“Of course.”
“Why? He’s super cute,” Ally asked.
“Because you dig him. Friends don’t do that.”
It looked like Ally was going to cry again.
“I also told him I liked girls, so don’t tell him otherwise.”
Claire saw Jax standing in the kitchen laughing.
“Why did you do that?” Elsie asked.
“Because once you’re playing for the same team, guys open up. Then I told him you thought he was hot. If he doesn’t ask you to prom, I might have to kick his ass.”
Jax returned, sat on the floor.
“It’s high school, people will talk.” Elsie grabbed a handful of chips.
“The less you worry about what other people think, the sooner you’ll live a happy life.”
Elsie threw a chip at her. “You’re such a dork.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Cooper stretched out in Claire’s bed and waited for her to get home. Maybe he was pushing the boundaries, but then again, they hadn’t set those up yet.
He watched the monitor feed from the front door and knew when it opened it was Claire and Jax.
He’d parked on the street, so she wouldn’t be surprised he was there.
The girls chatted as they ascended the stairs, their voices softened as Claire approached the closed door to her room. He heard them saying good night before she walked in.
“I thought you’d be asleep?”
He lifted up on an elbow. “Not a chance.”
She kicked her shoes off en route to the bed, climbed up beside him, and rested her ear on his chest. “I’m so exhausted.”
He kissed the top of her head and marveled at how easy she tucked into his arms. “It’s almost over.”
She released a long-suffering breath and pushed off the bed. “I need to brush my teeth before I drop.”
He used the time she was in the bathroom to pull back the sheets and dim the lights.
She returned wearing a nightshirt, this one showing a bear stretching with sunshine in the background. The clock on the nightstand said eleven p.m.
“Cute,” he told her.
She’d brushed out her hair and washed her face clean.
Claire returned to the tucked position at his side, her free arm wrapping around his waist.
“What’s the word from Neil?” She knew their deadline was up. The girls’ party was the last push to find more names and details. Which worked out, to a small extent.
“The commander in Seattle went to the feds. They’re scrambling to make as many arrests tomorrow at the same time to avoid anyone getting away.”
“What about Warren?”
“Everything is out of his hands at this point. If Tony or Eastman are his guys, they won’t know anything until after it’s all done. Neil has a meeting scheduled with Warren late tomorrow night.”
“I bet he’ll be pissed that this went way over his head.”
Cooper shrugged. “I think he knew it was bigger, that’s why he hired us. His hands were tied to his jurisdiction. Ours aren’t.”
Claire snuggled a little closer. “I wish we knew more about Tony’s movements.”
“Me too.” They hadn’t seen the man since he left his car in the shop.
“What does tomorrow look like on our end?” she asked.
“Business as usual. We go about the day like we have since this started. We can’t step outside of normal or risk someone being tipped off. We want the feds to sweep in, take it all down at the same time.”
“You think that’s how it’s going to go?”
“I think it’s no longer in our hands to worry about. We’ve done all we can.” That didn’t stop him from worrying about her safety. “We stay hypervigilant.”
“I know.” Her voice was sleepy.
Cooper reached over and turned the light off, then snuggled close.
She looked up, asked for a kiss.
Their lips met for what he thought was going to be brief, but Claire had other ideas.
Cooper’s arms pulled her closer, his hand brushed over the curve of her hip. “Girl, where are your panties?”
He felt her squeeze his bare ass. “Making out with yours.”
In the light of the moon shining through the window, Cooper traced the side of her face, memorizing the feel of it. “If you’re too tired . . .”
Her exploring hands said she wasn’t that tired. “Stop talking and kiss me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cooper and Claire bustled around the kitchen first thing in the morning. They both synced their phones with headquarters and put the nearly invisible earpieces in place so they could obtain up-to-the-minute reports as the day progressed. She and Cooper were told to call in a verbal check every hour.
Claire’s watch and cell phone had tracking enabled. At the last minute, she secured a third device disguised within the clasp in her hair.
Jax dressed in what they’d labeled DEFCON five clothing. It was a field outfit; much like what Cooper had worn two short nights before. If at any time the team needed to mobilize, all they needed to do was jump in the van.
Claire gave Jax a quick hug, whispered “Bahamas” in her ear, and watched her drive away with Lars.
Cooper set the alarm and locked the door. The garage door was already open, her car tucked next to Jax’s.
She enjoyed a parting kiss. “I think we’ve done a really good thing,” she said between kisses.
“Let’s say that tonight when it’s all over.”
“See you at track.”
Cooper pursed his lips. “I’m going to miss track.”
“Me too.”
He opened the car door for her, closed it after she was in.
Like the day before, he followed behind her, watched her as she parked in the school lot and walked onto the campus.
The audio feed in her ear switched on. “Checking feeds. Report back.”
Claire reached for the cell phone that lived in her back pocket.
Headquarters picked up on the first ring. “Yeah?”
Claire was pretty sure Lars had answered the phone. “Did you know that the female praying mantis eats her lover after they mate? Sometimes while they’re still going at it. Talk about dying for sex.” The system was simple. When she made a call, she had to ask a question so the team knew there was no threat. Granted, she could have asked, How are you? But where was the fun in that?
“We’re clear.”
Claire looked at her phone. “Rude much?”
She bounced into homeroom and paused.
Eastman’s chair was empty.
He almost never came in late.
She walked to her seat, set her backpack on the floor.
Some of the sparkle faded like fireworks dying in the night sky. Don’t be a wanker, Eastman.
Time ticked.
The room filled.
She did not want to call this in.
“Hey, Claire?” Sean greeted her.
A quick fist bump. She kept her smile.
The bell rang . . .
Five seconds passed.
Fuck!
And then the bastard walked in the door like nothing was wrong.
Claire slumped in her seat.
“I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up.”