Page 9 of Covert Affairs

“Would you have come?” Ranger asked.

Ian didn’t answer. An answer in itself.

There were consequences to every action, and many of hers had been less than ideal. Especially when it came to the man with the dark hair and the pine green eyes now watching her every move. The consequence of falling in love with him had cost her much—nearly her life—but he’d paid a price no one should have to—believing someone they loved was dead at his own hands.

Scrounging around, she found a thin gray blanket and wrapped it around herself. Her teeth chattered and she felt woozy, the night’s events slamming into her with the fierceness that would take days to sleep off.

Or maybe, it was the result of the daggers he was shooting at her.

She gave him a wan smile. “Hello, husband.”

Five

The next morning

SFI headquarters

Ian burstthrough Beatrice’s door. “What the actual fu—”

“Stop!” she yelled over him, pen rising into the air. She pointed toward the corner as the door hit the wall.

Her daughter, Sloane, was wide-eyed, fear causing her to scoot back on her playmat where she was sitting at her own miniature desk, mimicking her mother.

Connor rushed in on Ian’s heels, placing himself between him and Beatrice. “He got past me while I was on a call with Emit.” The man looked far younger than his years but his face was red with fury. He was Beatrice’s attack dog, as well as her assistant. “Stand down, Kincaid, or I’ll escort you to the exit.”

Ian calculated the odds that he could take the guy, but not in front of the kid. “Sorry,” he said to Beatrice. “I didn’t know she was in here.”

“Obviously.” Beatrice smiled at Sloane. “It’s okay, sweetie. Why don’t you go downstairs with Uncle Connor and get some ice cream?”

“Can I?” She jumped up, grabbing her favorite stuffed dog, and ran to Connor, who lifted her. “Can Uncle Idol come too?”

His own anger fading, Ian patted her head. She tended to call all of them by their codenames. “Maybe later, okay, stinkbug?”

“I don’t stink!” In the three weeks since he’d arrived, it had become a running joke between them. “You stink!”

Connor glanced at Beatrice and she nodded, letting him know she would handle Ian. The man then narrowed his eyes at him over Sloane’s head in a silent threat as he carried the girl out and shut the door.

“Sit down,” Beatrice said in a no-nonsense tone. “And don’t ever raise your voice to me again.”

Ian seethed but refused the chair she pointed at. “You knew she was alive and you kept it from me. Are you a fucking sadist?”

She tipped back in her chair, stared at him with speculation. “I only found out a few days ago, and I needed to see her, talk to her, before I did anything.”

She didn’t pull punches. Neither did he. “Bullshit. You were testing me to see how I did under pressure.”

“Every mission has surprises. You know that. You also know you need to expect to be blindsided at times.”

“You’re a cold-hearted bitch.”

“Careful, Mr. Kincaid, or I’ll escort you out of SFI myself.” They glared at each other. “The men and women who work for me are my highest priority, outside of Cal and Sloane. You came to me asking for a job; I gave you one. Part of the reason Genevieve was behind bars is due to you, so I deemed it wise to have you involved in her rescue. You and I both know she is no traitor, and I need you to help me figure out how to prove it.”

Finally, he sat, but couldn’t relax, staying on the edge of the seat. “The problem is, Idon’tknow that.”

“It’s my turn to call bullshit. She may not have been in the field, but that woman took all of your mental dreck, as well as that of hundreds more, and bottled it up inside her. Why? Certainly not for glory or fame. No one will ever know the extent that she has gone to in order to keep you and her other patients functioning at their highest potential. While I may be acold-hearted bitch, as you so eloquently put it, she has compassion in spades. She's a hero, in my book. If you disagree with what I’ve done, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

She dropped her gaze to the folder in front of her and began making a note.

Ian stood, debating his choices. Stay and confront his wife, or leave and… Do what? Hit the unemployment line and hope to fill a slot somewhere? Wonder for the rest of his life if Vivi was guilty or not? He had no family he could stay with. His best friends were still in the Navy.

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