Page 79 of Kai
“Option Alpha is a no-go.”
“Why?” Guzman asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“Not a good fit.” Cece’s secrets were hers to keep. “We’re a go for Bravo.”
Guzman narrowed his eyes at me as if trying to see through to my brain. He soon gave up on my blank expression. “Bravo it is.”
“Very well.” Bozeman pushed back his chair and got up. “Let’s go.”
“Hold on.” Guzman glanced at his Tak. “We’ve got ten more mikes designated for muscle recovery on tonight’s mission schedule.”
With a huff, Granite dragged his chair back into place and sat down again. I winced, hoping the racket hadn’t woken up Cece.
Guzman met my gaze. “Is Cece doing well?”
“Affirmative,” I confirmed. “She’s faced all challenges with remarkable poise.”
“Has she now?” Guzman tipped his chair back and balanced it on two legs. He perched his neoprene booties on my table, and crossing his hands behind his head, studied me closely.
“She’s a remarkable woman.” I don’t know why I felt compelled to elaborate. “She’s sharp, brave, and fierce. If we all do our jobs, she’s gonna come through this, no problem.”
Javier looked at Bozeman. “Did you hear that?”
Bozeman shrugged his enormous shoulders. “Hear what?”
“That twinkle in K-man’s voice?” Guzman taunted me with a smirk. “That intangibleje ne sais quoihe just tried tohide from his best friend in the world, namelymoi?Why do I sense a little magic in the air?”
“Magic?”Bozeman stared at Goof as if he’d grown horns. “What on earth are you speaking of?”
“The sisters’ ‘hunches?’” Guzman drew quotation marks in the air. “The real reason they sent me to Missy and King to Cece?”
“Are you telling me you believe the team’s decisions are based on something other than actionable intelligence?” Bozeman shook his head and rolled his eyes yet again, confirming he was Tracker Team’s eye roller in chief. “You’re a fool if you believe this. We located the women through solid intel work. The rest is gossip.”
“So,” Guzman said, because he never knew when to stop. “If I ask King over here if he’s falling in love with his principal, and if he says yes, will you at least be open to believing me?”
“No!” Bozeman and I said in unison, although for different reasons.
Bozeman recoiled from the idea of acting on anythingbut duty and logic, and I was stuck in a difficult situation. My spidey sense had picked up faint movements somewhere insideSerenity. Given the turn this conversation had taken, I pleaded with the universe that Cece had gotten up for a quick trip to the head and was now back in bed and not up to mischief.
“I think it’s time for you to go.” I grabbed Guzman’s mask and fins and plunked them before him on the table. “I wouldn’t want you to miss rendezvous.”
“K-man, come clean with your best bro,” Javier pressed, jovial as ever. “You’re falling for Cece. Aren’t you?”
I was fucked if I admitted it and fucked if I denied it.
“Remind me.” I stared Guzman down. “Are you always this annoying?”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted heartily. “Missy thinks I’m adorable. Don’t you agree, Bozeman?”
Granite wrinkled his nose and shared a look of aggravation with me. “Guzman is consistently annoying and incorrigible, to boot.”
“Come on, K-man, give me something,” Guzman taunted me, the persistent fool. “What’s the scoop?”
“Cece Astor is the most remarkable person I’ve ever met,” I offered, to get him off my case and hopefully off my boat before it was too late. “That’s all I have to say.”
“Oh, man, this sounds juicy.” Javier dropped his feet from the table and leaned forward, slamming his chair’s front legs on the deck with a racket that made me wince. If Cece had been asleep, surely she was now awake.
“Spill it, brother.” Guzman rubbed his gloved hands together. “Are you or are you not falling for Sorceress?”
