Page 103 of What Started In Deception

“I’ll let you know if anything changes.” He stood, eager to get back to the compound and to Lydia. If everything stayed as it was now, his days in Massachusetts were numbered.

Lydia sat on a blanket in the sand, glancing toward the compound again, hoping that Ty would be back to join them soon. He’d been gone for close to two hours, which seemed like a long time, but when it came to the FBI and contact agent meetings, she had no idea whether that time frame was normal or concerning.

Staring back out at the water, she tried to relax with the music and laughter of the summer party surrounding her, smiling as Will built a sandcastle with Everly in the wetter sand closer to the waves while Mac fed Maverick and chatted with Asher under the umbrella next to her.

She looked toward the compound again and rushed to her feet in her black bikini and white mini cover-up dress when she spotted Ty moving their way in his black swim trunks and sunglasses, carrying a shirt.

“He’s back,” she said to Mac, then hurried his way, paying little attention to how amazing his muscles looked glistening in the sunshine when she could tell by the set of his shoulders that whatever had happened wasn’t good.

He grinned as she closed the distance between them, hooking his arm around her waist. “Hey, you.”

She smiled back. “Hi.”

“I like your dress.”

“Thanks,” she said, caring little about what she was wearing.

“Do you want to walk?”

She nodded, wrapping her arm around his waist as they started moving down the beach. “Is everything okay? Did things go all right?”

He shrugged. “They’re getting impatient.”

“Who?”

“The big bosses.”

“And that means what, exactly?”

He shrugged again. “It means that I’m officially on an unofficial clock.”

Her gaze whipped to his. “They’re going to take you off the case?”

He nodded. “If something doesn’t pop up.”

“Oh,” she said, staring at the sand as they kept a slow pace. “Oh,” she said again as all of this took her by complete surprise.

“This is a good thing, Lyd.”

She nodded as she kept her eyes focused on the beach because it didn’t feel like a good thing.

He stopped their walk, nudging at her chin with his finger until she looked at him. “This is exactly what you wanted. It’s what we’ve both wanted for you and your family.”

She nodded again, forcing a smile as she stared at his handsome face. Not all that long ago, she would have done just about anything to get him out of her life. Now, she hated the idea of him leaving. “When will you go?”

“It’s hard to say. Probably sometime in the next couple of weeks.”

They were down to a mere few days together, but she nodded again. “Okay.”

He tugged her closer, sliding his palms up and down the sides of her waist. “Let’s enjoy the party. We’ll have some fun with your family before they leave tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said again as she settled her hands on his shoulders, trying to find an iota of enthusiasm for the night ahead.

He looked toward the Donahues’ large estate, where dozens of people conversed on the wraparound deck. “It smells like someone’s cooking a hell of a feast on the grill.”

She nodded. “I think there are steaks, burgers, hot dogs, and seafood. There’s usually all kinds of stuff.”

He hooked his arm around her shoulders as they started moving again. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”