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Gabe walked back into the bedroom and wafted her hand in front of her nose. “Christ, you stink. Open the window.”

“That’ll be the Buffalo wings; I can’t handle spicy anymore.” Solo got up to let fresh air into the room.

Gabe grabbed the stuff she needed for her run and motioned toward the door. “Let’s go.”

Solo took a short pull from the beer on the side table and swished it around her mouth before swallowing it.

“I have gum in the car, nugget head.”

“I’m gonna need bleach to clean out my mouth before I go anywhere near Janie.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

Gabe pulled the motel door closed behind them and took a gulp of warm air into her lungs. It was already maybe seventy degrees and would hit eighty by lunch, but it was nothing compared to the sweltering July temperatures she was used to in al-Tanf. By comparison, this felt like autumn.

She and Solo jogged down the metal staircase to the parking lot and got into Gabe’s truck.

“I assume this old beater will be the first thing we restore?” Solo asked as she pulled her door closed with a creak loud enough to wake the whole motel.

“You know I’m a sucker for a classic.”

“What’s under the hood?”

Gabe grinned. “V8 396.”

Solo whistled. “Nice.”

The engine growled into action on the fourth attempt. “Our shop can’t come a minute too soon,” she said and pulled out into early morning traffic to head to Edison Park. “I’m desperate to get started on her.”

“No doubt. Are you restoring the original color?”

Gabe raised her eyebrows, already knowing where Solo’s line of inquiry was going. “What would you do? You’re the paint technician.”

“I’ve always liked the sage green, but I’d add the cream detail along the sides and on the cab.” Solo nudged Gabe. “Is that your deal-sweetener? I get to choose what color to spray your truck.”

“You’d change the red?” she asked, feigning incredulity.

“Red’s overdone. Cream and sage are more understate—ah, what am I thinking? I’d forgotten that you don’t do understated. How about electric purple in a metallic finish with a gold cab?”

Gabe punched Solo’s shoulder hard. “Now you’re being an asshole.” She liked garish colors on cars about as much as Superman liked kryptonite. “Cream and sage sound perfect, bud.” She turned onto North Lake Shore Drive and smiled at the view of Lake Michigan on her right. She’d always dreamed of living in Chicago. She liked the combination of big city and nature, but it was her dad’s bizarre fascination with gangsters that had first gotten her interested in the city.

“What time is dinner?” Gabe asked. “I’ve got an appointment at the Sanctuary at three, and I don’t know how long that’s going to take. It’s forty minutes outside the city.”

“Around eight, so don’t be late. Janie’s more of a stickler for punctuality than any of our COs ever were.”

Gabe nodded. “I’ll be there. I need to thank her for letting you join us on this adventure.”

Solo made a disapproving noise. “For your information, Jacko, I didn’t need my wife’s permission to come in on your crazy plan. I make all my own decisions, especially the ones that involve?—”

“Your wife’s money? Bullshit. You need Janie’s permission for everything but your bodily functions, and that’s as it should be. You wouldn’t survive without her.”

Solo feigned a look of offense for a millisecond before breaking into a belly laugh. “I’ve been ordered around by all manner of people, but I never enjoyed it like I do with Janie. She always looks so damn hot when she’s in full-on feminine power mode.”

Gabe had met Janie briefly, and it wasn’t a stretch to imagine her in that role. She was a beautiful woman and a high-flying lawyer at a top city firm. “You’re a lucky son of a gun. She’s way out of your league.”

Solo pushed up her shirt sleeves and tugged on her collar. “I still have no idea why she chose me, but I’m damned glad she did. So don’t go working your charms on her at dinner.”

Gabe gave Solo a hard shove. “Like you need to tell me that. I take the bro honor code just as seriously as my oath to serve my country. Seriously though, I’m so fired up that you’re on board. I texted Lightning, RB, and Woodchuck last night; they’ll all be here by the end of next week, so I’m going to sign the lease on the four-bedroom house today.”