“It was never just stress relief,” she told him. “It was more like, when the chips were down, all the stuff about not being together didn’t matter.”
His expression softened. “I know.”
She sat on his bed. “In my quarters a minute ago, I was only trying to clarify. We’d never talked—”
“Like I said, I jumped to a conclusion. I was wrong. But I’ve already said ‘I’m sorry’ twice now, and I’m not doing it again.” He sat next to her with a teasing smile.
“Okay. So where does this leave us?”
He leaned in and kissed her neck, right over her carotid artery. “No idea.” His hair brushed against her ear and she could smell its familiar scent—unchanged after all these years.
She ignored it. She had to be entirely clear with him. “I’m still involved with Wren. I think. I mean, since we’ve been back she and I haven’t…” Yeah, there was no good way to finish that sentence. “But she and I aren’t finished. There’s still something there.”
“I know. But would you be here right now if you’d never married her?”
She had to think about that for a minute. Being with Wren had opened her up to possibilities she’d never considered. “No.”
He moved closer and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Exactly. So I don’t care.”
“Maybe you don’t care tonight. But maybe you will tomorrow.”
He covered her hands with his. “I’ve had plenty of time to think this through. There will never be anyone but you for me. And I know you’ll never share what you and I have with anyone else either. So if she’s the adapter that makes the two of us fit, I’m good with that.”
“What about monogamy?” she asked. “I was raised to think it matters.”
He curled his fingers around her hands. “So don’t pick up any stray lovers and you can be monogamous with both of us.”
She laughed. “That’s not how it works.”
He slid his hands up her forearms. “It does if it works for us.”
She sighed. “This love stuff is foolish and messy. There’s a reason I wanted to keep it professional.”
“Yes, I know.” He leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “Also, ha ha. You said ‘love.’”
Dammit. He was right. But she felt strange about the idea. She didn’t want to be less than loyal to Raptor or Wren. “What if you change your mind?”
“I won’t. So shut up.” He shifted so his lips were a breath from hers.
She shut up.
She woke up alone in Raptor’s room. After a quick shower she put her clothes back on so she didn’t have to run them through the processor. They were lounge clothes, but she’d dash back to her own quarters and get dressed. Nobody would see.
But when she stepped out of the room, her team had already assembled in the sitting area. Hawk, Peregrine, and Ross glanced at her from seated positions without pausing their conversation.
Fallon turned her back on them to look toward Raptor in the kitchenette. She tried to send him a message with her eyes. No one is surprised by this?
He arched an eyebrow at her.
Of course they’d figured it out. They were intelligence operatives, for Prelin’s sake. They’d simply been minding their own business all these months.
She saw Raptor silently laughing at her as he approached and handed her a cup of hot tea. “Here.”
“Thanks.” She sat with the others. “It’s good to have you back.”
Hawk winked at her. “We missed you too, kid. Wasn’t the same without you.”
“What did you find?” She sipped her tea.
“Everything we needed,” Peregrine answered. “It was almost too easy.”
“‘Too easy’ as in ‘it must be a trap’?”
“I don’t think so.” Raptor had taken a seat on the couch. “It’s just that Colb is staying in plain sight, behind several layers of security. It wasn’t hard for us to get a good look at it all to see exactly what we were dealing with. I mean, it would have been impossible for your average Joe, but we knew what we were looking for.”
“Right.” Colb had such a high profile that if anything happened to him, it would immediately be noticed and featured on every news cycle. He probably had some provisions in place as well, as security against being kidnapped by Blackout. Certain documents and statements, probably, that would be released in the event of his capture. It was what Fallon would have done, and what Blackout would expect.
“So we can get in to see him?” Fallon asked. “Without Blackout seeing us do it?”
“I’m still working out a few details,” Raptor said. “But yes.”
“Anything happen on Dragonfire while we were gone?” Hawk asked.
“Yes. Brak approved me for physical activity and I’ve recruited the Onari. Jerin, Brak, and Kellis are with us.”
“Wow,” Hawk said. “That’s quite a development.”
Peregrine nodded. “That’s great.”
Raptor only smiled. Was he smiling at her more than usual, or the regular amount? She frowned at him, but that only made him grin outright.
“So when do we go see Colb?” she asked.
“I should know later today,” Raptor answered.
“Good.” She sipped her tea. “Anything else to report?”
They shook their heads.
“In that case…” She set her cup on the table and stood. “I’m going to get dressed and start my day. Some of us have to work for a living.” She smiled at their pretend outrage before slipping out the door. “Keep me posted.”
4
She did her job, and her team did theirs. By the time her duty shift ended, Avian Unit had a plan to acquire Admiral Colb. It was about
