Greystone and Caroline were alone… alone with a ruthless terrorist in a secure location where no one would hear them screaming if things went sideways. But things weren’t going sideways, not on his watch. They stood side by side in the command center, observing the prisoner dangling from his chains.
She ran a comforting hand down his back. “This isn’t your first rodeo, is it?”
Her touch was exactly what he needed to take the edge off, but the second he stared into her eyes, she brought the heat. As he expected, she looked as calm and confident as always. There was no fear, no concern, but there was a touch of sadness, something he’d never seen before.
“This turned out to be some fucked-up first date,” he said.
She caressed his back which a soft hand, and he breathed easy for the first time in several tense hours. “Do you know the effect you have on me?” he asked.
With her hand cemented on his back, she pushed onto her toes. “I only know the effect you have on me, so you’d have to tell me… or maybe you could show me sometime.”
He swept her into his arms and kissed her. One, long passionate kiss. Then, she hugged him, holding him tightly against her.
“Death sucks, even if it’s the enemy,” she murmured.
“I know, babe.” He kissed her cheek. “It’s war, and war is never pretty.”
As they stared into each other’s eyes, he wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but he was never one to make a promise he wasn’t confident he could keep.
“We’ve got each other’s backs,” he said. “And there’s no one I’d rather have by my side than you. No one.”
Her loving smile gave him hope. “Same.”
In silence, they watched the prisoner.
“If he told us what we need to know, he’d get arrested and put in prison,” she said, breaking their long pause.
“He came here to destroy, and he’s willing to die for his cause. If I’d been captured while in the middle east, I would have done the same. It’s what we sign up for, even if we don’t believe it can happen to us.”
Sadness blanketed her eyes. “Are you hungry? Can I make you something to eat?”
“I’m okay. You?”
“The thought of food makes me nauseous,” she said. “I could use my laptop though.”
“Where is it?”
“My place.”
“I need Teddy’s help online. If I can wake him, I’ll see if he can grab our laptops before he comes out here.” Greystone called Teddy, hit the speaker button.
“Sleeping,” Teddy answered, his groggy voice making Greystone smile.
“Teddy, we got one of the terrorists.”
“Jesus, what? Wait, gimme a minute. I gotta wake up.” Greystone set his phone on the console, pulled out a chair and offered it to Caroline. She declined, so he eased down.
“What did I miss?” Teddy asked.
After a brief update, Greystone said, “Caroline and I are doing the first shift. We need our laptops. Any chance you can help us out?”
“No prob,” Teddy said. “Can you ask Caroline if Sydney is there?”
“Hey, Teddy,” Caroline said. “I have to call Sydney and let her know you’re coming.”
“Gotcha. Where do you live?”
“Carlyle Towers on Jamieson Ave in Alexandria. I’ll call my sister.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed.