Page 51 of Play the Game

I glanced up to see my mentor, bald and broad-chested and smiling, unlike the last time I’d seen him. “You’re here! Welcome back.” I furrowed my brow. “How are your ribs after the flight?”

Alder turned around in her chair. “You have impeccable timing.”

“I heard.” He sat down beside me at the table. “I ran into Bond and Kessler just outside.”

I slid my computer toward him. “Are you ready to get to work? I’ll show you what I have so far, then we can start on the next phase of planning.”

“No.”

“No, you’re not ready?” I asked. “Do you need some rest, maybe something for the pain?”

He shook his head. “The ribs are fine. Actually, they’re fucking painful, but they’re better, and I’m fine to do work that involves sitting on my ass. But I’m not here to plan. I’m here to observe.”

My pulse kicked up, but I willed it to calm down. I didn’t want to get my blood pressure and adrenaline and hopes up. “Meaning...”

“Hey, Alder,” Penn said, “any chance you can do whatever IT magic you’re doing from a laptop in the house?”

“Absolutely. I have all the tracking set up and feeding into a program.” She disconnected her laptop from its docking station. “You should be able to start mapping out the building in a couple of hours. I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me.”

When she was gone, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at Penn. “What’s going on? What am I missing? And what’s so secretive that you needed to send Alder away?”

“What’s going on is that I am not taking over for you on this mission. Don’t argue. I’ve already had it out with X and TJ, and they have reluctantly agreed to let me make the call.”

“Oh. I didn’t expect that. Thank you. But you couldn’t tell me you’d argued with TJ and X in front of Alder?”

He shook his head. “That’s not why I sent her away. I need you to do something for me.” He closed his eyes, and I noticed the circles around them. He might be feeling better and more rested, but he still wasn’t fully recovered. He was more than my boss and mentor. He was also my longtime friend, so I didn’t hesitate.

“Whatever you need.”

“I need the truth, Sparks.” He opened his eyes and pinned me with his gaze. “Jensen’s always been a pain in the ass, and I know I usually run interference, but I’ve seen you bust the guy’s balls before when he’s gotten out of line. But something’s changed, and I need to know what it is. I might not be a human emotion detector like Kessler, but I’ve known you long enough to read your face, and you’ve never been much of a liar anyway.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I wouldn’t lie to him, but I wouldn’t willingly divulge everything, either. Yes, I was violating my own example of the court oath of telling the whole truth, but I could live with it. I would only answer Penn’s direct questions with limited and precise answers.

Penn folded his hands in his lap and frowned. “Sparks, are you sleeping with Jensen?”

My ears rang, and spots danced in front of my eyes. I licked my lips, but my tongue was dry and sandpapery. It was a direct question, all right, one with a yes or no answer. I wanted to lie. I had to lie. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have it in me.

“We have...” I cleared my throat. “It has happened that...” Another lick of dry lips with a drier tongue. “Um...”

“Jesus, stop!” Penn ran a hand over his bald head. “This is just painful. I have my answer. Which leaves me with one more question. What the hell are you going to do about it?”

We were interrupted by Kat’s arrival. She was carrying a tray with three plates of eggs and bacon and a French press full of coffee. I’d never wanted to hug a colleague other than Jensen more than I wanted to hug her in that moment.

“Good to see you, Penn,” she said. “It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? And first thing I’m doing is bringing you breakfast.” She set down the tray and air kissed his cheeks. “That should earn me some kind of brownie points, shouldn’t it?”

“Good to see you, Kat. It has been a while.”

She smiled at me and rubbed her hands together. “I hear we have updates to the plan. Tell me everything while we eat.”

Penn, also smiling, turned to face me. “We’ll catch up later, Sparks.”

The way he said it didn’t sound like a statement. It sounded distinctly like a threat.

* * *

Jason

Around 6:00a.m. Tuesday morning, after the team had pulled an all-nighter to put together plans for Pasco’s rescue, TJ split us into groups for four-hour sleep shifts. He, Alder, and Kessler would hold down the proverbial fort and monitor the Carbonados’ chatter while the rest of us took the first shift. Alder and Kessler would take their turn at 10:00. When Bond heard his pronouncement, she pulled rank, which she could do in anything pertaining to our health.

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