Chapter 5
Before everything went to shit Rowan watched as Adalyn held her playing cards close to her chest, carefully eyeing the other players. She was sitting backward on the cheap foldup chair, as were the others around the card table.
“All right, it’s showtime.” Tiago threw down his cards—a full house.
“I’m out.” Ezra tossed his down with a whole lot of nothing.
“Gah, me too.” Jackson threw theirs down to reveal a straight.
Adalyn paused, then laughed lightly as she tossed hers face down. “You got me, Tiago. I’m out.” Moving fast, she grabbed the stack of cards and mixed them all together with hers. “And I think I’m done for the night. You guys cleaned me out.” Still smiling, she stood, chin nodded at Rowan.
He pushed away from the wall of the tent, fell in step with her as she shoved the flap open.
A gust of dry wind punched into them as they stepped outside, but at least the sun had just gone down so it wasn’t as hot as it was during the day.
“Why’d you let him win?” he murmured once they were a few tents away.
She shot him a surprised glance, her green eyes flaring slightly in surprise. “What?”
“You had them. I could see it on your face.”
“Liar. You saw nothing.” She nudged him once with her hip. Her khaki-colored cargo pants and matching button-down shirt did nothing to hide her beauty.
He didn’t think she was trying to hide it or anything—that would be impossible—but even her drab clothes couldn’t mute the redheaded knockout. Something he shouldn’t be noticing. “You have a tell and you definitely had a good hand. What was it?” He eyed her closely, then grinned. “Oh my god, royal flush?”
She nudged him again, her mouth pulling into a thin line, but it was clear she was fighting a grin. “It worries me that you can read me so well.”
Laughing, he shook his head. “Normally I can’t, but you had a sort of energy. You had that hand.”
“Ugh, I did! And it was one of the best hands I’ve ever been dealt, but…whatever, Tiago needed the win today.”
“Yeah,” Rowan murmured. “How’d you hear about that?’
Tiago’s aunt had died back home and he’d gotten word right as they’d returned from a mission. It had hit him hard, even if he’d tried to cover it up.
She lifted a shoulder and motioned at her trailer. A solo one she was given since she was a woman and working alone. “Want a drink?”
“Yes. And some peace and quiet,” he muttered.
She snickered and hurried up the steps, unlocked her door. “You worried about your reputation?” she asked as they stepped inside.
It smelled like her, which surprised him for some reason. He was so used to the scent of sweat and sand that the hint of…he wasn’t totally certain but it reminded him of mangos and the ocean. And all Adalyn. “I couldn’t care less about mine, but I wasn’t thinking about that. You sure you want to invite me in here?”
She just rolled her eyes as she turned on a little fan in the corner. Her place was relatively utilitarian, with a full-size bed, a desk, her laptop and a small kitchen area. To his surprise, she’d hung up scarves to cover the walls and they gave the place a pop of color. “Please. It doesn’t matter what I do. If people are going to talk shit, they’re going to talk shit. I’ve heard that I’ve apparently screwed guys from the Company—men who I’ve never actually met in person and never been in the same country with. Don’t get me wrong,” she said as she pulled out a small bottle of rum from her fridge, “I’ve never invited anyone back here, but you looked done with your team for the night.”
“Apparently I’m more transparent than I thought,” he murmured as he grabbed two glasses from one of the open shelves. Two of three that she owned or that she’d cobbled together. He wasn’t sure how that worked—if the Company provided her stuff while in country or if one of the military branches did.
“No, not really. But your people were really freaking loud tonight. I figured if I needed a break, you did too. Besides, we can talk about what I found out anyway.”
He nodded as she pulled out a soda then poured some in both of their drinks. The rum surprised him, but he guessed she’d gotten it while trading information or something.
“I bought something for my sister at one of the bazaars and one of the shopkeepers gave me this.” She shrugged. “It’s surprisingly good.”
He blinked in surprise as he took a sip. “You’re not wrong. And I don’t think I’ve had rum since…I was too young to be drinking.”
She laughed lightly, pulled out the chair at her desk, sat.
He sat in the only other chair, a small recliner that had seen better days. It creaked as he leaned back, quietly threatening to break apart underneath him. “So, what did you find out?”
“I need to double check, but Ali gave me intel on some shipping routes from a competitor. Says they’re moving weapons from Pakistan to Afghanistan soon.”
“You trust him?”
“I don’t trust anyone, but he hasn’t steered me wrong yet. And I trust his sense of survival. He’s giving me intel on a competitor, which will only help his business. It isn’t out of the goodness of his heart.” She lifted a shoulder, but there was something in her eyes, something almost sad as she sighed. “I hate doing business with him, but he’s not one of the worst people I’ve worked with.”
“That’s quite the endorsement.”
She snort-laughed, her expression softening as she continued to laugh. “Jeez, right? I hate the people I work with and sometimes I wonder if I’m no better than them.”
She scrubbed a hand over her face and for the first time Rowan felt like he was seeing the real Adalyn. Not just the CIA officer who’d been assigned to work with him and his team for takedown missions and intel gathering. But the actual person behind the mask.
“You’re better than Ali,” he murmured.
“It’s not a high bar. Ugh. I’m ready to get out of this shithole.” She stretched her khaki-covered legs out, let her head fall back with a sigh. “How long is your enlistment anyway?”
“Trying to get rid of me already?” He watched her over the rim of the glass, wished she’d invited him to her trailer for more than intel talk. But he’d take what he could get.
Shaking her head, she set her glass down. “No way. I like working with you guys. Just dreading having to work with new people.”
His mouth curved up at the corners. “It’s coming up soon and I don’t know if I’m going to reup. What about you? Think they’ll move you?”
She glanced away, got that faraway look for a moment. “I don’t know. When I was hired, I had a whole different idea of how my job would go. At first I loved it, had a great assignment in Germany, but…”
“But what?”
“Bluntly, I wouldn’t screw someone—who turned out to have a lot more power than I realized, not that it would have changed my mind—and I got this peachy assignment. I’m just feeling disillusioned and…” She shook her head. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear this shit.”
“Who wouldn’t you screw?”
She blinked in surprise, then narrowed her gaze. “Why?”
“Just like to put a name to the face of the guy I’ll imagine punching later.” Because maybe one day that fantasy could become a reality. It was always good to be prepared.
She grinned at him, but shook her head. “He’s not important. Just some rich asshole who got his job because his father’s a senator. Trust me, he’s about to go down for some shit and he won’t be anyone’s problem soon.” And her expression was positively feral. Ferally happy? Was that a thing?
“You look a little scary right now.”
“Good.” She set her empty glass down, tried to hide a yawn. “I’m flying out in the morning for a quick job, but I should be back in a couple weeks. You can use my trailer if you want while I’m gone.”
“While that’s tempting, no, but I’ll keep an eye on it if you want?”
“Thanks.” She paused, gave him a long look he wasn’t sure how to interpret. But just as quickly, she gave him a neutral smile. “My flight’s early so I’m going to grab some sleep. I’ll leave my key in a magnet holder under the front door.”
He nodded, and after a short goodbye, let himself out—while kicking himself for not making a move. But the last thing he wanted to be was just another asshole who hit on her. He knew Adalyn had dealt with a lot of shit to get to where she was, and likely dealt with it on a daily basis. Not from his people, but this base was large and her job took her all over the region.
He just hoped that one day the timing would be right, because something told him that he’d never meet anyone else like her. If anything, the thought of two Adalyn Bonnevies in the world was terrifying.