into their food, and he tried to ignore the odd feelings that swirled inside his gut.

“How’d your call go?” Kate asked a few minutes later.

He looked at her as he brought a piece of sushi to his mouth. After he had finished chewing, he responded, “It went well, but there’s only so much I can do from here. It’s hard to help when I’m not out in the field.”

“I don’t get it. Why do you need to be in the field? Can’t you just make the technology here?”

“Sometimes they need a little guidance in the field, with use and installation. Especially right now, with this new platform I’ve built.” He paused. “They want me back.”