Page 35 of Elliot

She mumbled something. He leaned away and looked down at her. “What?” he asked.

“What time is it?”

“Six-thirty.” Elliot rubbed his face. “Time to get up.”

“No,” she said and burrowed closer to him.

“Are you going to call Jessica and tell her you can’t make it in because we had marathon sex last night?”

She laughed and lifted her head. “She’d be scandalized.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “No tongue until after toothbrush,” she said when he went to deepen the kiss.

Maya rolled to the other side of the bed and stood up. Her body was toned, her breasts high, and her hair was crazy, sticking out in snarled bumps, but damn it, she was one ofthe most beautiful women he’d ever seen. She stretched and scratched her back as she walked toward his bathroom. “I vote for early bed tonight.” She turned back to him and licked her lips. “For both of us.” The door closed behind her, and Elliot closed his eyes. It was a mistake to get involved with his assignment, but damn it, he didn’t regret a second of it. Not that there was any rule against getting involved with the principle. He smiled. Several of the men he’d worked with had fallen in love with the person they were assigned to watch.

He got up, found his sweatpants, and put them on. Scratching his chest, he walked out to the front room and looked out at the golden glow growing in the eastern sky. He leaned against the window and stared out at the life beneath him. The memory of his men flashed through his mind, and so did Dr. Wheeler's words.

“You’ll find a moment when you realize living is okay. When that time comes, breathe deep and keep going. There was nothing you could have done. You saw the reports. The team was overpowered. You’d be dead. But because of innocent, everyday situations, you’re not. When you find that thing that makes you feel good again, you seize hold of it, and you keep on going.”

“What are you doing?” Maya asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Thinking of advice a friend once gave me.” He lifted his arm and tucked her against his side.

“This view doesn’t get old. I love the city,” she sighed. “Would you care to share the friend’s advice?”

He smiled down at her. “It’s nothing, really. He just came to mind.”

She made a humming noise, then asked, “I’m ordering breakfast to be delivered to the office. Do you want something?”

“One of everything?” He was damn hungry.

“Done.” She laughed. “Get going, sir. We have a busy day ahead of us.” She headed back to her room.

Elliot glanced out the window again. “Doc, I don’t know if I can seize this. She may not be meant for me.”

He turned away and headed to his room to get ready for the day.

Elliot drankhis fourth cup of coffee as they wound down the day. He’d worked out the kinks of the elevator checkpoint, smoothed some ruffled employee feathers, and escorted Maya to each of her meetings. The file Jessica had put on her desk contained the next month's standing meetings with minutes, placed in date order.

Elliot felt his phone vibrate. He palmed it and swiped the face. “Go.”

“I need you to come down to the office,” Ross Stapleton said.

“Maya?” he asked as he looked across to where she was working with Jessica.

“I’m sending two operatives to take her home or stay with her if she still has to work. You need to see this, and a picture won’t work.”

“All right. I’ll leave when they get here.”

“The car will wait for you, and they should be there in a few minutes.”

He put the phone in his pocket and made his way to her desk. She looked up and smiled at him. “About another half hour?” she said.

“That’s fine. Ross wants me to come to his office. He’s sent people to stand in until I get done.”

Maya’s smile fell. “Oh, all right. Anything I need to be aware of?”

Elliot shrugged. “He didn’t expand, so I’ll let you know when I return.”

“Okay,” Maya said and leaned back in her chair. “Jessica, that’s it for today. I’m tired, and I’m going to make it an early night.”

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