Page 46 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

THE FENDER BENDER

CAROLINE

C aroline slogged through heavy traffic in silence.

Normally, she’d crank up the tunes, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the terrorists.

They’d gotten into the country no problem, gotten hired, then spiderwebbed their network into their targeted locations.

Simple, yet wildly impressive. They were entering those secure buildings night after night, and slowly building their bombs.

But where?

It’s not like they could take over a conference room. It’s not like they could find an empty office… or could they? She thought about the basement at the Bureau. Carrera had a secret office down there, did they? Then, she thought about the out-of-order restrooms there and at the Justice Department.

Are they building them in there… or have I lost it?

We gotta get back over there.

Then, she thought about Grey, and smiled.

Even with the stress, she loved what was happening between them.

She wanted to learn everything she could about the man she knew so little about.

For the three years that she worked with him, she had no idea he was a Naval officer.

He never talked about himself beyond the mission, beyond the local food.

Sometimes he’d mention the heat or how he missed being home.

She pulled into the Carlyle Towers, drove into the parking garage beneath the building, and took the elevator upstairs.

Inside her condo, she called out, “Sydney, are you home?”

Silence.

As she entered her bedroom, she eyed her made bed. Though desperate for sleep, a ten-minute nap would leave her groggy, so she continued into her bathroom.

Forty minutes later, she was out the door. One stop for a bottle of wine before arriving at Addison and Hawk’s upscale townhouse in Alexandria, overlooking the Potomac River.

Addison welcome her in, graciously accepted the gift. In the small foyer, Caroline slipped off her sandals and was swept away by the view, until an adorable little boy toddled over. Instead of standing behind Addison, he walked right over and smiled at her.

“I’m Axel. Are you a Mommy friend or a Daddy friend?”

Caroline knelt down and said hello to Addison’s mini-me. “I’m a friend of your Mommy and your Daddy.”

Axel furrowed his tiny brow, then looked up at Addison. “Can I have a cracker, Mommy?”

“How about we eat dinner?” Addison suggested.

Hawk appeared with an adorable little girl in his arms. “Good to see you, Caroline.”

“You too,” she said before addressing the one-year-old. “Hi, Riley. I’m Caroline.”

Hawk looked at his daughter. “Can you say hello?”

The little one tucked her head onto Hawk’s chest, offered a shy smile, and said nothing. She looked more like Hawk with a crop of dark hair and bright blue eyes.

“I hope you don’t mind eating right away,” Addison said .

“Love that,” Caroline replied. “I’m starving.”

In the kitchen, Hawk put Riley in her high-chair while Axel climbed onto his booster seat. Rather than sit, Caroline offered to help and was tasked with opening the wine. After opening it, she poured two glasses, then filled her goblet with water.

“We have sparkling water,” Addison said.

“This is fine.”

After they sat at the kitchen table, Hawk asked Axel if he’d say grace.

“Okay,” the toddler said. “Thank you for the good food made by Mommy, and Daddy helped too. I’m hungry. The end.”

Caroline broke into a smile. “I love that, Axel.”

“Okay,” Axel said as he waited for Addison to cut up his chicken. When she finished, he picked up a small piece with his fingers, and ate it. “Yummy.”

“Your home is beautiful,” Caroline said. “That view is amazing.”

“We’d love for you—Greystone too—to spend a weekend with us at our farmhouse,” Addison said.

“There’s too much going on now, but after we get this job done, I’ll text you some dates.

It’s only forty-five minutes away, but it’s a completely different world.

So much fun. There’s work, but we love being outside. ”

“I can’t speak for Grey, but I’d love that.”

“Sure you can,” Hawk said. “That man’ll follow you anywhere.”

“You think?”

“Yes,” Addison replied. “We do.”

Caroline smiled. “That makes me happy to hear.” After pausing to eat, she asked, “How do you juggle work, and the kids, and married life?”

“We don’t know what’s going on,” Hawk said, and Addison laughed.

“We have help,” Addison said. “My dad, Nicholas’s Mom. Axel goes to daycare twice a week. Truth is, we don’t sleep much.”

“I still own Hawk Security, but I turned over some of the day-to-day, so I could focus on special projects.”

Caroline appreciated they didn’t talk shop, not just because their children were there, but because she needed a respite. She loved hanging with them, and especially the children. Axel was too busy eating to say much, but when he finished, he started talking nonstop.

Caroline thought he was adorable, but she was intrigued by Riley. She was engaged in all their conversations, but she said very little. Riley reminded her of Greystone. Definitely not a talker.

After dinner, Hawk said, “I got these wild ones. Why don’t you two chill?”

Addison kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll clean up later.”

“I’ll help you now,” Caroline said.

“No,” Addison protested.

“We can chat and clean. Dinner was really good and I was starving, so now I’m stuffed. I wouldn’t mind moving around.”

Hawk took the kids upstairs, and she and Addison started clearing the table.

“How are you holding up?” Addison asked.

“Not gonna lie, I’m stressed out big time. Being a handler was stressful. Being an IO was a different kind of stress. I tried meditation, but I didn’t stick with it long enough. I exercise, but I don’t do it daily, especially now.”

While Addison loaded the dishwasher, Caroline sponged off the table. “How do you de-stress?”

“Hawk and I make sure we spend time together, even if it’s here. My mother-in-law loves to take the kids for an overnight, and that’s been fun for us. Don’t get me wrong, we love our children?— ”

“I understand,” Caroline replied as she rinsed the sponge, then started going over the center island.

“We like working out together,” Addison continued.

“Every now and then, we have game night. We get together with Nicholas’ brother Prescott and his wife Jacqueline, and my sister Brit and her husband Rebel, but it’s usually with the kids.

And we spend time with our core group at work. We’re all pretty close.”

Caroline rinsed the sponge, then started wiping down the counters. “So, you’re on the go all the time.”

Addison laughed. “Exactly. But there’s one thing we always, always make time for.” She held up a pod of coffee. “Yes?”

“I thought I’d take off,” Caroline said. “You’ve got your hands full and I feel like I need to work.”

Addison dropped the pod into the coffee machine. “One cup for the caffeine hit.”

As the single-serving brewed, Caroline said, “I’m assuming you’re talking about S-E-X.”

Addison chuckled. “Yes, we find time for each other. Hawk calls it The Great Reset and he’s right. No matter how stressed we are, that seems to be the best medicine.”

After both coffees had brewed, Addison pulled out a few boxes of cookies, but Caroline waved them away. “When I’m stressed, I go for sugar, but after ten cookies, I feel sick. I’m gonna pass.”

Addison shelved the cookies. “Let’s sit on the balcony.”

On the way, she grabbed a book off the coffee table. Outside, Caroline appreciated the beautiful Potomac River as it rushed by. The sound of the water relaxed her and she inhaled a calming breath.

“This is so peaceful,” Caroline said.

“I love to come out here on Saturday mornings before the kids wake up. I just sit here sipping my coffee. Sometimes ten minutes is all I get before the mayhem.” She smiled.

“But I love every minute of it.” She slid the paperback over.

“This is my favorite author. I’ve read all her books at least twice. Some of them three times.”

Caroline glanced at the man on the cover. “He’s a looker. You read romance, huh?”

“I stumbled upon a book, then read several, but I really like her books. She knows my dad. They used to work together, so she includes some things in the book that she probably shouldn’t, but it’s fiction and it’s romantic suspense. I doubt anyone believes it’s true.”

“Stoni Alexander,” Caroline said. “I don’t read romance novels.”

“I read the steamy parts to Nicholas.” Addison waggled her brows.

On a smile, Caroline read the back jacket. “That must make for an interesting evening.”

“He turns into an animal.” Addison sipped the drink. “I know they say you should never meet your heroes, but I met her.”

“How was it?”

“She was the best. I’ve got a picture of us on the credenza. Anyway, I love her, and Hawk loves her, but for a completely different reason. We love keeping things spicy and this works for us.”

“I’ll have to check her out.”

“I’ve got a few copies of that one. It’s not signed, so you can take it.”

They finished their coffees and went back inside. Caroline thanked her for a great evening, and she left with the paperback. Before she drove away, she checked her phone, and her heart leapt. She’d missed three texts from Grey.

Meeting went well

I’m at home

Miss you. Should I invite myself over?

Hell, yeah. Excitement coursed through her.

The day had bowed to night as she headed out of the Alexandria neighborhood. Rather than text him back, she called him.

“Bella,” he answered.

Tingles swept through her. She loved his deep voice, loved the way he made her feel. “How’s my man?”

“Missing his woman. How was dinner?”

“Fun. They’re a great family.”

“Are you home?”

“I just left Hawk and Addison’s. I’ll be home in ten. Definitely come over.”

“Two minutes and I’m out the door.”

On a smile, she ended the call. She just wanted one normal night. One night with him in her bed and her in his arms.

The traffic light turned yellow and she slowed to a stop.

BAM!