I swallowed back the explanation as we pushed in closer to the dignitary, while Briggs relayed to the rest of the team that we were leaving.
Rush slipped back out of the room to check the hall as we made our way over to the main interior door. But as we escortedthe man from the room, down the halls and stairs, and out of the building, it was all I could do to remain focused.
I’d just told someone.
Not just someone...Briggs. The perpetually angry one in our group. Ourboss.
And instead of feeling lighter for finally getting it off my chest, I felt sick. I wasn’t sure if it was due to Briggs’ obvious disbelief, or because it felt wrong telling someone about the event that had managed to devastate Mallory Monroe.
We’d witnessed more death than I cared to remember. We’d lost members of our SEAL team—people who were like family. We’d done things none of us had ever repeated, all for the sake of protecting people and our country. And throughout all of that, I’d never seen her as shaken or as vulnerable as I had on that morning in Aruba.
I’d also never seen her so mad at me.
We fought like crazy but were practically inseparable. I knew I got on her last nerve, but I never doubted that the next time I turned around, she’d beright there. Until now.
If I hadn’t already known how absolutely in love with her I was, her absence these past three months would’ve informed me. As it was, the ache in my chest was now a constant, familiar friend that twisted deeper whenever she did something to avoid me or talked to me with that air of unfamiliarity.
Once we made it outside, I automatically scanned the area before narrowing in on where our identical SUVs idled at the curb.
I started veering toward the one for the dignitary when I was abruptly shoved toward the one in front.
Briggs slowed to seethe, “Until this is fixed, y’all are desk only.”
“Briggs—”
He sharply nodded at the awaiting SUV, already walking to catch up to the rest of the group. “Go.”
I watched my team for a few seconds longer before heading toward the first car, dread filling each step all while my heart slammed against my ribs, desperately reaching for the person behind the wheel, because I knew who it would be, and all I wanted was a chance to talk to her.
But after these months—after the wholly uncharacteristic and shocking scene a handful of minutes ago—I didn’t know what to expect from her next.
“You’re with the charge,” Mallory said as soon as I slipped into the passenger seat.
Stiff. Formal. Withdrawn...but the tension radiating from her and pressing against me like a warning betrayed what she was trying so hard to portray.
“So were you,” I reminded her. “And I was released. Drive before we get fired.” When she hesitated, I gestured toward the street. “We’ve already been taken off all future details.Drive.”
Silence filled the car as we drove, thick and uncomfortable. Each time I tried figuring out how to break it, nothing ever felt right, and the weight of my unspoken words only added to the strain hovering between us.
This wasn’t me . . .
I never thought before I spoke. Then again, it usually worked out for me. I either had people rolling in laughter, had women falling at my feet, or put my own foot in my mouth. If it was the latter, I’d apologize and charm people into forgiving me. It was how I’d always been.
Except, I didn’t know how to apologize for something I had no memory of, and she’d been an equal part of. And Mallory Monroe was the one woman I’d never been able to charm. But again...I didn’t knowthisMallory, and I didn’t know how to navigate what was going on between us now.
Panic surged in my veins when I realized we’d already dropped the foreign dignitary off at his hotel and were almost at the garage where we stored the vehicles for our high-end clients.
The first opportunity I’d had to talk with Mallory one-on-one in three months, and I’d wasted over thirty-five minutes of it.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” I blurted out.
Nearly a minute ticked by as we entered the garage before she sighed. “So you’ve said.”
My shoulders sagged at the reserved delivery of her words. “Monroe, Iamsorry. I would’ve been there if you’d told me.”
“Why would I have told you?”
“Because that’s what we do,” I shot back as I turned to look at her. “We tell each other things—we tell each othereverything. But even if we didn’t, that was your mom.”
