Page 98 of Hurry Up And Wait

“Bowie,” I said off-handedly. “But why did you come home if he didn’t? You’re a team.”

“The job—” Red cut himself off, running his hand over the back of his neck. “He had to stay behind.”

“Why?”

“We should go,” Eli said from behind me.

I moved as Red did, blocking his path so he couldn’t walk out before I had answers. “What job are you working?”

“Uh—”

“We can’t answer that,” Eli said, cutting off anything Red was going to say.

“Why? Is it classified?”

“Client confidentiality,” Red finally answered.

“Is he with a woman?” I wasn’t sure why these questions were even coming to mind. Yes, I trusted Kavanaugh. The connection between us couldn’t be a lie, but the way he refused to answer my questions made something deep inside me twinge with regret. I should have asked more questions. I should have found out more before blindly trusting him.

Red shuffled uncomfortably, which was really all the confirmation I needed. “Not in the way you’re thinking. You just—You need to talk to him. And trust him.”

His words hit me like a bullet. I wanted to trust him. I really did. I wasn’t one of those women so damaged by past relationships that I couldn’t find it in my heart to put my faith in a man. But when I felt like things were being purposely held back, what was I supposed to do?

“Trust him,” I repeated.

He nodded, but didn’t say anything else. I turned and almost ran right into Eli. The look on his face was identical to Red’s. He was uncomfortable as hell, and that was a red flag. If there was really nothing going on, they wouldn’t be wary of telling me anything. But here they stood, both of them acting guilty as hell.

“Trust is earned,” I said before walking out the door.

23

KAVANAUGH

I was depressed as hell.I should be at home right now. But instead, I was staring at the wall, trying to figure out what to do with my day off. I didn’t want to be here. I hated this fucking apartment and everything it stood for. Namely, the fact that the senator got it for us.

There was nothing for me in this city. The only thing I wanted was to be at home with Isla, but going home would only cause trouble. I had to protect her from the senator. I knew he would do anything to gain traction in this election, and I was his number one resource. If I did anything he thought would ruin his chances, he would take that person out of the equation.

The question was, how far would he go? Isla had a business she’d built. I couldn’t afford to put her in a position where everything she had worked for could be tarnished. But I knew it wouldn’t stop there. The senator could go so much farther. There was no length he wouldn’t go to, no amount of dirt on his hands that was too much.

I made the call I’d been putting off since yesterday. I hated to do it to her, but I couldn’t take the chance that something might happen and I wouldn’t be there to stop it.

“Kavanaugh,” he answered, irritation clear in his voice.

“IKE, I need a favor.”

“Fuck,” he sighed. “I hate it when people say that shit.”

“This is important. I need you to watch Isla.”

“No.”

“IKE, I’m not fucking around. I need you on her now.”

“And I said no.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Go ask someone else at OPS. I don’t work for you.”