Page 11 of Broken Trust
“Who said the countdown clock can’t be functionalandpretty?”
With a snort, he turned back to the sink. After rinsing the pan he’d washed over and over, he placed it in the rack and dried his hands. The laughter from the patio shifted indoors as the group broke into smaller clusters. Couples disappeared down the hall, leaving the single guys to form their usual wolf pack, tossing around the same joke about the couples going off on their “nightly mission.”
Mason leaned back against the counter, his own water bottle dangling from his fingers, and watched them. If his mood hadn’t been so dark, he might join in and make a comment about the elite team acting like smitten high schoolers.
But he was wound so damn tight he could hardly breathe.
He lifted his bottle out of habit more than thirst and let his gaze drift to the wide glass doors leading to the patio. Steam curled up from the hot tub, and a thin halo of light broke through the mist.
Then his brain short-circuited.
Elin.
She was in the damn hot tub. Alone. Shoulders gleaming in the low light, her head tipped back and her blonde hair slicked against her neck. For a second, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him…until she moved and confirmed it.
She wasn’t wearing a top.
He almost choked on the thought.
It shouldn’t have surprised him but it still hit him like a sucker punch. She’d always had that effortless confidence of European women, the kind that made any rule fly out the window.
He twisted back to the sink, jaw tight.
Suddenly, Con and Sophie walked into the kitchen with Dante trailing behind them.
Con flicked a glance at Mason. “Why’s your face red?”
He barked a false cough and pounded a fist into his chest. “Choked on water.”
Con slanted a glance at the glass door. “Sure.”
He cleared his throat with the sound of tearing paper. “Maybe you should talk to her. You know, so the guys aren’t uncomfortable.”
Con grunted. “We have something more pressing than a topless woman in our hot tub. Your girlfriend told Sophie and Dante how she found you.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said immediately.
Not anymore.
He dragged a deep breath into his lungs. Unable to keep his attention from drifting to the hot tub, he spotted movement near the pizza oven.
Fuck. Sinner was still out there.
Then the rest of the statement caught up to his scattered mind and he turned to meet his commanding officer’s stare. “What do you mean, found me? We’re ghost ops.”
Con’s expression tightened. “Not only did she track the military aircraft that picked you up, she recognized you from that little side mission I sent you on to the subway.”
He blinked. “No way. Nobody saw me take down that terrorist.”
Con wore a knowing look. “She didn’t see you either. But she didn’t need to. She knows how you think—how you move. That was all it took.”
Mason shifted his gaze to Sophie. Her expression confirmed the claim.
Dante scrubbed a hand over his face. “She’s also been helping out behind the scenes, moving in and out of our system and filling in the gaps for me. I’m still not sure how I feel about that.”
That was Elin. A fucking brilliant mind and a heart of gold to go with it. It was what made Mason fall in love with her in the first place.
He glanced at the door to see Sinner leaning against the outdoor kitchen, talking to Mason’s topless ex-girlfriend.
