Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,126
She’d found her friend waterboarding herself.
No. Olaf had found her.
Talk about a clusterfuck.
Fortunately, Sinclair had taken Bree in without pause when they’d shown up at her office. Addy had given them privacy to chat, but now she was wondering if she should’ve hung around and made sure Bree told the doctor everything.
What if she didn’t disclose everything?
Okay, breathe. You can chat with Sinclair later and make sure she knows about the waterboarding.
“You’re distracted. Something’s definitely wrong,” Mary said.
“She’s got a hunky badass in her life,” Zoey muttered. “That’s reason enough to be distracted.”
Oh, boy. Conversational landmines were in play. Was she ready to talk to her friends about Kristof? Not really. Time for a topic shift. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but something happened with Bree.”
“Bree? What?” Zoey’s eyes widened. She shut her laptop. “Is she okay?”
“She will be. I took her over to Sinclair to talk.”
“You aren’t going to tell us what it was,” Jesse said.
“It’s not mine to share.” Addy took a breath. “Sorry I’m distracted. Why am I here?”
“Zoey’s scheduled a meeting with Stacia. She’s agreed to meet with Kristof,” Mary said. “We’re thinking you should go with him.”
“Of course. When?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Zoey said.
Addy nodded. A thought crept into her mind. “That works. I’d like to take the rest of today and tomorrow off. I’ll be back before we leave to go to Stacia’s.”
“Okay,” Jesse said. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Of course.” She was worried about Bree but hadn’t been this happy in forever.
She’d enjoyed her time alone with Kristof in Russia so much. But now that she was home, she’d grown more worried that the compound would overwhelm him. With so many people constantly underfoot and mission after mission, the entire world Addy lived in was chaotic at the best of times—and those rarely happened.
“I just want to take a day and show Kristof something,” Addy said.
“Mmhmm.” Zoey pursed her lips. “I can imagine exactly what you’re going to show him.”
Mary and Jesse both chuckled. Embarrassed, Addy glanced down to avoid eye contact. Would she ever get used to having a private life outside the team?
“Go. Enjoy your time off,” Mary said as she stood. “Speaking of time off, I need to go get baby Jessie from Momma Mason before Dylan and Jud try and exfil her and Destiny again. That little stunt did not go over well, by the way. She’s still grumbling about it.”
Addy chuckled. “Call if you need me for anything.”
She headed out of the room but paused when she heard Jesse call her name. “Did you need something, Jesse?”
“No.” He smiled. “Adjusting to a life outside this compound is hard.”
Addy looked down. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure my life outside the compound equates to what you and Ellie have, but thanks.”
“We’ll all adjust to having him in your life. They’ll see he’s a good man,” Jesse said. “More importantly, they’ll see he’s good for you.”
Surprise filled her as she lifted her head. “You’re Team Kristof?”
“I didn’t realize there was a team.” He smirked. “But, I suppose I am. Gage talked me around.”
Seemed like Sanderson was working overtime having her back. Addy chuckled and headed toward the exit.
“Hey, Addy,” Jesse called.
She turned. “Yeah?”
“I’ll watch out for Olaf. Beast or one of your guys can crash with him at the cottage. He feels safest around one of them,” Jesse said. “Have a good time.”
“Thanks.” Emotion surged through her. He hadn’t asked where she was going. He’d simply helped coordinate a situation she hadn’t even thought about.
In her rush to spend time with Kristof and share something with him that she’d never shared with anyone, she’d forgotten completely about poor Olaf. Talk about a screw up.
She headed to her cottage and packed a bag. By the time she had everything ready to go, anticipation hummed in her veins.
Shouldering her backpack, she carried the small duffel and headed toward the cottage Kristof and Olaf shared. She knocked on the door and smiled when Kristof answered. His gaze swept downward. A panty-melting grin spread across his handsome face.
“Moving in? I approve.” He stepped back. “Come in.”
Her pulse quickened as she entered. Drawing him into a hug, she inhaled his musky cologne. “You smell so good.”
Warmth surrounded her as he drew her into his arms. “You okay? How did it go with Bree?”
“She’s going to be okay. In time. Sinclair can help her.”
“Good.” He glanced down at the bag, then put a hand on her backpack. “Are you going somewhere?”