Geo went quiet for a long moment. “It’s a shitty club to be in, isn’t it?” he said at last.
“The worst. But it’s nice to know another member.”
He rested his cheek on her hair in silent acknowledgment, his arms tight but not restrictive. Lani soaked in the comfort he offered and wallowed in it for as long as she could, before reluctantly pulling away. The last thing she needed was to start clinging to someone else.
To fill the void, she clicked on the TV and scrolled aimlessly through the channels, settling on an old rerun of Law & Order. The warmth of his body next to her, along with the emotional mood swings of the evening, soon had her curled up in one corner of the couch, her eyelids doing touch-and-gos.
At one point she woke with a start to find him gone. A massive wave of disappointment swamped her. “Just great,” she groused, struggling to her feet to find her phone. “Real smooth. Fall asleep on the guy after he’s been so sweet.”
Rubbing her eyes, she trudged to the kitchen, gradually becoming aware of the sound of running water, along with some tuneless whistling. When she rounded the corner, she gasped. Geo stood at the sink, up to his elbows in soap suds.
“You’re cleaning?”
He glanced at her, then shrugged and turned back to the sink. “You cook, I clean. Only fair.”
Holy fucking Christ on a cracker. Was there anything sexier than a man cleaning a kitchen? At that moment, Lani didn’t think so. She couldn’t take her eyes off his muscular forearms while he wrung out the rag, or the way the water that’d splashed on his shirt made it cling to him.
He hung the rag over the spigot, then faced her with a smile, and to her everlasting horror, she burst into tears. In the next instant, she was in his arms, her own wrapped tightly around his waist.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I d-don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
He held her close as he rocked her. “I think you’re tired,” he said softly. “And therapy is hard and sad, and you’ve been lonely because you just broke up with your boyfriend.”
“And I’m pregnant,” she wailed.
His chest rumbled under her cheek as he chuckled. “Oh, yeah, how could I forget that part?”
“I have to pee all the time, and it makes me sleepy, and crabby, and sometimes horny as fuck...”
She really hadn’t meant to say that, and to his credit, Geo only froze for half a second before continuing to rub her back soothingly. His hands didn’t wander, and he didn’t try to take advantage, and why, oh fucking why did he have to be a SEAL?
At last the storm abated, and Lani pulled away to wipe her eyes on the neckline of her tank top. “Wow, that was embarrassing. Are you sorry you came?”
“Never.” His eyes crinkled. “But I do think I should go now, give you some privacy.”
She didn’t want him to. She wanted him to stay, and snuggle her on the couch while they watched TV, and maybe kiss her goodnight. But she didn’t say any of that, only nodded. “I guess. I’ve kinda got a long day tomorrow anyway.”
She watched as he gathered up his wallet and keys, and then she walked him to the door. “How long are you in town for?”
“A week or so.”
“Well, maybe we could get together before you go. I won’t fall asleep on you again, I promise.”
He smiled. “Sure, I’d like that. Did you have anything in mind?”
“Oh, man.” She hesitated, unsure whether or not to ask, but Geo reached out to touch her arm encouragingly.
“What is it?”
“Could you, uh, maybe take me to meet Bosch?” Wincing, she waited for him to refuse, because hadn’t he said Bosch wasn’t a pet, but a weapon? It’s not like she’d ever ask to visit his gun.
“That would be my very great pleasure.” The sincerity in his voice sounded genuine, and she couldn’t help a tiny squeal of delight.
“Yay! Text me when you’re free?”
“You got it.” Stepping closer, Geo reached out to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Gonna be okay?”
“Gonna be fine,” she whispered. “You?”
“Yeah.” He drifted his thumb lightly along her jaw, leaving delicious tingles in its wake. Then he bent his head, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world to lift her face, even as she thought, “Oh, please, God, don’t let me have a booger hanging from my nose right now.”
Well, even if she did, it didn’t stop him from kissing her gently on the cheek and leaving her with a most reluctant goodbye.
Chapter Eight
“K9 out!”
Geo released Bosch from his tether and the dog streaked off into the darkness.
“Copy that,” the reply crackled in his ear. “Decoy ready.”
Trotting after Bosch, Geo muttered into the comms, “Steak dinner says he pancakes your ass.”
“In your dreams. Get ready to pay up, bitch.”
He and the decoy, a white guy named Laz, traded a few more insults before they went silent to let the dog work. The wind buffeted Geo from all sides, and he peered through his NVGs as Bosch, nose to the ground, chased the elusive scent eddies being tossed around like leaves in a river. He winced. Bosch would have to be on his A-game to even locate the decoy, much less get the drop on him.
For his part, it took all Geo’s concentration to dodge the manzanita bushes that seemed to be everywhere.
“Prickly motherfuckers,” he muttered, freeing himself from yet another thorn snagging his uniform sleeve. Ahead, Bosch zig-zagged across the rocky terrain, changing course multiple times until at last he sat down, ears up, and stared off into the distance.
Ha, ha, Laz. You’re toast.
After hissing the “attack” command, Geo followed the dog as he bounded up the side of a small hill. He scanned the area ahead, his NVGs giving him a sight advantage Bosch didn’t have, and...there! Laz was crouching next to a small rocky outcropping, an otherworldly green silhouette in a glowing alien landscape.
“I see him,” Laz murmured in Geo’s ear. “And I’m gonna dodge him, no problem.”
Geo bit back a curse. If Laz could see Bosch heading for him, he’d be able to sidestep his attack. That meant no free steak dinner tonight.
Suddenly Bosch veered from his straight-line trajectory, darted around some scrub brush, and disappeared. Shouting, Laz leapt to his feet, whirling around just in time to catch Bosch’s sixty-five-pound body square in the chest.