Page 24 of Finding Kenna
Aleck was immediately uncomfortable. He didn’t want to throw his buddy under the bus, but no, Jag hadn’t ever had a female friend as far as he knew. Hell, he didn’t have any friends period, other than the guys on the team.
On the outside, Jag looked friendly and easygoing, but he was definitely the most intense—and deadly—of everyone on the team.
“Right, that’s what I thought,” Carly said, when Aleck took too long to respond.
“If Jag says he’s okay with being your friend, you can absolutely trust that,” he said quickly.
“And I think he’s proven tonight that you can count on him,” Kenna threw in.
“Fine,” Carly sighed. “But at the slightest sign you want to cross that line, we’re done,” she warned.
“Thank you. You won’t regret it,” Jag told her.
Kenna let out a small chuckle.
“What?” Carly asked.
“I never thought I’d see the day when you had to warn someone not to get too attached to you,” Kenna told her.
Carly blushed furiously. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I know,” Jag said. “Come on, let’s get you settled.” He threw a look at Aleck, then returned his attention to Carly. “You need to get home. You’ve had a hard night.”
Aleck nodded at his friend and pulled Kenna around to the driver’s side of her car. He turned his back on Carly and Jag and squeezed her hand. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I wasn’t the one Shawn was pissed at tonight.”
“Well, you weren’t at first,” Aleck said dryly.
“Yeah, he wasn’t real thrilled with me, was he?”
“Nope. But then again, he doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who’s very impressed with any woman who has the smallest speck of independence in her veins.”
They heard the car door shut on the other side of the vehicle, and Aleck turned to see Jag give him a chin lift and head back toward the elevators. They were carpooling back to the base, and Aleck figured Jag would wait for him down on the sidewalk.
Not able to stop himself, he lifted his free hand and ran the back of his fingers over Kenna’s cheek. His heart rate increased when she tilted her head into his touch.
“When can I see you again?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m going with Carly to apply for the protection order tomorrow, then I work tomorrow night. I’ve got some errands I need to do this weekend as well. What’s your schedule?”
“Pretty much eight to five,” Aleck admitted. “I work out with the team in the mornings and sometimes we have training, like we did this morning. If something comes up, we might have the occasional late meeting.”
Kenna frowned. “When I work the dinner shift—which is really the only shift I work anymore—I have to be there around four.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Aleck told her. “If you think I’m gonna let something like our work schedules keep me from getting to know you better…you’re wrong.”
She smiled up at him. “I have Sundays free. Because I’ve worked at Duke’s so long, I’m able to request not to work them.”
“Me too,” Aleck said, returning her smile. “Except if I’m on a mission.”
“Does that happen a lot?” Kenna asked.
Aleck shrugged. “Enough.”
“Right. So, um, you want to do something Sunday?” she asked. “Not this one, because I have errands, and I want to hang out with Carly and make sure she’s okay, but the next one?”
“Yes,” Aleck said without having to think about it.
