Page 21 of Code Name: Atticus
She nodded but didn’t respond.
When I eventually went upstairs, I fell into my nighttime routine after a quick glance to confirm she was already in bed. I brushed my teeth and secured my weapons. When I emergedfrom the bathroom in sweats and a T-shirt, a Berlin Wall of pillows had been constructed down the center of the bed.
Brenna, whose eyes had appeared shut earlier, was lying on her side, reading on her tablet.
I stood there for a moment, taking in the center-of-the-bed barrier that would have impressed NATO. “Fortress of Solitude?” I asked, climbing in and settling against the headboard.
“Good night, Atticus.” She didn’t even look over her shoulder.
I reached over to turn off my bedside lamp. “Good night, Bug.”
In the darkness, I could hear her breathing and could sense when she shifted position. The pillow wall might keep us physically separated, but it did nothing about the awareness crackling between us.
“Atticus?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a really nice time tonight too.”
The breathiness of her voice, the memories of the sounds she’d made when she tasted the crab cakes, the sexy-as-fuck shoes she’d changed into—God, I wanted to toss those pillows to the floor, pull her into my arms, and kiss her. Not good night, but as the precursor to stripping her out of her skimpy pajamas and showing her exactly how nice of a time we could have now too.
I woketo an empty bed and the scent of coffee drifting from downstairs. According to my watch, it was already zero five thirty. The pillow wall was still in place, though I had a vague memory of attempting to reach across the divide in my sleep, but the wall was impenetrable.
I found her in the kitchen, fully dressed in dark jeans and a cream sweater, nursing tea while staring out at the bay. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she looked like she’d been awake for hours.
“Morning,” I said, heading straight for the coffeepot. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”
I settled beside her at the kitchen island, automatically positioning myself to watch both the front entrance and the deck access. Old habits. “Second thoughts?”
“Just running through scenarios. Too many what-ifs?—”
“Hey.” I reached over and covered her hand with mine. “We’ve got this. You’re one of the smartest people I know, and I’m reasonably good at not getting killed.”
That earned me a small smile. “Reasonably good?”
“I’m still here, right?”
Before she could respond, my cell buzzed with a text from Kodiak.On my way to the rendezvous point. ETA 45 minutes.
The spell broke. Brenna pulled her hand away and stood up, immediately shifting into work mode.
“I should review the target files one more time.”
“Good idea. I’ll shower and change.” I headed for the stairs, but then stopped when I realized I had no idea where the rendezvous was scheduled. Or even that it had been planned. When I turned around to ask, Brenna was watching me with an expression that made my chest tight. This thing between us was getting harder to ignore. At least for me.
BRENNA
Forty-five minutes later, Atticus and I met Kodiak at the Sausalito Ferry Terminal café. He sat at a corner table, with his usual grin and a gear bag at his feet, watching tourists board the morning ferry to San Francisco.
“Morning, lovebirds,” he said as we approached. “How’s married life treating you?”
“About as well as you’d expect,” Atticus replied, pulling out my chair.
“You look comfortable enough. Ready for the briefing? Because our three targets have been busy.”
I took my seat while Atticus got coffee for him and tea for me. “What’s the situation?” I asked after he brought our drinks to the table.
