Chapter 27
Ace
Walking out of CIA headquarters for what’s probably the last time is a weird feeling.
I wasn’t planning to quit, but the more they pushed me to take the promotion, the more I’d knew I wasn’t going to.
I don’t know what I’m going to do professionally, but the plan is to get in touch with Shannon and figure out our shit together.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I want us to spend it together.
We’ve texted a few times today, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to her or tell her what’s going on since it’s been nonstop since last night.
Sandra showing up at the townhouse was a shock but finding out she’s an operative was mind-boggling.
Chains sent me pictures of her, so I knew what she looked like.
We had an interesting conversation, and while it turned out to be a hell of a coincidence, the story is that she was in Cologne working on something else entirely and her job at the school was merely a cover.
Now that her assignment is over, she’s back in D.C. working on something else.
“Ace!” A voice calls out, and I turn, squinting in the sunlight.
Sandra comes jogging up to me. “Hey. Heard you quit. I’m sorry to hear it.”
“It was time.” I shrug. “I have other things on my mind.”
“A blond teacher in Germany?” she asks with a grin.
“She’s definitely at the top of my list.”
“You going back to Germany?”
“I booked her on a flight to D.C. for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can convince her to get on it. If not, I’ll take one to Germany tonight, because I’m not letting her go.”
“Good for you.” She pauses. “Listen, tell her I’m sorry. She got in my way and I did something petty by agreeing to help her mom with this little scheme, but I never would have hurt her or anything.”
“I know.”
“Well, good luck with everything.”
“Thanks. You too.” I nod as she goes back inside.
I try to call Shannon again but she doesn’t pick up so I opt not to leave a message and text her instead.
ACE: Been thinking about you. Call me when you get this? Xoxo.
I stuff my phone in my pocket as I head to my rental car. I don’t want to go home just yet—it’s too damn quiet—so I figure I’ll grab some food and make a few calls. I have to update Chains and Erik, see what they want me to do.
I’ve just walked into a restaurant not far from my townhouse when my phone buzzes.
SHANNON: I have a surprise for you.
I grin as I type out a response.
ACE: Does it include a leather teddy, high heels, and maybe a flogger?
SHANNON: You know I just turned twelve shades of red, right? Don’t do that to me when we’re not together! And while we can discuss those things at some point in the future, that is NOT your surprise.
ACE: Well, are you going to tell me?
SHANNON: Maybe. What are you doing right now?
ACE: Working lunch. If we’re ever in Georgetown at the same time, I’ll have to bring you here. Brady’s is the best.
SHANNON: I’ve been there! Don’t forget, I grew up in the area.
ACE: Dammit, quit changing the subject. I want to know my surprise.
SHANNON: It’ll have to wait… How much longer will you be there?
ACE: Maybe an hour? I have a lot to tell you. You want me to call you when I get home?
SHANNON: I’ll talk to you then.
I chuckle to myself, feeling a lot better about my future, and dig into my burger.
* * *
I sit there eating the world’s best burger and thinking about what to do next.
Quitting was impulsive, but it was the right thing to do.
For me anyway. I’m a little lost, though, because the military and then the CIA were all I’ve ever done or wanted to do.
I never dreamed there would be someone like Shannon who could turn my world upside down with just a smile.
We have a lot of things to consider if we’re going to be together, but now I have the time to devote to her.
Impulsively, I call my dad. After watching Shannon struggle with her mom, I don’t want to let any more distance come between my parents and me.
We haven’t talked in a long time, and I didn’t even know who my father was until I was ten, since my mother never even told him she was pregnant.
We grew closer as I got older and then my mother died when I was seventeen.
At that point, my stepmother stepped into that role seamlessly.
Well, as much as anyone could since I was shipped off to military school the year before.
“Ace?” Dad answers right away, surprise in his voice.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m in Georgetown. How are you?”
“I’m good. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that.” I pause. “I mean it. I…well, I quit my job today.”
“You quit the…” Dad’s voice trails. He knows what I do for work and we never talk about it on the phone.
“Yeah. It’s a long story. I was thinking… Well, I was thinking maybe I’d come for a visit. Soon.”
“You’re always welcome.”
“Yeah, I know. I just didn’t know if you had plans for the holidays or…whatever.”
“We’re not going anywhere. When you know your plans, just shoot me a text.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.”
We talk for another minute and then disconnect.
That felt better than I thought it would.
It’s not that anything is wrong between us, but I don’t get to California often, and Dad and Brianna travel a lot.
I see them maybe once every other year, which isn’t much of a relationship.
I play the role of lone wolf better than anyone I know, and it may be time to stop that.
“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”
I turn at the sound of a soft female voice and freeze.
Shannon.
What is she doing here?
“Well, hi.” I get to my feet and press a firm kiss right on her mouth. “What are you doing here?”
“Surprising you.”
I chuckle. “I’m definitely surprised.” I motion to the chair across from me. “Hungry?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I wanted to, you know, talk.”
That doesn’t sound good and the happiness I’ve been feeling suddenly starts to dissipate, like a balloon with a tiny leak, the air releasing a little at a time.
We sit across from each other, and she puts her hands in mine, a sad but intense look on her face.
“What do we need to talk about?” I ask carefully.
“Us.” She chews her lip. “You came around a few times when I was a teenager, but you were older than me and I was way too scared to think about you romantically. I totally had a crush on you, though, and my dad teased me about it, but I was still a kid. When we met again, I didn’t know much about men but I knew you were special.
There was something about you that made me feel things I didn’t understand.
You set the bar so damn high I never met another man that lived up to your standard.
Your looks, your bravery, your service to your country, and of course, the heart of a man who was so kind to a dorky, na?ve college student. ”
“Shannon, I—”
“Let me finish.” She squeezes my hands. “When you showed up in Cologne, once I got past thinking you were the stalker, you were even better than the fantasies I’d written about in my diary.
You reminded me of everything I’d been waiting for, what I hoped I would someday find.
But everything went way too fast. I know we were caught up in the danger, the intrigue, the memories, and eventually, the passion.
But I don’t want to keep you from being who you are.
You’re not cut out for a life in the suburbs, and that’s pretty much the life I lead.
It would be selfish of me to ask you to give up what you love because of a childhood crush and some special moments intensified by the circumstances my mother set into play. ”
I stare at her, narrowing my eyes slightly. “Shannon, I’m not sure what’s going on in that head of yours, but there seems to be a disconnect somewhere.”
“You don’t have to say these things,” she protests mildly. “My mother told me to come after you and let you know how I feel, but that wouldn’t be fair to you. So, I’m here to tell you it’s okay—you don’t have to keep your promise to come back to me. I understand. Truly.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
What’s with this woman and her determination to do the opposite of what she wants, even when she essentially has permission to do it?
“Honey, I think—”
“You don’t have to say anything.” She presses two fingers to my lips. “I’m not upset.”
“You fucking better be,” I grunt, starting to get annoyed. “Because if you could just walk away from what we have, out of some misplaced sense of honor, we’re going to have a problem.”
Her eyes widen a little. “Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Well, let’s see. I just fucking quit my job because I’m falling in love with you and want to move to Cologne or Tahiti or wherever the hell else you want to go and make a life with you…and you just broke up with me. So I’m kind of pissed.”
She blinks.
Once.
Twice.
And then a third time, swallowing hard as she stares at me. “You, um, quit your job?”
“Yeah. I did.” I have to work hard to keep a straight face as myriad emotions flit across hers.
“And, um, you’re falling in love with me?”
“What did you think was happening? I made the mistake of telling your father I’d never stopped thinking about you and—”
“You did?” Her eyes round.
“About five years ago. But you were married and I was in the middle of some scary shit, and it came out by accident when we ran into each other at the embassy in Tel Aviv. So, he knew our encounter had been special, even though neither of us was in any place in life to do anything about it.”
“He never told me,” she whispers.
“He couldn’t. It would have been too hard to explain since he wasn’t supposed to be in Tel Aviv either.”
“I, um…don’t know what to say?”
I reach for her hand, both amused and exasperated. “Let’s head back to my parents’ townhouse and talk there.”
“Your parents have a townhouse here?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She’s a little flushed. “I have a rental car.”
She absently hands me the keys.