Page 85 of Final Sins

Alex swallowed hard, forcing a smile. “You too, Army.”

He walked away.

Jason clearly wasn’t ready or willing to even discuss the possibility of more. But then again, was she? Their liveswere complicated enough without adding a long-distance relationship to the mix.

Maybe it was for the best to put a few hundred miles between them. Give them both some space to figure things out. But as she rounded the corner of the hallway, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was walking away from her future.

46

Alex’s footstepsretreated down the hallway, leaving Jason alone with the echoes of unsaid words. He sank down in the closest chair and ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. Some Special Forces operative he was. He could face down armed insurgents without breaking a sweat, but asking a woman on a date?

Apparently, that was a bridge too far.

Filled with nervous energy, he stood abruptly and paced the empty great room, his boots scuffing against the hardwood floor. Maybe it was for the best. What did he have to offer Alex, really? A man who spent more time in war zones than in his own home, who wouldn’t know how to maintain a relationship if his life depended on it. She deserved better. Someone stable, someone who could promise her more than sporadic phone calls and the constant threat of danger.

The front door swung open, interrupting his self-flagellation. Tai and Fenn sauntered in, matching grins on their faces.

“So,” Tai drawled, “when’s the first trip to LA planned? Gonna sweep our girl Alex off her feet?”

Jason’s jaw clenched. “Not now, guys.”

Fenn raised an eyebrow. “Whoa, touchy. Did someone forget to have his Wheaties this morning?”

“I said, not now.”

Tai and Fenn exchanged glances. Jason immediately regretted his tone.

Fenn flashed Tai a knowing look. “He’s got it bad.”

“Copy that,” Tai agreed.

He stopped pacing. “Look, guys, I’m not the best company right now. I’m gonna head to the gym.”

But the two men folded their arms across their chests and blocked his way.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Tai sounded uncharacteristically serious. “You’re gonna sit your butt down and listen.”

“What he said,” Fenn agreed. “Consider this an intervention.”

Jason looked from one determined face to the other, realizing he was outmaneuvered. He sat in the chair again, resigned to whatever lecture was coming his way.

“She’s brilliant.”

“Driven.”

“Way smarter than you.”

“Better looking, too.”

“And for some weird reason, she obviously likes you. As inlikes, likes.” Tai emphasized that last part.

Jason shifted in his seat. This was so not helping. He was perfectly aware of Alex’s amazing qualities. “Guys, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I appreciate the concern, but?—”

“But nothing,” Tai interrupted, his voice sharp. “You keep telling yourself that, dude, and you’re going to be one lonely old man.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but Fenn stepped forward, his usual joking demeanor absent. “I told myself the same thing.And then I wised up. Just in time, too. I’ll never admit this publicly, but you’re way smarter than I am. Figure it out, bro. Fast.”

The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the distant sound of birds in the pines. Jason’s resolve crumbled under the weight of their sincerity.

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