Donovan reached over and ruffled Kyle’s damp hair.“Got a little too close to the fire this time.”
“You’re telling me,” Kyle said a little wryly.
“Let’s not make a habit of it,” Jamie said.
Kyle rolled his head against the back of the chair to look at Jamie as their four other teammates finally edged into the waiting room.“Why aren’t you in New York?”
“I wanted to hear about this mission in person.”
Kyle wasn’t buying that excuse as the whole reason Jamie chose to stay.“You’re stalling.”
“Of course he is,” Katie said, side-eyeing Jamie with a familiar look of exasperation in her blue eyes.“Not that I blame you, Jamie, but Kyle has a point.You have somewhere to be, and it isn’t here.”
Jamie sighed deeply.“I see who really runs this team.”
“Blonde, blue-eyed, but it sure as hell isn’t you, boss,” Madison teased before taking a bite of her nutrient bar.“Blergh.These never taste any better.Who’s up for tacos?”
The resounding chorus ofMe!from nearly everyone made Madison pump her fist in the air in victory.
Katie gave Jamie a pointed look.“We’ll see you later.Go deal with your family.”
Jamie rolled his eyes as he waved goodbye to everyone and left.Not for the first time did Kyle wish he could reach out and hold on to Jamie in public without fear of being discovered as something more than teammates and friends.That they were two men wasn’t an issue, but Jamie being his direct superior officer was.Neither liked hiding their relationship from everyone except the team, but they’d both agreed months ago it was the only option they had if they wanted to be together.
Still, living by the rule of secrecy in order to be together was tiring some days.It meant Kyle would have to wait until Jamie returned and they were home alone before he could kiss the other man properly and let Jamie know he was okay.
For a sniper, sometimes Kyle was terrible at being patient.
“They still want him for the campaign?”Annabelle asked once Jamie was out of earshot.
“When do theynotwant him for the campaign?”Donovan replied.
“It’s a mess,” Katie agreed as she stood.“He’ll handle it.I thought we were getting dinner?”
Kyle shoved himself to his feet and stretched until his spine popped.“Yeah, let’s eat before the paperwork kills us.”
“Is not fun,” Alexei agreed as he slung an arm over Kyle’s shoulders.“What if no taco?”
Madison was first out of the waiting room, a determined look on her face.“There will be tacos if I have to cook the damn things myself.”
02
AIN’T NO FORTUNATE SON
Manhattan in winter carried no snow on its streets between the seawalls encircling the island.The wind hadn’t been icy for decades, and blizzards were stories told in high school history classes.Megatall skyscrapers that seemed to touch the clouds crowded the island, linked by aerial pedestrian walkways buttressed between restricted routes in the air and on the ground for automated cabs, cars, and buses.
New York City had erected walls against the rising ocean across all Five Boroughs generations ago and sealed off its ancient subway in metal tubes.Humanity could live on the coasts so long as the seawalls never fell, surrounded by waterways that hadn’t existed even a century ago.The archaic bridges that used to link the Five Boroughs of the megacity were swallowed by rising sea waters and replaced over a century ago.Their iconic towers were salvaged from the sea and placed in a transportation museum located inland, within New York State proper, far from the waters they used to span.
Manhattan was the jewel of New York City, its beating cultural heart a place all Americans dreamed of living one day.If you could make it there, you could make it anywhere.With a population of forty million packed into the sprawling urban megacity, dreams of a better life came crashing down daily.Manhattan was home to the inherently wealthy, offered a workplace to the half-forgotten tiny middle class, and had displaced the poor and working poor through gentrification several generations ago.
Jamie was well aware of the history that came with his birthplace.Belonging to an extremely wealthy and politically prestigious Manhattan family meant he’d never questioned his place in life until he put on a uniform.Money, he knew from extensive experience, could buy literally anything in this day and age.
What it couldn’t buy was family peace.
He stepped through the sliding black doors of Sakura, the premier Japanese sushi restaurant in New York City, with grim determination to see the night through.Reservations were fought for a year in advance, and the resale market for them was just as hot.Most people would never make it inside to Sakura’s elegant, sexy interior.Jamie’s family, like most other wealthy elites, had other avenues for claiming a table on short notice.
Located on one of the highest levels in a downtown skyscraper, the restaurant took up the entire floor in an open-plan setting surrounding the central kitchen and support columns.A silk ink painting of an ancient feudal Japanese village spanned the entire wall of the waiting area to Jamie’s left.The crimson, gold, and black interior of the restaurant was softly lit, while the murmur of water flowing through the koi pond that snaked around the private dining areas was a soothing background noise.Each table was separated by silk-screen walls and living plants, which created a quasi-private environment for every party.The tables were either situated under a small mock-up of a pagoda roof or the recreated boughs of living cherry blossom trees.
What Sakura was known for beyond the décor was how each table was set.Chairs were situated around a black marble table whose highlight was the naked young man or woman that lay on it, their bodies absolute toned perfection that lines of freshly made sushi and sashimi were delicately draped over to cover every inch of skin.A thin strip of black silk was draped over their hips only, while their faces were made up in the style of Japanese geishas or traditional opera masks.The food at Sakura was exquisite, but Jamie could have done without the pageantry.
