Chapter 8
Alex looked around her house in dismay as she realized there was nothing to do.
She had nothing left to unpack from when she moved in.
The house was spotless. The yard was pristine.
Her clothing was hung, color-coordinated by style, and her shoes were lined up perfectly.
She even had time to alphabetize the books on the shelf in her little library.
Yes, she had a library. That’s what happens when you buy a four-bedroom home for one person: you get a library, two guestrooms, an office, and a formal dining room that was completely empty because she had the furniture on order.
She had no idea why she had bought such a large home.
Despite the outrageous housing prices, she had the money, and the neighborhood was great.
The home had some privacy with mature trees and larger lots.
And the best part? There was a huge garage in the back for her collection of nonexistent cars.
She was sure she’d find something to do with it.
Maybe—when she wasn’t chronically working.
Of course, she was told to take a mandatory week’s vacation at minimum per Miles, and he hadn’t budged on it.
Alex thought she was going to be sneaky and get some work done on the sly until she realized she was locked out of her Gray Tower accounts.
That was when she understood how serious Miles was about her taking a break.
The problem was that she needed to keep her mind busy.
If she wasn’t busy, then she did poorly.
Her PTSD started acting up, and then she had to deal with the past.
She looked at her phone and checked the time: almost six.
She had at least one thing to do this week.
Kat, Ashlen, and Sophie had invited themselves over for Chinese and cheesy romance movies.
Unfortunately, Keira was stuck on bed rest at only six months pregnant, but she would video chat.
Alex felt terrible for her friend. Keira had spent two years locked in her childhood bedroom by her batshit crazy father—okay, fake father—and now she had to spend even more time in a bedroom stewing because of her high-risk pregnancy.
The alarm system beeped throughout the house, notifying her that someone was at the door.
The cavalry had arrived, and it would be a good distraction.
However, Alex still felt hollow from what had happened.
The assault had left her shaken, and her abduction had left her unsettled.
She thought of Blue Eyes more than she cared to admit.
She wondered how he was doing, where he was, what he was like without the drugs.
She knew she had to move on, but there was something about him that captivated her.
They had made a connection that night, and it would forever be with her.
The doorbell rang, and she hurried down the stairs and to the front door. Pulling it open, she saw Kat standing there, Chinese take-out cartons in hand. Sophie’s new SUV—picked out for the incoming twins—was pulling up, and so was Ashlen’s car.
“Well, you gonna invite me in, or are you going to stand there?” Kat asked, grinning.
Sophie and Ashlen had caught up with Kat, each carrying bags of food and drink.
Alex hustled them in, grabbing Sophie’s load.
The woman was in her fifth month of pregnancy.
Her baby bump was pronounced. There was a reason why she and her husband, Gabriel, had their wedding two months ago.
Sophie had wanted to look nice in her dress.
Plus, Gabriel wanted to make everything official.
He had gotten Sophie pregnant on a mission (she also happened to be a presidential candidate nominee’s daughter).
Sophie’s father hadn’t been happy, but Gabe had smoothed things over and saved the man’s life. So, it was all good.
“Oh, my gosh. I needed to get out of that apartment,” Ashlen said as she went straight to the kitchen, dinette, and living room combo. “It’s so cramped, and we’ve been living there for over a year. I thought it was going to be temporary.”
“Move,” Kat said with a shrug. “Jack and I are looking at houses.”
“Of course, you are,” Ashlen said with a sigh. “Now, I’m the one without the ring.” Then, she looked at Alex and murmured, “Oh, sorry, Alex. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
Alex shrugged.
“Nothing to be sorry about. I’m okay with being single.”
It was a lie.
“You’re never going to get a man if you won’t stop working,” Kat added, unscrewing a bottle of cola and pouring it into a glass.
“Maybe she could find someone at Gray Tower,” Sophie suggested.
“Yeah!” Ashlen agreed. “Why not Ryan? He’s the last of the elite team who is single.”
Alex fidgeted from foot to foot nervously as she grabbed plates and more glasses from the cabinets. She hated this conversation. It constantly happened, and she was sick of it.
“I don’t want to date Ryan,” she told them.
“Why not?” Sophie asked curiously. “He’s hot, sexy, sweet, smart…and available.”
“I’m not interested in him,” Alex said, heart pounding. “He’s not my type.”
“What is your type?” Ashlen asked.
“She has a checklist a mile long that’s impossible for any man to make,” Kat explained.
As Alex’s childhood best friend, she had given Kat that reason as to why she never went out on dates.
It seemed to satisfy her, though Kat had always gotten miffed that men gave Alex a lot of attention.
Of course, Kat never realized she was getting similar attention.
It took her fiancé, Jack, to knock some sense into her.
“I went through that after I broke off my engagement,” Ashlen said, opening the box of pizza and slamming two slices onto her plate.
“I felt like if I could find the perfect guy, then maybe he wouldn’t cheat on me like my fiancé did.
” She giggled. “I had that blog, and I was making so much money off the whole endeavor of finding this wonderful man. And who is my boyfriend? Mr. Gruff and Growly. And he’s the most amazing man I’ve ever met. ”
Alex smiled. She was ecstatic because her friends were happy in their relationships. It would just never happen to her.
“I know,” she said, trying to think of something to say to get her friends off her back. “I’ll find someone when the time is right.”
“Guys,” Kat cut in. “Let her off the hook. It’s none of our business what Alex does in her personal life unless she decides to tell us. I’m sure you guys had your friends and family down your throat about settling down.”
Sophie groaned.
“I know exactly what you mean. I made some dumb choices.”
The women giggled, and the topic dropped, allowing Alex to relax. Unfortunately, she was again faced with an unwelcome intrusion when her cell beeped. She glanced at it, doing a double-take when she saw the number.
Ryan Hale.
Oh, what the hell does he want? Alex thought.
It did cross her mind to ignore his call, but he was the first person who wasn’t a close friend to contact her in days. It was probably work-related.
“Hi,” she greeted, feeling awkward.
“Hey, it’s Ryan. Uh, Hale.”
Maybe he was feeling as uncomfortable as she was? For whatever reason, that made her feel a little better.
“I know. Your number is programmed in my address book.”
He chuckled, his voice low and husky.
“Yeah, you have everyone’s number in the whole company, don’t you? I probably shouldn’t feel special.”
Did he want to feel special? Oh, no. If this were a personal call for her, she would end up agreeing to whatever he wanted because her meddling friends were right next to her.
“Uh…I…” Alex trailed off, not knowing what to say.
“I’m joking, Alex,” he said with a chuckle, and she breathed a sigh. Then he said, “I already know I’m special.”
This time she laughed. He was trying to cheer her up.
Ryan was a sweet guy. Of all the elite ops guys, he was the nicest. Even when Logan made the occasional appearance on the team, Ryan still beat him in the “I’m an adorable sweetheart contest.” Of course, she knew Ryan could kill a man a hundred different ways.
“Keep telling yourself that, Mr. Hale,” Alex told him, deadpan.
He chuckled, but then the line went quiet. Alex noticed the room had gone silent as well. All the women were staring at her expectantly. They knew. In fact, they were all grinning.
Damn it.
Finally, Ryan broke the silence, saying, “I’m calling to check up on you. I feel terrible about what happened. I was responsible for that op, and I blew it.”
Alex felt horrible. How could she reassure him that it was all right?
He could never have anticipated someone like Blue Eyes coming into the equation.
He didn’t know that, despite having Sims try to assault her, she was somehow glad she met Blue Eyes.
Why? She didn’t know. She was having nightmares like crazy.
Her PTSD was stirred up, yet she knew she needed to be there.
Fate? A lesson from God? Something?
You are not making any sense, she scolded herself. Focus back on what you’re supposed to be doing, so you don’t look like an idiot.
“Ryan,” Alex began, trying to sound as firm as possible, “stop beating yourself up. I’ll only be disappointed in you if you keep this up. Stuff happens. We got through it. I’m doing fine.” A lie. “Don’t worry about me. Concentrate on bringing down Sims. Okay?”
There were a few moments of silence before Ryan said, “Yeah, okay.” Another awkward pause. “Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”
“Sure.”
When they awkwardly said goodbye and the call disconnected, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she looked up to see all three women staring at her expectantly.
Crap.
“So, I see Ryan is calling you,” Ashlen said casually. “That’s nice of him. Is there anything we need to know?” She grinned mischievously.
“He was just checking up on me,” Alex grumbled.
“Does he ‘check up’ on you often?” Sophie asked, using air quotes.
“No!” Alex said defensively. “That’s the first time he’s ever called me. Can we please drop this?”