“The woman who’s taken you off the market.”
Heat poured from his collar. “I’m definitely committed to staying single.”
She snorted. “Come on. I know that look. Fess up. You think about her all the time. No other woman measures up in comparison. When’s the last time you’ve seen her?”
Did his dreams count? On those occasions, his cock worked just fine. It was as if he could feel Lauren wrapped around him, taste her on his lips. More than one morning, he’d spent extra time in a cold shower waiting for his massive hard-on to subside. When he wasn’t dreaming about having sex with her, he was thinking of that cabin in Mazree. He’d even gone as far as searching out the place and phased to the cabin one lonely weekend. No one was there.
“She lives far away.”
Teri nudged him. “Does she know how you feel about her?”
“It’s complicated. Especially since I’m assigned to Project Samson. I have to stay focused on the here and now.” Time to change the conversation to more important things. He leaned in. “The new armor upgrades must be pretty intense. Dent seems worried.”
“You know that I’m buzzed, not drunk.”
He feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”
“You hotshots are all the same.” She chuckled. “Trying to get the inside scoop to give you an edge. It’s not a competition.”
Playing onto the ego factor, he shrugged. “Can you blame me? Navy is all amped up about showing off for the admiral coming next week. If they beat my time, you know I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Her gaze narrowed on him as if deep in thought. She crooked her finger for him to come in closer. “Only because I like you, and remember, you didn’t hear this from me…. The admiral moved up his visit. We’re doing the demo tomorrow afternoon, and Dent’s definitely not happy about it.”
Reid swirled the beer in his bottle and tamped down the tension in his gut. Damn. No time. He had to find the formula. Now. “So I guess since you’re not working late tonight, you and the techs have an early morning.”
She snorted. “You would think, but no. Dent’s handling it personally. He’s doing everything from the physical stat check for the guys doing the demo to suiting them up.”
“Why? What’s so important about the upgrades?”
“That’s the funny thing. We haven’t seen them. No schematics or specs. Nothing.” She shook her head. “Be glad you’re not in on this one. I wouldn’t want to demo something I only had a couple of hours to figure out.”
In the darkened lab, Reid pulled his cell from the pocket of his black jeans and checked the time. Twenty-eight minutes after. Two more minutes before Speaks had to bring the alarm and video feeds back on line. The hacker did have his moments of brilliance. He’d also come through with the right codes to open the storage safes, including the one in Dent’s office. Unfortunately, he’d found no vials, tubes, or packets marked with the DELILAH code. If Teri was right about Dent, he’d probably transport it to work with him.
He made one last visual sweep. Assured he’d left nothing open or behind, Reid phased to his rented black SUV. Cars dotted the twenty-four-hour, superstore parking lot. No one noticed or cared about him suddenly appearing. He went inside, stocked up on energy drinks, and grabbed a premade deli sandwich and chips.
Parked near Dent’s house in a subdivision still under construction, he settled in. As he sat in the SUV, he searched the place through his binoculars. Someone was still up. Reid rubbed his gritty eyes. Double duty was starting to wear on him. He missed the benefits of working as a team. They all would have had assignments. He could have spent more time in the program, watching for clues. Colby would work on intel. Mace usually ran surveillance. Thane. He wouldn’t be there. He was too busy handling Celine.
Reid tossed the bag of chips aside. The team wouldn’t function the same, but they’d get the job done. As second in command, he had the same leadership style as Thane. He allowed the guys to take initiative. He also didn’t mind them respectfully sharing input.
While he was gone, they were combing through their last mission, trying to find answers. Where did the ball get dropped? What had they missed? Was Dalir mission ineffective when it came to providing the right supernatural intel? Dalir had the power to decide a lot of things, but if they made that determination about him, he’d have to confront him. As a incorporeal presence, Dalir couldn’t physically put boots on the ground to get things done. They put their asses on the line for him. If he messed up, they suffered.