Chapter Twenty-Nine
Two days later, Ira stood outside Tammy’s looking through the window. Honey was seated with Zindle. If he was only her boss and old friend, why was he back in town so soon after his last visit? Suspicion crept up Ira’s spine. He couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
He knew better than to think Honey was involved in anything more than a friendship with the man. He knew down to his heart and soul she didn’t have an unfaithful bone in her body. Knowing that didn’t ease Ira’s suspicions. If it wasn’t cheating, what was she keeping from him? There was definitely a secret hanging between them.
Zindle had a familiar air about him and it went beyond having met him. Zindle was an unusual name; one which rang a bell, but Ira couldn’t place him. He wracked his brain for an answer. The man had a definite military bearing. He reeked of general.
Out of the blue, a thought struck him. Honey wasn’t doing some sort of social media work, or general research. She was working for this man, this military man. She was employed by the military for some purpose. The question was what.
Depending on what department she worked for, she’d need clearance. CSIS had four levels. Site Access (Level I), Secret (Level II), Top Secret (Level III), and Enhanced Top Secret (Level IV). He had obtained Secret status, and to the best of his knowledge, it had not been revoked. Technically, it was revoked at retirement, but he’d had no official notification, so he could claim he still had it. She could have talked to him.
He ignored the little voice telling him she had no way of knowing his status. He was piqued and trying to justify learning what she was up to. Because she was up to something, there was no doubt about it. And he wanted to know what it was. The question was, how did he find out what she did for Zindle, whom he’d mentally dubbed The General and what did it mean to their relationship?
He was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Or rather, he had been. Now, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to pursue permanency with Honey. Not if she was dishonest. She had so many other great traits. She was intelligent, a hard worker, kind, generous, loving. She had a great sense of humor and the ability to help people solve their problems. Just look how she’d managed to reassure him about the contents of his paternity letter. Beyond all that, Honey gave him a sense of belonging, of being home. He was whole when he was with her. But lies, even lies of omission, were a deal breaker.
With a split-second decision, he decided he didn’t want to see Honey talking with The General. He turned and walked away. He’d grab a bite someplace else.
* * *
Later that evening,Ira snuck into Honey’s building by holding the door open for another tenant who was laden down with grocery bags. After helping the blue haired lady to her suite, he jogged up the stairs and rapped on Honey’s door. Soft footsteps came from behind the door. The deadbolt snicked back and the door flew open.
“Ira?”
“Hi.” He looked down at her. Her hair was half in, half out of a knot on top of her head. She wore a baggy navy-blue T-shirt which read,If I’m ever on life support, unplug me and plug me back in. See if I reboot. There was a cute image of a computer in a hospital bed beside the words. The shirt hung to mid-thigh and he briefly wondered what, if anything, she had on under it. He shoved the thought away. “Sorry to barge in on you. Can we talk?”
“Um. Yeah. Sure. Come in.” She opened the door wide and stepped back. “Give me a second.” She scooted down the hall.
He heard water running as he hung his jacket in the closet and placed his boots neatly on the edge of the mat. He stood waiting until she came back. Her hair was combed and hung in loose waves down her back. Her bare legs were covered by thigh-hugging leggings patterned with bright blue and green swirls. She smelled of mint.
“Come in. Do you want something to drink? Wine? Beer? Coffee?”
He followed her to the sofa and sat on the left end, half twisting to face her when she sat at beside him, her back to the arm rest.
“Something is bothering you; I can see it. What’s up?” She reached out to stroke his hand where it rested on the back of the couch between them.
Now that he was here, facing her, he had no idea how to go about pressing for answers. He didn’t want to come off as a controlling jackass, which is exactly how he felt. He should have just left things alone. He should forget it and go home to the uncomplicated love of his life, his dog. Bill didn’t expect anything of him beyond a good meal and a few head scratches. Relationships with women were too complicated, which was why Ira hadn’t had many before this one. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” There was a quiver of doubt in her voice. She pulled her hands to her lap and twisted her fingers together in the fabric of her skirt.
He struggled for words, discarding several options before finally blurting, “What, exactly, do you do for your other job? The computer one,” he added as if she wouldn’t know what he was talking about.
“I told you. Computer research.”
More evasion.
“Which means what? What are you researching? For whom?”
“I signed a confidentiality agreement. I can’t talk about it.” Her hands twisted until her knuckles were white.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. “I saw you with your boss today. Tell me about him.”
“My boss? Cameron? You’ve met him.” She paused. “Wait. I didn’t see you today. I thought you were working all day.” She jumped to her feet. “Are you spying on me?” Hands on her hips, she glared down at him. “Seriously, Ira? Seriously? Are you freaking kidding me?” She jabbed a thumb toward the door. “Get! Out!”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “We need to talk about this, Honey.”
“Don’t Honey me.”
“It is your name,” he drawled, sarcasm born of frustration filled his voice. “I like you, Honey. I’ve come to care deeply for you. In fact, I’m in love with you. But I can’t live like this. I need to know what you do when you spend your time on your computer. If you even own a computer.” He glanced doubtfully around the apartment without seeing so much as an old laptop. No computer in sight.
