Bea lets out a shaky giggle. “Right. Of course.” She casts a guilty look towards the kitchen. “Will he?—”
“You’re fine.” I run my thumb over her lips. Then I smooth down her tousled hair. “He’ll probably take a shower first anyway.”
And if almost by magic, Ace calls out loudly, “Everything’s good. Just hopping in the shower.” A beat, and then, “Something smellsgreatin here.”
“See.” I kiss Bea’s forehead. Then, the tip of her nose. And finally, her lips. “Nothing to worry about.”
She just looks at me for a second. “You really are special, Indy. I hope you know that.”
“Bea.” I gather her in my arms again. “You’re the special one.”
And it’s funny, after years of cursing my fate, I’m finally realizing I might be thankful for it.
CHAPTER 12
BEA
I’mnotgoingto ask him again.
I’m not.
Indy said it’s fine. That it’s perfectly safe for Rhiannon and Hawk to stop by for a visit.
They’ve been in California for the last week, visiting Rhiannon’s parents, and were already planning on coming to Seattle for a few days before flying back home to Texas. Originally, they were going to stay with Yara while they’re here. But with Yara’s place full, Rhiannon and Hawk are staying at a nearby hotel instead.
Which I feel kind of guilty about, honestly.
“They don’t mind,” Indy assured me last night when I mentioned it. “Trust me. Rhi and Hawk are used to changing plans last minute.”
“But is it safe?” I asked for the first time of many. “If someone’s out there looking for me, what if it puts your friends in danger?”
“It won’t.” We were sitting out in the sunroom, snuggled up on the loveseat with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around us. Indyhugged me closer as he added, “Rhi and Hawk are more than capable of protecting themselves. If they’re not worried, and I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be, either.”
“But… if this guy knows I’m with you guys, and he makes the connection with Blade and Arrow…”
Indy turned to me, his expression serious. “I would never do anything that would put you in danger, Bea. Ever. If this asshole did ping your location at HQ, he wouldn’t be able to connect it to Blade and Arrow Security. When Cole bought the property, he made the purchase through a separate LLC. And Leo, the tech guy at the Sleepy Hollow branch, made sure everything was completely anonymous.”
I hated feeling so twisted up about it. I still do.
On one hand, I want to meet Indy’s former teammates. I want to see Indy with them, relaxed, joking, and reminiscing.
On the other… I can’t ignore the jittery feeling in my stomach that comes with yet another change to adjust to. Another new place to stay. More new people to meet. Another set of variables I have no control over.
It’s like a chaotic form of baking, in a sense. At the start, I had the exact ingredients I needed. And the recipe was for something predictable. Something I’d made so many times I could do it blindfolded.
But then another ingredient gets thrown into the mix. Something that doesn’t quite fit. And then another. And another. Until I’m trying to cobble together some crazy mish-mash of ingredients and hoping it won’t fall flat once I get it in the oven.
Well. Maybe that’s not thebestmetaphor. Because if I screw up a recipe, I can just make it over again. But if something goes wrong in this situation, the consequences could be much worse.
Stop catastrophizing, I keep reminding myself.
Indy knows what he’s doing. So does the rest of his team. And they have two other branches of highly-trained security expertsto back them up. If any of them thought we shouldn’t be doing this, they would have said so.
Logic tells me there’s nothing to worry about.
But I’ve found that fear finds the most devious of hiding places. And it likes to lurk there, waiting to attack at the most unexpected and inconvenient times.
Like Indy’s friends coming to visit for a harmless night of pizza and games.
