Waffle sat next to her, tail swishing. Alexis smiled. “He knows. He was as disappointed as I was that we had to leave.” She tapped her phone in her hand, and it suddenly buzzed. She checked the message. “Okay, they’re moving the container. They’re going to substitute a larger container they found in the lab and seal it so it can’t be opened. It’ll cover up that they got rid of it. You okay with selling that story tomorrow or would you be more comfortable calling in with the stomach flu?”
“In for a penny, in for a pound.” Stefanie scoffed. “You can’t ditch me that easily. You’re coming on the ship too?”
Alexis looked down at Waffle. “We’ll be at the dock but not on the boat. I can’t exactly sneak this guy on board.” Waffle snatched a tennis ball off the floor and began squeaking it. She picked up her backpack and put it over one shoulder.
“Fair.” Stefanie smiled.
Alexis looked at Joey. “You ready for tomorrow?”
“Yeah. But we’ll need to check for more than explosives.” He winced, then looked over at Stefanie, presumably to see if she was going to run screaming yet. She gave him a rueful shrug. They were well past remarking at how strange things had become.
Stefanie smacked her forehead. The radioactive box. The boat. Her company. That was it.
Waffle stopped squeaking his tennis ball and Alexis looked over at her. “What is it, Stef?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with monitoring subs. Think about it. They’re depositing radioactive material on the ocean floor. Off the U.S. coastline. It’ll be dropped by a U.S. company with the bonus of implicating Ree and me. The box was totally unmarked. There would be no way to prove the U.S. wasn’t behind it.”
Joey closed his eyes. “The transmitter. Cole was testing to see how easy it was to detect the equipment nearby. You confirmed it for him without realizing it. Anyone with the right security key could find it with the GPS coordinates. Exactly when they want it to be found. It’s a press nightmare.”
“That’s how he’s going to get attention.” Alexis lowered her backpack to the floor. “Dmitri is in charge of nuclear waste disposal – he gets a two-for-one. His well-disguised cargo solves a problem at work – he’s found a place to get rid of nuclear waste. Politically, he makes a U.S. company look bad and the Ryland sisters look even worse. If he can throw in some U.S. intelligence personnel into his group of scapegoats, that’s just icing on the cake.”
Stefanie rubbed her forehead. “But they wanted multiple trips.”
“Isn’t that what you and Nash do in your labs every day?” Joey raised his eyebrows. “Small scale, then convert it over to large scale? Dmitri is known for big plans.”
Alexis picked up her backpack off the floor and whistled for Waffle. “I’ll send this on to the team. I’ve got to go get everything ready for tomorrow. Your drop has to go off without a hitch to avoid tipping off Dmitri.” Alexis pulled out her phone and began typing a message. Waffle rose and stretched and, much like a human might say goodbye, got one last pet from Joey and Stefanie before he walked out the front door behind Alexis. Joey lingered and shut the door behind her.
Joey eyed her couch. “Do you want me to stay? Or go. I can go.”
“I’d like it if you stayed.” Stefanie felt her heart leap into her chest. The last thing she needed to do was to force Joey to make a decision, even if she was getting surer by the minute. “I have a Murphy bed in the guest room.”
“A Murphy bed, a place to spar, and an office – you’ve thought of everything.”
Stefanie smiled. “Almost. Before you get settled, are you armed? Do you have what you need for tomorrow?”
Joey looked at her. “I am and I always have a change of clothes with me. Is that okay with you?”
Stefanie nodded. “More than okay. I’m moving my gun to my nightstand. Just don’t creep up on me in the middle of the night.”
Joey looked a little taken aback. “Stef, I’m not that kind of guy. If I’m going to make a move, you’ll be wide awake and sober.”
“I know.” Her face heated. “Of course you wouldn’t. I mean, literally, don’t creep up on me to say good morning or whatever thing you mean well about. I’m on edge and I just want to make sure I don’t accidentally shoot the guy trying to protect me. I kind of like him. Even if he’s complicated.”
Joey grinned. “The complicated guy trying to protect you appreciates that.”
“Come on. Let’s get some sleep before you fall over where you’re standing, okay?” Stefanie leaned against him. His warm arms wrapped around her and she felt a light kiss on her head.
Stefanie didn’t move right away. “You know, I’m glad I didn’t kick you out of my house that first night.”
“Glad to hear it.” Joey chuckled. “Any reason it came to mind?”
Stefanie shrugged. “Well, I think it’s indicative of your personality. You didn’t mind that I wasn’t sure if I liked you, and you figured I’d come around. I like that about you. Tenacity mixed with optimism. It’s endearing, considering you look a little intimidating.”
“Thank you?”
Stefanie gave him one last squeeze. “You’re welcome.” She led him to the guest room and flipped down the fully-made bed. “Make yourself at home. Extra toothbrushes are in the guest bathroom drawer.”
“Thank you.” Joey gave her a mischievous smile. “And for the record, Stef, you can sneak up on me.”
Stefanie laughed. “Okay, now you’re getting feisty. Get some sleep before you get any other ideas. We have a spy to catch.”
25
Stefanie woke up at five a.m. with a start. It had been a long time since she’d snapped awake in a full panic. When she was in grad school, her anxiety got a little out of
