She made a little noise of disbelief.
“Trust me. I’ve had worse.” He’d put a cold pack on it last night.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to his sketchbook, which he’d accidentally left open when she’d appeared.
He shrugged, feeling his face heat as he fought the urge to snatch up his drawings before she could see. “Just something I do to keep myself busy when I have downtime.”
She leaned over for a better look at the squirrels he’d captured from his memory of this morning’s encounter. “Wow. That’s really good.”
“Thanks.” Before she could ask to see more, he stuffed the little book into his pack and focused his attention on their breakfast.
“I can barely draw a straight line.”
“Straight lines are more useful in architecture than art anyway,” he said.
“You know what I mean.” She made a face at him. “I’d love to be able to recreate what I see like that. I’m in awe of how you can get the essence of something with so few strokes. Have you ever considered an art-based career?”
“Nah. It’s just something I do for fun.”
She hunched over her drink and watched him. “What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t a security…what did you call it?”
“Specialist.” He threw some raisins and almonds into the thickening oats.
“Right, that.”
“Physical therapy.”
“Really?” She tilted her head. “That’s a big change.”
“Not so big from my old job as a medic. Helping injured people, and not stuck behind a desk. The big difference is that I’d get to see the patients improve, rather than just handing them off and never knowing the outcome.”
“You think you’ll ever pursue it?”
“I doubt it.” No. “It’s a doctoral program, and I don’t even have a BS. Plus, the space is really limited. It can take years to get in. Not sure I have that kind of patience.”
“So you’ve looked into it,” she teased. “I had no idea it was such a commitment, but it seems like it’d be worth it if that’s what you want to do.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Long before Pete killed Bethany, Todd had been ready to change gears. He wasn’t getting any younger. He could only play bodyguard for so long before it took too much of a toll on his body. And his mind. But he couldn’t imagine leaving his team. Steele Security had become a second family for him, and he couldn’t imagine going solo.
Which is why he’d jumped on Kurt Steele’s offer to take over recruitment and training once the new year rolled around. He’d have more responsibility, even better pay, and fewer days away from home.
He just needed to see Pete behind bars first.
“What’s wrong?” Lindsey asked, far too perceptive for his taste.
“Nothing. Just thinking about everything we need to do to get moving.”
They ate their oatmeal in silence, letting the food warm them from the inside. After breakfast, he filled a water bottle for each of them, and they finished off the remainder of the purified stream water before packing up and heading out. The sooner they got on the trail the better.
Once they started walking, she kept up a good pace, her stride nearly as long as his. “Where are you from?” he asked.
“LA. Specifically Hermosa Beach, if you’re familiar with the area.”
“Not really, but I know it’s one of the few places with worse traffic than DC.”
“Depends where you have to go. I’m lucky,” she said. “I’ve always worked pretty close to home.” Her pretty mouth twisted. “I don’t get out of The Bubble much.”
“Are you from LA originally?”
