Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

Jason stroked Courtney’s hair, watching the soft rise and fall of her chest. They lay on the couch in Blue Halo’s conference room. It was getting late, definitely past any kind of respectable dinnertime, but hell, the need to hold the woman overrode any hunger he should be feeling for food.

Courtney sighed. “This is nice.”

Nice wasn’t quite the word he’d use to describe holding the woman he loved. “It’s perfect.”

Yeah, that fit.

She snuggled against his chest under the blanket. He’d found it in a cupboard and said a silent thanks to whichever teammate had thought to store it there.

“Yes.” She stroked her fingers across the indents between the muscles of his chest. “I’m glad Tyler’s going to be okay.”

“Me too.” He’d felt her guilt since the explosion. She blamed herself because Tyler had been in that hotel to help protect her. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Mm.” A short pause. She didn’t believe him. “I’m glad he won’t have much scarring as well.”

“It’s pretty incredible really. That a blast that should have killed him, didn’t even send him to intensive care.”

They were still learning about everything their bodies were capable of after Project Arma. Every new element they encountered just amazed them more. “Some days, I almost feel like we’re indestructible.”

Her fingers paused. “Don’t say that. I want you to act like you’re a fragile wineglass teetering on the edge of a counter. Got it?”

He chuckled. “I’ll be careful, honey.”

She gave a small nod against his chest. “Good. And what about Peters? Feeling any better about him?”

Better? No. Frustrated that he couldn’t find anything to incriminate the guy? Yes. “The guy seemed to be telling the truth about your apartment and not tipping off the Mafia. But if neither were him, then I don’t know who it could have been. And just because he was telling the truth about that, doesn’t change the fact he’s done a shit job looking out for you.”

The FBI had been trained to lie, and to lie well, so he wasn’t discounting anything. The Mafia had a way of getting to people, with threats or bribes. Who the hell knew what was going on?

“So… keep one eye on him?”

“Keep two eyes on everyone.”

“Gosh, I’ll run out of eyes.”

He tickled her side and she squeaked, rolling onto his chest and looking down at him.

He brushed some hair from her face. So fucking beautiful. “How are your sessions with Grace going?”

Her eyes softened. “I love that woman. She’s an amazing therapist. So calm, always saying exactly what I need to hear. The first few chats were hard, I didn’t want to relive being locked in that freezer with Nicole. But once I did, it was like taking a weight off my chest. The words were out there. I could start recovering from this ridiculous fear of mine.”

“It’s not ridiculous.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Grace says. I was telling her that I stepped into the freezer at work without turning into a sobbing mess the other day. I didn’t stay in for long, but I’m going to work on increasing my durations.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re not a mess. And that’s fantastic.”

Courtney chuckled. “Thank you.” A small frown bunched between her brows. “I know I’ve said this before, but I wish I’d taken self-defense classes earlier. Like before Kieran had thrown me into the freezer.”

And just like the last time Courtney had said it, Jason felt the debilitating fear creep over his muscles. Fear of her fighting a criminal of any kind, Mafia, or sex trafficker… it was fucking terrifying, self-defense lessons or not.