Page 40 of Broken Trust
It wasn’t her business to know who needed it, only to help.
“The base is pretty locked down,” she said slowly, thinking through the options. “And going off-base requires authorization...”
Then it hit her. There was one person who could move freely, who could probably handle an odd request without question.
“Sinner,” she said.
Kennedy’s eyebrows rose.
“He does the grocery shopping, doesn’t he? And other supply runs?” Elin thought about the man who’d walked in on her topless and hadn’t even blinked. “He’s unflappable. He won’t ask questions.”
“That’s brilliant,” Izzy jumped into the conversation. “But will he do it?”
“I’ll ask him,” Elin offered. “He seems to like me.”
Twenty minutes later and half a vodka later, she found Sinner near the poker table, watching the game with an expression of mild amusement. He was dressed casually but nicely, having made an effort for casino night.
She moved to stand next to him. “Sinner. Can I talk to you for a second?”
He glanced at her, taking in the dress with the same lack of reaction he’d had to her partial nudity. “Sure.”
She drew him aside, out of earshot. “I need a favor.”
“Okay.”
“I need you to pick up something from a pharmacy. Discreetly.”
He waited, patient and unconcerned.
“A pregnancy test.”
He didn’t even blink. Didn’t ask who it was for, didn’t make any assumptions, didn’t show any surprise at all.
“Any particular brand?” he asked, like she’d asked for a specific type of coffee.
“Just one that’s reliable. Maybe get two different ones, to be sure.”
“I’m doing a supply run tomorrow morning. I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you.” Relief flooded through her. “Really.”
He shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
As he walked away, returning to his observation of the poker game, Elin felt something shift inside her. These people—this strange, dysfunctional, incredible family—accepted her without question. They trusted her with their secrets, included her in their traditions, made space for her in their world.
For the first time in years, she didn’t feel like an outsider looking in.
She felt like she belonged. It made her want to stay…and that meant she’d remain in his orbit.
If only she knew where she stood with Liam.
NINE
Mason had spent the past ten hours following Con’s orders. First came a raid at dawn. Another false alarm, another empty building where, according to their FBI contacts, Cipher’s network should have been.
When the Charlie team returned to base with dawn breaking the sky, Mason’s first thought was to go find Elin, to recalibrate his world.
But of course, Con set him and Henner on another task. Listening to communications between other Blackout teams that were tracking weapons shipments through Eastern Europe was tedious work. That led to difficult coordination with some of their assets about suspicious money transfers.
