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“I’d like that,” she said, fastening her seatbelt.
The sun was beginning to set when they pulled up in front of the market, which was really two small docks in the tidal basin off the Potomac. It was popular with locals: an open-air market that offered fresh fish, fisherman’s platters, and just about anything else seafood-related.
Gage parked, and they walked along the dockside. To the west, the sun lit up the sky in stripes of red, orange and yellow. When Anna’s heel wobbled on an uneven bit of ground, Gage stepped closer and took her arm. It felt so natural she didn’t even consider protesting. “This is one of my favorite times of the day,” she said, leaning into him a bit.
He gave a grunt and a nod. It seemed that he wasn’t a guy who talked a lot—or maybe it was just the day they’d been through.
The sky darkened, streetlights coming on in a blaze of color, and Gage steered them to Captain White’s. “Have you been here before?” he asked.
She smiled and nodded. “I used to come here with my grandparents. Grandpa had a boat. I learned to swim in the Potomac. But I haven’t been out on the water in years.”
Gage offered a tight smile. “Glad I thought of it, then.”
When the server came to take their orders, Gage ordered steamed Chesapeake blue crab, blackened catfish, crab cakes, corn pudding, a side of mac and cheese, and two strawberry lemonades. Anna stared at him. “Feeding an army?”
He smiled. “Trust me. You’ll want more.” He added a dozen oysters and jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce to the order. Once he’d paid, he picked up the bags of food and gestured to Anna to grab the drinks. “I know a sweet little spot overlooking the Tidal Basin.”
On the way, he grabbed a blanket from his truck. He spread it out on a rise looking out on the water, and they dug into the food. Everything was great. The cocktail sauce had a tang, the fish was perfect—flaky and moist—and Anna found herself wishing Gage had ordered more mac and cheese.
Leaning back after devouring his dinner, Gage asked, “Any news about what happened?”
She shook her head. “Not as far as I know. I’m hoping we can get back into the building tomorrow. I can’t figure out why anyone would go after a publishing house.”
“Author files or manuscripts? Some of it’s got to be worth something.”
“All our files are kept in a central database that every department has access to—and the servers aren’t in the building.”
He frowned. “Why would everyone have access to it?”
She sipped her lemonade and shrugged. “Our author files have everything from contact information to current photos to book sales to manuscript data. If someone in marketing wants to know what other books are similar to a particular title or someone in production needs to contact the author with questions about a manuscript, it’s all there. If someone wanted to access any of our information, I don’t see how attacking our building would help. They should have just hacked us instead.”
“Unless whatever they wanted wasn’t on the server. Does your boss have a safe? Keep stuff there?”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. It seems more likely to me he’d keep anything confidential at his bank or at home.”
Gage gave a nod and an odd hum she couldn’t read. He gathered up their trash, stood, and reached a hand down to her. “Care for a walk?”
Her muscles had stiffened up while they’d been sitting, and she was glad to stretch them. “Oh, my—look. A carnival!” Tents had been set up near the waterfront, filling the air with noise and light. Anna dragged Gage into the bustling crowd, grinning when she spotted a sharpshooter game. Glancing at Gage, she gave him a wink. “Come on, win me something.”
Gage groaned. “Seriously? Those games are so cheesy. And they’re bound to be rigged.”
“Are you saying you can’t outsmart a carnival game?” she goaded. “Please try. For me?” She didn’t know why she was being so playful with him, but it felt right. And after the day they’d had, she wasn’t going to second-guess something that made her happy.
He let out a sigh, but she saw a hint of a smile curve his lips. “Oh, fine then. For you.”
His words sent a little thrill through her. She didn’t really care that much about winning a prize, but the fact that he’d play along, just to amuse her…that meant a lot.
At the stand, he pulled out a five-dollar bill and handed it to the attendant. Picking up the gun, he sighted and shot. Four more quick shots and he set the gun down. Bull’s-eye, every time. She swallowed hard. Guns weren’t usually her thing, but he lookedreallyhot handling one—strong, capable, every inch the warrior he apparently was.Herwarrior, taking on this silly challenge for her sake. With her track record, the fact that she was attracted to him should be reason enough to stay away. But everything about him drew her in more and more.
“Dude, that was awesome!” said the attendant, a gangly boy of around seventeen who was staring at Gage with wide, awestruck eyes. “Are you, like, James Bond or something?”
“Nah, kid. Navy SEAL.”
“That’s even better!” the boy gushed, making both Anna and Gage chuckle.
“I like to think so,” Gage agreed. “So, what’s my prize?”
“Five perfect shots means you can pick anything you want—even the stuff on the top shelf.” The boy gestured at the prize wall behind him, loaded with an array of stuffed animals.
