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He could have blurted out their entire history, but he’d held back. She didn’t want to like the fact that he didn’t kiss and tell.
Then by the time she stopped being the topic of conversation, her mind turned inward, to what was taking place inside her body.
She twisted away from the temptation of her pillow and walked to her locker at the foot of her bunk. Cooking for her crew tonight would be the welcome distraction she desperately needed.
Only…Slade would be there too.
But she didn’t have to talk to him. There were plenty of other people to keep her entertained.
She quickly showered and dressed in clean clothes before heading out to the local market for a shopping trip. Typically the guys preferred any meat they could char over some flames. Buying premium cuts of meat was the easy part. The ladies who loved the men of Blackout were her real food critics.
For them, Lena went all out with her favorite recipes. She always had a few dishes in mind before she hit the shop, but not today. Her mind was stupidly blank. In fact, she grabbed a shopping cart and pushed it aimlessly around the produce department for a good five minutes before a store employee asked if she could help Lena find something.
She thanked her with a smile and jogged her brain to come up with a menu.
No barbecue.
Her stomach soured at the thought of heavy sauce on pork. The very idea was making her nauseous.
They’d just returned from Mexico. Tacos would be a nice nod to the success of that mission.
And the guys can’t mess up tacos if I’m too sick to cook.
With the menu fixed in her mind, she set about selecting the items she needed. She grabbed a lot of 7-Up for herself because she just knew the fridge at headquarters was filled with energy drinks and water.
After purchasing everything, she loaded the bags into the Blackout SUV and drove back to base. No way in hell was she taking two trips, so she loaded her hands with bags and battled her way through the door and up the flight of stairs to the kitchen.
Three of the guys walked in, and she gave them a dirty look.
“As usual, you come running to see what I’m making but didn’t bother helping me carry it in.” She grabbed a cutting board and a knife to begin work on the guacamole.
Ramsey sidled to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
She gestured to a bag. “Can you put that soda in so it gets cold?”
“Sure.” He looped his index finger into the bag handle and carried it to the fridge. “What’s with the soda? New recipe?”
Oh no. She couldn’t give herself away. “Yeah…a new mocktail. You know, since we can’t drink on duty. I get sick of water, coffee and energy drinks.”
“Not a bad idea.” Ramsey began stocking the fridge and she turned her attention from him to Frost and Mustang. Both of them leaned against the counter, watching her.
She lifted a brow at them. “Do you need something, gentlemen?”
“That doesn’t look like barbecue fixin’s.” Frost twitched his jaw toward the bag of avocadoes.
“I’m switching things up. We’re having Mexican instead.”
“Damn, that sounds like a good way to celebrate getting Overstreet back home safe and sound.”
Was it her imagination or did he place more emphasis on the statement than necessary? As if he were insinuating that Lena was happy to have him back.
Of course shewas. The alternative was unconscionable. When Apollo, one of the other members of Charlie team had gone missing, they were all frantic. Then he was presumed dead, and they all spent months mourning him only to find that he’d tricked them all to go deeper ops and was really alive, and now happily serving with the Alpha team.
One more person for Lena to cook for.
She sighed. “If you aren’t helping me, you know the drill. Get out—”
“Of my kitchen,” Frost, Mustang and Ramsey all recited with her.
