AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, I do live alone, and there’s no one else around in the morning or evening for that matter. So, I guess that my answer is yes—I do talk to myself,” she said.
“Would you like some coffee?” he asked. “I was about to go down to the kitchen to make some.”
“I’d love some coffee,” she agreed, “thank you.”
“No problem,” Joel said.
“Can I take a quick shower first?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he agreed, “I got up about an hour ago and went for a run. I just got out of the shower and was on my way downstairs when I heard you talking to yourself.”
“You went running?” she asked, sitting up in bed.
“I did, why?” he asked.
“I thought that you were going to stay put until I could find Dante,” she reminded.
“I agreed not to go to work but this was just a run. I didn’t put anyone else in danger,” he insisted.
“You put yourself in danger,” Trista said. “Staying put means staying in the house.”
“Well, you can’t expect me not to leave the house, Trista,” he said. “We’ll run out of food.”
“You know the routine, Joel,” she said. “We stay here and have things delivered, if necessary, but we don’t leave. It’s not safe.”
“Okay, how about you take a shower and I suck down a few cups of coffee, and then, we can discuss all of the ridiculous rules that you want me to follow,” he said.
“They aren’t ridiculous,” she insisted, “they’re necessary.” God, he was the most infuriating man on the planet.
“Well, I disagree, and we can stand here all morning and debate this, or we can have some coffee and try to find out where Dante went,” Joel offered.
“Coffee now, debate later,” Trista agreed.
“Good plan,” he said, “don’t be too long. I can’t promise that there will still be coffee left if you take forever in the shower.” Trista quickly got out of bed and grabbed her clothes from her suitcase, making Joel chuckle. “You really do love coffee, don’t you?” he teased.
“You have no idea,” Trista said.
* * *
By the time she showered and got down to the kitchen, over half the pot of coffee was gone. “Wow,” she whispered, “you weren’t joking around about drinking all of the coffee.”
“If you need more, I can make another pot,” he said. “I’m not used to having to share coffee in my own home. The precinct is another story, although I don’t dare drink the coffee there.” He made a face that made Trista giggle.
“That bad?” she asked.
“Yeah.” She caught Joel looking her over out of the corner of her eye as she poured her cup of coffee, and when she turned to face him, coffee mug in hand, he pretended to notice something on the floor.
“Were you just checking me out?” she boldly asked.
“Um, yeah,” he admitted. “You just look different. Last night, you were wearing a pants suit and now—well, you look different.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that twice now,” she said. She looked down her body and back up at him. Joel’s eyes followed her own and she couldn’t help her smile. Last night, when she met him, she was still wearing her work clothes. She usually stuck to business suits—pants, a blouse, and a jacket. It was her uniform of sorts, but when she was at home, she liked to be comfortable. She had on a pair of form-fitting leggings and a crop top that showed off her belly and most of her tattoos.
“I guess I didn’t peg you for having tattoos,” he said. She kept them hidden at work, not wanting her coworkers to know who she really was. For all they knew, she was confident, capable, and badass. The woman who stood in Joel’s kitchen right now was none of those things when she was off duty. She loved her tattoos but had gotten them when she was much younger and didn’t have plans on ever doing anything as auspicious as joining the CIA and becoming one of their top agents.
Trista shrugged, “Well, I don’t think that my tats should be on display for my co-workers. They’re personal, and not for them.”
“Who are they for?” Joel asked.
