Page 59 of Not Ready

My nose wrinkles. I get that she’s upset, and she has every reason to be, but hearing her talk like that about them still bothers me.

“Bishop and I bonded.”

“Well, at least you kind of know him. God, I worry about you, Vale.” Kate sighs.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. If you’re not coming back, could you have someone clear out your room? It’s nice to have a little wiggle room where I’m not always paying everything late, but if you won’t be using that room, then…”

My jaw falls, but I get what she’s saying. She can rent my room out and actually get ahead on bills or not have to work quite so many hours. “Um, yeah, definitely. Can you give me a week?”

“Sure. Or you can have the British guy have his guys pack up your stuff. If you come back to town, that might put you in Andrew’s line of sight all over again.”

I sigh. “Okay, just let me talk to Bishop and Mercer. But listen, please. This is important. They found out Andrew has been involved in more than a few missing persons cases. Please don’t kick out the men he put there to look after you.”

“Yeah, they’ve already given me that lecture. I’ve got to get to work. Take care of yourself, Vale.”

She hangs up and my eyes ache. If I were her, I’m pretty sure I’d hate me too.

I head downstairs, feeling lower than I’ve felt in a long time.

Bonding with Bishop is a high point in my life so far, but I do feel especially selfish.

I’ve essentially left her to deal with all my problems, but if I had stayed, wouldn’t that have made everything worse? I have no idea.

“I’m not fucking leaving, and you can’t make me! We’ve been bonded less than twenty-four hours,” Bishop growls.

“I understand. Truly, I do.” Mercer sighs heavily. “This is a two-year long investigation. You’re the only one who saw Alvarez. They’ve been scanning since you left, and no one matches the description you gave.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Bishop growls. “I’m not leaving her.”

“It’s two days, max,” Holt says. “You really wanna let that scumbag disappear? Look at the hell he’s caused in Boston. Eight hours there, eight back, and you’ve got a full day to pick him out.”

“I mapped the route as well, but my GPS says just under ten hours each direction,” Mercer says, sounding extremely confused. “What am I doing wrong?”

“You drive like an old man,” Bishop and Holt say in unison.

“That shouldn’t affect the GPS estimate,” Mercer grumbles.

I push off the bottom step, aiming for the living room.

“What’s going on?” I ask, making it into the room.

“Nothing.” Bishop beelines for me, trying his best to tamp down his fury in the bond.

The connection is no joke.

I could feel mild traces of his anxiety on the trip down the stairs, but being so close, the feeling gets almost overwhelming.

“Don’t lie.” I wrap my arms around his back, snuggling my face to his front.

“The job I was on…” Bishop’s head shakes.

“The one you left to come here to meet me?”

“Yes,” he agrees. “It’s been one of our longest operations yet. It’s actually a military contract, but the off the books type.”

“You’re oversharing.” Mercer frowns so deeply, his forehead wrinkles. “Some details are quite literally classified information.”

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