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Logan never gets in the car with anyone who drinks as much of a sip of alcohol. He lost his mom to a drunk driver when he was little, and his childhood was pretty much shit after that, so he never takes the risk. Besides, we live in the city, and while he has access to cars from the department, neither of us owns our own.
“Yeah, I’ll see you then. I’m surprised you’re not going out with Charlotte tonight.”
I try and probably fail to keep the disdain out of my voice. I really can’t stand the latest girl Logan has been seeing.
Logan laughs at me. “Don’t sound so excited. I’ll actually start to think you like her.”
I snort and turn my attention back to my computer. “There’s no concern there. I think of all the girls you’ve dated, she’s in the bottom five for me.”
Yeah, ok, I’m an asshole, but Logan and I have always been honest with each other. And it’s not like he’s going to marry the girl.
“Fuck, man. Your honesty is refreshing. But, don’t worry. She broke things off with me the other day. Apparently, my hours are too much for her and she got mad that I couldn’t spend more time with her.”
Fucking bitch. I do manage to refrain from saying that. “If I thought you were remotely upset, you know I wouldn’t be as brutally honest with you. But I know your heart wasn’t really in it with her, so I won’t pretend.”
“Fuck you, man. At least I’m trying. Sometimes I think that you’re planning on staying single forever. Are you trying to get into monk school? I’m pretty sure they don’t approve of bisexual men with neck tattoos.”
I snort out a laugh. “Monk school? I’m 99.9% positive that’s not a thing. And no, I’m not trying for that even if it is. I’m just tired of sleeping around and meaningless relationships. We’re almost 32 now, Lo, and we need to start thinking about something more long-term.
“Speak for yourself, man.” Before he could say anything else, I heard someone speaking to him in the background. “Sorry, Ev, I gotta go. My sergeant wants to meet with me. I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
I hang up with Logan and try to turn my attention back to my job, but I keep thinking about the information Logan gave me. I give into temptation and google the coffee shop. It’s one of those small shops with organically grown coffee beans and baristas with long dreads, but all the reviews rave about their coffee, so maybe there is something there. From everything I saw about Lake, he doesn’t seem like the organic coffee type, but what do I know?
I’m so tempted to walk away from this manuscript and go to the coffee shop, as ridiculous as it sounds. I mean, he won’t even be there. I know that. And as creepy as I’m being, I’m not to the point where I’m willing to chat up nosy baristas for my information. No, I’ll wait the two days and take an early morning trip on Saturday. All this will be is a quick conversation. Hopefully, Lake will be willing to talk, maybe even meet Dad or at least speak to him on the phone, and that’s it. I’ll put this crazy obsession behind me and move on with my life.
THREE
LAKE
“Simmons, I’m going to need you to be on location for the next two weeks. We have a team going into Columbia that’s going to need on-site support. We have a safe house there that has everything you need to get the job done.”
I repress my sigh as I listen to my boss. I hate going on location. There’s a reason the CIA recruited me as a hacker and technology expert and not a field agent; I’m not cut out for that. I don’t want to spend two weeks in some hole-in-the-wall safe house in the middle of Columbia. I want to be home, in my townhouse that’s only a five-minute walk away from River, Cooper, and my niece. I want to be a twenty-minute drive from my adopted father, Luke.
And despite what my boss says, I know they won’t have everything I need or have it set up the way I prefer. They never do. No matter how many times I give them detailed, step-by-step instructions, they never meet my expectations.
I have no choice, though. I knew what I was getting into when I signed the contract with them. I just didn’t expect there to be quite so much travel. Personally, I feel like it’s a waste of the taxpayer’s money. I guarantee I can complete the job just as well from the comfort of my home office as I could in Columbia.
I know better than to say any of this to my boss. Assistant Director Johnson Wells knows nothing about hacking. In fact, I’m not sure he even knows how to turn on his laptop without assistance, so I know nothing I say will matter.
I begin to mentally rearrange my schedule for the next two weeks. “When am I leaving?”
“We have a flight arranged for the day after tomorrow. Let me know if there’s anything specific you need that may not be standard in a safe house, and I’ll make sure it’s there.”
See, I knew it wasn’t already equipped for me. There’s no point complaining, though. “I’ll email your assistant a list, sir.”
“Good. You should be getting a report on what’s expected of you in the next few hours. I’ll let you go. Enjoy your last couple days stateside.”
I hold back what I’m sure is an inappropriate comment. I’m getting better at filtering my thoughts, at least around certain people. It’s a lost cause with my family, but it has been months since I got in trouble for saying something I shouldn’t to my boss. I don’t mean to. It’s just the filter from my brain to my mouth does not always work properly.
“Thank you, sir.”
Wells hangs up without saying goodbye. Rude. I’m over it, though, because now I have to see what I need to get done before I leave the country. I hate last-minute trips. I hate having to cancel plans and rearrange my workload. Oh, I’m supposed to babysit Miri for Riv and Cooper to have a date night. Hopefully, either Dad or one of their friends will be able to do it. The two of them really need a break.
There’s also the matter of the dinner River has arranged tomorrow. He texted me earlier in the day letting me know that he broached the subject of possible surrogacy with Cooper, who felt that Avery and Zoe may be open to that idea. At the very least, he felt that I should discuss it with them.
However, is now a good time? I hadn’t really considered how much I have to do last-minute travel in not always the most developed or safest areas. Is it even a good idea to be doing that when pregnant? I don’t want to discuss the possibility with them and then have to back out because of my job.
