Page 70 of Sentinel's Kiss
Chapter 16
This was a recipe for disaster. Sentinel picked up Ashley for lunch. Parking his bike outside the diner, he enjoyed Ashley’s body pressed against him for a moment. He’d much rather be back in his apartment rocking the sheets with her, but if he didn’t bring her around to meet the SOBs they’d take matters into their own hands, and that was never a good idea.
“Remember what I said, they’re going to bust balls. It’s harmless. They’re just trying to get a reaction out of you or me. It’s just the way we’ve always been. Lucy can tell you how bad we razzed her. You met her briefly; she was Ryder’s lawyer. She’s Evil’s wife.”
“Does she call him Evil?”
“I’m sure there are times when she does.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Ashley said. “I can hold my own.”
“I’d like to hold your own.” Sentinel slung his arm around her and cupped her breast.
“Knock it off,” she said good-naturedly, and smacked his hand away.
Of course, they were the last to arrive. Sentinel would bet his last dime that they told him to arrive a half an hour later than the rest of them did.
The diner was mostly empty, so they had a large table in the back to themselves.
“Hey, Ryder,” Ashley said, and hugged her.
“So how do the two of you know each other again?” Warden asked.
“We went to prep school and college together,” Ryder said.
“You went to that prissy all-girls school?” Evil asked. “What was it? Our Lady of Perpetual Ruler Whacking?”
“The very same,” Ryder said. “Only the nuns weren’t those pansy nuns that you see on television. Ours specialized in waterboarding and walling.”
“They didn’t play around,” Ashley added. “How’s your mom and dad?”
Sentinel hid a wince. Crazy and drunk.
It didn’t even faze Ryder. “Mom’s down in Boca Raton living the good life in the Florida sunshine, and last I heard Dad was working on perfecting his golf game at the country club.”
In short, same shit, different day.
“I heard about your father’s heart attack,” Ryder said. “How’s he recovering?”
Ashley looked down at the menu. “Thanks. It was a big scare. We thought we lost him.” She gripped Sentinel’s hand for support. “But he’s terrorizing the nurses as only a doctor turned patient can do. He should be back home by next week and driving my mother crazy.”
“Is your brother still in Syria?”
Ashley shook her head. “No, he’s back and staying at my parents’ house with his family. But I don’t think he’ll be staying. He has a need to be in the thick of things.”
There was a note of longing in her voice that bothered Sentinel.
“You miss Afghanistan, don’t you?” Ryder asked.
What the fuck?
Ashley didn’t notice that he was staring at her like he had no idea who she was. All this time, she had never mentioned that she had been over there.
“Yeah, right. Every time someone bitches about having a bad day in the news studio, I tell them at least they’re not half blinded by the sand with someone shooting at them, or hoping that when they get home they won’t find a scorpion or spider in their bed. Of course, I’ll take that any day over the bitches who like to comment on my shoes being last year’s style.”
“Fuck them,” Ryder said.
“Twice.” Ashley held up two fingers.