She frowns then turns to me. “Evelyn, for starters.”
I sigh. “I owe you an explanation.”
Cat shrugs. “Only if it’s a current thing, which I hope it’s not because I’m not that kind of woman.”
“I know you’re not. Evelyn is my past. She’s my ex-wife.”
Cat’s eyes go wide. “Really?”
“High school sweethearts. We married and had two children - a daughter and a son. We knew pretty quickly we weren’t meant to be together.”
“Did you fight?”
“No,” I shake my head. “We were - and still are - excellent friends. As a friend and the mother of my children, I love her, but that’s all. I’m delighted she met Dylan, her husband.”
Cat blows out a breath. “Wow. And you keep shit at their house? Dylan must be a very understanding guy.”
I nod. “He is. He’s been a great husband to Ev, a great step-father to my children, and they built the guest house for me to land in between contracting jobs.”
“So, that’s not a guest house,” Cat blinks. “That’s your - house?”
I shrug. “One of them.”
“Hmm,” she looks off in the distance.
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
She frowns at the road. “Does it seem like this is a bit too easy to you?”
My eyebrows knit together. “Which part?”
“This,” Cat motions toward the property we’re surveilling.
I chuckle. “Easy? We’ve had bad guys shooting at us since the moment we went after the two fugitives. They’ve tracked our every move. You’ve been shot. Kidnapped. Shall I go on?”
Cat lets out a sigh and reaches for her pen. “I promise not to click it anymore. It- It helps me think.”
I narrow my eyes but hand over the pen. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Cat fiddles with the pen, twirling it around her fingers. It’s distracting, but at least she’s not clicking the damn thing anymore.
“Situation report?” Celia’s voice comes over the comms.
Everyone checks in. Nothing’s going on.
We’ve been staking out the farm since late last night, in case Jeffrey Rose showed up early. Teams are surrounding the property, but that’s the extent of the excitement. I close my eyes and take deep breaths to center myself.
Click. Click. Click.
I open one eye. “Okay, Kitten. What’s eating you?”
She gives me a saucy smile, and my dick stands at attention. It’s not the time to get hot and bothered, but I can’t help myself around her. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Fine,” she sighs. “Something’s missing.”
“Like what?”
“We’ve overlooked something.”
“Again, what?”