Page 117 of Death Wish

“You needed the rest. Feel better?”

She nodded. “Sorry I conked out on you.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad to serve as your pillow any time.”

Simone nudged him. “What about dinner?”

Pleased, he bent and kissed her. “I’m taking you out. I need to rack up the dates before I’m deployed.”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it.”

“Anything you do for me is wonderful. When do we leave?”

“An hour.”

Simone handed Goose to Jesse. “I need to get ready. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and we’ll feed Goose before we go.”

“Sounds good.” He smiled as she hurried down the hall to her bedroom. Couldn’t wait to see her expression when he slid the engagement ring on her finger.

When she returned minutes later, Simone had dressed in black half boots, black jeans, and a blue sweater.

Jesse’s heart skipped a beat. His wife-to-be looked stunning. “You look amazing,” he said. “I’ll be the envy of all the guys at the restaurant.”

She smiled, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. “Thanks.” Simone took Goose from him and carried the poodle to the kitchen. “All right, buddy. Time for dinner.”

Goose danced with excitement, yapping and getting underfoot. As soon as Simone set his filled dish on the floor, the dog gulped down his food in two minutes flat and licked the bowl clean of any scraps.

Jesse chuckled. “All right, Goose. Time to visit the grass.” He attached the leash to his collar and walked to the back door. “We’ll be back in a minute, Simone, then you and I can leave.”

When they returned, Jesse put Goose in his crate. “We’ll be back soon, buddy.” He handed the poodle a dog treat and closed the crate door. He stood. “Ready for your surprise, Simone?”

She nodded. “I love surprises.”

He hoped she loved this one. A lot of planning had gone into this evening, including many suggestions from his teammates.

Jesse escorted her to his SUV and lifted her to the passenger seat. After he circled the hood, he climbed behind the wheel and drove to Opryland Hotel in Nashville where they had reservations at one restaurant inside the atrium.

During dinner, Simone talked about her search for the traitor and how she’d come up with a dead end so far. “I don’t understand it,” she complained. “I should have been able to track down the traitor by now. This is embarrassing.”

“You’re still taking the pain meds?”

She nodded.

“They cloud your thinking. Another thing to consider. Perhaps the traitor might be closer to you than you realize.”

Simone blinked. “A friend or colleague?”

“Why not? People who are closest to us are the ones who slip under our guard. We never expect our friends and family to turn against us.”

Her expression grew troubled. “You’re right. I haven’t even considered the possibility. Stupid of me.”

“You’re human. You’ll look again and find the leak.”

“I hope so because I’ll never be safe until I do. I don’t want to run again.”

Jesse straightened. “You’re taking a stand right here. We’ll deal with White together.”

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