CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sunday, September 17th
Lucky stood next to Stazi on the sidewalk in front of The Bristol Restaurant while Hank and Sam were inside getting them a table for a late brunch. Feeling her best friend’s steady gaze, she wondered how long it would take before the inquisition began. “So, what did you and Hank do last night?”
“Nothing as interesting as you and Sam by the looks of the hickeys on your neck.”
She moved her hand to her scarf and readjusted it. “I’m pleading the fifth.”
“You can plead whatever you want, but the evidence is clear and you…like him. Sam Barton Secret Agent Man is your loooover.”
Moving her eyes from side to side, Lucky tried to determine how many people had heard Stazi’s loud voice as she made the pronouncement. When no one seemed all that interested, she let out a breath. “Sam and I have managed a detente and are getting along.”
“How many times did you scream his name?”
“Stazi, what has gotten into you?”
Swirling her hand around, she let out a snort. “Please, don’t pretend that Sam Barton did not rock your world. I figured all that control he’s got was either going to make him an incredible lover or a complete dud and since you have little hearts floating in your eyes, I’m guessing incredible.”
“Mind blowing and incredible.”
Stazi wrapped her arm around Lucky and squeezed. “I’m so happy because I haven’t seen you this happy in a while.”
Lucky hugged Stazi back. “I don’t want to talk about it too much because I’m afraid it will disappear too quickly if I do. This might just be a short-lived thing and nothing more, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
“I understand, the relationship is in its infancy stage and nothing could kill it faster than to weigh it down with all kinds of expectations.”
A warm breeze blew across the street and lifted Lucky’s hair off her shoulder and, as she twirled it into a knot, she caught sight of Sam inside the restaurant and knew Stazi was right. The intimacy that she and Sam shared last night broke something loose in her being and she wasn’t ready to see what it meant. Because, as far as she knew, falling in love was easy and having sex even easier, but bumping into someone that sparked your soul…well, that was a rare and miraculous event. And she wasn’t necessarily ready for any miracles.
“Here they come,” Stazi said as the men walked in their direction.
“It’s only going to be fifteen minutes,” Sam said as he stepped next to Lucky. “We should be able to survive.”
“Speak for yourself,” Hank said as he wrapped his arm around Stazi. “We only had coffee and toast this morning and I’m starved.”
“I offered to make you eggs and you declined,” Stazi said as she moved away from his embrace.
“I like the other thing you offered more, so it was worth it.”
Lucky let out a laugh as she watched Stazi’s face color and elbowed Hank. “You could’ve kept your mouth shut and saved yourself a lot of grief.”
“What fun would that be?” Hank replied as he embraced Stazi and kissed her cheek.
“Living on the edge, my friend,” Sam added as he slung his arm over Lucky’s shoulder.
The hostess waved to them and the group moved into the restaurant and were soon seated. “I heard this is the best place for brunch in the city,” Lucky commented as she picked up the menu.
Sam leaned over and raised an eyebrow. “What are we having?”
“Everything,” she replied with a smile.
His mouth was close to her ear and he whispered, “Good idea because we’re going to need our energy for later.” Kissing her cheek, he then sat up and took her hand. “It all looks good.”
Lucky studied the exposed brick wall for a moment and wondered if she should say anything; when no clear answer revealed itself, she returned her attention to the menu. “I’ll pick the sweet and you pick the salty.”
“Okay, sounds good,” he replied. “Chicken and biscuits look good.”
“So, do you two share food?” Hank asked as he set down his menu.
“We seem to the few times we’ve been out to eat,” Lucky replied.
“Staz and I have it down to almost an art form now and I have to say I can’t ever imagine going back to having just one choice as a meal.”
Sam pointed at him and grinned. “I couldn’t agree more. We’ve only just started to get our rhythm, but I’m betting in another year, we’ll be able to do it without much more than a shared glance.”
Lucky felt Stazi kick her shin and she looked up and almost lost it when she saw her friend’s expression of satisfaction. Rolling her eyes, she picked up her water and drank more than half of it down. Sam and his planning were more than she was ready for without a sufficient amount of caffeine and she’d had nowhere near enough.
The waitress approached and she decided to focus on choosing something to eat and not Sam and his wild plans. One night did not change a person’s life, no matter how spectacular.
***
Sam sat on Lucky’s front stoop and watched Judit snuffle around the grass and wondered how the new intimacy he and Lucky had created was going to play out in their everyday lives. Hearing the door open, he looked over his shoulder and saw Lucky come out with two glasses of wine. She handed him one and then sat down.
“Leftovers.”
“Lasagna is always better the second day, and I’m happy to share any meal with you, no matter what we eat.”
“Charmer.”
“I have a lot to make up for, honey.”
“What are you doing this week at work?”
“Digging through intel and trying to come up with a way to go after Yolkin’s group. I don’t want to waste time by going after the low-level guys in his organization because I’m tired of picking up the small rats. I’m going to be patient and see if we can find a way into the heart of the beast.”
“If you need any help, let me know because I’d be happy to see you slay those dragons.”
“Thanks.” Judit wandered over and lay across their feet and he felt like, for the first time in forever, that all the pieces of his life were falling into place. “What do you have going on at work?”
“Catching up. I have a bunch of projects that have been languishing since I took on the hack, and now that it’s taken care of I can get back to them.”
“Is the day-to-day stuff you have to take care of going to seem boring after you and Grif headed off the cyber attack?”
“No, I actually like the day-to-day challenges of trying to meet the intelligence needs of the company. Being with SAI has offered me the opportunity to have a varied work day and I never had that before joining the company. When I was a gun for hire and doing pen tests, it was the same thing week in and week out, and it wasn’t very challenging after a while.”
“When you say pen tests, you mean a penetration test, right?”
“Yes, sorry. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is fluent in geek-speak. I used to do a couple a month and while I loved the eighty-thousand I got paid per job, it wasn’t that challenging.”
“Jeeeez, Lucky, that’s a hell of a paycheck.”
“I know, but money isn’t everything and working alone all the time wasn’t appealing anymore. I actually spent one full week in my house and never left because I had so many jobs to complete. Didn’t speak with any friends or family and just ran authorized simulated attacks on computer systems one after another until I reached the heart of every system I was authorized to hack. When I finally walked out of my house and looked around at the world, I knew I needed to get a new gig or at least work in an office part time so I would be forced to engage in human interaction.”
“I take it when Hank offered you the job, it came at exactly the right time.”
“You would be correct. It took me a while to get used to going into an office every day and dealing with retired SEALs, but I eventually got the hang of it and I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.”
“I think you found the perfect fit.”
“I agree.” Lifting his hand, she checked his watch. “I should pull the lasagna out of the oven.”
Running his hand over Judit’s head, he waited until she looked up. “Time to go in, girl; Mom says it’s time for dinner.”
Rising slowly, she gave them both a doggy nod. “Sammy, I can’t tell you how much I love this dog; thank you for making it possible.”
He stood and held out his hand and helped her up. “It’s only the beginning. You want something, Lucky, then I’m going to find a way to get it for you. Make no mistake about it.”
Watching her face soften and a smile tug at her mouth let him know that what they had started over the weekend was only the beginning.