more. Lainey called me. Is she in NYC? Why is my mind even wandering there? I do have a ton of work I can do from my computer. Hacking into accounts, codes that need to be worked out so I can get my hands on information, programs to debug and overall mischief to be perfected. I can do these things anywhere. I toss and catch the hard drive, the beautifully portable workstation, and decide to leave my week open.
I clear my throat. “I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay. If I hear from Dances like the Wind and she changes her name to Lying Cheating Scandal I’m sending Laura over to lure you away.” Laura? Oh, the friend she’s trying to fix me up with.
“Molly, go work. Leave me to my personal life, which obviously isn’t personal enough.”
I hear her shuffle her phone. She’ s probably leaving her home office. “Oh, come on. I get it, Cody. Lainey will always be it for you. You’d be balls deep in her right now if those assholes didn’t steal you away from your life. But the fact is you’re going to have to move on. You can do it delicately or you can do it all at once. All that matters is to move the heck on. I’d screw your brains out myself, but I don’t think—”
I cut her off. “No.” Horse’s face crosses my mind. Maybe he doesn’t laugh at all. Ever. “I don’t need any favors.”
She huffs. “I was obviously just joking to make a point. You’re a catch. Be a catch. Play the field.” No words have ever seemed more like a bad idea. Not only am I too tied up in my work, but she’s correct—Lainey is it for me. Always. There’s no moving on after I’ve had a taste of perfection. It was the image of coming home to her that kept me alive during my years in captivity. Solely her. For that reason alone I know I will call her back. I make light work of confirming my scheduled telemeetings with Molly and give her answers to several questions she asks, and our nightly catch-up meeting is done.
Swiveling in my desk chair, I pad over to the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks Manhattan. They don’t call it the city that never sleeps for nothing. It’s nine at night and it’s bustling. Office lights in the skyscrapers are still lit, workers burning the midnight oil, or having torrid affairs with their secretaries after hours. I shake my head, thinking of Molly’s ludicrous joke about sleeping with me. I haven’t slept with a woman in so long that I’m considering adding Born again Virgin to the end of my name. My bare-chested silhouette gleams back at me in the freshly cleaned glass. A few scars mark my chest, and the full complement of tattoos I got when I returned make me almost unrecognizable as a former Naval Officer. My blond hair is longer, my eyes are a little darker, my soul a little less pure than it was before. Surely Lainey doesn’t want to talk to me? This person?
I call her back—her cell phone number is still the same as it was all those years ago. I know it by heart. I always will, even if it becomes someone else’s phone number. I’ll probably go crazy as an old man and call the number every day in hopes of hearing her say hello. Her phone rings a few times and I’m about to hang up when she finally answers.
“Cody,” she says, out of breath and obviously surprised. I smile. My reflection in the glass shocks me. I almost look happy. Quickly, I look away. Her voice reverberates in my soul. It sounds exactly the same, yet completely different.
I sigh. “Fast Lane,” I reply, my voice shaky. She takes a few more deep breaths and I reconsider. Maybe she’s not out of breath, perhaps she’s extremely nervous. That would be a new occurrence. I’ve never made her nervous before. She trusted me implicitly—with her secrets, with her body, and most importantly, her mind. “Molly gave me the message that you called. Or someone who makes up names just like you do called,” I say.
I can hear her face turning red over the phone line. “Yeah, sorry. I opened my mouth and it just popped out. Typical diarrhea mouth. You know?” I grin. The woman is utterly endearing.
“I figured. Molly knew it was you. So,” I prompt, running a hand through my hair.
I