“I can help,” said Ava, joining him near the sink.
“I actually would prefer if you didn’t. I like doing dishes. It relaxes me.”
“Hey, Tabon? You should invite your sister back over now. A man who cooks the way Monk does who also likes doing dishes? She should grab him before someone else does.”
Razor watched her expression change from playful back to somber. He knew the transition well. When he, Gunner, and Mercer all believed that Doc had been killed in action, every smile was followed by a somber moment of regret. It was a horrible way to live for those two years, until they discovered he’d been held captive by a group of Russians. Finding out he was still alive was one of the best days of Razor’s life.
Soon, he prayed, Ava could smile with the same sense of relief, knowing her sister was safe.
“Would it be okay if I took a shower?” Ava asked.
“Of course.”
“I was on my way, earlier, after my run, when I met your sister and nieces.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to ask, Avarie.”
“Thanks.”
He watched her walk to his bedroom door, where she turned back around.
“Coming?” she asked.
“You know it. I’ll be right there.”
Ava nodded.
“Any news?” he asked Monk.
“The last update I received, Gunner hadn’t made contact with Ivashov yet.”
“Keep me posted.”
Razor hadn’t thought to ask Gunner where Raketa was traveling from, earlier, when he said she was on her way to Seattle. It could be hours before they connected if she was coming from Russia. Although, that wouldn’t make sense. No agent in their right mind would risk divulging what she’d told Gunner if she were still in her country.
Gunner had a shit-ton of backup, not that he couldn’t handle Raketa on his own, but if she was setting a trap, at least he wasn’t alone.
He slipped inside the bedroom door, and could see Ava in the bathroom, undressing. He would’ve preferred peeling those clothes off her gorgeous body himself, but watching was pretty nice too.
She seemed lost in thought. Was she thinking about Aine? As much as he hoped she wasn’t, how could she not be? There was a very real possibility that her sister had been abducted in her place. How could she not feel the burden that knowledge brought with it?
Razor took off his clothes where he stood, and walked into the bathroom.
“Oh,” she gasped. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
When she looked him up and down, Razor couldn’t tell if she was admiring what she saw, or wondering what the hell he was doing.
She opened the glass door of the shower, but didn’t close it behind her, so he followed her in.
“Tabon,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Have I told you how much I love that name?”
“I always hated it until I heard it from your sweet lips.”
Razor picked up the body wash and drizzled some on his hands, rubbing them together to make a lather.
He started with her neck, massaging her tense muscles with his soapy hands. Ava closed her eyes and leaned back against the tile.
“That feels so good.”