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I chuckled and kissed her. “I knew what you meant. Do you want to know why?”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was wide. “Best intentions and all that.”
As I made the one-hour drive from Brighton to the command center, I thought about the way I’d left things with Nemesis, and about the meeting I’d had with Z afterwards.
He assured me Nem hadn’t learned about my connection to the Italian syndicates from him. No one, not a single person in Unit 23 or any other branch of SIS, was aware of that work. That Nemesis seemed to, still rankled. However, there was no way for me to ask her about it without confirming her suspicions, if that’s what they were.
If the working relationship was different between her and me—exponentially so—I might have considered confiding in her. But it wasn’t, so I couldn’t.
Considering I’d stormed out of meetings with her before, her attitude toward me was no different the next time I ran into her. She didn’t like me, and the feeling was mutual. It had become the status quo at the command center, so no one else there thought anything had changed.
I pulled in and parked near Kima’s cottage like I typically did, but when I knocked, she didn’t answer, so I sent a message, asking where she was, and seconds later, she came out the front door of the main residence with Hornet trailing behind her.
I glared in his direction, which from this distance, would either appear intended for Kima or neither of them would notice. When he turned to go to the cottage he was now sharing with Reaper, I felt relief. I’d warned him away from Kima once, and that should’ve been all that was necessary.
“What’s with the two of you?” I asked when she was close enough that no one else could hear me.
Kima rolled her eyes. “Which part of me saying I’m bored out of my mind did you miss?”
I raised a brow.
“Stop it, Typhon. We’re friends.”
I nodded once and followed her into the cottage.
“I’m here to invite you to dinner,” I said after we stepped inside.
“Where?”
“Brighton.”
Her eyes lit up. “I was afraid you were about to suggest we eat at the pub.”
“I was also thinking you might want to spend a day or two there.”
She threw her arms around me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Where’s Poseidon?” I asked, wondering if I needed to inform him Kima was leaving with me.
“Home, I suppose.”
“Does anyone work here?”
“Can we leave now?” she said rather than respond.
“Sure.” I considered asking after Oleander, but if Poseidon wasn’t here, perhaps she wasn’t either.
Before getting in the car, I stepped away to ring El. When I told her I was on my way back and bringing Kima with me, she squealed in delight. I adored her unabashed enthusiasm and excitement. There’d been far too little of that in my life.
“Tell me about her,” Kima said after I’d pulled out of the gates of the estate. “You must know her better now, given you’ve been with her three or four times longer than when you first mentioned her.”
“I could turn the car around, you know.”
“But you won’t.”
“This is certainly good practice for when we have a daughter,” I said under my breath.
When I glanced over at Kima, her mouth gaped and the color had left her face.