Page 59 of Into the Shadows

“Come on, guys. Please?” I whine. Since our talk with Ginny, I’ve been hunting for something to bring us back together as a group. All six of us have drifted apart as we’ve gotten older. This is my chance to bring us back together.

“Sounds fun to me. I could use the distraction,” Carson says.

“I’m in.” Ryan shrugs.

“You already know I’m down,” Gia says.

The four of us look at Michael. His cheeks puff out with an exhale. “Someone has to make sure the four of you don’t get yourselves killed.”

“Yes!” I fist-pump the air.

“Gia, you’re on Ginny duty. Get her to come home and help.”

“On it.”

I’m lying in bed,watching a movie on my laptop, when it starts ringing with an incoming video call. A grin stretches across my face when a gorgeous man fills the screen.

“Hey, how was your first full day?”

Teddy’s midnight-blue eyes soften as he takes me in. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.”

My cheeks heat. “Right back atcha.”

“What are you doing?”

“Watching a movie. What about you?” I don’t miss that he never responded to my first question. Either it was uneventful, or he’s overthinking and isn’t ready to share.

“Lying down in the bunk room. I never thought I’d be sleeping in one of these again.”

“Do you miss your bed?”

“I miss you being in my bed.” He smirks.

“Same. I had no idea I could become obsessed with sleeping next to someone.”

“You better mean me, Sparkles. Not just anyone.”

“Well, I haven’t tested out the theory.”

“Lottie,” Teddy growls. I love it when he makes that noise.

“I’m joking. Of course, I meant you. You’re the only man I’ve ever slept with or want to sleep with.”

“That’s right.”

“What did your day look like?”

“Started early with a run. Well, I watched the guys run. I stayed with Jackson at the base. The guys train most of the morning. They have a huge gym set up in a barn, so I was able to work out with them. Their afternoons are spent researching client proposals or whatever else the team needs. Jackson took me on a tour yesterday after I arrived. Today, he left me to shadow one of his guys. They’ve got quite the setup going here.”

“Does it make you wish you were a part of it?”

Teddy shrugs. “Not really. I thought it would. When I got here, I had a flashback to living on base. The odd part was that I immediately felt relieved that I didn’t have to stay.”

I keep my expression neutral, but I’m dancing on the inside. He’s gotten more open with me about his emotions. I’ve made sure not to push him too hard. When he opens up to me, it’s like fireworks exploding in my belly. I worried that we weren’t going to get there, but with every conversation like this one, my hope grows more. “What has Jackson told you about being a PI?”

“It’s all pretty standard. Nightfall will assign me clients in the area. If a client reaches out to me first, I’m to sendthem through Nightfall. I’m glad that’s their policy. It protects me, the client, and Nightfall simultaneously.”

“What kind of cases will you handle?”

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