Page 42 of Embedded
“And I don’t remember you being like one of the wives,” I shot back, then softened my comment with a grin. Mark had always been a Savannah, even before she came into the picture. He was always stirring up trouble and poking his nose in places he shouldn’t be. But we loved him for it, and his heart was always in the right place. No matter how frustrating he could be at times.
He made an exaggerated gasp. “You know you wouldn’t want me any other way.”
John opened the truck as I got closer, and I tossed my bag in the back. I turned to face Mark, as I knew he wasn’t finished, and he pressed a finger against my lips. I batted it away in disgust.
“Fine, keep her at arm’s length, but tell me one thing.” He tilted his head.
Oh, my God. “What?”
He pointed at Nicole and Dr. Bash as they walked toward us. They laughed together at something. “She’s most likely staying awhile, and you’re not the only single guy here.” He pointed his chin at them.
My stomach twisted, and I looked away. “You’re an ass,” I breathed.
“Don’t know about you, John,” he called, ignoring my comment, “but I haven’t seen Dr. Bash laugh once since he’s been here. Do you see what I’m seeing?”
John looked at them then caught my eye. “Man has a point.” He grinned and hopped into the truck
Jesus.
“Oh, yeah,” Mark put up a finger, “Frank told me to tell you before, guess I forgot. Dr. Bash is joining you guys in Washington.” He turned and chucked his apple core in the woods. “Have a good trip.” He waved and patted Nicole’s arm as she came up to put her suitcase inside the truck. I grabbed the handle and slid it in next to mine, feeling all kinds of mixed emotions.
“I see you met Dr. Bash.” I tried to curb my discomfort about him joining us.
“I did.” She smiled right up to her eyes, making them light up. “He was just telling me a funny story about Chase trying peas for the first time.”
Dr. Bash laughed. Who was this man? Normally, he was as quiet as a cat in the corner of the room, always watching from a safe distance. When the guy did make an attempt to approach, he was like a meek little rabbit, and that turned me off. I squinted one eye and wished I could read his mind. I also hated that Doc Roberts was talking of moving out of the house with Abigail. They wanted to be closer to Daniel and Sue in town. I knew they were way past retirement, but no one was happy about the idea of them leaving.
“Well, peas are gross, so I get his reaction.” I sounded off, and she caught it. “Ready?” I opened the door for her, and she gave me a strange look before she got in. “Bash, why don’t you take the front?”
“Oh, no, I’m more of a passenger.” He opened the door across from Nicole. “I’ll take the back.”
I took a deep breath as I got in the front. I closed the door a bit harder than necessary, and John couldn’t hide his smirk. I glared at him to get moving.
Once we got through the checkpoints and out onto the main road, John and I immediately started to look for anything out of place or different. It was engrained in us to scan everything around us. Our eyes never stopped as we monitored the terrain to make sure no one was around. John’s eyes constantly checked the mirrors.
“He’s got some meetings in Washington, and Frank thought it would be wise for him to travel with you,” John said in French. We both knew Bash and Nicole only understood English and Spanish.
“I didn’t ask.” I switched to Dari just in case. Nicole was smart enough to quickly use a voice app to figure out what we were saying, and I wasn’t taking any chances. I remembered the time Doc Roberts did it when trying to catch Keith after he skipped a session. We never forgot it.
John side-eyed me and went back to French, knowing what I was doing. “Maybe you didn’t ask, but I can hear the wheels turning in your head.”
“I just don’t trust him yet.”
He rubbed his head and let out a small sigh. “Me either,” he confessed, and I glanced at him.
We spent the rest of the drive in silence and made it to the airport in good time. We boarded and sat in first class. Dr. Bash took the window, Nicole sat in the center, and I took the aisle. I hated the window. It was too constricting, and I couldn’t do my job from there. Plus, I was big and needed the aisle to stretch out my legs. We took off, and once in the air, Bash put on earphones and closed his eyes and Nicole pulled out her laptop. I did the same and sorted through the emails from my team. Rush had made some improvements to the second drone we were creating, and I needed to go over them.
Nicole leaned into me. “Don’t you like Dr. Bash?” She kept her voice low.
My brows pinched together. “Why do you ask?”
“You’re cold toward him.”
“How so?” Lord, she caught a lot.
“As someone who’s been on the receiving end of your coldness, I recognize it.” She gave me a knowing look. “He’s quite nice, you know. Funny too. You might want to let him in a little.”
“I will when and if I can.” I didn’t sugarcoat my answer. She studied my face for a moment then nodded slowly. “What?”
