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“Stand down, Penn,” I said to remind him of who was in charge. “You’re out of line.”
He nodded. “Agreed. But I only stepped out of line because I’m following you, and just to be clear, no one in this building will breathe a word about this to X.”
“But...?” I asked because I knew he was still pulling his punches.
Jensen cleared his throat. “But we might not have to, Boss. She might figure it out. And if something happens on Tuesday, the shit could hit the fan.”
Tuesday. Ashlee’s meeting. They were worried I would fuck it up somehow, make the wrong call. Put her at risk.
Fuck me, they had a point.
I swigged down a quarter of my coffee to give myself time to calm down and absorb what they were telling me. Their concerns weren’t all that different from mine. Hadn’t I been questioning my own neutrality when I’d been wrapped around her in bed earlier this morning? I was still 70 percent annoyed with Penn and Jensen, 20 percent furious with them, and 10 percent grateful that they wanted to protect Ashlee and me.
I pushed my ego aside and glommed onto the gratitude. “None of this goes outside this room,” I started, “but you’re probably not wrong. There’s a risk I could make a questionable call when Ashlee is in the field.”
“Thanks for admitting that,” Penn said. “Now that you’re aware, I’m sure you’ll be hypervigilant.”
I nodded. “But that won’t be enough. Jensen, during the operation, I want a private comms line between Penn and me.” I looked at Penn. “You’ll be my backup, my conscience, literally the little voice in my head, advising me if I step out of line again.”
Penn’s mouth dropped open. He shook his head. “Bond is your second-in-command, so if anyone should be your backup, it’s her.”
“No. I don’t want her to take her attention away from monitoring Ashlee’s vital signs and helping Kessler guide the conversation with Kovac. I need you to do this, Penn. I’m counting on you.”
Penn hesitated, then stuck out his hand. “Anything you need, you know I’m here for you.”
I shook his hand. “Thanks.”
Jensen threw his arms around both our shoulders. “This is beautiful, man. Let’s hug it out.”
“Let’s not,” I said, and Jensen stepped back. “But I will take a plate of those eggs if the offer still stands.”
Jensen grinned, gave a half-assed salute that proved he’d never been in the military, and set to work at the stove. Penn slapped my shoulder and left, leaving the kitchen door open behind him. I took a deep breath and resolved not to look in Ashlee’s direction as I walked back to my office. I made it halfway there before glancing over my shoulder. I only saw Kessler and Li chatting while they unwrapped their hand bindings. Ashlee must already be back in her room, taking her second shower of the morning. If not for the “building full of spies” thing, I’d be bounding up the stairs two at a time to join her.
I was pathetic, and I needed all the help I could get. I thanked the universe for sending it to me in the form of the found family that made up my team. I didn’t know what I would do without them, and I hoped I would never have to find out.
13
Ashlee
Late Sunday evening, I was back in my own home. I’d always loved the quiet serenity of living alone, but after four days at the HEAT facility, this was too quiet. Almost eerie. I had the nauseating feeling someone was watching me, even though I knew that was impossible. The decoy, who had spent time here, making it look like I was home, had done bug sweeps, and TJ’s team was monitoring the property through street cams and on-the-ground surveillance.
I’d never been safer in my own home, and I’d never been so terrified to stay here.
As I microwaved popcorn for a pre-bedtime snack, I found myself glancing over my shoulder. When I tried to settle in and catch up on a Netflix show, I muted the TV every few minutes to listen for errant sounds. I finally gave up and got ready for bed. I crawled under the covers and lay there with my eyes wide open. At this rate, I would be an exhausted, overwrought mess by the time I met Luka for lunch on Tuesday.
With a resigned sigh, I reached into my purse and pulled out the small medicine bottle Dr. Bond had given me. There were three tablets. I took one of them, then palmed my phone and huddled back under the covers. I typed in the number I had memorized. The person on the other end picked up after two rings.
“Jensen?” I said quickly.
“This is Alder,” she answered. “Everything okay, Ashlee?”
I nodded, then realized she couldn’t see me. “It’s fine. Just checking in. I took a sleeping pill, in case anyone needs to know that.”
“Okay, that’s fine. We’re watching the house. You get some rest.”
“Thanks.” I hesitated, then spoke again. “Jensen mentioned that I could check the emergency button.”
“Good idea,” she said. “You haven’t taken it off, have you?”
