Page 30 of Covert Affair

“I don’t think we’ll be sleeping together this time though,” Stacey says in a whisper.

“Hell no.” I mutter more to myself but I can tell by the look on her face that she heard me.

Good. Then she knows we’re on the same page. Even if I did want to sleep with her, I wouldn’t not until it's clear that she’s done with the current asshole she’s dating. Sleeping together would only complicate the fuck out of this entire situation. Worse than the last time.

I need to keep my head on straight until she’s cleared and Waylon…Franklin…whoever the fuck he is, is dealt with.

“I…uh…I’d like to shower and get some rest, if that’s okay. Didn’t really do any sleeping last night.”

“Yeah. No problem. I’ve got some work I need to take care of, so I’ll just be out here,” I do my best not to yawn.

She isn’t the only one who didn’t get any sleep. Stacey wasn’t wrong when she said I’d been I t doing a deep dive into this asshole that she’s been seeing and while I don’t have all the answers, what I do know is that this it’s likely he will be going away for a long damn time. I don’t know how the hell she got tangled up with him in the first place but I sure hope like hell I can help her manage to untangle herself.

“Looks like you could use some sleep too. I’m sure whatever you’re working on could wait until you take a nap. Right?” she asks with a concerned look on her face.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Go on and make yourself at home. The kitchen’s fully stocked and you're welcome to it if you want something to eat. I’ll probably order dinner later.”

Stacey blows out a breath. “Okay.” She starts to walk away then stops and turns back around. “Hey, Cody?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For everything.”

“It’s nothing,” I tell her and pretend like those three little words don’t have an effect on me.

“Right. Well, it means alot. So. Yeah. Thanks.”

I nod and she starts to disappear down the hallway by herself. “Stacey.” I hear her stop so I go on, “One more thing. Just so we’re clear, we’re not done talking about what Waylon’s been up to. Not by a long short.”

I wait until I hear the shower water turn on then I pick up the phone, intent on calling my brother but the device starts ringing before I even have a chance to dial his number.

“This is Cody,” I answer on the third ring.

“Hey, man. I wanted to give you a heads up that we’re on our way. Has her lawyer shown up yet?”

“What the fuck, Hunter? I said give her some time to rest. She hasn’t slept in God knows how long.”

“I know what you said, but I have a job to do and this one is out of my hands. Be glad I’m calling to give you the heads up. If my boss knew, he’d have my ass.”

“Fuck, man. Let me call and see where the hell her lawyer’s at. I’ll see you when you get here.”

As soon as I hang up, I race down the hall and knock on the closed bedroom door. “Uh. Stace, looks like that shower is going to have to wait. You might want to call Simon and see how far away he is.”

I hear her shuffling around and then she finally opens the door in a baggy shirt and a pair of leggings that Molly brought over.

“That didn’t take long,” she sighs, already dialing Simon’s number. I can hear him talking on the other end before she’s even had a chance to say hello. “Okay. Thanks, Simon. We’ll see you then,” Stacey hangs up and looks at me. “Apparently, he’s twenty minutes away.”

“I heard. Listen, I tried to give you some time to catch a nap or something first.”

“I appreciate the effort,” she says with a tired smile. “I guess it’s better to just get this over with.”

The minute that Hunter and his team ascend on my apartment, I’m given two options, neither of which make me happy but I take the lesser of two evils and retreat to my bedroom while the “big boys” do their thing.

Might as well make that long overdue call to Cole. Since I didn’t show up for work today, I owe him one hell of an explanation and I’ve got some things he and I need to work out.

“Hey. Did you get everything taken care of?” he asks after the second ring.

“What? How’d you…”

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