“Wow, Thanksgiving is this week.” She pulled out her the hair tie, ran her fingers through her head. “Got any aspirin?”
Knock-knock.
Tank handed her a bottle of pain relievers before he opened the door and took the tray of waters. “What’s the status?” he asked the server.
“Greystone and Caroline told everyone the event is over,” said the waiter, “but there’s a lot of convos about an ambush. Your appetizers are ready if you want them.”
Tank glanced over at Sydney, who was pacing, the energy still flowing through her like a wild river.
“Water’s good for now,” she said.
“Hold the food,” Tank said. “Let me know when the restaurant is empty and lock the front door.”
Tank shut the door, made a call. Grey answered.
“We’ve got some slow movers,” Grey said.
“The server overheard some of the chatter,” Tank said. “If you won’t shut it down, I’ll come out there and blast them.”
“You gotta take it down,” Grey pushed back.
“No, I don’t. They shouldn’t be talking about a goddamn mission in a public place. Fuck it. I’ll do it.” He hung up, turned to Sydney. “Back in two.”
He left, shutting the door behind him. Curious how he’d handle things—and kinda turned on by his anger—she followed him out, shutting the office door behind her.
She hung back as Tank strode to the bar, hopped up. He whistled, then shouted, “Yo, team, we gotta end the convos.”
Silence.
All eyes on him.
“What did happen out there?” one of the ALPHA Ops shouted from the other side of the restaurant.
Ignoring the question, Tank continued. “Thanks for beingwilling to put yourselves out there today, but it’s time to shut this down. Now.”
As Ops started moving toward the door, Tank oversaw their exit from his spot on the bar. Sydney was grateful he’d done that. From the looks of the crowd, it didn’t appear as if anyone was in a rush to leave.
Ten minutes later, the Ops had left. The only ones that remained were the servers, the kitchen staff, Grey and Caroline.
Sydney made her way to Tank as Grey and Caroline joined them.
When Tank placed his hand on her back and gently caressed her, she felt complete. Feeling that way only complicated her emotions. Normally, after an assassination, she would silence her mind and close her heart. If she didn’t, the killings would weigh heavy on her soul.
“Thanks for taking care of that,” Grey said.
“We’ll sync up tomorrow,” Tank said. “Probably not until early afternoon. I’m gonna make sure Sydney has some down time.”
“Thank you,” she said before she leaned against him.
It wasn’t professional, but she didn’t care. He was it. She’d found her person. It was easy to say that when everything was going well. When life was stress free and perfect. But they’d just gone through another ambush, and her nerves were shredded. Even in her wildest dreams, she never imagined finding someone this special.
Caroline smiled. “You’re both our heroes. Today would have turned out very differently if it hadn’t been for you, Syd. Thank you for being the absolute best at what you do.”
They left, locking the front door behind them. Tank led her to the owner’s booth, retrieved their chilled bottles of water and filled their glasses. As soon he sat, two servers appeared with so much food, Sydney laughed.
“You’ll have some great take-home meals,” one of the servers said as they set down the variety of dishes.
She eyed the chicken parm and the eggplant. Her mouth watered at the delicious-looking lasagna, and the restaurant’s signature fish dish, surrounded by a medley of vegetables. But it was the spaghetti and meatballs she reached for first.
