Page 199 of Red Marked

His face goes serious, and he gets a worried look, his brows knitting together.

“I’m teasing.” I point the spoon at him. “You can relax.”

He breathes out and reaches for the remote. The television turns on. “What do you say we watch a movie? I’m done with all this sappy shit. We need a comedy or a movie where everyone gets shot.”

“Sounds good. Can we get under the covers? I promise not to try anything.”

He laughs. “In that case, let’s do it.”

We climb under the covers fully clothed, him in his jeans and me in my sweats, and I tuck myself against his side with my head on his chest. His arm comes around me. His heart thuds slow and even under my ear.

It’s nice. It’s comfortable.

We watch a stupid comedy that makes us both laugh a whole lot. I fall asleep somewhere toward the end of the movie, which is beyond irritating.

I wake up to a kiss on my forehead.

The room is dark except for the red numbers on the bedside clock. The television is off. Flint is leaning over me, a darker shape in the darkness.

“Night, Star,” he whispers. “Sleep tight.”

He kisses the side of my mouth.

His footsteps cross the carpet, and he closes the door behind him.

The clock display shows 4:14.

Flint sort of, kind of slept over, and we didn’t even have sex.

I remind myself not to get too excited. We’ve had a busy week. We were both exhausted and fell asleep. That’s all. Flint still left for his own bed. He did not stay.

I really need to be careful. I could totally fall for a male like him. It wouldn’t be hard at all.

57

Flint

“No. Absolutely not.” Star shakes her head.

She’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, a coffee in one hand and half a pastry in the other. I came over twenty minutes ago with cappuccinos and a paper bag from the bakery around the corner. It was going well until I said the word Jett.

“We don’t have a choice.” I stand at the dresser with my arms folded. “Every male on that list is accounted for, and it isn’t any of them. We have to speak with your ex. He might know this male or something about Veridian Bridge.”

“There has to be something else we can do.”

“There isn’t. You know there isn’t. We’ve slept on it, and we’ve got nothing. There are no more leads.”

“I don’t want to do that to Jett.”

“I know you don’t, but I have to believe that Jett is rational. I don’t think you would have been with him otherwise. He loved you once. He isn’t going to do anything that puts you or your family in danger, and he certainly won’t do anything that puts himself in danger. He worked for Veridian. He might still work there, for all we know.”

“I doubt it.” She puts the pastry down on the nightstand. “The Jett I knew was ambitious. He wanted to run the accounts department. He wanted to be the financial director one day. He’d never sit in that sad little building, counting the pennies on what’s left.”

“Then he’s moved on to something better, and he has even less to lose by talking to us.”

She looks at the wall, then looks at her coffee.

“We’ll explain everything to him so that he understands. We’ll be careful. If he knows what’s at stake, he won’t do anything stupid.”