"I owed you one." I deflect in an effort to ignore the discomfort of my heart squeezing in my chest.
She shakes her head. "You didn't owe me this much."
I stare through the trees at the water beyond. "You mean something to me," I say at last. My heightened senses note her held breath, her racing pulse. I turn to face her. "It's true. You have a life. Maybe you don't get out much, but you still have a family. A sister and a nephew. I have nobody-by design."
Her eyebrows draw together in concern, but she says nothing, lets me talk.
It comes as a relief, really, to unload my burden on her.
"My mom thinks I'm dead. As far as she knows, I died serving my country ten years ago. I don't exist anymore. I can't maintain ties-you know that. So, in a twisted, pathetic way, you've become family to me." I open the grill and flip the steaks and corn.
Her lips part.
"That sounds creepy and stalkerish, doesn't it?" I laugh into my beer. "I'm not as mal-adjusted as it sounds, I promise. It's just that you're the only person I see on a regular basis. The only person who knows what I do. Where I am. How I live. When I asked you for help, you gave it. Without demanding answers."
"I demanded a favor in return." She sounds rueful.
"I was thrilled. I wanted to give something back to you. I guess I secretly craved more of a connection with another human being."
She nods, looking away, and I realize I said that wrong.
"No, not just any human being. With you. My beautiful, brilliant handler. The woman who gives me my orders and rides my ass when I miss a meetup."
"We don't even know each other," she says, but she's staring up at me with stars in her eyes. Like she's willing me to make her believe what I'm saying.
"I want to know more," I say honestly. "I want to know everything."
She looks away again, out to the water. "I always knew I'd fall for an agent." She sounds rueful like it's a bad thing. Which, I guess, it is.
It would be hard enough if I was just a spy, but considering my wolf problem, it's downright dangerous.
"I'm sorry." And I am. I never meant to pull her heart into play. Hell, I didn't even realize mine was in the game until it was far too late. I think I forgot I even had a heart, to be honest.
She shakes her head. "No, I am. I don't mean to be a downer. It just figures the only guy I'm ever attracted to is unavailable."
I frown. What is she talking about? "Why does that figure?"
She takes a long swing of beer. "I mean girls usually pick men like their daddies, right?"
"I see." I want to tell her I'll be different, to promise to be available, but of course, I can't. I have nothing to offer Annabel Gray. Not even my heart which wasn't much worth having, to begin with. No, I left my heart back in Kentucky the day I enlisted and became one of the government's human weapons.
Except it turns out I'm not human. I guess the joke was on them, huh?
I pull the steaks and corn off the grill. "Are you hungry, sweetheart?"
"Starved," she says.
Good. Because my monster is dying to feed you.
Whatever the fuck that's about.
Annabel
CHARLIE WATCHES me eat like it's an erotic act. His gaze never leaves my lips as he shovels food past his own.
Three steaks.
I'm not kidding you. The guy ate three steaks. It's incredible. He must have the highest metabolism in the history of the universe. Well, how else would he be able to lift a Harley Davidson over a concrete divider?
Spending this time with him is like getting wrangled into a thriller. I'm holding my breath, squeezing my eyes closed, but still enjoying the ride. Loving watching the strong, brave, and handsome hero defeat the bad guys. At least I hope that's how this one ends.
Charlie certainly makes me believe everything will come out all right even though logic tells me differently. When I stop and think about how deep I'm into this thing-how meaningless my life may soon become… Well, I can't think that way. It's too morbid. Plus, Sarah and Grady's lives hang in the balance too. So, Charlie and I have to figure this out. We have to make sure they can walk away unharmed when it's all over.
And Charlie, too. I should be more concerned about the trouble I've gotten him into.
"What are you thinking?" He has another beer open, sipping from the bottle.
"I'm worried about your job."
"Sweetheart," Charlie scoffs, "that's one thing you don't ever have to worry about."
"Why?"
"I can take care of myself. No matter what happens. Let's just worry about you. Plan our end game. We need definite proof about what happened in El Salvador. Then what? You want to take those responsible down?"
I chew on my lip. Do I? This started as a mission to find the truth. Now, am I going after justice?
"If you don't, they're going to keep coming for you, baby. You knocked over the wasp's nest. They're already swarming and stinging. There's no half-assing the rest of this. Either you finish them, or they'll finish you."
I think of my father. The starch of his uniform against my skin when he'd pick me up and hold me on his hip. The medals he wore on his chest. The hero I believed him to be. Still believe him to be.
He'd want me to do the right thing. For Sarah and Grady. For our country.
I lift my chin. "Yes. I'm going to take them down."
Charlie smiles like he already knew what I was going to say.
"That's my girl. So, let's get busy."