“Monk, I…”
“Ground rules?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Set some.”
“Okay, but remember, you asked for this.”
He nodded.
“No sleepovers. That’s a big one. No PDA of any kind.”
“Hand holding?”
“It depends on the circumstance.”
“Roger that.”
Saylor smiled. “The girls are my number one priority, and whatever they need comes first.”
“What else?”
“That’s a lot, Monk. The only thing we’ve really done is…uh…have sleepovers.”
He stroked his finger down the side of her face. He wanted to do so much more, but he’d respect the boundaries she’d put in place.
“I like this,” she said, stroking his beard. She rested her palm against his cheek. “This isn’t going to be easy. I so want to kiss you right now.”
Monk wanted to pick her up, carry her into the bedroom, strip off her clothes, and keep her there for a month. Instead, he took her hand in his and brought the palm to his lips. “I should go.”
“Yes. Okay.”
She stood when he did.
“Please say goodnight to the girls and thank them for me.”
“I will.”
10
“What are you doing?”
“Hi, Saylor, how are you?”
“Hi, Poppy. Sorry. Are you busy?”
“I was just about to put a thing of popcorn in the microwave. Does that constitute ‘busy’?”
“Can you come over?”
“Be there in five.”
Saylor went in to check on the girls for the fourth time. They were both still asleep. Not that she expected them to wake up.
She heard the kitchen door open and flew down the hallway. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Here. Pop this,” her friend said, holding out the package.
“It might wake up the girls.”
Poppy ripped the cellophane off, put it in the microwave, and set it for three minutes. “A freight train through your living room might wake them up too, but I doubt it. What’s going on?”
“The girls invited Monk over for dinner. They asked me first, of course, but he came over for dinner.”
Her friend turned toward her, bent her arm, and rested her head on her hand. “Fascinating. Tell me more,” she deadpanned.
“We set ground rules.”
“I’m riveted.”
“Stop it.”
“Saylor, what actually happened?”
“He wants to spend time with us.”
Poppy grabbed two bowls and the bag of now-popped corn.
“Here, open it.”
“There’s steam. You have to wait so you don’t get burned.”
“By that time, it will be cold.”
Saylor grabbed the bag, ripped it open, and handed it to her friend. “Why do I always have to be the one to open it?”
“Because I don’t want to get burned.” Poppy tossed several pieces of popcorn in her mouth. “So tell me the rest about Monk.”
“Don’t chew with your mouth open.”
“That’s it. I’m leaving,” she said, not making any move to get up. “What’s freaking you out?”
“I don’t do the boyfriend thing. You know this.”
Poppy sat on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s time, Saylor. The official cut-off for relationship abstinence after a breakup is five years. You’re there.”
“I don’t know…”
“I’m being serious. You want this and you know it. Plus, if this Monk guy ever even looked at you cross-eyed your brother would kill him. Literally.” She ate more popcorn. “Tell me your rules.”
“No sleepovers. No PDA.”
“That’s it?”
“I could set more if you have any suggestions.”
“You still get to have sex, though, right?”
Saylor shrugged. “I guess so. If the girls aren’t home.”
“What’s he doing Friday night?”
“Very funny.”
“This is me being serious. I’ll invite the girls over. We’ll repaint the bedroom walls, and you can have a sleepover too.”
“He might be busy.”
“If he’s still busy after you invite him over for sex, dump him. He’s a weirdo.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
“Thanks, Poppy.”
“No problem. You can do something for me too. You can find me one of these hot spy guys of my own.”
“What happened to Portland guy?”
“Haven’t heard a word from him.”
“I’m sorry, Poppy, but to be honest, it would be worse if you got involved with someone who works with my brother.”
Saylor knew that firsthand.
THE NEXT DAY, she walked over to Razor’s, not to see her brother or Ava, but specifically to see Monk. As she approached the house, she saw him sitting out on the deck. He lifted a hand and waved.
“They aren’t here,” he said when she came up the steps.
Saylor smiled. “By they, do you mean my brother and Ava?”
Monk smiled too. “Yes.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m here to see you.”
He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “I like that you’re smiling.”
Saylor pulled one of the deck chairs closer to him and sat down. “I’m here to ask you out on a date.”
Monk sat up. “I accept.”
“What if you have other plans?”
“I’ll change them.”
“Wow, I didn’t even have to offer up sex.”
Monk cocked his head.
“It was a joke that doesn’t seem that funny anymore.”
“Where are the girls now?” he asked.
“Hanging out with Ya-Ya.”
“At home?”
Saylor cocked her head this time. “No, why?”
“Come here.” Monk took Saylor’s hand and pulled her onto his lap. “I need some PDA.”
“Me too,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“When and where is our date?”
“Friday, and uh, my place?”
Monk shook his head. “I’ll pick you up at…where will the girls be?”
“At my friend Poppy’s house, and she’ll probably pick them up around five.”
“I’ll be there at a minute after.” He winked. “Wear something nice.”
“We don’t have to—”
Monk put his fingertips on her lips. “Yesterday I asked you to tell me how I could spend more time with you, and I also told you that I want to get to know you better.”
Was she really ready for this? She kept her heart under lock and key for a damn good reason.
There was so much she liked about Monk; the sex was fantastic, but he was also smart and funny and charming. That combination meant she was susceptible to so much more than disappointment. She could fall in love with Monk, and then get her heart broken for the second time in her life. When, not if, that happened, she’d never recover from it.
He cupped her cheek with his palm. “Baby steps, Saylor.”
“Are you reading my mind, Monk?”
He tightened his hold on her, and she put her head on his shoulder.
“I know you struggle with wanting to protect your girls. I also know you struggle with doing the same for yourself. It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that I am pushing you past your comfort zone. The truth is, I am as far out of my own, but each time my head reminds me of that, my heart tells it to shut up.”
Saylor turned her head so she could kiss his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“I’ll see you later, Saylor.”
“Yes, you will, Monk, but not until Friday.”
—:—
Saylor got off his lap and walked down the steps of the deck to the trail that would lead back to her place.
; As much as he missed the warmth of having her body so close to his, he wouldn’t complain about having the opportunity to watch her walk away.
Her long dark hair was up in a ponytail that swished back and forth as she walked, and her legs looked impossibly long in her cut-off shorts. The snugness of her t-shirt gave him a quick reminder of how she’d looked naked in his arms.
He’d been getting ready to go for a run when she walked up, and he was glad he hadn’t missed her.
He stood up and ran down the steps. “Saylor,” he called after her.
She turned around and shielded her eyes from the sun.
“Are you a runner?”
“I used to be.”
“I was about to go down to the beach.”
“To run?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
“Let me change my shoes, and I’ll join you.”
When Saylor came back out, she’d changed her shorts and shirt too. She threw her leg up on the bench in front of her house and stretched.
“It’s been a long time, so don’t feel as though you have to wait up for me if I fall behind.”
HE KEPT his pace slow and even, and Saylor kept up with him just fine.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“My brother always says that I can ask but that doesn’t mean he’ll answer. Thank you for not saying that.”
“Ask, and then I have something I want to tell you.”
“Uh, okay. Are you sure you don’t want to go first?”
Monk shook his head. “Ask.”
“I know that some of the people with K19 are partners, and then others are contractors.”
“I fall into the second category.”
“Are you working for my brother right now? I mean, is that why you’re here in Yachats?”
“Yes. Ava remains in danger, as much as Razor would like to keep that fact from her.”
“You disagree.”
Monk shook his head. He didn’t agree or disagree.
“What did you want to tell me?”
“When you thanked me for not saying the same thing Razor always says, it reminded me to thank you for not commenting on my usually quiet nature.”
Saylor stopped running and put her hands on her knees. “You’re welcome.” She turned around and looked at the direction from which they’d come. “I usually do sprints back up to the point.”
“When you used to be a runner?”
She laughed. “As far as not commenting…I don’t see what the big deal is. You talk just as much as everyone else does.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Okay.” Her forehead creased, and her eyes scrunched.
“I only talk this much with you.”
The crease went away, and her eyes lit up with a smile. “Thank you for saying that.”
“Why did you ask if I was a contractor?”
“There’s a chance that you’ll be hired to work somewhere else.”
Monk nodded. “That is possible.”
A LITTLE OVER A WEEK LATER, he received confirmation that he would, in fact, remain on Ava’s detail indefinitely, along with Dutch Miller, a CIA agent that Monk had worked with back when he was with the company.
“Big meeting at some fishing cabin,” Dutch said, tossing his gear on the floor when Monk opened the door.
Razor had made Monk aware of the meeting as well as Dutch’s impending arrival.
“By the way, I resigned from the agency, effective this morning. So did Striker.”
“Does this have anything to do with the mission to take down Petrov?”
Dutch walked over to the windows and looked down at the beach. “It has everything to do with it. I’m also your relief for the afternoon.”
Razor had made Monk aware of that as well. Although he hadn’t told him about Dutch’s resignation.
“Come with me, and I’ll introduce you.”
“That kind of detail, huh?” Dutch asked.
“Ava will soon be Razor’s wife.”
Dutch nodded as though that was enough information for him. “Before we leave the house, Doc Butler asked me to give this to you.”
Monk took the envelope from Dutch’s hands, carried it to the back bedroom, and then led him down the steps to the beach.
TWENTY MINUTES after leaving Dutch on the beach and climbing back up to the house, Monk finished reading K19’s proposal just as Razor walked in.
“Where are they?” Razor asked when Monk met him near the stairs.
“The beach. Dutch is with them.”
Razor looked out the window. “No one else has arrived yet?”
“Negative. Just Ava and her mother at this point.”
Razor nodded. “Doc wants to meet with you and Dutch this afternoon.”
Monk held up his phone when it vibrated. “Just got the message.”
“It’ll be good to have you as an official part of the K19 team.”
“I haven’t accepted yet.”
“No?” Razor laughed. “What are your conditions?”
“Whether there are rules about partners getting involved with other partners’ family members.”
“This ain’t the agency,” said Razor, slapping Monk on the back. “The only rules we have are, try your damnedest to stay alive while, at the same time, making sure your teammates do too.”
“Then I’m in.”
A WEEK LATER, after Razor and Ava’s wedding, Monk and Dutch were each offered junior partnerships with K19 and were tapped to remain on Ava’s detail in Yachats.
Doc told them the firm owned a fully furnished house in town that the two men could share.
“There are two bedrooms, but only one of you will be there at a time since you’ll be covering twenty-four hours of detail between you.”
Having the additional support gave Monk a lot more free time, but he wasn’t sure how long it would last. Things were heating up with Petrov.
Through their contacts at MI6, the K19 team learned that Raketa Ivashov, the Russian who had helped them find Ava, her sister, and their two friends, and who Razor still believed had shot him, was thought to have been kidnapped by Petrov that same night.
Gunner and a high-ranking agent from MI6 were on their way to Azerbaijan, where Petrov was reported to be. Their mission was relatively simple, but it would put both agents in a great deal of danger. Not only were they breaking into Petrov’s purported compound in the old city in order to rescue Ivashov, they also intended to assassinate Petrov at the same time.
DUTCH USUALLY PREFERRED TAKING the evening detail, and while Monk never stayed over, he had dinner with Saylor and the girls almost every night after Dutch showed up to relieve him.
School was back in session, and it seemed to Monk that both Savannah and Sierra had an inordinate amount of homework for being in the second and third grade.
“You don’t have to stay and help. I’ve got this,” Saylor said on more than one occasion when she’d found Monk at the table, helping the girls get through the assignments they brought home.
“I like doing it. It relaxes me,” he’d told her one night after the girls had gone to bed.
“Cooking, dishes, and homework all relax you. You’re every woman’s dream man.”
Monk captured her around the waist and pulled her close to him. “I don’t care about every woman. I care about you.”
While she tried to mask her reaction, Monk still caught it. She’d visibly bristled. He left shortly after that, and instead of going back to the house where he and Dutch stayed, he went over to Razor’s.
“Got a minute?” he asked, coming down to the basement where Dutch was studying the monitors that surveilled the house and property.
“What can I do for you?” Dutch asked, stretching his arms above his head.
“Want to switch for a while? I’ll take nights.”
“Sure…” It was obvious that Dutch wanted to ask why, but the man refrained, and Monk appreciated it.
&
nbsp; THE SCHEDULE SWITCH ONLY LASTED three days. The evening of the fourth, Gunner called Monk’s cell right before he was supposed to relieve Dutch.
“Change in duty,” he told him. “I need you on the East Coast for a few days. You can arrange your own transport, but I need you here tomorrow.”
“Roger that, sir,” Monk responded.
“Do you even want to know what the assignment is?” Gunner asked.
“Does it matter?”
When Gunner laughed and ended the call, Monk went in search of Dutch and found him downstairs, working out in the basement gym.
“Can you stick around a while longer?”
“Sure. All night?”
Monk shook his head. “Maybe just an hour.”
Dutch picked up his towel and ran up the stairs. “Give me five for a shower, and then you can head out.”
11
Saylor was sitting out on the deck, enjoying the last few warm nights as summer came to an end, when she saw Monk walking on the trail, headed her way.
Relief coursed through her veins at the sight of him. Something had happened between them last week, and she still wasn’t certain what it was.
“Hey,” she said, standing to greet him.
“Got a minute?”
She invited him inside. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Wine would be nice, thanks.”
She brought the wine in and sat next to him on the sofa.
“I’ve been given a new assignment, and I don’t know how long I’ll be away.”
Saylor had enough experience with her brother to know better than to ask Monk where he was going.
“I also wanted to apologize for being MIA.”
“What happened, Monk? I don’t even know.”
“I made you uncomfortable when I said I didn’t care about other women, only you.”
Saylor rested against the back of the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
Monk stroked his finger down her cheek, and she raised her head to look at him.
“Do you know if you’ll be coming back to Yachats?”
“I will.”
Saylor stood; sitting still was too difficult. “I don’t like this part.”
Monk stood too. “Which part?”
“It’s something my mom and I always say when Razor leaves. We know we can’t ask where he’s going, and we know we won’t hear from him while he’s gone. It’s the waiting and wondering part that is the hardest.”
Monk (K19 Security Solutions Book 7) Page 7
