“I’m trying to go slowly with you,” he said huskily.
“What if I don’t want slow?” she whispered.
Suddenly Kim shrieked as the smoke alarm went off, the eggs she’d left on the stove smoking.
“Shit,” Ethan said, lifting her down from the counter. He grabbed the pan off the stove, shutting it off, then crossed the kitchen. He dumped the eggs into the sink, turning on the water as Kim rushed to open a window and let some of the burnt smell out.
“Oh my God,” Kim muttered. “I almost burned your house down!”
“We almost burned it down,” he chuckled. “But they were smoking, not actually on fire. And we were right here.”
“And I ruined breakfast,” she said.
Ethan winked. “That kiss was totally worth it. I do have to eat and get to base though. You’re sure you’ll be okay by yourself today? Tomorrow we can head to the beach or do whatever you want.”
“Yeah. I’ll just hang out and read again. Hailey will come by in the afternoon, and then I’ll see you tonight.”
Ethan frowned as he looked in the fridge. “There’s only one egg left. Are you okay with us eating cereal?”
“I’m fine with it,” she assured him.
He looked over at her, pausing for a moment. “What?” she asked, flushing. She’d just been pressed up against the man, kissing him, but the heat in his eyes from across the room was so intense, she felt like she was about to combust.
“I like coming home to you,” he admitted. “I don’t mean that in a sexist way, like I’d want you sitting around my house all day every day. I just like having you here.”
“Me too,” she said. “I’ve lived alone for a long time, and I sure the hell never expected to meet someone when I went TDY to Bagram.”
He moved closer to her, quickly brushing a kiss over her lips. “We’ll figure this out. Promise.”
Her cell phone rang on the kitchen table, and she saw her sister’s name flash across the screen. “Hey Shannon,” she said. “What’s up? Why are you calling so early?”
“Kim,” her sister said. “Someone broke into your apartment. The police just contacted us. Your door was broken down.”
“What?” Kim asked in surprise. “Someone robbed me?”
Ethan turned toward her, his eyes narrowing. For a man who was standing there only in his boxers, he looked positively deadly. His entire body had stiffened, and he was completely alert.
“I don’t know. Dad’s on his way over there now to meet with them. It sounded like they didn’t think anything had been taken.”
Kim rubbed her forehead. “But they broke in? Do you think someone was looking for me?”
“Tell me what’s happening,” Ethan demanded.
“Shannon, I’m going to put you on speaker phone.”
Shannon quickly repeated what she’d told Kim. “The neighbors saw someone running away and called 911. Hopefully they got surveillance footage. Dad is giving the police your contact information, so you’ll hear from them later.”
“Was there a description of the suspect?” Ethan asked.
“One of the neighbors thought he might be Middle Eastern.” Ethan stiffened, clenching his fist. “I’ll get a better description from the police,” her sister continued. “Wait—do you think this is related to her kidnapping? Oh my God. I just wanted to call as soon as I heard anything….”
“You did the right thing,” Ethan assured her.
Kim could see the anger on his face. But the DC metro area was extremely diverse. Just because a man who appeared to be Middle Eastern broke into her apartment didn’t mean it was directly related to Bagram.
“Be careful,” Kim told her sister. “I hope this is just some sort of weird coincidence, but I’m worried someone was looking for me. Let me know as soon as you find out anything else.”
They said their goodbyes, and Ethan was already calling his teammates. Kim worriedly paced the kitchen. What if it wasn’t a coincidence, and someone came after her parents or sister? What if they somehow tracked her out here, and she put Hailey or Ethan in danger?
All of it seemed absurd, but her face had been splashed across every newspaper. No one had bothered her out here in California, but that was partly because no one expected her to be here. Her own mother had said the media had been contacting them before their plane even landed at Andrews.
Blowing out a sigh, she worriedly looked at Ethan as he got off the phone.
“Hey, are you okay? You look pale,” he said as he crossed the