She signed a goose egg.“We lost no one.But Peyton said to keep things quiet for now.Tam and Badger already know.”
He blew out a breath.“Thank christ.”
She tried not to awaken Ken, but when she snuggled under the covers, he rolled onto his side and draped an arm around her.“Everything okay?”
“It’s over,” she said.
He instantly sounded more awake.“And?”
“No casualties for us.That’s all I know.Don’t tell anyone.Tamsin and Badger already know.Peyton ordered me and Gillian to get some sleep, and he’ll update us later.”
He nuzzled the back of her neck.“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”
She thought that now she would sleep, with that massive stress nullified, but long after Ken’s breathing slowed and deepened she lay there wide awake, her mind refusing to shut off.
Eventually, she did sleep.And when she finally awakened, she realized Ken had managed to get out of bed without disturbing her, and the baby monitor wasn’t on the nightstand.It shocked her to realize it was after 12:30.
Holy crap.
She didn’t remember any dreams, either, good or bad.
Yay, another win.
She opted for a wake-up shower even before coffee, because she felt she needed it.Except five minutes later, she was sitting on the floor in the shower, the water beating on her as she tightly hugged her knees to her chest and silently cried.
And she didn’t even know why.
Probably a heaping dose of hormones, sure.Logically, probably a dose of relief.
But as she rolled onto her side, her head resting against the tile, she closed her eyes and realized the world felt as if it’d tipped upside down like some crazy theme park ride, and she’d failed to properly strap in per the ride’s requirements.Like she was barely holding on by her nails dug into the seat’s padding while struggling not to be thrown free and into oblivion, and it’d finally slowed to a stop at the station so she could peel herself off of it and safely collapse on the floor.
What’s happening to me?
It took her another ten minutes to pull herself together, climb to her feet, and actually shower.
She was stepping out of the shower when she heard her work phone ringing where she’d left it on the charger on the nightstand, the alert for the encoded app they used.With only a towel wrapped around her, she dashed out to answer it.
It was Peyton.
“Hey, there, asshole,” she greeted him.“You’d better have called your wife first.”
He laughed.“Miss you, too, Dewi.And yes, I just got off the phone with her.Is Ken right there?”
“No, why?”
“Can you get him?’
“Why not call him?”
“I need you with him when I talk to him.”
“Uh, whhhyyy?”
“Please?”
She didn’t like this.“I just got out of the shower.I’m standing here dripping wet and naked.”
“I didn’t need that visual, Dewster, but get him, take him somewhere alone, and call me back.”He hung up.
