Dare Me (Take Me 2)

Then she told Nikki, “I feel horrible about all of this. No question there. I won’t ever get over it and I’ll accept every ounce of grief because I’ll never get over it—you’ll never get over it. I just… I had a job to do. I had terrorists to stop. I infiltrated their group, I got my hands on their information and I… I had to place it in the correct hands, Nikki. Those hands are Damen’s.”

“Come on, Garcia,” Nikki moaned as tears filled her eyes. “You don’t get to yank on my heartstrings like that.”

“I’m not—not intentionally. I’m telling you straight-up why I did what I did. And I’m confessing that I’d do it again. I’m sorry for that, I am. I have no reason to want to hurt you, and it fucking sucks. But… You were there, Nikki. In Mexico City. You were part of the explosions so you know why I had to do what I did. You know…you were there and—”

“Please, stop talking.” Now, Nikki was nauseous. Yet…still starving. “I need more food.” She made to get up, but Garcia was quick to leap to her feet.

“Just sit tight. The fajitas are ready.”

“Oh, my God… Did you say fajitas?” Nikki had discovered heaven and paradise rolled into one.

And it just so happened to be well-armed.

So she reached for her beer and took a long drink.

Hoping to completely blank out what was currently happening with her computer.

Also hoping to blank out how tormented Damen likely was at this very moment…

Knowing neither was possible.

Especially as her cell began to ring.

Her eyes squeezed shut for several moments.

Now what?

38

It was Kate on the other end of the line, thankfully.

Nikki snatched her cell while Garcia was off loading up another plate for her, making Nikki feel slightly ill-at-ease that all of Garcia’s guilty feelings pretty much put the agent at Nikki’s beck and call.

Convoluted, but it was what it was.

“Hey,” Kate said when Nikki connected the call. “You can’t keep going radio-silent on me! I’m only getting snippets of wha

t the hell is going on, I have no idea where you are from one minute to the next, and I’m not saying I’m entitled to know or you absolutely should be letting me know—though I’m damn close to asking Jude to figure out how to GPS your ass—and speaking of Jude, I’m driving him crazy over worrying about you and that’s making him worry about you, too, and so… Do we need to come back to the States?”

Nikki laughed, despite the concern in her friend’s voice—and knowing Kate had every right to be spun up. Nikki had only really been giving her the big picture related to her current nightmare. Sure, she’d shared some golden nuggets with Kate, which had appropriately alarmed her best friend, but Nikki hadn’t divulged the latest news—her feelings for Damen, her struggle over her feelings for Damen and…oh, yeah…the potential for her computer to be blown to bits on some secret-ops campus in the middle of Virginia!

Nikki jumped to her feet and started to pace before the fireplace, wondering where to start with Kate.

Who said, “Are those mariachis I hear in the background? Are you at a party?”

“Yes, yes and no.”

“I’m sorry… I only asked two questions, girlfriend.”

“Yes, they’re mariachis,” Nikki said, “yes, it’s a party—a Mexican fiesta, rather. But no…it’s not really a party. Not for me. I’m just here for the food.”

“Your stomach does tend to pave the way for you,” Kate quipped, thankfully able to jest, so that meant she wasn’t too hellaciously spun up. Likely because she’d discerned Nikki was somewhere lively and upbeat—and that had to be a good sign, right?

Truthfully, it was infinitely helpful to Nikki’s psyche, she couldn’t deny. The vibrancy of the atmosphere and animated conversations were fantastic mood elevators, so that she wasn’t wallowing in sorrow or curled up on the sofa in the fetal position, crying her eyes out.

“So give me the 411,” Kate insisted. “I’m dying of curiosity and dread over here. You clearly haven’t made it to Switzerland.”

Something about that phrase, which was uttered at the exact same time Nikki caught sight of Garcia—what the hell was that woman’s first name?—assisting some of the elderly ladies with their plates by arranging fajitas on them and adding whatever toppings they specified, then delivering the plates to the tables where the trio sat before turning to a toddler who was all bundled up and helping him to get settled had a peculiar thought lodging in Nikki’s brain.