I pull on my clothes, piece by piece, trying very hard not to notice the fact she’s still sprawled across the bed wearing nothing but my shirt.A shirt I need back.
By the time I fasten my holster and manage to pry her from my shirt, I’m already mentally preparing for whatever freshhell the ambassador intends to deliver over the phone. Before leaving, I cross back to the bed and lean down, cupping her jaw gently. “This might take a while.” She nods. “Once you’re up, come downstairs for breakfast.”
“Okay.”
I kiss her again, because, apparently, I’m incapable of walking away from her.
Gunnar is waiting in the hallway, a cup of coffee already in hand. He takes one look at me and smirks. “Rough morning?”
I take the coffee from him. “Choose life today, Gunnar. Choose life.”
His grin widens. “I have him on hold in the command center. If he asks, you were on a perimeter check.”
“Thanks”
After taking a seat at the desk, with all the professionalism I can manage, I press the speakerphone to take the call off hold, “Sir.”
“Finally,” Ambassador Bradenburg huffs immediately, his voice echoing around the office through the speakerphone. “I was beginning to think my daughter’s security detail had vanished.”
“The perimeter is quite a distance from the residence, sir.”
“My daughter is underyourprotection. That delay doesn’t exactly bestow confidence.”
I lean back in the chair, rubbing tiredly at my jaw. “Everything is secure. The perimeter is clear. No movement overnight.”
“And Mackenzi?”
I glance briefly toward the hallway outside before answering, “She’s fine.”
“Fine?”
I already hate where this conversation is headed.
“Yes, sir.”
“She’s behaving?” he inquires after a pause.
Jesus Christ.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Sir…”
“You’ve been her primary detail long enough. It’s a reasonable question.”
I hear papers shuffling on his end of the call before he asks, “Is she giving you trouble?”
My eyes close for a moment, and I take a deep breath to compose myself.Gunnar is never going to let me live this down.“She’s being good,” I reply carefully.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Gunnar snickering.
The ambassador hums thoughtfully. “Good. I assume you are taking proper care of her?” My jaw tightens because, unfortunately, I hear every word coming out of his mouth through an entirely different lens. “Well?”
I stare at the ceiling. “Yes, sir. She’s being well takencare of.”
Gunnar is laughing so hard across the room that I throw a marker at him.
“And she got proper rest?”
Unbelievable.
