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“Dupont?” she repeated, her head snapping to gaze at him.
BT smirked. “Come on. I’m not blind. There’s nothing wrong with you two being involved, you know.”
She was horrified that he knew. How would Brad feel about someone knowing? Would he think she told him? Would that even be an issue? Certainly, he knew that the tracker report would show her at his place whenever she was in town if she stayed with him as he had invited her to. Then many people would know.
“You’re acting like it’s a big deal. Well, it is technically in that you two are exploring some kind of relationship. That is a big deal, and I can say it from experience with Evie. But it’s not work-wise. Dupont is a good guy, a good friend. He and I worked together in Ops a lot before my assignment to Echo Team.”
So, did that mean that Brad had told him? She decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “I like Evie. And I can see how happy you are with her. How is she handling the long separations and the reality of the dangerous parts of your job?”
“She’s doing well with all of it. She has her clinic to keep her busy, just getting it set up, and the other women have made her feel welcome. She and Dahlia have become especially close. She’s also formed a tight friendship with Annaka, Mother’s fiancé. The two of them have animals in common. Her move here has been good for her.”
He turned into the parking lot of the hotel at that moment. Laura Lee was relieved. They parked behind the building. Not another car had been in sight for the last five minutes of their drive down the long parkway that dead-ended at their hotel and two others.
He used his room key to open the back door, and they entered. The elevator was on ground level. When he pressed the button, the door opened immediately. Once inside, he selected her floor. “My room’s beside yours.”
“When do you think Garcia and the others will be back to the hotel?” she asked.
“Just keep your phone near you for updates,” BT said. “I’m sure Garcia will let you know what’s going on and what time our next briefing is. I anticipate early morning. So, you may want to grab a shower right away when you’re in your room. I plan to.” They stepped off the elevator.
“I should, I know. But I really am exhausted.”
“Stress does that. Get a good night’s sleep, Laura,” he said as they stepped up to their room doors.
“You too, BT. And thanks.” She tapped her room card and entered her room, only then remembering that she’d left her backpack in Garcia’s room. Shit. So much for that shower and changing into her pajamas.
She tapped out a message to Garcia, asking what time he thought he’d be back to the hotel so she could get her backpack from his room. She sat on the edge of the bed staring at her darkened phone screen for ten minutes waiting for his reply before realizing she could take that shower and just re-dress in her t-shirt and panties while waiting. There was complimentary shampoo and conditioner as well as soap in the bathroom.
Wrapped in several towels and feeling clean, relaxed, and warm, she sat on the closed toilet seat lid and enjoyed the steamed-up room. She checked her phone. Still no word from Garcia. She tapped out a text to her sister, asking how it was going. She hadn’t heard from her sister or her mom since leaving them in Florida. This was the first time she had reached out.
“The kids and I are in heaven,” was Donna’s reply.
How utterly unfair! Donna, taking a free ride on her, was in heaven and she was in hell. “Fantastic,” she typed out.
“Really, this condo is so big, three bedrooms. Jeriah and I are sharing a room, the boys have another, and Rich has the last, though I’d prefer him to share with me. Damn, that man is fine! Have you seen him in a bathing suit?”
Laura Lee groaned. No, she hadn’t. Nor did she want to. Though he was attractive, he was just a friend.
“And he is so good with the kids. Seriously, sister, I could fall for this guy.”
Laura Lee groaned louder. “He’s doing his job, Donna,” she texted. “Don’t misread it as anything personal.” Though she was certain her sister wouldn’t heed her warning. “Have you heard from mom?”
“Yes, she’s enjoying the spa, as she called it, LOL,” Donna replied.
“Okay, good. I’ll touch base with you sometime tomorrow. Have fun, but not too much.”
“Party-pooper,” Donna texted back.
As her fatigue settled harder, she pulled her t-shirt and panties back on. She slipped between the sheets and dropped her phone on the bedside table. She didn’t even have her charger. Thankfully, the phone was over seventy percent charged. It should be fine until morning if it took that long to get her backpack.
Papa
Adistant ringing brought Laura Lee to a low level of consciousness, just enough to realize the vivid images had been a dream. The Asian man in her rearview mirror, his intense stare, a presence about him that cast a frigid foreshadowing of the future. A dire future for her.
The ringing again, this time louder, closer. It pulled her from the swirling darkness that surrounded her. She opened her eyes, blinded by the dim bedside light. The hotel room. Her phone was ringing and vibrating on the table beside her. She lifted it and looked at the screen. Garcia. “Hello.”
“You sound like I woke you. Sorry.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” She gazed at her wristwatch. It was zero one hundred. “Are you back?”
