AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He turned to leave, and she sighed.
“Marcus.”
He looked back over his shoulder at her. “I won’t be a way to forget work, just a release.”
“You were the one who wanted to keep it casual.”
“Did we ever say that? I don’t think we did.”
She thought back to those days, the scrambles to his apartment or hers…and sometimes in her office. They really didn’t take time to know each other. They definitely didn’t talk about their future. They rarely went out on dates. In fact, they didn’t really have any dates.
“Okay, but what do you want?”
He shrugged. “Not sure, but I know I don’t want to be just a way to forget about work or pressure release.”
She settled her hands on her hips and cocked her head to watch him. “You’re serious?”
He nodded. “We fuck it up this time, and one of us will have to quit.”
She sighed and nodded but said nothing else. When the door shut behind him and she was finally alone, she scrubbed a hand over her face. She sunk down on the bed and tried to figure out just what the hell was happening.
She had a stressful case, one that was already dredging up crap from the Virginia Star Mall bombing. Working with Marcus wouldn’t make it any easier. The fact that he wanted to have a talk before she could use him to work off some of her excess energy…
Damn, he was right. She might have told him that she loved him in DC, but did she really believe it herself? Or was he right? Did they just jump into bed to avoid the stress of the job?
Lord knew she knew him better now than she did back then. It allowed her to look back over their short affair and realize they were both holding back. Breaking up with her had been a mistake on his part, but still, would they have lasted? Both of them had high pressure jobs—not much different than now. TFH was different than the FBI or the Capital Police where Marcus had worked at the time. There the job always came first. Del was a different kind of boss. Granted, he expected the best from them, but he also understood that family was important.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Come in,” she said.
Marcus opened the door. He was holding a shirt in his hand. “I wasn’t sure if you had anything to sleep in.”
She smiled, rising from the bed. “Thanks.” When she held it up, she shook her head. It was probably just one of his regular shirts, but it would definitely cover her without a problem. It was one of the red clay shirts that were sold at the Aloha Swap Meet.
“I appreciate it.”
“Good night, Tammy.”
“Good night, Marcus,” she said.
He shut the door with a soft click. For long moments, she stared at the door. Then she shook herself free. Thinking about the case or the man presently driving her a little insane would get her nowhere tonight.
She needed a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. The first would be easy, but she wasn’t too sure about the second.
* * *
Li had always beena man who cleaned up his messes. The problem now was there was a woman in charge.
He wasn’t a misogynist, and he had no problem working with women. This woman—she was a problem. She thought she was the one in charge. She didn’t understand her place in their plans.
His phone vibrated on the table next to his bed. He knew without looking, it was her. He was the one in Hawaii, having to lay low, to make sure that he didn’t end up in a US prison, or worse, some CIA dark site. She would always be protected.
Knowing she would just keep calling, he picked up his phone and clicked it on.
“Yes?” he bit out.
A longer than normal pause before she asked, “Where the hell have you been?”
Oh, there was anger in her voice, but it was restrained. He didn’t give a fuck.
