I could only imagine how the picture was going to come out after that instruction.
As Badger took her phone, a growl of frustration left her. “You set a photo of yourself as my background!”
All I saw was Machine with a shit-eating grin on his face before I walked into the other room and shook my head. Badger would never admit it, but they would make a cute couple. That love-hate relationship would give them insane amounts of chemistry.
“I missed you,” a warm voice said in my ear as strong arms wrapped around me.
The familiar scent of citrus and old spice filled my nostrils. I gazed over my shoulder into Aaron’s eyes. His beautiful blue eyes showed nothing but adoration and admiration. I gulped. The guilt made me want to throw up my lunch.
I mustered up a small smile. “I missed you too.”
Before the conversation could go any further, Chief called me into his office. I gave Aaron’s arm a gentle squeeze before I walked into Chief’s office and closed the door. I sat down on the love seat adjacent to his wide-spanned desk.
“So how was the conference?” Chief asked, steepling his hands on the desk.
I filled him in on the revelation I made about Kade being Ghost and spoke at length about what I’d learned at the conference. Purposefully avoiding any talk over hooking up with my assignment.
“You okay?” Chief was a straight to the point, matter-of-fact kind of guy. Talking about feelings wasn’t typically his forte.
“Yeah, just tired.” Not a lie, but not the full truth.
“We got a lead on Ricci.” Chief changed topics, not pushing his question. “We received some intel that he is working with the cartel and a shipment is to be delivered at the end of the week.”
My heart sank into my stomach. I was happy for the lead, but felt sick knowing that women and children would be affected by the exchange.
“So what’s the plan?”
“For now we will be laying low. Badge and Buddha will be spying on the exchange. Hopefully then we can get some more incriminating information for Ricci. It’s still too soon for us to go in. It’s the first deal he’s had since the big warehouse bust.”
I nodded. “Well then I guess it’s time to let the team know and get to work.”
After we briefed the team on the plan for Ricci, I walked outside and let the brisk air cool my skin. Now that I was back home, I had to deal with the harsh reality that I needed to figure out what I was doing with Aaron.
Technically Kade was a job. This wasn’t real. I didn’t need to choose.
Keep telling yourself that, a stupid little voice in the back of my head kept whispering.
I somehow got home without having to talk to Aaron. As I opened the door to my apartment, a very angry Alfredo glared at me, meowed, and turned around fluffing his tail to show he was mad.
I rolled my eyes. I never realized how much sass a cat could have until I got Mr. Grumpy-McGee.
Leaving my bags near the front door, I plopped myself on the couch and covered myself with a throw blanket. Alfredo jumped on the couch and couldn’t resist the power of the fluffy blanket. He laid down on my chest and began to purr as I ran my fingers through his fur.
“See you can’t stay mad at me.” I kissed his head. He meowed in response but continued to lay on me until I dozed off. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep when I heard the sound of a text message coming through on my phone.
Kade Romano:
What is my princess up to?
Me:
Snuggling with Alfredo.
Kade Romano:
He’s one lucky guy. When can I see you?
Me:
