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She opened her mouth to speak, and a message came in through their radios from Logan Tackett, giving them a heads up on their search.
When he was done, Roman asked for an update from Leo.
He shook his head and called in their location and Cygny added her notes about the blown tire remnant left behind.
Beck thanked her for the update and continued on to another pair.
Cygny looked up into his gaze and nodded once, lowering her chin as if she was centering herself before beginning.
Was it really so difficult?
“My assignment was to locate and identify a traitor at the naval base who was selling troop movements and readiness reports. Chatter in the intelligence community pointed to a build up of foreign interests searching for more and more information. It was a National Security nightmare, and I was inserted into one of the administrative offices at the base to investigate the officers and other employees working in and around the building.
“Failed transmissions had been traced to that block, but the signal was so weak the higher ups thought we’d likely find the perpetrator quickly. They weren’t exactly good at their job if they were trying to keep it a secret.
“Finding the actual person was my assignment, but it seemed as though they had gone silent soon after I arrived. At least their transmissions did. But our intelligence on the ground in these other countries said that the information was still coming in. We had to face the possibility that the traitor had found another way to get the information from the base.
“I was ordered to start digging into base personnel through their computer activity. That was something I could do from home, so I took a leave of absence from my job and worked from my apartment.”
Leo nodded. He’d noticed that she’d been around their complex more often, but there had been some reorganizing done in the administration of the base and he’d chalked it up to that.
He’d also been eager to get to know her and hadn’t questioned it.
“I was coming up empty left and right. There were little things that I found digging around. A few affairs. A handful of people moonlighting with second jobs and being paid under the table. Nothing like the espionage that was being reported. I was getting more and more frustrated.” She swallowed reflexively and her breathing kicked up, her shoulders rising and falling as her eyes fixed on his face. “The only thing making any sense in my life… was you.”
A chill passed through him, and he looked at the nearby plants and trees for an indication of a harsh wind. They were all but still. The area around them calm.
It didn’t match the confusion roiling around inside of him.
“Spending time with you was my refuge. When we were together, I could shut out everything else. I’d never met anyone like you or felt so comfortable spending time with someone, even in silence. There I was, frustrated beyond belief with an investigation that wasn’t just leading me in circles, it wasn’t going anywhere. But, for the first time in my life I felt like I had a connection to someone that went straight to my heart.”
Leo felt like they were on the threshold of something, but instinct told him to push back. Push away.
“Leo, I-”
“Don’t.”
“Leo, let me-”
“I said don’t.”
She reached out a hand and he leaned away from it.
From her.
He wasn’t prepared for the haunted look in her eyes or his gut-level reaction to it.
He’d fanaticized about facing her again.
He’d thought about all the things he’d say.
The anger that turned to rage.
But there she was, standing there in front of him, reaching out to him while he was still trying to process her words.
Was it real? She’d been trained to lie. Done it thousands of times to who knows how many people. Could he trust what she had to say?
Was there anything she said that was the truth?
Cygny dropped her hand back down to her side and shook her head. “Maybe it was a mistake trying to explain this to you, but I wanted to tell you the truth. I just couldn’t. Not then. Not for months after it either. What I had to do to prove you were innocent was something I needed to do before I could explain. Before I could-”
He closed the gap between them and swallowed her explanation.
He didn’t know what else to do.
What she was saying was starting to make sense and he just couldn’t listen anymore.
He didn’t have the patience.
Or rather, he didn’t want to hear any of it.
What he wanted was her lips on his.
He ate at her lips to keep her from speaking, his hands grasped her hips to keep her close. He wasn’t going to let her run away from this.
She didn’t fight his kiss.
She didn’t even try to bring her arms up between them.
He knew she could have stopped him if she wanted to.
