said with a knowing smile. “I know you went through hell and just met him in Afghanistan, but it sounds like things were pretty intense.”
“They were. I’ve never felt an instant connection like that before. Not with anyone. I know it probably sounds cliché, falling for the man that rescued me. I mean, there we were, literally running for our lives, but he made me feel safe. I couldn’t even see him in the dark, but it’s like I just knew I’d be okay with him.”
“More than okay,” Hailey teased.
Kim rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, when I saw him the next morning, I realized he was smoking hot. I wasn’t even really thinking about it though. I was scared out of my mind. It was only what? Two, two and half weeks ago. Now, my entire life has changed.”
“I can’t even tell you how terrified I was,” Hailey said. “Ask Grayson or any of the guys. And when they left to get you? I may only be a DOD employee, but I swear I wanted to be right there when they saved you.”
“Apparently, I passed out on Ethan in the helicopter, which I don’t remember at all. They covered me with blankets and got me safely back to Bagram.”
“They’re good guys,” Hailey said. “All of them.”
Kim glanced down at her phone as it buzzed to see a text from Ethan.
I won’t be able to come home early. We’re looking into a few leads on base.
She frowned, wondering exactly what he meant. Did they find something in one of the photographs? Did he have intel she didn’t?
Between talking to the police, her boss at the Pentagon, and her superior officer in the Army Reserves, her head was spinning. She’d been more grateful than ever that Hailey had planned to spend the afternoon with her.
“Was that Ethan?” Hailey asked, nodding to her phone.
“Yeah. They’re trying to run down some leads on base.”
“Please be careful,” Hailey said seriously. “I thought my life was one hundred percent back to normal, and then the security officer in my office turned out to be dirty.”
“Jesus,” Kim moaned. “How can we both have such God-awful luck?”
“Seriously,” Hailey agreed. “Are you still flying home this weekend? You probably should stay with your parents if you are.”
“No kidding,” Kim said with a sigh. “Ethan doesn’t want me to go of course. I do have one more week off, but I wanted to ease back into my old routine. Now that my apartment was broken into, I’m not sure what to do. I’m supposed to go back to work in a week, so it’s not like I can stay here forever.”
“Why not?” Hailey joked.
Kim huffed out a small laugh. “You sound like Ethan. He was even talking about transferring to Little Creek.”
Hailey’s mouth dropped open. “He’d up and leave the team? Damn. That man must be crazy about you.”
“He’s not crazy about me,” Kim protested.
“He is,” Hailey quickly interrupted. “Their team is everything to them. You know that—they’re so close, they’re like family. I swear those guys even know what the others are thinking. It’s almost scary in a way, but it does make me feel better when they’re out on missions. He wouldn’t just give that up if he wasn’t serious about you.”
“Part of me wants to move out here,” Kim admitted. “I never considered it before, but now, after everything that happened? I want a real fresh start. I’d miss my sister and parents like crazy—”
“That’s what Facetime is for,” Hailey interrupted.
Kim’s heart pounded in her chest. “Ethan hasn’t specifically asked me to move in with him. I think his exact words were he ‘wouldn’t be opposed’ to me moving out here.”
“Ouch,” Hailey said with a laugh. “But he also said he’d move to Little Creek for you. Actions speak louder than words.”
“I guess,” Kim said with a shrug. “I wonder if Grayson will be late tonight, too, if they’re all busy tracking down leads.”
“No problem—more girl time for us. We’ve got a couple of hours. Let’s binge-watch some shows and then maybe we can all have dinner together later on.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Kim said with a grin.
***
Ethan cursed as he paced back and forth in the bullpen. The team had been looking through photographs for the past several hours. They had pictures of all the Afghani interpreters who currently worked at Bagram Airfield as well as photos of the men who’d worked there the previous year. They’d even cross-checked the names, despite knowing security