Page 35 of A Soldier's Temptation
Colin’s sigh was audible over the phone and John smiled. He wasn’t making it easy for his friend.
“I’m going to end up losing my badge. I should never have brought you in on this. It seemed harmless and would keep you out of trouble. But it’s turned into one horrendous clusterfuck.”
“You said it. And you need to remember you read me in. But I’m sure you’ll keep your badge when we figure out who’s behind this and you help bring them in.”
“If, not when.”
“When did your positivity go out the window?”
“A long time ago. You know the routine. It’s hell out there. How much shit have you seen? It makes it hard to believe that anyone is good anymore.”
“You need to take some time off, you sound burned out.”
“Maybe. We’ll see after this case. For now, let me call Landau and see what, if anything, he knows about the second phone.”
“Okay, let me know.”
“Will do. Watch your six.”
“Always.” Disconnecting the call, he waved to the agent sitting in his car and headed back inside after picking up Mr. Darcy’s poop. “I sure hope this helps your digestive issues. Any more stink bombs like that last one and you’ll be staying on the balcony.”
“Woof.”
“Yeah, well get over it.”
“Woooooof.”
“You can whine all you want. I think you do it on purpose.”
Mr. Darcy wagged his tail and kept his woofs to himself as they headed back into the apartment building.
While he was out, Ariana had gotten changed, found a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses and was waiting on the couch. Even though he knew she’d be safe, he still breathed a sigh of relief seeing her waiting for him. It gave him the warm fuzzies and finally felt like home.
Chapter 9
The brightness of the early morning sunshine streaming through the window woke Ari. After opening her eyes and gazing around the room it took her a few moments to remember what happened and why she wasn’t in her own bed. Thank goodness for the warm fuzzy body lying next to her. Mr. Darcy might as well be her security blanket.
Rubbing her eyes, she tried to remember how she got into bed. The last thing she remembered was sipping wine with John while they watched Deadpool. He must have carried her to bed after she fell asleep. It was the only thing that made sense.
How embarrassing. Until yesterday afternoon they’d been workout buddies and she’d been his plant sitter. Then one dinner and a break-in later she was falling asleep on his couch. God, she hoped she didn’t drool.
It looked like a beautiful day. A long walk in the dog park with Mr. Darcy would be a perfect idea. Or was until she remembered that she was basically on house arrest. Maybe she could convince the Shadows to let her go. It’s not like they wouldn’t be with her and John too. She had no doubt that unless he had a mission he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. Thinking about trying to wrangle her way out of the apartment made her snort. She could already see the looks on their faces.
As she got out of bed, Mr. Darcy gave her a look and rolled over. Tough life he had. Grinning, she grabbed her suitcase and put it on the edge of the bed. She hadn’t unpacked last night hoping that she’d be able to go back home sooner rather than later. But after talking to John and Chase last night, she had to accept that it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.
Grabbing a change of clothing, she headed to the bathroom for a shower. The only sound was Mr. Darcy’s snoring. John was probably sleeping. She’d forgotten that he’d just returned from his deployment yesterday and had to be exhausted.
Steam filled the small bathroom as she stood under the pulsing water. The heat and pounding of the water on her shoulders helped to ease some of the tension that had been her constant companion for the last year. For a few minutes, everything was right in the world. No problems to think about, just blissful quiet and the water beating on her body. A perfect way to start the day. The only thing better would be a cup of coffee on the counter waiting for her when she stepped out of the shower. But she hadn’t even thought about making it.
Too bad that for the foreseeable future she’d be stuck in the apartment. The trial was still over a week away since it kept getting postponed. If she had to stay inside she’d go stir crazy. And just like that, the tension was back, and all the peaceful thoughts were gone, replaced by a dark cloud.
Dwelling on what she couldn’t do wouldn’t help her at all. She needed to think positive about this. She had Mr. Darcy with her and there was John. But thinking about him brought on an entirely different kind of tension. Spending so much time with him in his apartment. Oh. My. God. How was she going to keep her hands off of him? Just the few kisses they’d shared curled her toes.
Or maybe, that was the solution. He said he was interested. Her body was too. Could they have a fling to kill the time and then go their separate ways after the trial and she had her life back? She was sure when he told her he wanted to see where things would go he hadn’t meant permanently. Why would he? If anything she’d be a liability to him.
Okay, maybe having sex with John was a bad idea. All of this stress was messing with her. Focus, Ari. Maybe Chase and his team would be able to figure out who Paul had been working with and this could all go away. If not, maybe WITSEC was the best option. It would be the only way she could truly protect the people she loved.
The shower renewed her energy even if the stress was already eating away at it. Coffee was calling her name. By the time she got to the kitchen, Mr. Darcy was right at her heels. And he almost knocked her over when she stopped short seeing John at the table drinking coffee and reading the paper.
