She nodded. “Okay. That sounds good.”
Peeling her body from the chair was almost painful. She bent to the side, then the other, groaning as the reality of sitting for so long kicked in.
Brady put his hands on her shoulders from behind and squeezed, massaging her sore muscles. She groaned again and rolled her neck from one side to the other.
“Dang, that feels good.”
Stanley snorted. “If you’re handing out massages, can I put in for one?”
“You’d have to pay me for it,” Brady said.
Stanley laughed and shook his head. “Heck no. I want you to be serious about it if you massage my shoulders.”
Mick snorted. “Ain’t nobody going to be serious about massaging your shoulders. Like me, the best you’re going to get is to pay someone for the service.”
“I’m sure that isn’t the only service you’re paying for,” Keel said.
“Cut it out,” Brady said before he stopped massaging her shoulders and took her hand, leading her out into the hall. “Let’s walk for a bit. We’ll get something to eat, then get back at it before we head home to bed.”
“Sounds good. I sit for work a lot, but I usually get up and move around some. That was brutal.”
“This work is intense. It means something. You don’t want to stop because stopping will mean that something can go wrong, but you need sleep.”
“I do, and I need to move and stretch my body. I wish…”
“What?”
“I wish I knew who was behind this all. But that’s what we’re doing. I don’t know how anyone figured it all out. What pieces of the puzzle did I reveal that allowed them to put it together? And why me? If they have it all put together, why would they need me to bring it all together?”
“Well, maybe they understand the basics, but don’t know what you’d have to do to make it happen.”
Frustration ground through her. Once she knew who it was, maybe it would be apparent what happened. Would she be able to figure out what nugget she’d dropped to make them think it was possible to bomb DC with a US military missile?
Bean hadn’t let goof Garnet’s hand, and it didn’t seem like she minded at all that he was still holding on to her. This felt natural, like he was meant to hold her hand.
They were at the end of the hall, and they had to either head outside or turn around. He pushed open the door, and they stepped outside in the twilight. It was later than he’d thought.
“Are you good with staying up and working more?” he asked.
She nodded and glanced up, her green eyes filled with warmth. He stopped walking under an oak tree. They were in the shadows, but someone could probably see them, so he wouldn’t pull her to him, but he did squeeze her hand.
“I’m fine working longer. Maybe a few more hours before it becomes too hard.”
The desire to lean in and kiss her grew, so he focused on food. “There’s a place we can get a burger, and we won’t have to go into town.”
Garnet nodded, her lips tipping up in a warm smile. “Sounds good.”
“Let’s head over, then we’ll come back here and work longer.”
“Thank you for helping me figure this out.”
“Hey, you’re making our job easier. Having you as a resource cuts the time quite a bit.”
Garnet sighed. “I’m glad I can help. I know I could make a lot of money in the private sector, but I want to make an impact working for the government. Good people have to work for the government, or it will fail.”
“You’re right. I know there are issues with our government, but I see progress.”
“So you get why I’ve stayed in this position.”
