Page 71 of Tango
“Hello to you, too, Dylan. Tucker’s asleep. I told him I’d take watch halfway through the night, and he told me to answer if the phone rang.”
“Hi.” Dylan is silent for a moment. “You both need to get moving. Tell him to meet me at the intersection of Pine and Cedarwood at dawn. He’ll know where it is. And tell him to leave Jax in pasture twelve. Elliot and Nova will pick him up and bring him back to the barn.”
“Will do. We’ll see you then.” I end the call then stand and cross over to where Tucker is sleeping soundly. His eyes are closed, his head resting on his curled-up elbow. He’s lying on top of the thermal blanket—same as I was when I slept—and even though I know I should be waking him, I can’t help but sit and stare for just a moment.
Like this, without the battle hanging over his head, he looks almost peaceful. Serene. I hate that I have to take that from him by waking him up and plunging right back into the fight.
“If you keep staring, I’ll be forced to turn you in for stalking.”
“Add it to my list of charges.” I smile. “How long have you been awake?”
His blue eyes open. “Pretty much the whole time.”
“Really?”
He nods. “I’m not the greatest sleeper anyway.”
“I told you I would keep watch.”
“And you did. What did Dylan say?” He sits up.
I’m a bit frustrated that he didn't get sleep when he could, but I let it go—for now. “To meet him at the intersection of Pine and Cedarwood and to leave Jax in pasture twelve. He said Elliot and Nova will pick him up.”
“When?”
“Dawn.”
Tucker looks up at the sky. “We’d better get going then.” He stands, stretches, and as he holds both arms over his head, I get a glimpse of a tan, muscled abdomen. Oh, boy. I force my gaze away and work on folding up the thermal blanket.
“How far away is this meetup?”
“About a half hour to pasture twelve,” he says. “Then we’ll have to walk the rest of the way, which will be about another forty-five minutes or so.”
“Gotcha.”
He reaches into the bag and tosses me a protein bar. “Breakfast of champions.”
“Hey, I practically lived on protein bars even before all of this. They were my go-to after the gym. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Which also happens to be my favorite flavor.”
“Hates marshmallows, loves chocolate chip cookie dough.” He flashes me a smile that makes my stomach twist into knots. “Noted.”
Oh, man.
Tucker crosses over toward Jax and offers him a bit of water before sliding the saddle onto his back and placing a bridle over his large head. Together, we repack the saddle bags and are on the horse’s strong back within ten minutes of getting that call from Dylan.
I’m seated in front of Tucker, his arm banded around my waist, the other holding the reins. We rode exactly like this yesterday, but it feels different now.
Probably because of the passion his kiss ignited in my soul. The desire to spend more time with him, to get to know him. And, I can admit it to myself, the need to feel his lips on mine again. To know if there’s something that will last once we’ve gotten past all of the danger.
Is he feeling the same way? Or are the walls he successfully put up last night blocking out all feelings?
Keep it together, Alice. You’ve got bigger problems.
“So the plan—you said we’re going to Web Safe?”
“Do you think you can get us in?”
I consider his question, thinking through every logical way that I could get the two of us past security and into the server room without anyone being aware. And there’s only one route I can think of that might work—if protocols haven’t changed.
