Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Foster liked work, but that wasn’t what she wanted to know.
“I like spending time with friends. Honestly, I like riding roller coasters. I wish I would have learned to surf earlier in my life, so I was better at it. But I do like surfing. I’m not great.
I mean, physically I should be able to do it, but there’s just something about it that I don’t get. ”
“Surfing, huh? I’ve never tried.”
“One day, when the water isn’t too rough, we should go out on a board. Trust me, I wouldn’t take you out on a day like this.”
“What about sharks?”
“They are out there. No question, there are loads of them. But the ocean is huge, and we would look for shark signs before we went out. And we wouldn’t go too deep.”
“That’s a lot of qualifications for avoiding sharks when I could just stay on land.”
Foster threw back his head, laughter spilling out. “You’re right, staying out of the water means you won’t run into a shark. You don’t have to get on the board with me, but if you’re ever interested, I’d take you out in calm water, and we’d make sure you felt safe.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again.”
This time he didn’t hold back, and he put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She didn’t flinch or jump away. She’d said she felt comfortable with him, and he guessed she did.
“You’ll get there. It will take work, but I have faith that you’ll get to a point that you feel better.”
“I freaking hope so because this is bullshit.” She glanced around, shrinking back as a man and woman walked closer.
Foster moved a little closer to her. “You’re safe.”
She gave one sharp nod and kept her eye on the couple. What did she sense from them? Maybe it wasn’t anything she felt, but perhaps the guy looked like someone who had abused her, or maybe she just didn’t like the looks of them.
He didn’t suggest they go anywhere, so they stayed on the bench for thirty minutes or so before the wind picked up and clouds blew in.
When Pen shivered, he stood. “It’s getting a little chilly out. How about we head back to the hotel?”
“Sure. That sounds good.”
They were almost at the car when he saw a few of the guys he knew. He waved and called out.
“Hey, Kevlar, Flash, Smiley.”
“Foster, good to see you.”
Pen seemed to hesitate, and he glanced over, seeing her studying his friends. He hoped she didn’t have a negative reaction to them. It took her another second to step closer and smile.
“This is Pen.”
It had to be obvious to these guys she wasn’t in great shape. He wasn’t sure if they’d heard about his last mission or not. Sometimes word traveled, other times it didn’t.
Kevlar nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Pen. I hope you’re enjoying the area.”
“I am. At least I think I am,” Pen said.
“If you get a chance, go to the zoo before you leave. Or are you planning on staying?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I might, but I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.”
Flash smiled. “You don’t have to decide.”
“Wait, do you all know what I’m doing here?”
“They are military like me,” Foster said.
“Sorry,” Kevlar said. “We didn’t mean to frighten you. We were with the officers when the decision was made to bring you here.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“We also decided to increase security at the hotel while you were staying there.”
Pen bit her thumbnail and Foster could tell she didn’t feel good about something. Maybe it was other people knowing, or maybe it was something else.
“We have a group monitoring back chatter, and no one knows you’re here,” Flash said.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what to think about that.”
Kevlar nodded. “I get that. It can be a lot.”
Kevlar’s attention was over their shoulder and he smiled, not like he did with military guys, but this was a real smile. Foster turned and saw Remi coming their way.
“My wife just showed up. Would you like to meet her?”
Pen nodded. “Sure. That would be nice.”
Kevlar moved to Remi and brushed a kiss over her cheek. “Hey, I have someone I want you to meet.” They walked over and Remi didn’t flinch as Pen stuck out her hand and the sweatshirt pulled up, revealing her way too thin arm.
“I’m Remi.”
“Hi Remi, I’m Pen. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Have you been in California long?”
Pen shook her head. “No, I guess just a day.”
“Well, when you’re ready, I’d love to have you for lunch.”
Pen nodded. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”
“Understandable. I hope you stay for a while.”
“Thank you.”
A car horn honked in the parking lot and Smiley lifted his hand to wave. “Sorry, they’re waiting for us.”
Foster shook their hands. “Have a good day. I’ll see you all later.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Remi called as she took off with them.
Foster waited until they were gone before he motioned to his car. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded but didn’t say anything. She wasn’t pensive, she just seemed lost in thought. He was halfway back to the hotel before she started talking.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have nowhere to live, nowhere to stay.”
“Don’t worry about that for now. I mean, I know it may seem like a hopeless situation, but I have a feeling everything will work out for you.”
Pen snorted a laugh. “I don’t know why you would think that.”
“Because now you know me.” He wasn’t sure why he’d said that. She might know him, but they weren’t friends. Not in the sense that he could actually help her. They were only together because he’d found her on his last mission.
He needed to stay detached, but he couldn’t.
There was something drawing him closer, and he didn’t want to stop it.
He liked being with Pen, and he wanted to spend more time with her.
Maybe it was selfish of him to want more, but he wasn’t doing this out of some place to get something for himself. He was truly interested in Pen.