Page 24 of Stars and Scars

“Are you calling for backup or something?”

“Not exactly. I need someone to keep you safe while I see a contact of mine. A lot of the guys at PS are less available now, and forgo the riskier stuff. They want to be able to come home safely to their families at the end of the day.”

She arches a brow, holding the freezer door halfway open.

“I can’t go with you?”

“Unfortunately, this contact is sort of a friend of a friend of a friend. I’ve never met him personally and I don’t know how it’s going to go. It’s too volatile of a situation to involve you in when my job is to keep you safe.”

“Okay. This Cole guy isn’t going to hit on me, is he?”

I scowl back at her. “No.”

She purses her lips and makes a cooing sound.

“Oh, Mr. Grayson, are you jealous?”

Her barb sticks right in the heart, because I am jealous. Not that I’m going to admit anything of the sort.

“Don’t be absurd.”

I turn away from her and look back at the screen, even though I haven’t gotten a reply from Cole yet.

She grabs a pair of sunglasses from a nearby rack and dons them. Charlotte looks at her reflection in the tiny rectangular mirror attached to the rack.

“Kind of blingy, but still my style. What do you think?”

She spins around and strikes a pose. My heart skips a beat, and my mouth goes dry.

“I think you look great.”

Why did I say that? It was true, but in the CIA I learned to never speak the truth unless there was no other option.

Charlotte throws me off my game. Big time. It’s something I really need to watch out for. I resolve to be more disciplined from now on.

Charlotte beams a dazzling smile, and walks up to the counter.

“I’ll take the drinks and the glasses…Grayson, are you sure you don’t want anything?”

“I’m fine.”

My voice breaks a little, belying the words coming out of my mouth. Fortunately, Cole gets back to me at last and I have an excuse not to look her in the eye.

Cole agrees to meet up at the hotel. Even though I’m only going to be gone for a couple of hours, I decide it would be best to rent a room for Charlotte and Cole. More secure than them hanging out in the lobby.

When I announce this to Charlotte, though, she wastes no time in having a field day with it.

“Not only are you calling one of your bros to watch me, you’re going to rent us a hotel room as well. It’s like you want us to hook up or something.”

I grit my teeth as I hand the front desk agent my company expense card.

“I assure you, I don’t want you to hook up with anyone.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

I close my eyes tightly for a moment and then do my best to carry on stoically as possible.

Cole shows up after a mercifully short wait. I watch as he gets out of a black pickup truck. His slightly shaggy beard and hair belie the fact he was a leatherneck for a long time.

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