Page 47 of Play the Game

Bond sniffed her drink, then mirrored Kat’s quizzical look. I focused on TJ, who obliged by lifting his glass in a toast.

“To the Alpha Team,” he said.

“To the Alpha Team,” we all repeated, then took big sips of our drinks.

“Oh my God, Jensen, this is actually good,” Kessler said. “Did you finally look up an actual drink recipe or something?”

I smiled without answering, and everyone enjoyed the rest of the special team drink for once. Without missing a beat, Li led the way to the sundae bar. I collected the drink glasses and carried them back to the kitchen. It would be an early night for me. I didn’t think I could hold it together much longer.

“Jason, you want to explain this?” Tam said from the kitchen doorway. She held up her empty drink glass.

“Vanilla ice cream base and crème de menthe,” I told her, “but that’s all you’re getting out of me.”

“You know I’m not asking about the ingredients.”

I turned to face her and leaned back against the sink. “I know.” I wiped my hands on a dish towel, trying to find the right words.

She found them for me. “You’re not coming back.” She pulled the kitchen door closed behind her, blocking out the sound of the rest of the team in the great room. “After this operation is over, no matter how it goes, you’re not coming back to Alpha Team.”

“That’s right. Tam, I was going to tell you after the operation. Once you were ready to forgive me and speak to me again.”

“I’m not accusing you of hiding something from me.” She touched my shoulder, then dropped her hand. “But I need to understand why. We discussed this. We had an understanding. At least, I thought we did.”

I smiled wanly. “I didn’t actually sign onto that MOU,” I said, using the acronym for the diplomacy termmemorandum of understanding. “But I hope you’ll sign off on my idea. It’s—”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I checked the number. “It’s my dad. It’s about Slogova 1.”

“You have to take it.” She stepped away from me. “I’ll go join the others. But don’t you dare plan to leave without finishing this conversation.”

My phone buzzed again, and I answered it. “Hi, Dad. Can you hang on a sec?” I pushed the mute button. “I’ll be pretty busy in the morning,” I told Tam.

“Tonight, then,” she said. “After everyone goes to bed, come see me in my room.”

I closed my eyes and blew out a breath, remembering how my life had changed in that room on Saturday night, and then had gone to hell there one night later.

“Please.”

I opened my eyes and nodded. What choice did I have? I couldn’t deny her. And if she did agree with the decision I’d made, I would leave in the morning a happy man.

* * *

Tamela

I showeredwhile the rest of the team made their way, one or two at a time, to bed. By the time I crawled between the sheets in my dark room, the whole house was quiet. Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty. I had the same panicky feeling as last night, when he hadn’t shown up on time outside the grocery store. I texted him, hoping this time we would have a more civil conversation.

He called me. “Tam,” he said as soon as I picked up. He was whispering, so I guessed someone was nearby. “I’m going to come see you, I promise. But something came up. Something big. We might have a way to find Pasco.”

“Jason, that’s awesome! What can I do?”

“Nothing yet. Just wait for me. We’ve been working with my dad to tap into a back door—it’s a long story, but we’re close to setting up a trace, and then Alder has offered to stay up for the first shift to see if we get a hit.”

“Okay, I’ll wait up, then.”

“Good,” he whispered in my ear. A tickle ran down my spine and ended between my legs. That was exactly the reaction I could not have to his voice or touch or kiss.

“And we’ll talk,” I reiterated, as much for my sake as for his.

“Absolutely. See you soon.”

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