Whatever. Once it’s in the frypan, there’s no putting the egg back in the shell.
Exhausted from the night before, we wake late, then must rush to leave the house on time.
As he exits the kitchen, I remind him of the retreat on Friday speaking as fast as I can. “So, ah, I wanted to mention Callieinvited Sam Sutcliff, who invited her cousins, and we all decided to have Lilac's baby shower there. So, if you’re good watching Abbie this weekend, I can go, right? It’s only two nights. I’ll be home on Sunday to help with all the chores.”
Snatching his commuter mug from my hand, Axel’s brows furrow. “I don’t have time to discuss this now.”
Barefoot, I follow him down the driveway until I stop at his SUV. “I only have one more question. Has anything bad ever happened at this day spa?”
“No… but I don’t like you not having a phone.” When he climbs in, I latch my fingers behind his neck and kiss him into oblivion.
Breast heaving, my clit on fire, I catch his eye. “You can call the emergency number. They said they would contact you.”
“Babe… The owners are under investigation.” He reaches forward and presses the start button.
The engine revs as I present my final arguments. “Listen, there are hundreds of these places across the US. I tell you what, I will bring a burner phone and hide it. If anything sounds off, we’ll come home. There’s going to be eight of us. No one’s going to make a whole baby shower full of women disappear. Besides, Dolly left her cats in my care… If she doesn’t return, we’ll be forced to adopt them.”
Foot on the brake, he shuts the door, then rolls down his window. “I’m not saying yes.”
“But not no, correct?” According to my alma mater’s mean girls, I earned a D-minus in eyelash fluttering, yet I try it anyway.
My husband grins at the attempt. “Gwen…”
“All the other men have agreed.” The fact I feel the need to argue my case should either piss me off or give me pause.
“And why do I suspect they’re having the same argument we are?” He’s probably right, but I refuse to cave in.
Instead, I cross my arms like a petulant teen. “No clue.”
Remembering I am a grown-ass adult, I lean into the window to kiss my spouse. “I love you. Be safe.”
“I love you too. I promise we will discuss this later.”
That is what worries me.
Chapter 4
“When shepherds quarrel, the wolf has a winning game.” — German proverb
Axel
Panting, with three minutes to spare, I adjust my tie before opening my office’s ornate conference room door. As I unbutton my suit jacket to sit, Special Agent Trever Johnson nods, indicating he’s ready. Meanwhile, my boss grimaces while he dims the lights.
My teammate waits for the attorney general and the director to finish, then starts his presentation. “The increase in online chatter has led us to believe there’s going to be a significant event in the next few days.”
Once the projected image on the screen switches to cite his sources, Scott Hunter, to my right, clears his throat. “Most of our analysts concur. It is some kind of bomb.”
“Nuke?” I pose the question for the benefit of the senate members in the room.
Shaking his head, Trever pretends to think it through. “Possibly, but a non-nuclear, electromagnetic pulse attack is more likely. We’ve counted our inventory while checking those of friendly nations but have yet to find any missing.”
In the blink of an eye, the mood in the room shifts. The attorney general is unconcerned except for the tight grip on his pen. The junior member of Homeland Security pales and glances at the other faces around the table, trying to gauge theseriousness of the threat. Arms crossed, my boss leans forward and taps his fingertips.
When the FBI director’s mouth lengthens into a tight line, I figure the implications have sunk in. “We need more funding, more people, and more data to make sense of what we are hearing.”
No one argues, which means my team has done their job well. Perhaps we can stop this latest attempt to send us back to the stone age. Good God, the stakes have never been higher. I feel powerless.
During our fifteen-minute break, the director pulls me aside. “Call Slate at Patten Securities. If you enlist their help, I’ll sign off on the costs.”
