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He let the unspoken words hang between them. They couldn’t force their relationship to be anything other than what it was, either. If only she would treat it with the openness he wanted her to use with the crab cakes.
Chloe looked at him. “Maybe,” she whispered. Then she stood and walked around to face him. She gently brushed her knee against his. “I had a good time tonight.” She ran a fingertip along his jaw. “Thank you.”
Just when he thought she’d kiss him…she turned and walked toward the door.
“Chloe, do you want to—”
“I should get going.” She opened the front door and glanced back at him. Gage stared as she walked out and quietly shut the door behind her.
They’d had a date. No sex, like he’d wanted. Even better, she’d opened up to him.
So why did he feel like he’d lost the very thing he’d come for? And why did dread lace his veins when he thought of how many more moments he could have with her, in and out of bed, if only she’d let him?
He glanced around the quiet studio. It was empty and cold without Chloe.
For having a night of everything he wanted, he was starting to feel like it was all slipping through his fingertips.
Chapter Eight
Gage paced in his living room and gripped the phone against his ear. He was in Beaufort, training recruits until the next mission came up. He wasn’t banned from going out in the field per se, but he had a commitment to finish the training of these recruits first. A commitment that now fell right in the middle of an unexpected mission.
“I can go in the field anytime,” he told his boss.
“I know, but everything’s been covered. You stay and train, and when you’re done, you’ll be on the next mission.”
Shit. Gage wanted to be out there now. He’d been up last night, listening to the incoming radio transmissions so that he could keep himself from obsessing about Chloe. That was when he’d heard about the group of teenagers missing on the west coast. He’d immediately called his boss, but instead of being sent out himself, he’d been told that the mission didn’t need him.
The feds had stepped in with their team, a team Gage was normally a part of. Only he wasn’t heading to the west coast. He was in North Carolina, training new recruits instead of rescuing people himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the other people sent out there instead of him. It was simply that he couldn’t live with himself if he discovered those teenagers died out there. He’d never be able to live with himself knowing that if he’d been there, maybe he could have made a difference.
His chest buzzed with the need to help. To run. To roam.
Yeah, some of this frustration came from wanting to be a part of this big mission. And some of it came from Chloe. She’d opened up even more to him, and then she’d walked away. Which made him happy and uneasy at the same time. The woman was tricky, but he thought she was warming up to the idea of finally exploring the romantic side of their relationship. Or she was setting him up to knock him on his ass when she walked away for good.
He mumbled a curse, unable to really think of that, because the possibility stung his chest. Maybe getting out and getting some clarity would be a good thing? Yeah, like going on a fucking mission. If only he could convince his boss.
“The people in training here are doing well and are pretty set,” Gage said. “I can leave early if you need.”
His boss was quick to answer. “No, stay there, get those NC recruits all trained.”
Gage bit his lip. “I can do more. Let me help.”
“You know as well as I do it’s only a matter of time until someone needs your help,” his boss said. “But the training you’ve done with these guys has shown me you could help a hell of a lot more people if you didn’t run off to do so many of the rescues yourself.”
Gage’s heart punched his chest. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think I’m not the right man to rescue those people?”
“Calm down. You’re one of the best we have, which is why a lot of higher-ups, including myself, are anxious to put you in a permanent training position.”
Gage’s stomach sank. “What?”
“The North Carolina branch could use a man like you to oversee the training program.”
This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. He couldn’t root himself to Beau
fort and never take a mission. He had to make an impact. How would he live with himself if he heard someone died while he’d stayed behind?
Hell no.
“I’m a field man. I don’t mind doing the training here and there, but I’m not going to only train.”
