“What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but I just had a call from Khalid.” She briefed him on the conversation and how the timeline would need to be accelerated.
“Will there be a problem getting us out tonight?” Cole asked.
“I’ll need to make a couple of calls, but I’m certain we can make that happen.” She’d expected that question from him but was still unprepared for the emotional impact it would have on her.
She’d been looking forward to having a few days with Boone before they had to leave. Now she would have to brace herself to say goodbye to him tonight.
As if her thoughts conjured him, Boone stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a black pair of boxer briefs. He winked at her, pointed toward the kitchen and made a gesture like he was drinking from a cup, then left the bedroom.
“Okay, you work on logistics. I’ll notify the team to report to the compound with their gear by oh six hundred.” How was Cole able to sound so unaffected by the idea of leaving Dulce and his little boy on such short notice?
“Cole, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, let me just get this coffee started first.” Water ran in the background, and there were a few beeps. “Okay, shoot.”
“How do you handle leaving Dulce and Carter when you go on these ops?” she asked. “If it’s none of my business, feel free to tell me.”
“Is this about Boone?” He surprised her with that question.
“Yeah, it is.” The official nature of their relationship would be out in the open soon enough.
“First off, leaving them is one of the most difficult things I have to do. But what we do is important, and Dulce, better than most, understands that.” She heard sputters from the coffee maker. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it gets easier, but you have to figure out a way to compartmentalize your work life from your personal life. Which could be complicated by the fact you two work together. But if you don’t do that, you’ll never make it.”
The idea of that terrified her.
“Okay, I’ll try.” She wasn’t sure how, but she’d figure it out.
Workplace romances could be difficult under the best circumstances. But in a traditional work environment, if a couple breaks up, the worst thing that could happen was that they were forced to see each other every day. With Dark Ops, it was much more extreme, because they faced the genuine risk andcataclysmic emotional impact of one of them dying during an op.
“Why don’t you talk to the other wives and significant others?” he suggested. “I’m sure Dulce would be happy to talk with you.”
“That’s a good idea. Thanks.” This must be what it felt like to get advice from an older brother. Which was funny, because Cole intimidated the heck out of her the first time she met him.
She’d been surrounded by big, tough guys for years, but Cole was a whole different breed. Maybe it was the scar cutting through his eyebrow, his dark eyes, or the level of intensity you could practically feel pulsing off of him. His past spent working deep undercover for Jeffrey Burke and the NSA was dark enough to haunt and destroy a lesser man. But then she’d see him with Dulce and Carter and the way their light and love broke through his darkness to expose a caring and affectionate husband and father.
“Anytime.” He sipped his coffee. “I’ll see you at oh six hundred. Oh, and I’m assuming you can just roll over and tell Boone?”
Was Cole Lambert actually making a joke?
“Ha ha, very funny.”
He was actually chuckling when she ended the call.
Speaking of Boone—not wanting to lose a minute with him, she tossed off the covers and hurried into the bathroom. She went potty, washed her hands, and splashed water on her face. She reached for her robe, stopped, and grabbed his flannel shirt from where it hung on the doorknob instead. She slipped it on and only bothered with a few buttons.
Luna walked into the kitchen, and Boone’s back was to her as he reached into the cabinet for coffee mugs. She moved up behind him, circled her arms around his waist, and put her cheek against his warm back.
He turned, wrapped his arms around her, and they stood that way, holding each other, for a few minutes. Both of them thinking the same thing but neither one mentioning it.
“Cole wants everyone at the ops center by six o’clock.” Luna looked up at him, her chin to his chest. “He knew we were together and told me to let you know.”
“You okay with him knowing that?” He brushed his lips across her forehead.
“Absolutely.” She leaned back to look up at him. “Are you?”
“Hell, yeah.” Boone laced his fingers together at her lower back. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding the way I feel about you.”
