“What’s this all about? It looks like you were noting catastrophic events, the names of dead soldiers, and company names. Can you remember why you wrote this?”
“Yes, they were all deliveries, explosions, or other irregular events that were related to safety protocol failures and who died. I think I was looking for a pattern but could never find one.”
I nod at that.
She continues, “These symbols are important. I remember there was a man who cornered me outside the field hospital we were at. He had a tattoo on his neck of a triangle inside a circle. He told me this wasn’t my story to tell. I remember thinking it sounded like a warning.”
With every page I turn, my respect for her grows. She’s been threatened and stalked for years and somehow managed to survive with a baby clinging to her hip. She deserves peace of mind and security, and I’m gonna see that she gets it.
Here’s another cryptic sentence. We both read it together.
Triangle mark—company symbol? Not military. Private? Industrial?
Looking up at her, I ask, “What do you think that means?”
She responds, “Exactly what it says. I’ve been seeing that logo over the place, only it had different things in it. The guy’s tattoo had a circle inside. Another had a three-dimensional square. Another had the chemical structure for water inside the circle. Somewhere along the line, I started to realize they might be subsidiaries of the same company.”
“Damn, that makes a lot of sense. Here are two more.” I read out what she’s written, “Neal. Possible contact or alias. Rivera overheard name. Cross-check with Hydro Relief Inc. Explosion may have been cover for extraction, to target me or to get the flash drive?” I glance at her and shake my head in disbelief. “It’s unbelievable to me that you made all this just from things you remember after waking up from a coma. You’ve got to be the GOAT of investigative reporting.”
She looks embarrassed. “I’m the greatest of all time at running and covering my six. That’s about it.”
Turning another page, I say, “Well, you’ve got me to cover your six from now on.”
“And I’m grateful for that Slate, I truly am,” she says.
There’s something so vulnerable about her right now, I just want to pull her into my arms and tell her I’ll keep her safe forever. But I need to be realistic. If she started to uncover something big, then I need to know what we’re dealing with. My eyes go back to her notepad. “Look here—you’ve circled that Neal guy’s name three times. And then you wrote another cryptic message,” I point at the page:
Find him before he finds us.
She stares at the sentence for a long time without saying anything.
Finally, I ask quietly, “Do you remember why you wrote that?”
“I remember writing after I woke up from a strange dream of being chased through bombed-out town. I don’t think I put this name together with earlier entry about the information Rivera gave me.”
We both look at each other for a long, hard minute. This is something real and actionable. A first name at least. “Since you got the original tip from Rivera, we should ask if he remembers anything?”
“That’s a good idea,” she responds absently. “I can’t believe we actually made progress together on my notebook today.”
I reach up, brush a strand of hair from her face, and let my fingers linger for a second too long. “You’re safe here, Christina. I mean that.”
Her voice comes out small. “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
“Too late for that,” I say quietly. “You’ve already got me interested with that kiss. I won’t ever let you go unless you really want to go.”
“Well, you know that was a standing offer, right?”
I immediately close the space between us and pull her close. When our lips touch, it’s as amazing as last time. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer.
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur between kisses.
She shakes her head. “Don’t stop. I’ve missed this, missed you.”
I tilt her chin up and kiss her again, more thoroughly this time. It’s a claiming kiss meant to seal her to me. My arousal spirals totally out of control because this is what I’ve been dreaming about for years—having Christina back in my arms. We were always good together, like two halves of the same whole. She’s intelligent and educated, and I’ve got street smarts and military training. It worked well for us before because she was so down to earth. I want to recapture that in the worst way.
When her hand slides down to glide along my hard cock, I remember how soft and delicate her hands are and how fuckin’ good they feel on my naked cock. Her touching me through my jeans is just a tease, and we both know it.
“You know where the zipper is, darlin’. Use it if you dare,” I tell her playfully.
