I remove the first waffle and plate it, then pour more batter. “Since the day you left.”
She inhales a sharp breath. “But why?”
I spin around to face her. “I couldn’t throw us away.”
Her eyes fillwith tears.
“What is it?” I ask, reaching for her hand to pull her close.
“I just hate that I wasted so much time being afraid,” she whispers.
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I kiss the top of her head. “We have a lot to work on, but what we’re not going to do is dwell on the past.”
Her eyes fall to my chest, that beautiful vulnerability on full display again. “It scares me how much I need you,” she confesses. “I don’t want to lose myself.”
I lift her chin, bringing her eyes to mine. “I would never let that happen.”
Her smile rivals the sunshine beaming through the kitchen window. I drop a soft kiss on her lips.
“I don’t know how to be in a relationship, Benson. I didn’t have the best examples growing up.”
My heart twists at that, thankful I had two loving parents who loved each other completely and unconditionally. I want to give that to her.
I want to give her everything.
“Well, lucky for you, I’m great at relationships,” I tease.
She laughs, swatting at my chest. “Smartass.”
My tone grows serious. “We’re a team, baby. Equals in every way. When something is too heavy to carry, you give it to me, and I’ll do the same. The rest we’ll figure out as we go.”
“But I still want what we have in the bedroom. I need that as much as I need my independence.”
I tuck a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “I know you do.” I give her ass a swat. “Now sit, so I can feed my woman breakfast.”
Grabbing her cup of coffee, she plants a kiss on my mouth before she takes a seat at the table just as my cell vibrates in mypocket. Reid’s name lights up the screen. I swipe to answer the call, putting it on speaker. Karmen’s eyes are locked on mine as I take a seat next to her at the table.
“Benson.” The sound of Reid’s voice instantly puts me on edge.
“What is it?” I ask.
He releases a long breath as if bracing himself for what he’s about to tell me. “Gainey and Parker were found floating in the Potomac this morning.”
Karmen’s eyes widen as the revelation slams into me like an anvil to the chest. “Fuck.”
“Both were shot at point-blank range. There was a cyberattack that caused a city-wide power outage for about two hours last night.”
“They wanted the power down so they could dump the bodies undetected, avoid being spotted on the city’s network of cameras,” Karmen says.
“Exactly,” Reid replies. “Since it was a cyberattack, our team has officially been called in, so we’re headed your way.”
A sense of relief settles over me.
“We’ll be setting up a field office. As soon as I have the location, I’ll let you know.”
“Copy that. Any luck with the jump drives?” I ask.
“Oak is still working on it. He’s decoded some of the files, but we haven’t found anything yet. Mostly campaign stuff. If it’s there, trust me, he’ll find it.”
