from experience that attraction wasn’t the secret key to making everything work out.
“I was wondering that, too.” Cat propped her chin on her fist.
Kelsey turned her head to look at Diha. If anyone was reasonable, it would be her. “Seriously?”
Logan? Into her? God, Kelsey had to be a much better actress than she thought if the girls hadn’t seen straight through her.
Diha sighed dramatically. “Don’t look at me. We’ve all wondered it.”
“You are all crazy.” Kelsey ripped open the paper wrapper for the straw. She had to do something with her hands.
Was it possible the girls knew?
She hadn’t shared her attraction with them for the simple reason that emotions made for a complicated work environment. What they did was already complex enough without her throwing an emotional, unsteady bomb into the mix.
But maybe they had a point?
Maybe all this pent up lust was bad for her.
She still wasn’t going to do anything about it.
Nope.
Not her.
Not now.
Not ever.
MONDAY. UNKNOWN.
Skilton picked up the steaming mug. It was too hot to drink, but just the smell of the fresh brew was enough to make his mind start spinning. They’d had a few road bumps lately, but this? This was coming together.
He could lay a lot of the latest blunders at the feet of Senator John Dixon. The man had taken everything Skilton offered, pissed on it, then left. And to think, the man had been nothing when Skilton found him. Just a backwater politician from a good family with no ability to find his way out of a paper bag. John had charisma and a good face. Exactly the sort of thing Skilton wanted in a figurehead. Along the way, however, John had gotten greedy.
The senator was about to learn a hard lesson about loyalty and paying your dues.
Skilton was going to enjoy this. It had been quite some time since he’d been out in the field himself, but it was time.
Their people had to know that they couldn’t take the bounty of being part of this organization and just leave. It didn’t work that way.
Once you were in, you never left.
Ever.
The ones like the senator? They learned the lesson as they lost everything.
TUESDAY. TASK FORCE Headquarters. Washington, DC.
Logan tossed the basketball at Jamie, then swiped the back of his hand across his brow. Logan had come to the gym to burn off a little of the lingering frustration before his interview with Senator Dixon’s staff. He’d found the rest of his team had the same idea.
“I’m done, guys.” Jamie let his head hang back as he sucked down air. He tossed the ball from hand to hand.
Harper barked a laugh. “Getting a little soggy around the middle, bro.”
“Fuck you,” Jamie got out between breaths.
Harper smacked Jamie’s stomach loud enough the pop reverberated through the gymnasium in the basement of the building. The basketball hit the floor and bounced away.
“Ow, what the hell?” Jamie shoved Harper away.
“Your girlfriend’s feeding you too well, man.”
Jamie merely spread his arms. “Yeah, well, at least I have a girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Harper snorted and thumbed over his shoulder. “You’re more married than Evan.”
Evan spared an annoyed glance at Harper, but didn’t wade into the exchange. There wasn’t any point to it. Harper only harassed his friends. He’d be the first one to their defense if anyone else tried the same lines. Lately it seemed a little different. More tense..
“Harper.” Tucker’s voice boomed in the enclosed space.
The two men paused their banter and glanced at Tucker.
“Cut it out,” he said with a glare.
Harper held up his hands and took a step back.
Logan glanced between the four. He hadn’t seen much of them in the last week, what with the holiday and working out details with Zora. There was some tension in the air, but he didn’t know how to deal with it or where it had come from.
Harper’s gaze swung toward Logan. “Where were you all weekend?”
“Working.” Logan grabbed his water bottle and took a long pull.
“You should have stopped by for some turkey curry leftovers. It sounds weird as hell, but Diha’s family made it work. That shit was amazing. Do you ever do anything besides work?” Harper flopped down on the bench and looked up at Logan.
“Sure, it just doesn’t include your lame ass.”
Jamie laughed. “Oh, burn.”
“Haa. Haa.” One side of Harper’s mouth screwed up into a lopsided grin.
It had taken months for Logan to feel Harper out in the beginning. Now, Logan appreciated Harper’s peculiar way of joking around. He got to the matter, lancing wounds with