He laughed, as she’d hoped he would. He put some bills on the table, topped them with a water glass, got to his feet and held out his hand. She got up too, took his hand and as they walked to the Harley, she wondered what he was thinking…
Even as he wondered at that little slip he’d made, talking about the future, trying to figure out why he’d done it, why she hadn’t picked up on it—and whether the very thought of a future with the woman he loved, because he did love her, Jesus, he loved her with all he was or ever would be…
Chay dragged air into his lungs.
Mostly, as he sent the Harley roaring onto the road, he was wondering if loving her, planning a life together, had a survival chance better than that of a snowball in hell.
• • •
They ate ice cream. Picked up something for dinner. They passed a small clothing shop and Bianca said she wanted to go in buy and bras and panties. She had deliberately not taken any from her apartment.
“I am,” she said with determination, “tired of washing out my undies every night.”
Chay tugged her close and said he had a solution for that.
“Just don’t wear any,” he whispered in her ear. “No bras. No panties. And I’ll know you’re naked under whatever you have on. Naked, just for me.”
The suggestion made her blush. Not with embarrassment. With delight. It was a lovely idea and one she decided she’d work up the courage to try. For now, though, she went into the shop and bought undies, plus a couple of pairs of shorts, T-shirts, white canvas pants and an oversized linen cardigan.
All their conversation was light and easy. No talk of the future, and none of what had to happen next when Chay took the info they’d collected and put it to work. He’d said he could do a lot by phone, but Bianca had the feeling he’d probably have to do most of it on the ground, back east, and she just hoped he’d remember what she’d said, that she would go with him.
This was her problem, even though he’d taken it as his own.
Besides, what she’d left unspoken, yet come all too close to saying, was true.
She wanted to be wherever her lieutenant was.
He was her joy, her comfort, her lover. He was her love, even though he didn’t know it, and she was not about to lose a moment of precious time at his side.
• • •
The next day, they finally got down to work.
They settled in at the round redwood table on the deck with the final list of names they’d printed out yesterday.
They went over those names. Over them again and again, taking short breaks for coffee, for lunch, for a walk on the beach.
For an hour in each other’s arms.
A quick shower, and they returned to the list of names.
“None of these people leap out at you?” Chay said. “Something one of them said. Something one of them did. Something that seemed off.”
Bianca shook her head in frustration. “No.”
Chay huffed out a breath, opened the notepad in front of him and picked up a pencil.
“Okay. We’ll check out every one of these people. Deeper background checks. Interviews with their co-workers, friends, families.”
“How can you do that without making them suspicious?”
There were lots of ways. Some he’d talk about. Some he wouldn’t. But now wasn’t the time for that discussion.
“Ve haf vays,” he said with a leer, doing what he could to keep things light. “But for now, let’s try something else. Think about people you didn’t have listed in your computer. Consider anyone you might know, just casually, who raises an alarm bell. Even the faintest alarm bell. Remember what you said? That it might be anybody? A delivery guy who maybe seemed overly interested in you. A clerk at the supermarket. Somebody a little strange.”
Bianca plopped her elbows on the table and rubbed her hands over her face.
“Some people who are perfectly normal can come across as a little strange. I mean, we’re talking about Manhattan. Lots of people seem disassociated. Or withdrawn. Or just plain mean-tempered. Survival skills at work in a big urban environment.”