Page 143 of Nowhere to Hide

“I’ve played it safe my whole life. There’s something to be said for it, but from the moment that monster found me on the wharf my life changed for the worse and then I found better with?—“

“Locke,” he finished for me softly.

“Yeah.”

“He’s a good man. Losing Milligan fucked him up, but we always hoped he’d eventually come back to us.”

“I know. He won’t really talk about him, but I know it was bad.”

“It’s his story to tell, but I haven’t seen this side of Locke in a damn long time. Whatever is going on between you, take care of it.”

“I’m trying.” I blew out a breath. “I love him.”

“Oh, man.”

“I know.”

He grinned at me. “Am I the first person you told?”

“Yes, why?”

He rubbed his hands together. “Nyx is gonna be so mad. She might be able to hack the damn Pentagon, but that girl loves love above everything.”

“Does this mean you’re going to gloat about it?”

“Fuck yeah it does.” The doors opened on the cybersecurity floor, and he held a hand over the sensor while he waited for me to walk across the threshold.

“My stupid mouth.”

He laughed and hustled me down the hallway past the cubicles to the massive lab. The doors swished open and Bastian strutted in whistling.

I spotted Nyx fidgeting with one of her Lego designs. I rushed around him and over to her as Bastian chased me.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

Nyx looked up from the sphere made of teeny tiny blocks. “Where’s the fire?”

“Are you aware Bastian is a gossip hound?”

“Oh, yeah for sure.” Nyx grinned. She set down the sphere into a little stand, her honey brown eyes sparkling. “Why? I want to know the hot goss.”

Bastian elbowed me away playfully. “Oh, nothing. Just a little epiphany in the elevator.”

“What? That she and Locke are stupid in love with one another?”

Bastian’s face fell and he crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at me. “I thought you didn’t tell anyone yet.”

“If you need it to be said, you’re both blind.” Nyx hooked her arm around mine and dragged me away, waving him away over her shoulder. “Did you just figure it out?”

“I just said it out loud for the first time. How did you know?”

“There wasn’t a neon sign over you or anything—actually, no that’s a lie. It’s pretty obvious if you have any sort of emotional IQ. Bastian is better than most of the men here, but he’s still a dude.”

I laughed.

“Have you told Locke yet?”

“No.” He was too busy fucking me into a coma last night, thanks.