Page 47 of Cyn
He kept an eye on her as he pulled the salad out and dressed it before pouring himself a glass of wine. Taking both the salad bowl and his glass to the table, he returned to the island to cut the pizza. Once that was done, he brought that to the table as well, tossing down an oven mitt to act as a trivet then setting the piping hot pizza stone down.
“You need a hand?” he asked, waving at the food. It was clear she’d injured her arm, but he didn’t know if it was so bad that she wouldn’t be able to dish up her own food.
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine now. Or at least better.”
He took a seat, then reached for his wine. “Want to tell me now or after dinner?”
The smile she flashed was wan. “It’s not a secret and I was planning to tell you. We just got a little carried away when you first walked in.”
He chuckled. “We did, but I’m sorry I hurt you. Obviously wasn’t intentional, but I’m sorry nonetheless.”
She reached for a slice of pizza with her good arm. “I decided to make a little visit to the apartment where Harrow, Waters, and Persons live. Waters came home unexpectedly, and I now have an intimate acquaintance with the rooftops of their neighborhood.”
Joe’s heart skidded, but he gestured for her to continue as he dished salad onto both their plates.
“I was nearly to the building I needed to be on when he, well…” She paused, and his eyes jerked up from where they’d been focused on her plate as he’d filled it with salad.
“Let me start by saying I’m fine,” she continued. “Truly, I am. But Waters was carrying a knife, and he has a pretty good throwing arm if not great aim. I think he was aiming for my back or neck, but he got me in the arm. A friend cleaned it up for me, and it’s not a big wound, but it is sore.”
He stared at her for a long minute. She’d beenstabbedand hadn’t bothered to tell him until now? Not to mention the fact that the image of her racing across rooftops and no doubt leaping between them—in the ice and snow—was now going to plague his nightmares. To say he didn’t like either of those realities was an understatement of epic proportions.
The urge to call out the stupidity of going into a situation without backup was strong. He wanted to drive that point home hard. He really did. He’d trained enough young navy recruits that he knew exactly what his voice would sound like if he dressed her down.
But two things stopped him.
The first was that he was no longer in the Navy and the only people he had a right to dress down were the officers who reported to him at the Cos Cob Police Department. And second, well, contrary to his uncle’s opinion, age had matured him. He was now smart enough to know that when he most felt like yelling was probably the exact time he needed mostnottoyell.
Still, the energy vibrating through his body was too much, and abruptly he rose, his chair scraping on the floor. Stalking to the large window with its view of the yard that rolled down to the vast Atlantic Ocean, he jammed his fists on his hips and stared out at the gray abyss.
Birds danced on the wind of the coming storm and waves lapped roughly against the rocky beach. Cyn’s long dock was covered in snow, and he wondered, fleetingly, if in the summer she kept a boat out there.
“When I get called out for a job, I at least tell my friends that I’m going even if I don’t share details. And Franklin always knows where I am.”
He turned around to face her. She’d remained seated but had twisted in her chair to look at him.
“This situation is different than a sanctioned op, but I should have letsomeoneknow what I was doing. Even knowing that I had a lapse of judgment, I don’t regret doing it, though.”
There were a hundred questions he wanted to ask her, but only one that truly mattered. “I know you’re okay because you’re sitting right here, but do you need a doctor to look at it? Does it need stitches, or do you need to worry about an infection?”
“My friend who helped me had the same concerns. She insisted I show Nora. Honestly, I hadn’t planned on it. It will probably be fine. But if it will help, I’ll call her and ask her to come over.”
Emotions still roiled through his body like the waves and currents of the Atlantic, but getting a handle on them was a little easier because it was clear she was trying to meet him halfway. They’d both lived many years on their own, with their own lives, their own schedules, their own routines. Learning how to be a couple—and understanding the accountability to the other that came with that—wouldn’t always be easy. Hell, it wouldn’t be easy for most people their age venturing into the state of coupledom for the first time. For the two of them, though? It was likely going to get damn complicated at times when they tossed in what the two of them each did for a living.
He let out a long breath, then returned to the table and sat. “Yes, please call Nora, if for no other reason than to make sure it’s not getting infected. Let’s have our dinner now, though, and you can tell me what you found while I pretend you’re not talking about having engaged in felonious activities.”
She studied him for a moment, then reached across the table and took his hand in hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said. “I’ve always had Six, Devil, and Nora, but we all have our own lives. For the most part, I’ve been on my own for years, and between having my own routines and the nature of some of my work, it might take a while to adjust to having someone else to whom I’m, well, not really accountable, but…” She paused and appeared to be looking for the right word or words.
“Someone who you know cares about what’s happening to you,” he finished. She nodded, and he smiled. “I was actually thinking the same thing. If the situations had been reversed, and I had the opportunity you had to investigate the apartment, I probably would have done the same thing. But now, having experienced what I just experienced, I wouldn’t want to do that to you. I wouldn’t want you to feel the fear and frustration and helplessness I felt when I realized anything could have happened to you and no one would have been any wiser. So maybe we chalk this one up to a learning experience for both of us?”
“I think that’s a reasonable compromise and a wise path,” she said, removing her hand and reaching for the pizza. “I’ll call Nora as soon as we’re done eating.”
He nodded. “In the meantime, want to tell me what you found?”
They spent the next thirty minutes walking through what Cyn had seen in the apartment, including poring over the few photos she’d taken. The ammunition she’d found was for a mix of weapons and Joe had to wonder if they were stockpiling whatever they could get their hands on or if they already had the weapons that fit.
The list of chemicals wasn’t any less scary and together, they came up with several combinations that would lead to some serious explosions. He had a friend from the Navy who was an explosives expert, though, and Joe offered to send him the list to get his take. While he and Cyn could play with the chemistry, what they really needed to know was the most likely delivery mechanism or mechanisms, and that was something his friend Dan “Fawkes” Fowler could help with.
She texted Joe all the pictures, and while he sent a note to Fawkes, she called Nora who, judging by Cyn’s side of the conversation, agreed to come check on her wound. Not that he thought she’d refuse, but he was relieved to know that someone with at least some medical knowledge was going to look at it.
