Page 4 of Saved from Obsession

She always cooks a full meal for my dad before he heads off to open his hardware store, and always the same thing—two eggs over easy, three links of sausage, and two of her special banana bread pancakes. Although she recently told me in confidence that she’s using turkey sausage instead of pork and my father hasn’t caught on yet.

“I’ll try, Mom.” Standing up from my chair, I head over to the window and look out at the trees lining the property. They’re finally in full bloom after a long New York winter, the maple trees turning bright greens and deep purples. Coming from Vermont, the winters in Sleepy Hollow don’t bother me, but some of my teammates like to gripe about the seemingly endless winters here.

“You should bring your friends when you visit.” The water shuts off and her voice gets clearer. “I know they can’t all come, since you have a business to run. But I’m sure one of them would like to come with you. Get some home-cooked meals.”

Glancing at my watch, I notice I only have a few minutes before our weekly meeting. “I’ll ask, Mom. But I can’t make any promises.”

I take a quick look in the bathroom mirror, wanting to make sure I didn’t miss a giant patch when I was shaving or leave toothpaste on my chin. But everything looks as it always does—blonde hair just slightly longer than the buzz cut I had in the Army, but not long enough to need a brush, cleanly shaven face with no cuts or nicks, eyes that can never decide between green and brown.

“What about,” my mother pauses, and I can guess her question before I hear it, “awoman?“ Her voice lilts up to a hopeful tone. “Have you met anyone?”

“Sorry, Mom, no.” Rummaging in my closet, I find a pair of gray Vans that should come close to matching the Henley I’m wearing. Not that anyone at the meeting is going to care if I match or not, but talking to my mother makes me feel obligated even if she can’t see it.

“I hope you’re leaving yourself open to meeting someone. You’re not getting any younger, Leo.”

Andthatis my cue to get off the phone. “Of course I am.”I’m not.

She huffs at me, clearly not convinced by my answer. “Just think about it. You have a lot to offer. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”

I’m not so sure about that. “Okay, Mom. I will. But I have to get to our weekly meeting now. I’m going to be late if I don’t leave right now.”

“Okay.” Her voice softens. “I love you, Leo. Your dad sends his love, too.”

“Love you, too. And give Dad a hug from me. Talk to you next week.” Tapping my earbuds to end the call, I toss them on the table by the door and head out. Another glance at my watch says I’m going to be a few minutes late, but I’m sure no one will mind.

Fortunately, it’s a quick commute to the meeting, since I live right upstairs. All of us have apartments at the Blade and Arrow headquarters—when Cole bought and renovated this place, he thought it would make things easier if he included apartments for all of us.

It’s worked out great so far. There’s a gym and a firing range in the basement for keeping our skills fresh, the security is great, of course—the building is designed to be nearly impenetrable—and there’s even a medical room for first aid if we need it. It’s not all for work though. We have a nice outdoor area in the back with grills and a hot tub that Cole installed to make his fiancée, Maya, happy.

“Hey, looks like I’m not the only one running late.” Finn jogs up from behind me, slapping me on the shoulder as he slows by my side. His black hair is messy as always, he has his ever-present giant mug of coffee in hand, and it looks like he literally rolled right out of bed. But his appearance means nothing—when it comes to the job, Finn is always one hundred percent on point.

When we were in the Green Berets serving on the Special Forces Detachment Team Alpha, or A-Team, Finn was our HAZMAT specialist, and no matter when or where we were, he was completely focused on the task at hand.

My lips quirk into a small smile. “I was on the phone with my mother. She wanted to know when you were going to come visit.”

Finn pushes open the stairwell door and motions for me to go in front of him. He chuckles. “Did she ask you when you were going to bring a woman home with you?”

A small snort bursts out. “How did you know?”

“Because I hear the same thing every time my mother calls.”

Another glance at my watch shows us three minutes late, just as I predicted. We push through the door to the conference room to see our four teammates already there and waiting. I slide into the leather chair next to Rylan, and Finn drops into the opposite one.

Cole is at the head of the table, flipping through a small pile of folders. When he looks up at us, there’s a slight flush to his cheeks, like he just came back from exercising. Or having a morning quickie with his fiancée, which, based on his satisfied expression, is much more likely.

Zane is at the other end of the table, his posture relaxed but his icy blue eyes never resting. Even though we’re all former special ops and trained to find danger in any setting, Zane is always on edge, never fully relaxing.

Rylan tips his head toward me and says, “Zane and I were talking about going out for some beers and darts tonight. You in?”

I’m not really in the mood to go out tonight—I’ve been feeling oddly unsettled lately—but staying home isn’t going to make me feel any better. “Sure.”

Rylan lifts his chin at me. “Nice. I think Nora might come, too. She has her meeting tonight, but she said she’d try to meet us after.” Leaning across the glossy wood table, he says, “Finn. Beer and darts tonight?”

Finn takes a giant gulp of his coffee, then answers, “Sure. As long as we’re getting food, too.”

“What about you, Cole?” Rylan glances over at him, his eyebrows raised. “You and Maya want to come, too?”

Cole shakes his head, his mouth curving into a smile. “Sorry, maybe next time. Tonight’s date night. We’re going to that new Italian restaurant that opened downtown.”

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