“Early bloomer.”
Travis held the puppy at arm’s length, staring at it with an expression of profound betrayal. The puppy wiggled, trying to get closer to his face.
“It’s defective,” he said.
“It’s adventurous.”
“Same thing.”
But he didn’t put it down. He carried it back to the living room, deposited it in the bin with its siblings, and then stood there for a moment, watching to make sure it didn’t escape again.
His system chimed at midnight—some automated reminder he’d probably set up years ago and never bothered to disable. The sound made us both look up, suddenly aware of the time.
“It’s midnight,” Travis said.
I looked around his living room. Me on the floor, covered in dog hair, my jacket still wrapped around a sleeping mama dog. Travis in his chair, a cup of cold coffee forgotten beside him, his monitors dark for once. Snow still falling outside the windows, thick and relentless.
Not how I’d expected to spend Christmas Eve. But not bad, either.
“Merry Christmas,” I said.
Travis almost smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
Later—much later—I stretched out on Travis’s couch with a pillow that smelled like fabric softener and absolutely nothing else. The man didn’t even have a scent. It was unnerving.
The brown puppy was on my chest. I’d given up trying to put it back in the bin. Every time I did, it just climbed out again. Eventually, I’d decided it could sleep wherever it wanted.
The quiet pressed in, but it didn’t feel as heavy as usual. The storm was still howling outside, but in here, it was warm.Safe. Full of the small sounds of sleeping dogs and humming electronics and Travis doing whatever Travis did in the middle of the night when normal people were unconscious.
My thoughts drifted back to Mia. They always did, when I let my guard down.
Her face in the Christmas lights. The flour in her hair. Her laugh. God, I could still hear the sound of her laugh.
I wanted to remember it because I sure as hell knew I’d never hear it in real life again. The chances of us meeting again were basically nonexistent. We both had our separate lives. I’d made my choice—stupid as it was—and now I had to live with it.
The puppy shifted against my shirt, letting out a tiny sigh.
I pulled the blanket up and let the memory go. Some mistakes you just had to carry.
?*
* Books from characters in this chapter:
Cooper – WARRIOR SECURITY: COOPER
Travis – WARRIOR SECURITY: TRAVIS
Beckett & Audra – WARRIOR SECURITY: BECKETT
Liam & Mara – MONTANA SILENCE
Jude & Lena – MONTANA STORM
Chapter 3
Tethered
Beckett
