Page 65

Sunday. Task Force Headquarters, Fairfax, VA
Samuel had a headache by the time the meeting finished from grinding his teeth. Neither woman would even listen to him pointing out all the reasons this was an awfully stupid plan. It was like they wanted to tempt fate.
Yes, let’s send the two people Maxwell Edward most wanted to kill directly to him.
Brilliant.
Couldn’t think of a better course of action.
He stalked out of Zora’s office behind Jessica, his eyes fixed to a few short curls of hair that had escaped her braid at the nape of her neck. His hand reached out, and he watched himself tug on the fine, baby-like hairs.
“Ow!” Jessica whirled, slapping away his hand. She gaped up at him, her brow wrinkled. “What was that for?”
He glanced at the mostly filled desks and workspaces outside Zora’s office.
This was not the place to talk or fight or whatever they were about to do.
He took her by the arm and pulled her down a side hall. There was nothing between Zora’s office and the warren of old halls from the original facility.
“Samuel,” Jessica said with warning in her voice.
They turned a corner and stopped. He gripped her by the shoulders and locked gazes with her.
“This is a bad idea, Jess,” he said and prayed she heard him.
She drew in a breath, but instead of immediately moving to deny his statement she smoothed her hands down his chest and stared thoughtfully at a spot on his sternum.
Was she hearing him?
Did she have any regard for her life at all?
“Your reasoning isn’t wrong,” she said.
That admission did not inspire confidence in him. Because he already knew her mind was made up. She was going to do this.
She tipped her chin up and met his gaze. “Let’s pretend you and I are dating, like normal people. A few months down the line, you have to take a dangerous work trip. If I ask you to not go, will you listen to me?”
He opened and closed his mouth.
“That’s completely different,” he said.
She nodded. “Yeah, it kind of is. But my point is you and I are alike. Neither of us will turn away from what we feel we must do. It’s what dictates both of our lives and why I feel drawn to you. Because you get it. You really get it. And I think that makes us better suited to each other, while also creating conflict we have to figure out how to deal with. Or if we want to.”
He tilted his head to the side. That last sentence sounded ominous. “Jess…”
She held up her hands. “I’m just explaining things how I see it, okay?”
Samuel’s shoulders slumped in defeat. This wasn’t the time to be selfish and think about them. He needed to focus on the job first, because that’s what they were not-quite arguing about. “You’re going no matter what I say.”
Her face softened and her hands curled into the material of his sweatshirt. “Yeah.”
He wished he had the tools to deal with this, but instead of clocking experience in relationships, he’d focused on his job. Which left him wholly unprepared to reason with her. Conversations were multi-dimensional and emotional. He simply didn’t have the tools to communicate on all levels at once. So he had to focus on one.
Samuel agreed that their similarities was what made them work. And if he were honest with himself?
If he were in her shoes, he’d go.
Yet he couldn’t sit back and let her make that choice without trying to change her mind. Ultimately, it wasn’t up to him and that sucked. No matter what they were to each other, this was her choice, and he was both proud and furious, which led to him holding onto her tighter so his hands didn’t shake as much.