Although a big part of the appeal of working with the CIA was for the excitement, it was a relief not to have to jet off right away. She needed a little bit of time to regroup. As soon as the meeting was over, she hurried out, not wanting to face any more of Preston’s probing questions.
***
Elle got the reprieve she wanted for the next couple of weeks. After darkening even further, her bruises finally began to fade. Reese was reluctant to spar with her until she nearly knocked him on his ass. His male pride wasn’t going to let that happen.
The two of them ended up spending a lot of time together: they sparred several times a week, often followed by dinner. She liked to tease him about his bossiness. He called her a “high tech Librarian” as he tried to make sense of her job.
Then, of course, there was the sex. It was like a drug, but she had no interest in fighting the addiction.
Occasionally Elle wondered if this was what hook ups were supposed to be like, but she reminded herself that this hook up did have an end date, so why not enjoy it while it lasted?
Marni heartily agreed. When they spoke via the web, she said, “Whatever you’re getting down there, it’s good!”
Elle felt her cheeks growing warm as she laughed. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“You are incandescent,” Marni said, winking. “So what’s his name?”
“Incandescent? Your vocabulary is improving in law school.” She didn’t know why she felt hesitant talking about Reese, but she did.
“Yeah, yeah, cut the bullshit: what’s his name?” Even through their cheap web cameras, she could see the sparkle in her friend’s eyes.
After a pause, Marni asked, “Are we talking more than one? Don’t you dare hold out on me, Eleanor Paquet!”
Elle burst out laughing. “Just one, just one. I haven’t gone completely crazy.” She stretched out on the futon. “His name is Reese.”
“Reese.” Now Marni’s eyes practically lit up. “So what are we talking here? On a scale of one to ten, with one being: ‘Why the hell am I bothering?’ to ten being ‘I’m ready to have his babies,’ where does Reese fall?”
“’Have his babies’?” Elle couldn’t help laughing again. “Are you ready to have Daniel’s babies yet?”
“Answer the question.” For a moment, Marni sounded very lawyer-like. Elle could see the attorney she was becoming. When the hell did that happen?
“I apologize.” She made a show of rolling her eyes. “I didn’t realize I was being deposed.” She could feel Marni’s scrutiny through the screen.
“So what does Reese do?” She wasn’t going to give up.
Elle braced herself for what she knew was coming. “He’s a Navy SEAL.”
Marni’s squeal made her wince even as she laughed. “Okay, so you may not be ready to have his babies- or any babies just yet- but he’s got to be at least an eight!”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, if baby-making is ten, then I’d guess Reese is a nine. Maybe even a nine-point-five.”
“Nine-point-five or nine-point-nine?” Marni probed.
She hugged one of her throw pillows tighter as she admitted, “Nine-point-nine.”
“Eleanor Paquet! You do not know how to have a fling!”
“That is not true!” Elle knew the denial popped out of her mouth a bit too fast, but she couldn’t help it. “I’m flinging! We’re flinging.” When she saw the disbelief of Marni’s face, she added, “He’s going on a six month deployment in a sub in a few weeks. There is no long-term relationship potential here.”
Marni shrugged. “Navy SEALs can get married.”
“We’re flinging,” Elle repeated.
Marni still didn’t look convinced, but she only said, “Oh, I spoke to my Mom: she said to tell you she expects you for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year: no excuses.”
Elle grinned. “I’ll be there.” Hopefully there wouldn’t be an op on either one of those days. Her parents hadn’t even contacted her about the holidays last year; she had planned on spending them with Marni’s family but her field training had been so intense, she ended up using both holidays to sleep.
“How are things with Daniel?” she asked.
Now it was Marni’s turn to blush.
“Are you thinking of having his babies?” Elle demanded.
Marni rolled her eyes. “Let’s not get carried away. But… we’re having fun.”
“Has he moved in yet?” She knew he spent most nights over there.
“He might as well: you’re never here!”
She could hear the accusatory note in Marni’s voice and winced. “I’m sorry. Work has been absolutely crazy. Hopefully I’ll be able to get up there soon.” Charlottesville was several hours from Washington, so it wasn’t like being there brought her that much closer to Langley, but Norfolk’s proximity to the Hampton Roads Naval Base made it the preferred place for her to be as much as possible. “Think of it this way: I pay half the rent, but you get the entire place to yourself.”
Marni made a show of considering this. “You’ve got a point.” Then she looked right into the camera, giving the effect of looking right at Elle. “But I still miss you.”
Elle found herself touching the screen with her fingertips. “I miss you, too.”
If she hadn’t gone to work for the CIA, she would be in law school with Marni, arguing cases and legal theory as well as taking business classes. She didn’t miss the classroom, but she certainly missed her friend. The choice to work for the agency definitely had some unintended results.
Well, she was in in terms of working with the agency. What would she do, professionally, if she left? There was nothing else she wanted to do, even if she would be perfectly fine never seeing another dead body in her life. She just needed to stick with her plan: enjoy her time with Reese, focus on her career, and see what happened.
Chapter 20
Reese and Elle developed a morning ritual. They stopped by a coffee shop near the university before going their separate ways for work. She had been going by the coffee shop since moving to Norfolk, but it was nice having company for her coffee run.
“So we’re on for diving tomorrow?” he asked as she finished adding sugar and cream to her coffee. Of course he took his black.
She nodded as she stirred. “I’ll meet you at the diving place off of Broad Street.”
He had to work that evening on some kind of night training exercise, so they would see each other tomorrow. It was actually kind of rare that they spent a night apart. Elle was coming to realize she was going to seriously miss him when he deployed, but she refused to let herself dwell on it. She remembered the score.
After they left the coffee shop, he gave her a deep kiss. “That’s for you to think about tonight,” he told her with a grin.
And she would, too. She pulled him close to give him a deep kiss of her own. “I have to return the favor.” She gave him a wink and turned to go.
She jumped when he gave her a swat on the butt and turned to see him heading for his car. She couldn’t help but laugh as she turned away to continue walking towards the library. Someone stepped away from the shadow of the coffee shop’s awning; she hadn’t even seen him.
It was Preston.
Damn spy and his ability to blend in.
“So that’s the guy who’s making you glow,” he said as soon as she got within earshot.
Elle rolled her eyes. “Haven’t we talked about how people don’t glow?”
He fell in step beside her. She felt the slightest tug on her purse and glanced down. He had dropped a flash drive in an open pouch of her purse. Damn he was good. He had come out here to do a dead drop. Something was up. They both kept walking.
“I was going to ask how you’re doing after everything that went down,” he said, “but I can see you’ve been doing well.”
“And why wouldn’t I be?” Her slow time was coming to an end.
“It’s not easy seeing that, especially your first time.” Sinc
e they were out in public, he couldn’t be explicit, but she knew he was talking about the death of the terrorists in Cambridge.
No, it wasn’t easy seeing someone get killed. She should have expected it, and did expect it, since training to become field rated, but she’d been so busy thinking about sneaking around and running through hallways that she never seriously considered the, well, killing aspect of espionage. One day her hands would get dirty; she would be “anointed,” as Preston said.
“Look things over,” he told her, his eyes focused straight ahead rather than on her as he spoke. “We’ll probably be getting called in for a meeting soon.”
Elle wanted to ask what was going on, why he was making contact instead of Mason, but she couldn’t ask those questions on a public street. They were completely exposed. “Guess I’ll be seeing you soon, then.”
He nodded as he headed for the door to the parking garage they were passing. “Very soon. Take care.”
Elle was glad she didn’t have much actual library work to do that day.
***
Reese was about to pull out into the street from the coffee shop parking lot when he glanced to his side and saw a guy step away from the shadows of the coffee shop and approach Elle. He said something to her, and she responded. She didn’t stop to chat, but he started walking with her. Looked like he’d been waiting for her.
The guy was one of those smooth-looking guys: he wore a suit, but there was something about his gait, the way he walked, like he owned that street. He wasn’t cocky or showy about it, though. His step was sure: this guy was a trained fighter.
Reese was virtually positive the guy was a special operator or had been. Most of the special operators in this area were Navy SEALs, although he could have been another kind, like a member of the US Army Special Forces or some other special forces unit. He sure as hell didn’t look like a librarian, not even a high tech one like Elle, so he wasn’t a co-worker.
What the hell was she doing talking to a guy like that? After walking for a bit, the guy went to a parking garage and she continued walking.
Was this another guy she was seeing? They’d spent so much time together over the past few weeks, it seemed hard to imagine she was seeing someone else in addition to him. The idea pissed him off.
Reese realized he was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He stretched out his fingers and then pulled out onto the street, turning in the opposite direction. He needed to get a damn grip. It was none of his business if she was seeing somebody else, after all.
***
The next day was perfect for diving: clear skies and calm water. The diving company took a boatload of people out to where a shipwreck was in the Atlantic. They had several hours to explore.
Elle looked over her diving equipment one last time after they were on the boat. She hadn’t been diving since her field training and realized she should probably go just to avoid getting rusty. When she mentioned her plans to go deep sea diving to Reese, he’d asked if she wanted company after he got over the shock of finding out she knew how to dive.
“Can’t wait to see your moves in the water.”
Did she actually feel lighter when she heard his voice? She looked up with a grin. “I have to say, I feel the same way about you.” One of the main skills of Navy SEALs was that they were combat divers. He would be virtually unbeatable in the water.
He bent down to give her a kiss, and she melted into him. She was slightly breathless when he pulled back. He gave her a wink. “I’ve taught you plenty in the sparring ring; no reason we shouldn’t move to the water.”
He inspected her equipment. She realized her stuff was pretty high-end for a recreational diver. Of course, that was because it actually came from the CIA, but he couldn’t know that.
“You’ve got some high-tech gear,” he observed.
“I’m sure it’s kiddie stuff compared to yours.” It was the best response she could think of but also likely accurate.
He nodded, his face mock-serious. “I am a professional.”
A laugh escaped her as he slid his arms around her, pulling her back up against his hard chest. She closed her eyes, enjoying the smell of the sea and the feel of the wind against her face as the boat zoomed out over the water.
“So what were you up to last night?” Reese asked.
“Nothing much.” She missed him as she ate takeout in her apartment and watched TV, but she didn’t want to tell him that. It would make her sound clingy. She ended up distracting herself by spending more time reviewing the code Mason had sent via Preston. “Did some work.”
“Work on a Friday night?” There was a disbelieving note in his voice.
She gave his hand, which was resting on her stomach, a squeeze. “Yeah, we were both working last night.” That was true, at least. “So how was your training exercise?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Went well. We’ve been together as a platoon for a year now, so we know each other well. We’ve done plenty of night ops, and the new equipment is pretty straightforward to use.”
She knew he couldn’t tell her more than that, so she didn’t press.
“Do you miss it? The sea?” she asked after a few minutes.
“I like being underwater,” he said, “but I’ve never really enjoyed sailing all that much.”
She pulled away just enough to turn around and see if he was being serious. He gave her a quizzical look. “You’re in the navy and you don’t like sailing?”
He grinned. She liked watching the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “I like diving, blowing shit up, and high adrenaline situations like close quarters combat and infiltrating an active zone. Just sailing on a ship is about as dull as it gets unless we’re boarding one with explosives.” His eyes gleamed. “Those ops are as exciting as it gets, but they’re fast.”
She could see that. “And here I thought you were excited about your deployment on a sub.”
Reese rolled his eyes. “I’m looking forward to the ops. The time on a sub… not so much.”
She gave him a hug. “That sucks.” It did, especially since he was looking at six months out there.
Something about the warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her had her leaning against him again, enjoying the feel of his rock solid chest and abs. “Part of the job, babe.”
After a moment, she turned back around to enjoy the sight of the water, her back still pressed against him while his arms were clasped around her waist, his hands resting on her stomach. Even with their wetsuits on she enjoyed just touching him.
Soon they were putting on the rest of their gear, doing their buddy checks, and diving into the water. They went to explore the wreck first.
The silence underwater was absolute. It was always the first thing Elle noticed about diving. It wasn’t pitch black since the water was fairly clear, but light definitely started to fade as they got closer to the wreck. She quickly fell into a rhythm with her breaststroke and scissor kicks. Watching Reese swim was a sight to behold: he moved with powerful grace and ease through the water, looking as comfortable as if he were walking around on land.
The sand and silt that covered the ship gave the wreck an eerie quality. Fish swam among it as if it was a natural part of the sea floor while some other sea animals- that Elle preferred not to think about too much- skittered away as they got closer. There was something haunting about those shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea. It was like they were stuck in time, immortalized.
One of the other divers got a fin stuck in the wreck. When he tried to shake himself loose, he kicked up a huge cloud of dust in his own face. His hands went up to his mask, and the next thing she knew, his mask was off and his regulator popped out of his mouth.
It was every diver’s worst nightmare: being deep underwater with no oxygen.
His diving partner seemed to huddle, wringing his hands as he hovered nearby. Without thinking, Elle swam for him, grabbing his mask before it floated too far. She rea
ched for his regulator, but it was already sinking down into the plants growing up from under the wreck.
Air bubbles were escaping the guy’s mouth as he struggled, his eyes bulging. There was no way to make it up to the surface before having to inhale.
Reese swam towards them, cutting through the water with swift strokes. He held out a regulator. Of course. They all had backup regulators. It was a good thing he actually thought of his. The guy reached out, clasping the proffered regulator. He tried to put it in his mouth, but he couldn’t seem to get it in.
Reese grabbed his other arm, holding him still, and then guided his hand to his mouth. He got the regulator in. Elle saw his chest expand as he inhaled deep. Those deep breaths weren’t ideal: he was using up a lot of oxygen, but his reaction was understandable. He probably thought he was about to drown.
She came up from behind and touched his shoulder to let him know she was there before she started putting the mask back on his head. He reached around his head, felt it, and then was able to fit it securely, covering his eyes.
He could see and breathe again.
After a few moments, the diver gave them the thumbs-up sign. Both Elle and Reese stayed nearby for a few more moments before backing away. The guy seemed okay. He swam over to join his diving buddy, who was still hovering nearby.
She could see the question in Reese’s eyes as he looked at her. She gave him the thumbs up sign. Potential disaster averted. She had taken a few deep gulps of air herself, but she was okay, so she started off for another part of the wreck, and he followed suit.
Although they had practiced some hand signals, they weren’t necessary. She found she could figure out where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do, and he seemed to be able to do the same with her. They had an easy time exploring the wreckage and the surrounding area. Often they were even able to swim pretty much in sync. Despite being pretty tired after a couple of hours, she hated to surface and climb aboard the boat.
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