Running Off Radar, page 19
“Did they stay on the scene?”
Green frowned. “Waste of fuel to keep a helo hovering until the state troopers could motor out. They left the swimmer on the beach with a weapon.” Maji’s puzzlement must have shown, because she added, “In case of bears. They come out of the hills hungry in the spring. Ruins the evidence.”
“So did the swimmer get a lift back with the troopers? And have we read his statement?”
“Hers,” Green corrected. “Yes. You’re welcome to it, though it won’t help. Coroner’s report confirms everything she noted about blunt force trauma, time of death based on the body temp, the water temp, and the rise in the tide.”
“How long was he out there?”
“Hours.”
“Long enough to off-load the gold from the Arkhangel onto the Eagle Song before calling the Coast Guard for help?”
Kim and Green looked at each other. “If they had a tender, they could have gone to Charlie for help, killed him, taken his boat, off-loaded the gold, and put his boat back in its quiet cove looking innocent. Maybe,” Green said.
“They’d still risk the gold being found that way,” Kim noted.
“But that’s a deferred risk, unlike sinking,” Maji said.
“Regs require they have a working tender,” Green said. “But then, these guys didn’t know to make sure all their valves were closed. So who knows.”
“Thumb might have rigged the leak to throw a wrench in the works.” If it meant stopping Sirko, Maji knew he’d gladly sink a ship and get in a gumby suit to await rescue.
“No way to know unless he tells us,” Kim said, dialing his phone. “Checking on that tender.”
“I heard the Coasties towed the Eagle Song back in,” Maji said. “Do we know exactly who did that?” There had to be a chain of custody log someplace.
“Sure. Coast Guard had a boat out in the channel for marker maintenance, so they sent it over.”
“Have the crew on that boat all been screened?”
Green’s brows rose and she turned to Kim, who was just hanging up.
“The tender was towed in behind the Arkhangel and didn’t have to go to salvage. Boatyard manager says one of the Russian guys puttered away in it,” Kim reported.
“Great,” Green said, sounding anything but happy. “And we have another crew to run checks on now.”
“I’m going to touch base with Command again,” Maji said. She went to the window and looked out into the black sky, toward where she knew Mt. Edgecumbe sat across the water. Dogpatch confirmed there was no word from Thumb yet.
At the knock on the office door, Maji turned and looked along with the other two. “Enter.”
AET Taira pushed the door open and stood at attention. “I’m clocking out soon. Lieutenant Commander Fitzsimmons asked me to see if you needed anything before my watch ends. Or call if you need him to come in.”
“Thanks, no,” Kim answered for them.
“Aye, aye.” Taira turned to leave.
Green stood abruptly. “Wait.”
Taira turned back. “Ma’am?”
“Rios needs a ride.” She looked to Maji. “We’ll be a while yet. You should get some rest.”
Maji looked to Taira. “You don’t have to walk the dog or anything, do you?”
* * *
Taira slowed her Jeep to a crawl on the quiet residential street, and Maji gave her the house number.
“I know,” Taira responded, pulling to the graveled shoulder across from Dee’s house. “I came by to check on her when she was in the hospital. Ended up talking to Nate instead.” She hesitated. “I know we’re not supposed to ask you three about…anything, but…what are we doing here?”
“Making sure she’s safe.”
“Oh. Good.”
As they spoke, Dee walked in front of the picture window, backlit by a lamp somewhere deep in the living room. “Jesus,” Maji exhaled. She got out and closed the Jeep door quietly, heading for the front door.
“Hey, what are you—” Dee began when she saw Maji on her doorstep.
“Do you have any security here at all?” Maji interrupted.
Dee looked sullen. “Both doors lock.”
“Really. Stay here.” Maji turned and nearly knocked Taira down. She almost ordered her back to the vehicle, then thought better of it. “You too. Right here.”
Maji skirted the little house easily in the dark, guided by light from the windows. At the back door she spent all of thirty seconds breaking in. She crossed quietly through the kitchen and dining area to the foyer. “No fucking security.”
Both women startled. Neither bothered to ask how she got in.
“Get inside.”
They obeyed, Taira looking around with frank curiosity. Dee closed the door behind them, chagrin warring with hostility on her face. “So? It’s my house. I can take care of myself.”
“Not alone, on display.” Maji waved at the picture windows, then walked over to them and yanked the blinds down. Then she spotted the bottle of tequila on the coffee table. “Is that open?”
“No. And it’s not new, either. Charlie put it there three years ago. He said he needed to know…” She turned her back on them.
“You don’t need to prove anything,” Taira said, reaching one hand toward Dee, then pulling back.
“And you don’t need to spend another night alone with a ghost,” Maji added. “Let me check you in at my hotel, just till we round the jackasses up. Couple days, tops.”
“No.” Dee turned back and crossed her arms. “I’ll go to Mom’s.”
Maji shook her head. “Too predictable. Look, there’s a couch at my, well, Rose’s suite.”
“I have a couch too,” Taira interjected. Seeing Dee’s look of alarm, she added, “No one would expect you to be there. Would they?”
Maji almost chuckled. “You on Lifesaver Road in Coastie housing?” With the Authorized Personnel Only signs and a small tight-knit group of neighbors. Not bad.
“Yep. Right next to Jack’s place. We could even borrow Jasper. He’s very protective.” Taira gave Dee a challenging look. “Unless you’re ashamed to be seen leaving my place in the morning?”
Dee blinked twice. “No.”
Maji took that as a yes to the proposal. “Okay, then. Grab whatever you need for two nights.”
* * *
When Maji opened the door to the hotel suite, she wasn’t surprised to find Dev on the couch, reading a paperback by the light of a single floor lamp. “Hey,” she whispered.
“Dude. How was your day, dear?”
She took a seat at the far end of the couch from him. Now that he was a regular Army Reserve member and no longer part of Delta, she couldn’t brief him on the mission. But at least she had been able to share the Russians’ photos, which were on public record thanks to the arrest. She pulled her copy of their passport shots out of her jacket pocket and held the one of Tom between them. “Nice day, mostly spent with nice locals. The two I tangled with got get-out-of-jail-free cards, courtesy of Dmitry. You recognize him, right?”
Dev squinted at the shot of Tom in his cover persona. “Well, I’ll be damned. Is that a scar? Crappy haircut too.”
“Yeah. I bet he’s got some tattoos that don’t wear off, since we saw him last.”
“Have you heard from him?” Dev asked, then rolled his eyes. “Not that you could tell me. Would be nice to know if there’s a tie-in with Doc’s stalker, that’s all.”
“Amen, brother,” Maji answered obliquely. “No sign then that Javi’s left town, now that he’s been made?”
Dev shook his head. “He gave Rose some line about getting paid more the longer he stays and not wanting to tell them she’s not interested in the reality TV thing until he gets home.”
“Got ears on him?”
Dev nodded. He looked tired. “Dude’s reporting in by phone. Just that Doc’s still here, so far. Oh, and that she’s with you, and where you two are staying.”
“Great.” For months she’d stayed away from Rose, and within days of their getting together that fucking psycho knew it. Too late to undo. “Did Hannah suggest moving her?”
A creaking behind her caused Maji to turn. Rose stood framed in the bedroom door, in the long T-shirt she used as pajamas. “If I’m endangering Ri, Dev, I want to get on a plane with you tomorrow. Right after my presentation.”
“No, that’s not—” Maji stopped when Dev poked her with his toe. “What?”
“Think about it, dude,” he said.
Maji thought. Did Sirko know her face now, as well as her Army name? The Photoshopped likeness his goons had relied on last summer would be useless now, if Sirko did have a mole at the Coast Guard. And he might hurt Rose just for payback, or just to throw her off her game. “Fuck.” She sighed. “Okay, book two seats out in the afternoon.”
“Good call, dude.”
Thinking beyond this mission, Maji asked Rose, “You up for a bit of acting?”
“Does it involve my not being in love with you again? I have had a chance to practice that role.”
Maji nodded. “Maybe a bad breakup.” Temporary and completely fake, please.
“You want Javi on ice after he calls that in?” Dev asked.
“If he doesn’t get on the first plane out—yes.” She paused. “Can you do that and keep eyes on Rose?”
He gave her a look to remind her that he had his own set of special skills. “I’ll manage.”
“If you think I should skip my presentation, I’ll forgive you,” Rose replied. “So long as you don’t get hurt.”
Maji never could promise that, so she didn’t. “Let’s keep this as normal as possible for you.” And anyone else watching to see if you try and bolt.
“Pretend breakups are not normal.”
“Sorry. I meant the give your talk, wow the colleagues, and win tenure part.”
Rose did not look convinced. “Are you two about done?” When they looked at each other and nodded, she added, “Then good night, Dev.”
Dev gave Maji a look she was happy he didn’t translate into words. “I’m in the room next door. If you need me, bang on the wall. If you don’t need me, try not to make any alarming noises.”
“Dude,” Maji replied, annoyed with how much fun he took poking at her for her first serious relationship. Then another thought struck. “We’re still clean in the suite, right?”
He nodded. “I swept again. Other than a bag of clothes you should maybe throw out, you’re clean. Relax, 'ukhti alsaghira.”
“Thanks. And good night, akhi.” She usually saved the term my brother for Tom. But if she was my little sister tonight, he could be a sibling too. Tomorrow they’d go back to dude.
* * *
Rose didn’t move from the bedroom doorway until Maji had closed the door to the hall behind Dev and locked it. Much as she liked Dev and hoped to get to know him better someday, she planned to do it by meeting his wife and daughters. Showing off her bare legs and braless top was not part of that plan, no matter how many times he’d seen her in a bikini last summer. Now that they were alone, she wanted Maji less dressed also.
Maji turned and nearly bumped into her, catching the look in her eye as she put her hands out to stop the collision. “Um…”
“Oh,” Rose said. “Are you still on the clock?”
Maji took a small step back, frowning slightly. “I need to get online briefly, and after that I’m on call.” She paused. “I was just going to check on you and then take the couch.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We both need rest. I promise not to keep you up…too long.”
“Yeah, but if they call and I miss it, that would be really bad.”
“You’ll get a phone call?” Rose asked, feeling there was something she was missing still. “Then why not come to bed?”
Maji looked at her steadily for a few seconds. “Have you ever done drugs? Molly, ecstasy, coke, anything?”
“I’ve had pot brownies. And smoked a little.”
“I don’t mean buzzed. I had more mind-altering…in mind. Truly not aware of your surroundings.”
Rose didn’t want to ask what Maji had taken to reach that effect. The thought of her that vulnerable, or that dangerous, was disturbing. “No. I guess not. Does that make me boring? Or just sheltered?”
“Not boring. Never boring. Could you maybe sit down?” Maji looked uncomfortable.
Rose sat. Maji sat across the little table and took her hand. “Tell me, Maji.”
“When you want me, and you’re within reach, I’m pretty much toast. You kiss me, and I don’t hear people come in the room. You touch me, and the rest of the world fuzzes out.” She looked away. “I really could miss that call.”
“Oh. I…” I want to come over and see that theory in action. Damn the Army anyway. “You’d better get to work then.”
“I’m so sorry.” Maji’s green eyes looked heartbreakingly sad.
Rose squeezed her hand. “Don’t you dare say things like that and then apologize. Just get your obligations out of the way as quickly as you can.”
Maji nodded and fetched her laptop. She set it up on the tabletop and booted up. “You don’t have to stay up,” she said over the screen. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Manage yourself, Sergeant,” Rose replied. She stood, restless with the thoughts she was holding back. “Can I get you something? Tea?”
Maji’s hands on the keyboard stilled. “Do we have any food?”
“An apple and those nuts-and-twigs bars you like.”
“Cool,” Maji replied more to the screen than to Rose.
When Rose set the snacks near her, Maji was reading her screen with full attention, only her eyes moving back and forth. She frowned, typed again for nearly a minute at a furious speed, and then looked up. She noticed the glass of water, Clif bar, and apple to her left. “Thanks. I’m nearly done.”
“Just do what you need to do,” Rose said.
Maji barely seemed to hear her, biting into the apple while she watched something on the screen. Rose slipped off to the bedroom and changed into the silk teddy she had packed in an optimistic moment. Maji hadn’t used the word addiction in her drug metaphor, but Rose would have understood if she had. Only the thought that she might somehow endanger Maji by taking a part of her highly focused attention from her work made Rose keep her distance, even now. It might be selfish, but she was not going to give up their last night together. Once Maji walked out that door, who knew when she’d see her again?
Rose heard Maji go into the bathroom, brush her teeth, flush, and wash. She slipped a robe on and waited for her in the doorway to the bedroom, at a respectable distance. When the door opened, Maji seemed a little surprised to see her.
“Thought you gave up on me.”
“I tried that once. It didn’t work. Are you done?”
Maji nodded and waited in the bathroom doorway.
“Where’s your phone?” Rose asked.
“On the table.”
Rose picked it up and headed back into the bedroom. She set it on Maji’s side, on the bedside table, and turned to see Maji in the doorway, a question on her face. “I turned the volume all the way up and plugged the charger in.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you want to put your gun in the safe?”
Maji’s hand went around to her lower back. “No. I should keep it handy.” She handed it to Rose and watched her set it by the phone, still looking puzzled. “Your tomorrow is as important as mine. Why do I get the bed?”
“Because the couch isn’t big enough for both of us.”
“Rose…”
Rose didn’t approach her, wanting to make sure Maji heard her out without lust clouding her response. “Don’t argue. Just listen. I go home tomorrow, and you go God knows where. I don’t fault you for that, and I don’t want you to apologize. But when you have the chance to be with me, whether it’s for five minutes or five years, I want one hundred percent of you.”
“Okay. But what about…” Maji gestured toward her phone, blushing.
“I will not let you miss that call. I will be your designated driver, so to speak. Trust me.”
Maji closed her eyes, nodding. The mix of fire and vulnerability in them when she met Rose’s gaze again made Rose reach out.
Maji took her hands and pulled gently until they stood forehead to forehead, the tips of their noses brushing. “Yes.”
Rose slipped the robe from her shoulders and was gratified to hear Maji groan, still holding herself back from the kiss seconds away. “I know you’ll stop if I tell you to. But unless I do, nothing exists but us. Understood?”
“Yes,” Maji rasped. “Yes.”
Chapter Seventeen
Maji stretched to reach her phone, pulled it near her face, and clicked it on. No calls, thank God. Maybe she would have heard. Maybe not. The screen’s brightness made the room seem darker, despite the soft filter of dawn through the curtains. Five thirty. She should probably get up and get ready.
“No calls,” Rose mumbled. “Need more sleep?” She sounded nearly coherent now.
“Whatever you want.” Maji snugged back into Rose’s front. “Do you need to practice your talk?”
Rose kissed the back of her shoulder. “No. Dee and Dev were my test audience. I’m ready.”
“Really? Both of them?” Maji wondered how they liked each other.
“Yes. Dev was very polite, and Dee…she’s lonely.”
Maji picked up the sympathy in Rose’s voice. She was right, of course. “She said that?”
“Not in so many words. But she likes this woman, and she’s afraid to even try with her. It’s sad.”
“A Coastie? Petite Japanese American, pretty and kind of…smart-ass?”
Rose pushed her. “How did you know? Are you bugging me?”
“Nope. I sent Dee to her house last night. Maybe that couch got slept on, maybe not.”
“Trickster,” Rose murmured into Maji’s neck. Then she started nibbling softly on the spot where Maji’s neck and shoulder met. “Tasty trickster. I’m not even going to ask.”
Rose’s hand slipped from Maji’s waist down to tease her center, then slid up her belly to the space between her small breasts.
Green frowned. “Waste of fuel to keep a helo hovering until the state troopers could motor out. They left the swimmer on the beach with a weapon.” Maji’s puzzlement must have shown, because she added, “In case of bears. They come out of the hills hungry in the spring. Ruins the evidence.”
“So did the swimmer get a lift back with the troopers? And have we read his statement?”
“Hers,” Green corrected. “Yes. You’re welcome to it, though it won’t help. Coroner’s report confirms everything she noted about blunt force trauma, time of death based on the body temp, the water temp, and the rise in the tide.”
“How long was he out there?”
“Hours.”
“Long enough to off-load the gold from the Arkhangel onto the Eagle Song before calling the Coast Guard for help?”
Kim and Green looked at each other. “If they had a tender, they could have gone to Charlie for help, killed him, taken his boat, off-loaded the gold, and put his boat back in its quiet cove looking innocent. Maybe,” Green said.
“They’d still risk the gold being found that way,” Kim noted.
“But that’s a deferred risk, unlike sinking,” Maji said.
“Regs require they have a working tender,” Green said. “But then, these guys didn’t know to make sure all their valves were closed. So who knows.”
“Thumb might have rigged the leak to throw a wrench in the works.” If it meant stopping Sirko, Maji knew he’d gladly sink a ship and get in a gumby suit to await rescue.
“No way to know unless he tells us,” Kim said, dialing his phone. “Checking on that tender.”
“I heard the Coasties towed the Eagle Song back in,” Maji said. “Do we know exactly who did that?” There had to be a chain of custody log someplace.
“Sure. Coast Guard had a boat out in the channel for marker maintenance, so they sent it over.”
“Have the crew on that boat all been screened?”
Green’s brows rose and she turned to Kim, who was just hanging up.
“The tender was towed in behind the Arkhangel and didn’t have to go to salvage. Boatyard manager says one of the Russian guys puttered away in it,” Kim reported.
“Great,” Green said, sounding anything but happy. “And we have another crew to run checks on now.”
“I’m going to touch base with Command again,” Maji said. She went to the window and looked out into the black sky, toward where she knew Mt. Edgecumbe sat across the water. Dogpatch confirmed there was no word from Thumb yet.
At the knock on the office door, Maji turned and looked along with the other two. “Enter.”
AET Taira pushed the door open and stood at attention. “I’m clocking out soon. Lieutenant Commander Fitzsimmons asked me to see if you needed anything before my watch ends. Or call if you need him to come in.”
“Thanks, no,” Kim answered for them.
“Aye, aye.” Taira turned to leave.
Green stood abruptly. “Wait.”
Taira turned back. “Ma’am?”
“Rios needs a ride.” She looked to Maji. “We’ll be a while yet. You should get some rest.”
Maji looked to Taira. “You don’t have to walk the dog or anything, do you?”
* * *
Taira slowed her Jeep to a crawl on the quiet residential street, and Maji gave her the house number.
“I know,” Taira responded, pulling to the graveled shoulder across from Dee’s house. “I came by to check on her when she was in the hospital. Ended up talking to Nate instead.” She hesitated. “I know we’re not supposed to ask you three about…anything, but…what are we doing here?”
“Making sure she’s safe.”
“Oh. Good.”
As they spoke, Dee walked in front of the picture window, backlit by a lamp somewhere deep in the living room. “Jesus,” Maji exhaled. She got out and closed the Jeep door quietly, heading for the front door.
“Hey, what are you—” Dee began when she saw Maji on her doorstep.
“Do you have any security here at all?” Maji interrupted.
Dee looked sullen. “Both doors lock.”
“Really. Stay here.” Maji turned and nearly knocked Taira down. She almost ordered her back to the vehicle, then thought better of it. “You too. Right here.”
Maji skirted the little house easily in the dark, guided by light from the windows. At the back door she spent all of thirty seconds breaking in. She crossed quietly through the kitchen and dining area to the foyer. “No fucking security.”
Both women startled. Neither bothered to ask how she got in.
“Get inside.”
They obeyed, Taira looking around with frank curiosity. Dee closed the door behind them, chagrin warring with hostility on her face. “So? It’s my house. I can take care of myself.”
“Not alone, on display.” Maji waved at the picture windows, then walked over to them and yanked the blinds down. Then she spotted the bottle of tequila on the coffee table. “Is that open?”
“No. And it’s not new, either. Charlie put it there three years ago. He said he needed to know…” She turned her back on them.
“You don’t need to prove anything,” Taira said, reaching one hand toward Dee, then pulling back.
“And you don’t need to spend another night alone with a ghost,” Maji added. “Let me check you in at my hotel, just till we round the jackasses up. Couple days, tops.”
“No.” Dee turned back and crossed her arms. “I’ll go to Mom’s.”
Maji shook her head. “Too predictable. Look, there’s a couch at my, well, Rose’s suite.”
“I have a couch too,” Taira interjected. Seeing Dee’s look of alarm, she added, “No one would expect you to be there. Would they?”
Maji almost chuckled. “You on Lifesaver Road in Coastie housing?” With the Authorized Personnel Only signs and a small tight-knit group of neighbors. Not bad.
“Yep. Right next to Jack’s place. We could even borrow Jasper. He’s very protective.” Taira gave Dee a challenging look. “Unless you’re ashamed to be seen leaving my place in the morning?”
Dee blinked twice. “No.”
Maji took that as a yes to the proposal. “Okay, then. Grab whatever you need for two nights.”
* * *
When Maji opened the door to the hotel suite, she wasn’t surprised to find Dev on the couch, reading a paperback by the light of a single floor lamp. “Hey,” she whispered.
“Dude. How was your day, dear?”
She took a seat at the far end of the couch from him. Now that he was a regular Army Reserve member and no longer part of Delta, she couldn’t brief him on the mission. But at least she had been able to share the Russians’ photos, which were on public record thanks to the arrest. She pulled her copy of their passport shots out of her jacket pocket and held the one of Tom between them. “Nice day, mostly spent with nice locals. The two I tangled with got get-out-of-jail-free cards, courtesy of Dmitry. You recognize him, right?”
Dev squinted at the shot of Tom in his cover persona. “Well, I’ll be damned. Is that a scar? Crappy haircut too.”
“Yeah. I bet he’s got some tattoos that don’t wear off, since we saw him last.”
“Have you heard from him?” Dev asked, then rolled his eyes. “Not that you could tell me. Would be nice to know if there’s a tie-in with Doc’s stalker, that’s all.”
“Amen, brother,” Maji answered obliquely. “No sign then that Javi’s left town, now that he’s been made?”
Dev shook his head. “He gave Rose some line about getting paid more the longer he stays and not wanting to tell them she’s not interested in the reality TV thing until he gets home.”
“Got ears on him?”
Dev nodded. He looked tired. “Dude’s reporting in by phone. Just that Doc’s still here, so far. Oh, and that she’s with you, and where you two are staying.”
“Great.” For months she’d stayed away from Rose, and within days of their getting together that fucking psycho knew it. Too late to undo. “Did Hannah suggest moving her?”
A creaking behind her caused Maji to turn. Rose stood framed in the bedroom door, in the long T-shirt she used as pajamas. “If I’m endangering Ri, Dev, I want to get on a plane with you tomorrow. Right after my presentation.”
“No, that’s not—” Maji stopped when Dev poked her with his toe. “What?”
“Think about it, dude,” he said.
Maji thought. Did Sirko know her face now, as well as her Army name? The Photoshopped likeness his goons had relied on last summer would be useless now, if Sirko did have a mole at the Coast Guard. And he might hurt Rose just for payback, or just to throw her off her game. “Fuck.” She sighed. “Okay, book two seats out in the afternoon.”
“Good call, dude.”
Thinking beyond this mission, Maji asked Rose, “You up for a bit of acting?”
“Does it involve my not being in love with you again? I have had a chance to practice that role.”
Maji nodded. “Maybe a bad breakup.” Temporary and completely fake, please.
“You want Javi on ice after he calls that in?” Dev asked.
“If he doesn’t get on the first plane out—yes.” She paused. “Can you do that and keep eyes on Rose?”
He gave her a look to remind her that he had his own set of special skills. “I’ll manage.”
“If you think I should skip my presentation, I’ll forgive you,” Rose replied. “So long as you don’t get hurt.”
Maji never could promise that, so she didn’t. “Let’s keep this as normal as possible for you.” And anyone else watching to see if you try and bolt.
“Pretend breakups are not normal.”
“Sorry. I meant the give your talk, wow the colleagues, and win tenure part.”
Rose did not look convinced. “Are you two about done?” When they looked at each other and nodded, she added, “Then good night, Dev.”
Dev gave Maji a look she was happy he didn’t translate into words. “I’m in the room next door. If you need me, bang on the wall. If you don’t need me, try not to make any alarming noises.”
“Dude,” Maji replied, annoyed with how much fun he took poking at her for her first serious relationship. Then another thought struck. “We’re still clean in the suite, right?”
He nodded. “I swept again. Other than a bag of clothes you should maybe throw out, you’re clean. Relax, 'ukhti alsaghira.”
“Thanks. And good night, akhi.” She usually saved the term my brother for Tom. But if she was my little sister tonight, he could be a sibling too. Tomorrow they’d go back to dude.
* * *
Rose didn’t move from the bedroom doorway until Maji had closed the door to the hall behind Dev and locked it. Much as she liked Dev and hoped to get to know him better someday, she planned to do it by meeting his wife and daughters. Showing off her bare legs and braless top was not part of that plan, no matter how many times he’d seen her in a bikini last summer. Now that they were alone, she wanted Maji less dressed also.
Maji turned and nearly bumped into her, catching the look in her eye as she put her hands out to stop the collision. “Um…”
“Oh,” Rose said. “Are you still on the clock?”
Maji took a small step back, frowning slightly. “I need to get online briefly, and after that I’m on call.” She paused. “I was just going to check on you and then take the couch.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We both need rest. I promise not to keep you up…too long.”
“Yeah, but if they call and I miss it, that would be really bad.”
“You’ll get a phone call?” Rose asked, feeling there was something she was missing still. “Then why not come to bed?”
Maji looked at her steadily for a few seconds. “Have you ever done drugs? Molly, ecstasy, coke, anything?”
“I’ve had pot brownies. And smoked a little.”
“I don’t mean buzzed. I had more mind-altering…in mind. Truly not aware of your surroundings.”
Rose didn’t want to ask what Maji had taken to reach that effect. The thought of her that vulnerable, or that dangerous, was disturbing. “No. I guess not. Does that make me boring? Or just sheltered?”
“Not boring. Never boring. Could you maybe sit down?” Maji looked uncomfortable.
Rose sat. Maji sat across the little table and took her hand. “Tell me, Maji.”
“When you want me, and you’re within reach, I’m pretty much toast. You kiss me, and I don’t hear people come in the room. You touch me, and the rest of the world fuzzes out.” She looked away. “I really could miss that call.”
“Oh. I…” I want to come over and see that theory in action. Damn the Army anyway. “You’d better get to work then.”
“I’m so sorry.” Maji’s green eyes looked heartbreakingly sad.
Rose squeezed her hand. “Don’t you dare say things like that and then apologize. Just get your obligations out of the way as quickly as you can.”
Maji nodded and fetched her laptop. She set it up on the tabletop and booted up. “You don’t have to stay up,” she said over the screen. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“Manage yourself, Sergeant,” Rose replied. She stood, restless with the thoughts she was holding back. “Can I get you something? Tea?”
Maji’s hands on the keyboard stilled. “Do we have any food?”
“An apple and those nuts-and-twigs bars you like.”
“Cool,” Maji replied more to the screen than to Rose.
When Rose set the snacks near her, Maji was reading her screen with full attention, only her eyes moving back and forth. She frowned, typed again for nearly a minute at a furious speed, and then looked up. She noticed the glass of water, Clif bar, and apple to her left. “Thanks. I’m nearly done.”
“Just do what you need to do,” Rose said.
Maji barely seemed to hear her, biting into the apple while she watched something on the screen. Rose slipped off to the bedroom and changed into the silk teddy she had packed in an optimistic moment. Maji hadn’t used the word addiction in her drug metaphor, but Rose would have understood if she had. Only the thought that she might somehow endanger Maji by taking a part of her highly focused attention from her work made Rose keep her distance, even now. It might be selfish, but she was not going to give up their last night together. Once Maji walked out that door, who knew when she’d see her again?
Rose heard Maji go into the bathroom, brush her teeth, flush, and wash. She slipped a robe on and waited for her in the doorway to the bedroom, at a respectable distance. When the door opened, Maji seemed a little surprised to see her.
“Thought you gave up on me.”
“I tried that once. It didn’t work. Are you done?”
Maji nodded and waited in the bathroom doorway.
“Where’s your phone?” Rose asked.
“On the table.”
Rose picked it up and headed back into the bedroom. She set it on Maji’s side, on the bedside table, and turned to see Maji in the doorway, a question on her face. “I turned the volume all the way up and plugged the charger in.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you want to put your gun in the safe?”
Maji’s hand went around to her lower back. “No. I should keep it handy.” She handed it to Rose and watched her set it by the phone, still looking puzzled. “Your tomorrow is as important as mine. Why do I get the bed?”
“Because the couch isn’t big enough for both of us.”
“Rose…”
Rose didn’t approach her, wanting to make sure Maji heard her out without lust clouding her response. “Don’t argue. Just listen. I go home tomorrow, and you go God knows where. I don’t fault you for that, and I don’t want you to apologize. But when you have the chance to be with me, whether it’s for five minutes or five years, I want one hundred percent of you.”
“Okay. But what about…” Maji gestured toward her phone, blushing.
“I will not let you miss that call. I will be your designated driver, so to speak. Trust me.”
Maji closed her eyes, nodding. The mix of fire and vulnerability in them when she met Rose’s gaze again made Rose reach out.
Maji took her hands and pulled gently until they stood forehead to forehead, the tips of their noses brushing. “Yes.”
Rose slipped the robe from her shoulders and was gratified to hear Maji groan, still holding herself back from the kiss seconds away. “I know you’ll stop if I tell you to. But unless I do, nothing exists but us. Understood?”
“Yes,” Maji rasped. “Yes.”
Chapter Seventeen
Maji stretched to reach her phone, pulled it near her face, and clicked it on. No calls, thank God. Maybe she would have heard. Maybe not. The screen’s brightness made the room seem darker, despite the soft filter of dawn through the curtains. Five thirty. She should probably get up and get ready.
“No calls,” Rose mumbled. “Need more sleep?” She sounded nearly coherent now.
“Whatever you want.” Maji snugged back into Rose’s front. “Do you need to practice your talk?”
Rose kissed the back of her shoulder. “No. Dee and Dev were my test audience. I’m ready.”
“Really? Both of them?” Maji wondered how they liked each other.
“Yes. Dev was very polite, and Dee…she’s lonely.”
Maji picked up the sympathy in Rose’s voice. She was right, of course. “She said that?”
“Not in so many words. But she likes this woman, and she’s afraid to even try with her. It’s sad.”
“A Coastie? Petite Japanese American, pretty and kind of…smart-ass?”
Rose pushed her. “How did you know? Are you bugging me?”
“Nope. I sent Dee to her house last night. Maybe that couch got slept on, maybe not.”
“Trickster,” Rose murmured into Maji’s neck. Then she started nibbling softly on the spot where Maji’s neck and shoulder met. “Tasty trickster. I’m not even going to ask.”
Rose’s hand slipped from Maji’s waist down to tease her center, then slid up her belly to the space between her small breasts.
