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“What does rough smell like?” I smirked, stepping away.
“Mmm. Easy. Like you.” She stuck her tongue out at me, and that was all it took for me to snap.
In the space of a second, I had her pinned to the wall with my tongue inside her mouth. The details of my call with the President were lost. So was my sanity.
She moaned, holding the collar of my jacket while I held her face.
“Ohh, well thennn . . .” Was that Mya? “I’ll come back.”
Diana’s glasses were a mild inconvenience, but I didn’t give a damn. I kept kissing her. I let myself be reckless for a few more seconds, becoming that twentysomething-year-old who never had to watch his friends die in the war.
The reality of our situation finally settled back in, and after a few more heated seconds, I forced myself to let her go. I tore my hand through my hair, doing my best not to stare at her swollen lips, satisfied at the fact that was my doing.
“The President is on board,” I finally told her. “As long as you can relay information to the teams he’s organizing to outfit their existing missile defense system from here, we’re all set.”
“Wow, they’ll take orders directly from me?” She brushed her fingers across her lips. “No pressure, huh?”
“You’ll do great.” Now for the part I didn’t want to share. “New intel suggests if a hit is coming on U.S. soil, it’ll take place on election day. So, it’s a tight timeline.”
“Really tight.” She dropped down alongside Dallas, clearly in need of his brand of comfort.
Which is why these people are hell-bent on getting to you. Only now, they may not care if you’re brought in alive, just as long as you can’t stop them from their attack. She didn’t need to know that, though. “Still doable?”
“I, um, hope so.” She kept her eyes on the floor and her hands on Dallas. “Did you update Gwen and the others?”
I nodded, then gestured to a table set up across the room with five laptops lined up. “In about thirty minutes, Gwen and the others will be joining you virtually to get to work.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “So, who’s on my team?”
“Aside from Natasha, Gwen, Sydney, and Mya,” I started, “there’s Harper Brooks. She was with the CIA, but now she works with one of the President’s SEAL Teams, and she’s married to one of the Teamguys. And then there’s Jessica. She co-runs Bravo with her brother. Another genius, and she’s also married to?—”
“One of the Teamguys?” She smiled.
“Yeah, her brother’s best friend.”
“Ah, bet he loved that.”
I smiled. “Eventually.” Well, from what I’d heard.
She peered around the room cluttered with our equipment. “Too bad Bahar isn’t here. She’s one of the best physicists in Turkey.” Her smile evaporated. “I hope she’s in Scotland and okay.”
“Gray’s with Bravo following leads. If she’s in Scotland, they’ll find her.” I just wasn’t sure if they’d find her alive. Needing to change the subject before she read the worry in my eyes, I added, “Some of the guys are also working on clearing out a space down the hall for your lab in preparation for Griffin to return with your supplies.”
She stopped petting Dallas and stood, and I did my best not to lean in and kiss away her nerves. “Guess that means the sands of time get flipped and the countdown officially begins.” Her gaze snapped to my arm, covered by the jacket, where the same image was tattooed there. “Anything about Craig or Jared?”
Even hearing Craig’s name felt like a whip cracking between us, and I sure as hell hoped that man wouldn’t be an issue for us. I supposed one way for Craig not to cause problems between us would be for me to agree not to kill the bastard. “Secret Service should be picking them up soon.”
“Good.” She peered around the room, drumming her nails against her outer thighs. “And what happens if I fail?”
Not an option, but I did my best to mask my own worries and said as steadily as possible, “Plenty of contingencies and backups.” Only one, actually. The emergency plan.
Her eyes narrowed. “Like?”
“Sending you somewhere safe before all hell breaks loose.” I wasn’t sure where that’d be, but the bunker in Montana was no longer safe if we had a traitor in the White House.
“You won’t be coming with me.” Her small, sad voice gutted me. “You’ll stay out and fight?” Before I could answer, she held up her hand. “I would never ask you to choose me over the country. Don’t worry.”
Chills beat down my back. “The thing is,” I began, slowly meeting her eyes, “I’d choose you.”
