Geo firmed his lips. No way. Whoever he saw would have to be someone outside the Navy, yet ideally someone who also had a basic understanding of military culture. He let out a grunt. Yeah, good luck with that. He had no fucking idea where to start.
Right then his phone buzzed in his pocket. Geo dragged it out, a pleased warmth washing through him as he read Lani’s text. Hey, Bosch and Geo, what’re you up to? Hope you’re out there living your best life. The message was followed by a few paw print emojis and a heart.
Geo stared at the screen. Holy fuck, was he an idiot. Maybe he didn’t have a clue where to start, but he certainly knew someone who did. He snapped a quick photo of Bosch in his crate, and thumbs flying, replied, Heading somewhere top secret. Shhh.
Lani answered with a string of zipped-lips emojis, which made him chuckle.
You get it, don’t you? You understand things about me I don’t even understand myself.
A sudden aching need to see her, to be with her, swept over him. When I get to where I’m going, can we talk?
There was no hesitation. Anytime.
Geo’s tension slowly leached away, and he slumped in relief. Okay. He had someone in his corner, someone he liked, someone he’d already grown to trust. Lani could help him.
He just had to be honest with her first.
* * *
“Thanks, girls!”
Lani stepped out of the SUV before turning back to wave at the driver and the two other women inside. “I had a great time.”
“Love ya, sweetheart.”
“Catch you later!”
“We’ll do lunch soon.”
After the car roared off, she ambled up the sidewalk toward her apartment, smiling to herself. Her tummy was full, her heart even more full, the happiness a low hum that made her swing her purse back and forth playfully and lent a skip to her step.
What a fantastic night.
Still grinning, she caught sight of a lone figure perched on the stairs leading up to her door, and she paused. The man sat just outside the pool of light cast by one of the lamp posts that lined the walkway, his elbows propped on his widespread knees, head down.
Unsure what to do, Lani continued to hesitate. Her apartment complex had roving security, so maybe she should call the number and request an escort before she went any further. She’d just fished her phone out to make the call when the man lifted his head.
She gasped. “Geo!”
She hurried toward him, slowing once again when she caught a clearer glimpse of his face. His eyes looked bleak, lines of misery bracketing his mouth. Stress tightened his shoulders, his fingers clenched together so tightly the knuckles were white.
Holy shit. What was going on?
Her heart pounding, Lani leaned against the railing next to him. “Hey,” she said softly. “How’re you?”
Geo shrugged. “I’ve, uh, been better.”
His voice sounded scratchy, hoarser than usual, and the way he was sitting, muscles bunched as if ready to flee, warned her to keep it light. “Well, I just happened to have made a cheesecake this morning that’ll knock your socks off. Wanna come inside and have some?”
A shadow of a smile touched his mouth. “Sure. If you feel like sharing.”
“Oh, I won’t let you hog it, buster, believe me.” Holding out her hand, Lani said, “C’mon.”
She pulled him to his feet and, entwining their fingers firmly together, led him up the stairs. Once inside the apartment, he headed for the bathroom while she flipped the lights on and started some soft music playing.
She was busy slicing the cheesecake when Geo reappeared, the neckline of his T-shirt damp as if he’d splashed water on his face. Gesturing toward the fridge, she said, “Help yourself to a beer if you want.”
“No. No beer.”
He sounded so adamant that she paused. “Okay. Coffee?”
After a long, slow exhale, he nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks. I’ll make it.”
She pointed out where everything was, then left him to it, her mind racing. What was going on? From what she understood, he was supposed to be headed to Langley right about now for his CIA “workshop.” Why was he home, so visibly upset?
And why had he come to her?
Her instincts still screaming to keep it casual, Lani said, “Lemme tell you about my day.”
Busy scooping out the coffee, he didn’t answer, but she saw the stiffness in his shoulders ease a bit.
“Remember the night we met?”
Geo threw her a wry glance. “As if I could forget.” He pantomimed someone puking.
“Not that part,” she grumbled, secretly delighted in the glimmer of humor. “I meant the part where I told you that I’d lost all my friends, the team wives.”
He turned to face her, coffee abandoned for the moment. “Yeah, I remember. Did something happen?”
“Hell, yeah, something happened.” She leaned in close, and lowering her voice dramatically, hissed, “I...stopped feeling sorry for myself.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. So get this: the other night I was bored and lonely, my self-pity game super strong. ‘Boo-hoo, poor me. I don’t have any friends anymore. They don’t call me. Why don’t they call me?’ blah, blah, blah.” She paused. “You know what I realized?”
He raised an eyebrow. “That the phone works both ways?”
“Yes!” She punched him on the arm in her enthusiasm. “If they won’t call me, maybe I should try calling them, right? So I screwed up my courage and called this one girl, asked if she wanted to go to dinner sometime. Not only did she say yes, she brought a bunch of our other friends with her!”
“Oh, wow, that’s great.”
“We totally cleared the air. I mean, their husbands still have to work with Rhys, so they felt caught in the middle. No one knew what to say to me, or how to act, so they told me it seemed easier just to drift away.” She shrugged. “I get it. It was pretty much the same when Tyler died. Hardly anyone stuck around.”
At those words, the spasm of pain that crossed Geo’s face made her reach out to touch his shoulder, but before she could say anything, he spun away and snatched up the coffee carafe. “Gotta finish this,” he muttered. “’Scuse me.”
Lani moved aside so he could fill the carafe with water, then turned back to her own task.
Geez. Getting this dude to open up was like pulling teeth.
She sensed he needed to, though—that he wanted to. She also knew damn good and well what these guys were like. Vulnerability had no place in their world. They’d die before admitting any sort of weakness, their ability to push past their limits honed to an art form.