“Oh!” Stina hopped off the bed and grabbed the painting she’d found in the resort. “I found it when Rome took me upstairs. I thought of you.” She held it out to Jolie.
She took it as if it was a priceless artifact. “It’s amazing.” She lifted her gaze, revealing eyes bright with tears.
Stina laughed, but it came out a bit watery too. “It’s not like I painted it. Hell, I didn’t even pay for it.”
They burst into laughter, and somehow that made things funnier. Soon, they were wheezing and leaning on each other.
Another figure filled the doorframe. Rivers’s broad shoulders took up the entire width.
Jolie jerked. “Did something happen?”
Rivers shook his head, looking between both of them. “I just came to let you know I’m here. I’ll be in the war room. Try to go back to sleep. The team will be back soon.”
Without another word, he walked away.
Stina stared at the empty doorway. “Was that supposed to be reassuring?”
“That’s Rivers being warm. You get used to it.”
“I suppose you’re going to tell me Rome is the really warm one around here.” She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The nerves had been coiling in her stomach since the moment she heard the thump of boots and knew they were gearing up for a mission.
She still felt the solid warmth of Rome’s chest, the strong heartbeat pumping against her own skin, before he rushed out.
She shot Jolie a glance. Her friend was hunched forward, elbows on her knees, staring into space.
“How do you do this?” Stina asked. “You’ve been here with Archer for months. How do you just—” She gestured vaguely at her friend’s composure, which was somewhat reassuring but irritating at the same time. “How are we supposed to go back to sleep?”
Jolie was quiet for a moment. “Rivers means well, but he’s crazy to think we could ever calm down enough to sleep.”
They shared a small smile.
She drew one leg underneath her. “Archer taught me something. You know why they call him Monk?”
“No.”
“Because he meditates. He actually gets really deep into it after so many years of practice.” Jolie’s faint smile told Stina justhow much she loved him. “At first I thought it was ridiculous. Then I tried it at three in the morning when he was gone.”
“You mean you were out of options.”
She gave her the side-eye. “That too. But it helps.” She shrugged.
Stina contemplated the idea. After a minute she made up her mind.
“Show me what to do.”
She sat cross-legged against the wall next to Jolie. Her back was straight and her eyes were closed. She rested her hands on her knees and tried like hell to focus on her breathing.
But she was too busy making detailed lists of everything that could go wrong.
After two painful minutes, she slumped sideways against the wall. “I can’t,” she said to the ceiling.
Jolie opened one eye. “You lasted more than I did the first time.”
She shoved away from the wall and dropped her face into her hands. “Where are they? Are they going to be shot at?”
Compressing her lips, Jolie shook her head. “There’s always the risk, Stina. But they’re Blackout. The best of the best.”
She nodded, feeling slightly better. She stared up at the ceiling again. “I need something to do. I don’t feel like stress baking.”