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“I was checking for cars.”
“We’ll talk when we get home.”
At least he wanted to talk. He wasn’t shutting her out like he’d done after the museum. That meant he was trying.
He tailed her back to the house.
When she pulled into the driveway, she’d half-expected him to tell her she’d taken a wrong turn and to head back to her house because he was done with her. Instead, he parked next to her, got out, and held open the garage door for her to walk through.
“Are you hungry?” She tossed her purse on the kitchen counter. “I still have some of those chicken burritos I made the other day in the freezer. There’s enough for when Josiah gets home and needs his second lunch and pre-dinner snack.”
“Ayesha…”
“What about soup?”
“Living room, Ayesha.”
She faced him, tapping her fingers together. “Are you mad?”
“Yes. Go sit down.”
“Are we breaking up?”
“Never. I love you.” He pointed. “Now go sit down. We have some shit to clear up.”
She shuffled to the living room and eased down onto the sofa. He dragged over the ottoman and sat facing her.
“First of all, Eesh, what the actual fuck.”
“I didn’t know he was going to be there.” She scooted to the edge of the cushion. “He caught me just as I was leaving the school. This wasn’t some planned tryst or anything like that.”
“Ayesha, I have your heart. I know that. I know how much you love me. Still…never mind.” He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his thighs. “Look, the guy you know as Adrían Queiros, Dez and Larke know as Ryan Martin. He might even be a man named Adrían Delgano. In D.C., he impersonated a federal agent and interrogated Larke after a break-in at her office. We think he did it to confirm her information and find out more about the guys.”
She hesitated. “I trust him, Joel. He won’t hurt me.”
“You believe that, why?”
“He…said so.”
He searched her face. “He told you he’s in love with you, didn’t he?”
“Um…well, something like that. He said he’ll look out for me and the boys whether or not I want him to.”
He rubbed his palms on his thighs and leaned back. “We have reason to believe he’s part of a ghost unit much like, if not identical to, the one me and the guys are part of.”
“He is. He told me that today.”
Surprise softened his features. “Hetoldyou that?”
“He said the guys from his team have been following me. It started back in Maui. They wanted to know if I knew what Curtis did for a living. They also wanted to kill me, but he intervened.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Because he loves you. Why can’t you say it?”
“I,” she looked down at her fingernails, “don’t know.”
