Page 64 of Silent Comrade
For the first time in her life, Britt wasjealous of Jif and Smuckers. Mouth dry, she sipped her glass ofwater and tried hard not to peek. Tried.
Seriously, though. All of him wasrightthere. What about mission readiness? Seemed like he should havepants on.
He gave a smirk as he caught where she waslooking. “Sorry for casual attire. The go bag is in anothervehicle. Rodeo will bring it by later.”
She stared at the half-eaten sandwich on herplate. Al had taken two bullets for her in the past couple of days.He’d killed or maimed grown men. She knew nothing about him.
On the other hand, yes, she would like tojump him. On the whatever hand it was, could Britt truly trust herdecision-making abilities right now?
She sighed, and he whipped his head over,eyes locked on her. Okay. Weird reaction. Damn it, Britt was sotired of double-guessing herself. Ground the situation, ground theanxiety. What could she see?
A sandwich-eating guy who had been freakingshot, not an hour ago.
Who wore boxer-briefs.
Britt uncrossed and crossed her legs, thecrinkle of crinoline too loud in the small living area. At thesound, he stared at her legs for a split-second and swallowed.
“Penny for your thoughts.” His low voicemade her libido do a backflip.
There weren’t enough pennies for what wasgoing through her mind right now. Talking business might provide aneeded distraction.
“Just … processing everything that’shappened this week. What about my sisters and Dad? What is thisworld I’m in?”
“My colleagues are looking at them.”
“Can I speak with my family?”
“It’s not a good idea. I mean, yes, if youabsolutely must, it’s your choice. But it’s better for theirsafety, the less you know and the less you communicate with themright now.”
“I don’t love that.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Sure.” She took a half-hearted bite andchewed.
“The team will resolve this problem.”
Theproblembeing a powerful man wholived in Atlanta and who wanted to get to Kiera, even by hurtingBritt, Reagan, or Dad. “Yeah. To be clear, this”—she motioned at the half-clothed man and her smallapartment—“was totally not on the visionboard for how my last semester would go.”
“I’m really sorry.” Al said it like a guywho understood having his whole life upended as well.
A minute, then two, passed in silence untilhe ate the last bite of sandwich and balanced the plate on the loveseat armrest. He glanced at her. The heat coming from him in theconfined space made her want to snuggle up next to him. She wantedto do more than snuggle.
Good decisions, Britt. Clapping herhands once, she pushed to her feet. “Anything else to eat?”
His lids dropped to half-mast. “Maybelater.”
Damn.
“Um.” Needing something to do that didn’tinvolve jumping on his lap and twining herself around him, Britttook the dishes and empty glasses to the sink.
A few minutes passed with the sounds ofwater and clinks of secondhand Corelle dishware.
“Britt.” The voice came from right behindher, and she jumped, dropping the dishrag.
He swept a warm hand over her bare back andshoulders, drawing goose bumps.
Gripping the sink edge, she closed her eyes.His touch felt so good.Make better decisions.“Yes?”
