Page 80 of Cyn
“As I was saying,” Beni continued once everyone’s complaining had died down. “I’m unofficially going to be consulting with the company Stella, Cal’s sister, owns. It will give me something to do while I’m baking these two kids, but I’ll be in a location that’s about as secure as the White House, so Cal’s security team was gracious enough to allow it.”
Cyn chuckled. There was no mistaking how Beni felt about needing to be “allowed” to do anything, but Cyn figured that was the price she paid for loving the vice president. The change in venue also explained Cal’s disgruntlement—no doubt, he’d prefer that she rest and take care of herself.
“Are we cut off from you?” Cyn asked. It wasn’t that unusual a question. Often when someone left an intelligence agency, they wereencouragedto more or less go off the radar. The FBI wasn’t quite the same thing, so she didn’t know their protocols.
“Not a chance,” Beni said, and again, Cal groaned in the background. “I’ll make sure you have my new number and the number of Stella’s people.”
Cyn felt for Cal, even though she was glad that Beni would stay in the game as long as she could. She hadn’t said, but Cyn would bet that Beni planned to continue with Stella even after the twins were born. If memory served Cyn right, she’d read that Stella and her husband had recently had a little boy…what better place for the twins to hang out than a protected compound with their cousin.
“You sure you don’t want to give me the name of your pirate?” Beni asked.
“Quite sure, thank you,” Cyn said. She didn’t think Beni had any interest in going after him as anything other than a potential asset, but giving his name to US law enforcement would be a breach of the weird friendship-code she and Meleak had going on.
Beni sighed. “Didn’t think so, but I told my supervisor I’d at least ask.” There was a rustling sound in the background, something that sounded remarkably like sheets sliding off a bed. It was still early, but then again, Beni was pregnant with twins. Just the thought had Cyn yawning.
“I won’t give you his name, but I will let him know yours the next time we talk,” Cyn offered. “And on that note, you go get some rest. You know where to find us if you need anything more.”
“Same here,” Beni said through her own yawn, then she ended the call.
“So aside from running around Boston trying to locate a shit ton of bombs and then defusing said bombs in record time, this feels a little anticlimactic,” Devil said. “Anyone have anything exciting to share?”
Cyn glanced at Joe, who shook his head. They both turned to Nora and Six. Nora shrugged, but Six pulled out her phone.
“We have a new paralegal in our office,” she said, her finger gliding over the screen.
“And you’re calling her now?” Devil asked.
Six waggled her eyebrows. “It’s a him, and no, I’m not calling him.” She handed the phone to Nora. Nora’s eyebrows shot up, then she handed the phone to Devil, who cocked a single eyebrow as a speculative look came into her eye.
“What’s his story?” Cyn asked, waiting her turn to see what had to be a picture of the man. “And why do you have a picture of him? That’s a little creepy.”
“It’s not a picture she took,” Devil said, handing the phone over. The website of the regional Department of Justice office that Six worked at was up on the screen, opened to the page highlighting recent announcements. The top article was about the new group of paralegals who had recently joined the team, including a picture and bio of one Gavin Cooper. He looked about their age with light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and just enough scruff to add a hint of something—not really a “bad boy” feel to him, but maybe a little bit of insouciance.
“The office is all atwitter,” Six said with a grin. And Cyn could see why. He wasn’t her type, but even she could see Gavin Cooper was a good-looking man. It probably wasn’t only his looks that had people talking, though. According to his bio, he was former British Special Forces. Nothing like a hot guy with a military background. Especially one who was clearly not afraid to lead, as he would have had to as a Special Forces soldier, but was also willing to not be top dog.
“You going to tap that?” Joe asked. Cyn’s wasn’t the only head that swiveled in his direction. After a beat, he grinned. “I think this is the first time I’ve had you all speechless.”
Cyn punched him—lightly—in the stomach while her friends rolled their eyes.
“I assume he’s causing a stir in the office?” Joe asked.
“You have no idea,” Six said. “We have seven unmarried hetero or bi women in the office, and four gay or bi men. He is most definitely causing a stir.”
“Not that I think you’re into the office romance thing, but has he caught your eye?” Nora asked. Joe cast Cyn a look that questioned why Nora was allowed to ask those sorts of things but he wasn’t.
“Twenty-five years of friendship, Joe,” she answered. “You’ll get there.”
The look he gave her told he was looking forward to it, but she was too distracted by Six’s response to react.
“Not me,” Six said with a shake of her head. “Aside from the general ick factor and risk of dating someone at a lower level than me, he’s a little too cocky for my taste. And not in the good way.”
At that, Devil did snort. They all knew how much Six loved cocky men. Mostly because she enjoyed bringing them to heel, which she did exceptionally well for usually about a week before she got bored.
“I would imagine there are some ethics issues as well,” Joe pointed out.
Six shook her head. “Not legally. He doesn’t report to me, and we’re not working together, so while there would definitely be issues if he weremyparalegal, he’s not. But that doesn’t change anything from my perspective.”
Cyn looked at the picture one more time before handing the phone back to Six. Her friend might say she wasn’t interested, but Six definitely had a thing for cocky men, and Cyn doubted that was holding her back. If anything, it was probably that little bit of insouciance Cyn had glimpsed in his gaze. Nothing bothered Six more than indifference—especially if it was directed at her.
