Colt grinned. “I think I did more takedowns in a week in your unit than in a year of active duty. You should get medals.”
“The volatile ones keep the job interesting.”
“But this kind of volatility shouldn’t be a personality trait of someone you date.”
Natalie went quiet.
Colt poked at the coleslaw on his plate with a fork. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I overstepped my bounds.”
Natalie shook her head. “It’s okay. I know it’s good advice.” She forced a smile, feeling chastised, like a child lectured by a parent. She crumpled her napkin and tossed it on her tray.
“Finished?” Colt wiped barbecue sauce off his fingertips.
“You’ve got something right here,” Natalie said, indicating the spot on her chin.
Colt’s cheeks pinked as he wiped sauce from the whiskers of his chin. “Thanks.” He ran his hands over the shadow of a beard on his jaw. “I’ve gone soft. What would my C.O. say?”
Natalie eyed his biceps. “I don’t see anything soft about your physical appearance.”
A plate shattered on the floor behind Colt, startling Natalie into dropping her cup. Colt stared at a man in a blazer coming through the front door.
Water spilled over the picnic table as a waiter rushed over with a towel. Colt sopped up some of the water with his napkin before glancing over his shoulder at the dropped tray of food.
“Sorry about that,” the waiter said, mopping up the mess as another swept the debris of the plates into a dustbin.
Natalie slid out of the way to avoid the puddle seeping her way. The waiter took her empty cup and the wet towels back into the kitchen.
“That scared me. But you didn’t even flinch,” Natalie said. “That part of your training?”
Colt shook his head. “Check, please,” he said, as the waiter returned with a full water for Natalie.
Colt tapped his left ear. “IED went off on this side of me. Gave me a bad case of tinnitus. I’ve got an appointment with the VA here to get it looked at, but it’s not for another three months.”
“Can you hear anything?”
“Yeah, but not clearly. It’s worse in loud places like this.” He gestured at the dining room. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t impact my ability to protect you,” he said quickly. “But it has made it difficult to get a job in this field. At least until I can get it treated. That’s why Rusty’s doing me a big favor with this job. But don’t tell him I said that.” Colt smiled. “He keeps a running list of everyone who owes him favors. The last one he called in for me involved a badger, a car, and way too much whiskey.”
“Now I want to know the full story.”
“If I could remember it clearly, I’d tell you.” Colt signed the ticket and placed it neatly back into the checkbook with the pen. He slid it to the edge of the table. “Ready?”
Natalie stood. “Nugget will think I forgot about him.”
“He’ll forgive you.” Colt held up the bag of scraps he’d had the waiter pack up. “If he and I are going to work together to keep you safe, I need to be on his good side.”
“I think you already are.” Natalie pulled on her coat and let Colt lead her back onto the street. Outside her apartment, she braced herself for Gavin to be waiting inside. When she twisted the latch, Nugget whined eagerly at the base of the door, nuzzling her as soon as she stepped inside. The apartment was just as she’d left it that morning, save for the dent Nugget had made on the couch where he’d slept despite having his own, expensive dog bed in a corner. He nosed his leash.
“I’ll take him out,” Colt said, taking the leash from the hook. “Then get this installed.” He took the new lock out of his bag and set it on the table by the door. Nugget sat eagerly at Colt’s feet, his tail thumping the floor as he waited to be leashed. Colt scratched Nugget’s chin and clipped the snap to his collar. “That’s a good boy,” he said. Nugget stood, pawing the door.
Natalie put the to-go bag from dinner in the fridge, realizing she hadn’t been with anyone but Gavin in over seven years. Could she even flirt with Colt if she wanted to? Probably not, she was way out of practice. She slipped her badge off and hung it with her jewelry. The chunky wrist cuffs and headband Kaylin had made for her to wear to tomorrow’s Comic-Con stood out on the rack from the delicate gold chains and pearls Natalie typically wore. Pearls were old-fashioned, but they reminded Natalie of the styles back home, so she’d garnered a collection of pearl-studded earrings and pendants. Luckily, Gavin thought pearls were matronly, so he’d never given her any. She’d have to get rid of anything he gave her over the years; she had no desire to touch any of it again, let alone wear it.
The door creaked open and Nugget whined, tugging to run to Natalie. Colt freed him and took out the lock.
“Toolbox?”
Natalie pointed at the coat closet. “I’m going to hop in the shower. Kaylin’s making me get up early tomorrow for the con.”
“I know,” Colt said. “I’ll be there.” He dug out the toolset and rooted around, finally finding a screwdriver. “This shouldn’t take long, then I’ll be out of your hair. Sort of. It’s my job to be in your hair, at least for a little while.” He winked at her before turning back to the door so she wouldn’t see the heat in his cheeks as he imagined his hands in her hair, pulling it down her back to reveal the length of her neck.
“Take all the time you need.” Natalie hoped he’d still be there when she finished showering. She’d come out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel to get her pajamas—the pretty ones with the silk shorts—and then he’d see her figure. Sure, she wasn’t a model, but what guy didn’t like boobs? She had plenty of those. And catching a guy’s eye—even one she couldn’t have—never hurt in giving her a little boost in confidence.
She hurried to turn the water on, washing her hair and shaving her legs as quickly as she could. When she came out of the bathroom, hot steam rolling in clouds around her shoulders, she was alone except for Nugget and a shiny new lock gleaming from her apartment door. The new keys sat in a bowl on the table.
She hugged her towel to herself and glanced at the window, wondering if Colt was somewhere in sight, watching her through the slits in the blinds. Normally, she would tug them closed to be sure no one on the street got a show when she changed. Natalie turned her back to the window, ignoring the pull cords. She flipped her damp hair down her back and dropped her towel to the floor, hoping that somewhere outside, Colt watched, and liked what he saw.
