away and extended her hand to Jane with a welcoming smile. “And you must be Jane. I’m Jaci. Very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. You have a lovely home,” Jane supplied with polite interest. “Thank you for agreeing to let us stay while we’re in town. Your hospitality is much appreciated.”
“I’d like to say she’s not always this stiff, but I’d be lying. Jane lives and breathes by the regs,” Holden teased, and enjoyed the flush of heat in Jane’s cheeks. He liked ruffling her feathers, which was probably a bad idea, but it was strangely addicting to watch her loosen up. It made him remember what she was like in bed. He suffered a mental groan as he pushed the image out of his head. “I heard there’s spaghetti?” He sniffed the air and rubbed his stomach. “Even in first class, the food isn’t much to write home about.”
“Oh! I’m so glad you’re hungry,” Jaci said, leading them to the kitchen. “You’ll have to tell me what you think of this new recipe I’m trying. Did you know gluten is like poison to our systems? I’m learning all about what gluten does to the body, and it’s fascinating.”
“As long as it tastes good, I don’t care what it’s made from.” He flashed a grin at Jane.
Everyone took a seat at the oak table while Jaci bustled around getting plates ready. Within minutes, they were digging in. At first bite, Holden didn’t notice anything different and tucked into a few more healthy bites, but after a few mouthfuls, he started to notice the texture and chewed more slowly. “Definitely filling,” he said around a hot bite, giving a thumbs-up to Jaci, who beamed before slapping Nathan lightly on the shoulder.
“See? I told you, it’s only you who notices the difference. If you’d stop being so picky, you’d forget all about the fact the noodles are made from squash.”
Squash? Holden choked down the last bite. He hated squash. But like Jane said, if he could choke down an MRE, he could eat anything. Holden cleaned his plate and Jane did a serviceable job choking down her portion, too, but he could tell she wasn’t loving it. Jane would never be so rude as to admit she didn’t like it, and Holden had to give her props for being a good sport. He’d have to take her out for some fancy coffee drink tomorrow morning, his treat. All too soon, the conversation turned serious, but he supposed there was no getting around that because it was the whole reason they’d come to California.
“So tell me what’s really going on,” Nathan said, playing with the wrapper on his beer. “I know you’re not here for social reasons.”
“I told you I thought Miko was being pushed by someone else. Someone compelled him to end his life, and I aim to find out who.”
Nathan lost his easy smile. Talking about Miko was hard for them all, but more so for Nathan because he had been there when Miko ate a bullet. “Look, more than anyone I want to believe Miko wasn’t the sniper who took out Tom and all those innocent people, but I just don’t see who else could be pulling the strings to make that happen. Penny is dead. She was the head of the monster—I.D.—and it’s over.”
“It’s not over,” Holden disagreed with an adamant shake of his head. “Think about it, Nathan. Was Miko the kind of man who killed innocent people? He was Captain America, for crying out loud.”
“We didn’t know they were innocent,” Nathan said, trying to get Holden to understand. “We thought we were doing a service to our country. We had no idea that Penny was the one calling the shots and running I.D. as her own personal hit squad. It’s not Miko’s fault. We were both duped.”
“What if Miko was working undercover to expose the true head of the beast?” Holden supplied, leaning forward. “Tell me if this sounds odd.... Ulysses Rocha, an executive at Tessara Pharm, came to my boss to inquire about the status of Miko’s case mere days after Chief Harris had given us a soft
“Likewise. You have a lovely home,” Jane supplied with polite interest. “Thank you for agreeing to let us stay while we’re in town. Your hospitality is much appreciated.”
“I’d like to say she’s not always this stiff, but I’d be lying. Jane lives and breathes by the regs,” Holden teased, and enjoyed the flush of heat in Jane’s cheeks. He liked ruffling her feathers, which was probably a bad idea, but it was strangely addicting to watch her loosen up. It made him remember what she was like in bed. He suffered a mental groan as he pushed the image out of his head. “I heard there’s spaghetti?” He sniffed the air and rubbed his stomach. “Even in first class, the food isn’t much to write home about.”
“Oh! I’m so glad you’re hungry,” Jaci said, leading them to the kitchen. “You’ll have to tell me what you think of this new recipe I’m trying. Did you know gluten is like poison to our systems? I’m learning all about what gluten does to the body, and it’s fascinating.”
“As long as it tastes good, I don’t care what it’s made from.” He flashed a grin at Jane.
Everyone took a seat at the oak table while Jaci bustled around getting plates ready. Within minutes, they were digging in. At first bite, Holden didn’t notice anything different and tucked into a few more healthy bites, but after a few mouthfuls, he started to notice the texture and chewed more slowly. “Definitely filling,” he said around a hot bite, giving a thumbs-up to Jaci, who beamed before slapping Nathan lightly on the shoulder.
“See? I told you, it’s only you who notices the difference. If you’d stop being so picky, you’d forget all about the fact the noodles are made from squash.”
Squash? Holden choked down the last bite. He hated squash. But like Jane said, if he could choke down an MRE, he could eat anything. Holden cleaned his plate and Jane did a serviceable job choking down her portion, too, but he could tell she wasn’t loving it. Jane would never be so rude as to admit she didn’t like it, and Holden had to give her props for being a good sport. He’d have to take her out for some fancy coffee drink tomorrow morning, his treat. All too soon, the conversation turned serious, but he supposed there was no getting around that because it was the whole reason they’d come to California.
“So tell me what’s really going on,” Nathan said, playing with the wrapper on his beer. “I know you’re not here for social reasons.”
“I told you I thought Miko was being pushed by someone else. Someone compelled him to end his life, and I aim to find out who.”
Nathan lost his easy smile. Talking about Miko was hard for them all, but more so for Nathan because he had been there when Miko ate a bullet. “Look, more than anyone I want to believe Miko wasn’t the sniper who took out Tom and all those innocent people, but I just don’t see who else could be pulling the strings to make that happen. Penny is dead. She was the head of the monster—I.D.—and it’s over.”
“It’s not over,” Holden disagreed with an adamant shake of his head. “Think about it, Nathan. Was Miko the kind of man who killed innocent people? He was Captain America, for crying out loud.”
“We didn’t know they were innocent,” Nathan said, trying to get Holden to understand. “We thought we were doing a service to our country. We had no idea that Penny was the one calling the shots and running I.D. as her own personal hit squad. It’s not Miko’s fault. We were both duped.”
“What if Miko was working undercover to expose the true head of the beast?” Holden supplied, leaning forward. “Tell me if this sounds odd.... Ulysses Rocha, an executive at Tessara Pharm, came to my boss to inquire about the status of Miko’s case mere days after Chief Harris had given us a soft
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