She held his gaze. “Did the rib scar happen with the Teams?”
DING.
Wyatt’s comm crackled.
Maxim’s voice came through Channel 16. “Is Roper getting fondled by the dock? Because I’m seeing movement.”
Another voice followed, dry and authoritative. “Focus, Petrov.”
Letty froze as Wyatt rolled his eyes. “A former SEAL teammate. He must be passing through.” He clicked his comms. “Maxim, you brought a friend.”
“I did. Dr. Duval, I’m Maxim, a friend of Roper’s. Meet Ghost.”
“Hello.” A gravelly voice spoke.
Wyatt’s mind scrambled.I know that name.“He’s former Army Intelligence and the husband of Maxim’s partner at CPSP. We met once.”
Ghost answered. “Good memory and yes. We met once in Afghanistan.”
“Over tea and those pastries… What were they called?” He paused as Letty’s eyebrows came together as he whispered. “Gosh-e-fil, Elephant’s ear, light and sweet and dusted with powdered sugar.”
She nodded with a slight smile. “Ah, nice to meet you Maxim and Ghost.”
“Channel 16,” Wyatt muttered. “You’re all muted.”
Laughter crackled before the line went dead.
Letty laughed then, surprised and real. “You work with children.”
Wyatt took out a coin and rolled a silver dollar across his knuckles, smooth and practiced. “Only the loud ones.”
The coin flashed in the fading light as her chocolate eyes studied it. Wyatt’s heart picked up speed as the coin slipped. It clinked against the dock.
She smiled. “Mr. Cowboy SEAL can’t handle a coin flip?”
He stilled, then bent to pick it up. “Don’t start. It’s not sentimental.”
Her brow lifted as she smiled. “It absolutely is. I can see that.”
“No.” He scowled. “It’s just a reminder about how things are.”
She held his gaze, something unspoken tightening between them. “Thanks for staying,” she whispered.
Wyatt leaned closer, voice low. “That’s the job.”
But they both knew better. They lingered a beat too long as the marsh got quiet. Water slid against the pilings in a slow rhythm that made the quiet between them feel louder than the rescue radios that had been crackling all night.
“We should go inside,” she said, though she didn’t move.
Wyatt watched her instead of the water. “Yeah.”
Neither stepped away for a moment. Letty shifted first, brushing past him toward the cottage. Her shoulder grazed his chest as heat snapped between them.
Wyatt reached for the empty glasses at the same time she turned back. They collided.
Her eyes lifted slowly as he stared into them. “Still cataloging?” Wyatt asked, voice low.
“You make it difficult not to.”
