15. Kieran
15
Kieran
I wait until Matt joins me for a light breakfast of muesli, yogurt and fruit before I contact the IRIS Unit’s leader. I still feel a little exposed, like a secret I didn’t mean anyone to find out about has been revealed, but I am also glad that it was Matt who found out. I fell asleep right after the episode and that has never happened before.
Then again, I’ve never felt so comfortable in the presence of other people as I do in Matt’s. Even if we are just sitting together in the same room and not talking. I can’t quite explain it, but it makes this whole attracted to men thing a hell of a lot easier, too. And when he beams at me one of those goofy smiles for no reason, like he is doing now? It melts my heart.
“Hello, Agent Stevenson, is everything in order?” the Unit’s Director, Agent Kelly, says in his low baritone over the phone, pulling me back to the real world.
“Yes,” I reply and put him on speaker.
“Then did you need something?”
His question is expected, as, unless we’re leaving the house, I only need to check in every four hours. “As a matter of fact, yes. Matt—Mr. Bauer has remembered additional information that might help with his aunt’s case. Since we are still on standby, I assume the CIA hasn’t located the asset or those responsible for the attack?”
“Indeed, we haven’t,” he agrees. The buzz of conversations in the background disappears, which means he’s likely retreated to his glassed-off office. “Bring the witness to HQ, Agent Stevenson. I’d like to hear what he has to say in person.”
“Understood. Will the Deputy Director attend, too?”
A pause. “No. Depending on how useful the information Mr. Bauer provides is, I’ll update Deputy Director Bucks myself.” Keys click on the other end of the line, like he’s vigorously typing something on one of those mechanical keyboards. “I’ve let the two agents guarding the safehouse know you’ll be coming. They’ll escort you.”
“Understood. We’ll leave ASAP,” I confirm, though he’s already hung up.
“Well, that was easy,” Matt says, shoving a spoonful of muesli into his mouth. Some of the yogurt gets stuck on his upper lip, and after he fails to notice it, I wipe it off. “Thanks.” His captivating eyes twinkle like gems as they catalog my face. “But you didn’t lick it. I kind of expected you to. It’s what couples do in movies. I’m a little disappointed.”
Shaking my head, I wrap my fingers around his just as he’s about to eat more food, then I guide his spoon to my mouth. There are way too many raisins for my liking, but his wide-eyed expression as his lips curve into a sexy little smile is worth it.
“Yeah, okay. This works, too.”
“So, we are a couple now, are we?” I toss after I’m volunteered another bite.
He shoves the remaining muesli into his mouth and tidies away the bowl. I amble after him like a puppy following his master. After we’ve loaded up the dishwasher, he props his elbows on the counter and leans back against it.
“I mean…” He raises one finger. “We kissed.” He adds a second. “We slept together.” Then a third. “We eat together, cook for each other and you let me feed you.” After a heartbeat of hesitation, he raises a fourth one. “We are partners in crime. All that’s left is sex, but I predict that will take care of itself in the next three-to-four days.”
I step in, leaning a bit into him so my bigger size makes me appear more threatening, and place my hand on the cupboard door above his head. He giggles, wiggling his eyebrows and miming a growling tiger. It’s adorably dorky.
“Is that so?” I tease, lowering my voice to a sexy purr.
He shivers, inhaling sharply. That’s when I catch his scent. He smells vaguely of me even though he just had a shower, and that does weird things to my insides. Heat flows south, riling me up. I’m suddenly thirsty and I’m not entirely sure it’s for water. But I reach over and grab the bottle, needing to cool myself off.
“Go get changed. We leave in five minutes,” I instruct, pulling away before I’ve done something stupid like kissing him. It’s not that I have an issue with that per se, but after the mind-blowing make-out session we had at Lena’s apartment, I’m not confident I’ll be able to stop myself from going further once I’ve tasted his smart mouth. It was difficult enough the first time around.
“Sir, yes, sir!” he yells, ducks under my arm and sprints out of the lounge.
An hour later, we arrive at the CIA’s NY Headquarters. The two agents escort us to the meeting room where my boss is waiting and then return to their car.
“You ready for this, trouble?” I raise my hand, but pause before knocking.
“Aye, aye. Just leave it to me.”
I rap on the door and announce our names as we are invited to enter. Kelly’s office has the blinds down and consists of a luxurious wooden desk, shelves with awards and certificates, and two chairs for his visitors. There are zero personal belongings. I don’t really blame him; my personal cubicle is just as soulless.
“Hello again, Mr. Bauer. Please sit down,” he says and offers his hand over the desk. He’s a man in his late forties with no hair or beard. “I am told you have information that might be helpful to us.”
They shake hands and Matt sits. “Yes. Um. I was going through some photos on my phone and… I remembered this friend Chrissy had. Some dude who owned a bar. She used to visit him at least four times a year.” Four times a year? Really, sweet cheeks? That’s a bit specific. “She showed me an old picture of him once, from their high school years. He was a metalhead, with a mohawk and everything. I really wanted to meet him.”
I examine Agent Kelly’s tense expression. His full attention is on Matt and a hint of excitement dances in his dull brown eyes, betraying how completely fooled Matt has him. Okay, perhaps I underestimated my Little Hamlet here. He’s not half bad at this… or maybe the CIA is just that desperate to get to the asset. Either way, it plays in our favor.
“This friend your aunt had…” Agent Kelly looks away from us and types something on his computer.
I use his distraction to discreetly give Matt the thumbs up. He shoots me a quick shit-eating grin and mouths, “I told you I’m good.”
My boss almost catches me in the middle of rolling my eyes, but I successfully mask it by pinning my gaze on one of his shelves with trophies, as if I’d been in the process of looking at them and admiring his accomplishments. Since he moves on from me to Matt not a heartbeat later, I take it that I pull it off.
“Do you happen to know where he lives?” Agent Kelly asks, tilting his monitor so we can see it. A map of the US is open with hundreds of red pins scattered across it.
I quickly find Denver and count the pins there. They are the right number, confirming this map has the coordinates from Christine’s USB.
Matt studies the map as if he’s seeing it for the first time, mumbling random sights that he recognizes. “What are these places?” he asks, arching an eyebrow at the IRIS’ leader.
“Do you recognize any of them? Can you tell me where this friend is from?”
Matt hums, dragging his finger along the pins on the west coast. “I know some of them, sure. It’s places which Chrissy and I planned to visit when she had time off work. How do you know about them?”
Agent Kelly waves him off. “That’s not important. Do any of the pins point to this friend?”
Pretending he’s thinking about it, Matt zooms in and out on the map. He drags it around a bit, pausing on a couple west coast cities before eventually pointing at Denver. “Here. I’m pretty sure he was from Denver or a city near it.”
“You said he owned a bar. Do you know which one?” Kelly presses, zooming in on the city.
Matt plays along, studying the eight possibilities like he’s never seen them before. I’m pretty sure he’s rehearsed this, maybe while I was arranging things for today during dinner last night. “No, sorry.”
Kelly nods curtly and tilts the monitor away from us. “That’s okay.”
“Uh, was this helpful? I can maybe go to Denver and search for Chrissy’s friend with you?”
Typing something away, the older man shakes his head absentmindedly. “That won’t be necessary, Mr. Bauer. We appreciate your help, but we can handle things from here. You and Agent Stevenson can head back.”
Matt stands and heads for the door. I follow.
“Agent Stevenson,” my boss calls out, halting me. He waves for Matt to leave, but for me to wait. Once it’s just the two of us, he turns his attention from the computer to me, but his mind is obviously somewhere else. Planning ahead an operation, if I had to guess. “Stay put and await further instructions. I’ll get a couple teams to Denver, so we can check for this friend. If the witness remembers anything else—whatever it might be—call me immediately. It’s very important that if he can think of any further information, it is relayed to me immediately.”
“Of course.” I dip my head in acknowledgement. “If he remembers anything else, I’ll call you first thing.”
I’m dismissed after that, but Matt isn’t in front of the office. Instead, I find him at the vending machine, munching on chocolate peanuts. As soon as he sees me, he shoots me a self-satisfied grin.
“Bet this went way smoother than you expected. I had the dude completely fool—”
I bring my hand to his mouth, cutting him off. “Not here, MacGyver. Wait until we’re back at the safehouse.”
He scowls at me, but then seems to catch my drift, nodding in understanding. We don’t say a word to each other as we head back, but it’s not awkward despite the silence. It does invite all kinds of thoughts into my head, though. Like the kiss. Or how safe I felt in his arms last night. How I fell asleep after the worst episode I’ve had in months all because he was there, holding me and whispering how he’s here and how everything will be okay.
Goosebumps cover my arms just thinking about it. I’m the one protecting him. I’m bigger, stronger. I’ve trained for this. I should be his pillar, the one thing that helps him get through this. Yet I showed him a side I never planned on showing anyone. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. He just gets under my skin so effortlessly, he’s so easy to be around. He could’ve made fun of me too, pushed me away, but he didn’t.
I glance at him. He’s gazing out the window of my car, munching on those peanuts. I like him here. With me, off on an adventure that I am sure he won’t even expect. Smiling to myself, I refocus on the road. Yeah, I’m positive he won’t see coming what I have planned for our little day trip to Hastings.
And I bet he’s going to love it.