It was what happened after the relationship ended that worried me more. If I hurt Sloane, if she wanted more than I was prepared to give, it might end more than my friendship with Halo. What about our parents? They’d become good friends too. Was spending time with her worth the risk? If we could stay friends, it would be.
I tucked my arms under my head and stared up at the ceiling, jolting when Sloane turned and snuggled her body close to mine. She murmured words I couldn’t understand, but she looked content, peaceful. I put my arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
There wasn’t another woman I wanted to be with, liked more, was attracted to in the same way I was to Sloane.
She’d also asked if I always got my way. Most of the time, yes. I also worked hard to build the life I wanted for myself. When I closed my eyes, I could envision us together. That should scare the shit out of me. Instead, it filled me with an inexplicable warmth.
“What time is it?” Sloane asked, rolling to her back and stretching her arms above her head.
I had no idea except that the sun was setting.
She pulled out her phone. “I can’t believe I slept for three hours.” She turned her head toward me. “You didn’t have to stay.”
“I fell asleep too.” I stretched like she had and then rubbed my belly. “I can’t believe I’m hungry again.”
Sloane laughed. “I’m so glad you said it first.”
“What sounds good? We could order takeout, or I could run to the market and make us something.”
When she didn’t answer, I turned my body toward hers.
“I’ve decided you’re a figment of my imagination.”
I laughed like she had. “Why?”
“First, Tackle Sorenson is lying next to me, on a bed no less. Second, you just offered to cook food for me.”
“Neither should surprise you that much.”
“No?” She tapped her cheek with her finger. “If a year ago, someone had predicted this was where you’d be on a Saturday night, would you have believed them?”
“Probably not.”
She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “What are we doing?” she groaned.
“Trying to decide what to have for dinner.”
“You know what I mean.”
“How about this? Instead of talking so much about why we’re spending time together, why don’t we just enjoy it?”
“My gut is telling me that isn’t a good idea, but it’s also telling me I’m hungry.”
“Takeout would be faster.”
“I’m glad you said that first too.”
We settled on Chinese since there was a place Sloane liked just down the street. Rather than using plates, we passed the containers back and forth, digging in with chopsticks.
“Don’t bogart the shrimp, Tackle,” she said, grabbing the container from my hand.
“Bogart? You’re as bad as Halo.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wished I hadn’t said her brother’s name. The smile left her face, and she set the container on the table.
“Don’t,” I muttered, knowing that no matter what I said, she was about to go down the “we shouldn’t be doing this” road again.
She drummed her chopsticks on the table. “So what’s the deal with Ghafor?” she asked instead.
“Whoa. That was out of left field.”
“I know, right? I’ve been wondering about him, though. He seems to have fallen off the radar.”
“The good news is, the agency has him under their thumb. The bad news is, guys like him don’t stay there long.”
In mid-December, the mission that took Halo and me to Columbia had culminated with the assassination of the Russian-backed then-president of the country, Petro Santos, and the reinstatement of the US-backed former president, Francisco Marquez.
Abdul Ghafor, leader of the Islamic State, had played an integral role in making that happen by way of the CIA. Even though the Middle East was my area of expertise, knowing what he got in exchange was above my pay grade.
As I’d said, a man as evil and ruthless as Ghafor certainly wouldn’t remain loyal to the United States any longer than it served his organization’s—or his—purposes.
“Where is he? Do you know?” Sloane asked.
“If I had to guess, I’d say Pakistan. Is he on your watch list?”
“I monitor cells in the northeast region. His name comes up every now and then.”
“I haven’t been briefed on the details of how everything played out, but I’m sure you watched it unfold the same as I did.”
She nodded. “Columbia may be stable for now, but I wouldn’t predict it will last long.” Sloane picked up the shrimp and took a few bites. “Gotta tell you, I’m happy I work for DHS.”
“Me too.”
She studied me. “Why?”
“You think you worry about Halo and me? I can’t imagine how bad we’d be if you’d gone into international intelligence.”
“It isn’t like my assignments are danger-free, Tackle. I am a criminal investigator.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” I ran my hand over my hair, which was due for a buzz cut.
“Don’t be a hypocrite.”
I reached over and put my other hand on hers. “I can’t help it, Sloane, any more than you can flip a switch on worrying about me, your brother, or even your dad.”
As if on cue, my cell phone vibrated. While sometimes I could turn it off, I didn’t like to do so very often in case it was someone from K19, my parents, or now, Halo, since he was on assignment. Instead, I blocked Nick’s number, knowing I’d done as much as I could for her given the circumstances.
“Answer it or leave,” said Sloane, getting up from the table.
“That’s kind of harsh.”
She leaned up against the kitchen counter and folded her arms. “My borrowed apartment, my rules.”
I dug the phone out, not thrilled when I saw it was a number I didn’t recognize. Hiding something or not, I never answered those.
“Sloane—”
“You heard me, Tackle.”
I hit the accept button. “Sorenson.”
“Tackle, finally, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.” Nick sounded out of breath but was talking loudly enough that there was no way Sloane hadn’t
