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“Thank you,” she said quietly.
He held on to the moment for one more second. Then he let it go because he had to. He very definitely could not be dealing with an attraction right now and everything that came with it for him.
“Do you mind if we run through the computer procedures again? I want to try it without my salt and pepper shakers.”
She smiled. “Sure.”
They worked for three hours. He ran the full sequence on her practice system until he could do it clean every time, until the commands belonged to him. She corrected, adjusted, pushed him when he slowed and pulled him back when he rushed. The dynamic between them had shifted so far from that first session in this lab that he could barely recognize it.
“You’re ready,” she said.
“You sure?”
“You’re ready, Ryder.”
He looked at her across the workstation. In just over twenty-four hours, they would find out for sure.
He didn’t want to leave this lab. He didn’t want to leave her.
The timing was shit.
But hell, the timing would be shit even if he weren’t about to go undercover in a critical active mission where dying wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him.
Being himself was the worst thing that could happen.
There was no point in pretending he had anything to offer Cassandra Leuenberger and her hellfire-raining skills, even on his best day.
He stood up. “Thank you. For all of it.”
“Go practice your salt shakers.” She was already turning back to her screens. “And then get some sleep, princess.”
He was smiling all the way back to his quarters.
Chapter 9
The cover profile was solid.
Ryder sat in the café with the documents spread across the table, reading through the life Cassandra had built for him. Employment history, client references, the phone number routed through three states. He’d been through it twice already and hadn’t found a single gap.
He closed the file and checked the time. Almost midnight. Tomorrow night at this hour, he’d be sitting across from the Diehl brothers, wearing the identity Cassandra had constructed.
He took a drink of his coffee and stared at the empty café. Quiet, dim, the hum of the refrigerator behind the counter. He’d spent more time in this room over the past few days than anywhere else on the compound. During the day and early evening, it had a regular stream of people. Late at night, just him and any demons who wanted to tag along.
Then the café door opened and Cassandra walked in. She spotted him and came straight to his table. “This is beginning to become a habit.”
“I’m trying to switch my waking hours to nocturnal. What’s your excuse?”
“I’ve always been nocturnal, and this place has the best coffee by far.” She looked down at his cup. “Can I get you a princess refill?”
His lips twitched. “Sure.”
He watched her as she went, could hear her humming some off-key song under her breath, and just shook his head.
She got the coffee and set his in front of him before taking a sip of her own. “Last-minute cramming?”
“Making sure I know my own life story. The fake one.” He closed the folder. “At this point, I think I know my cover identity better than my real one.”
“That’s the goal.” She sat down across from him and wrapped her hands around her mug. “I know tomorrow’s going to be chaos with briefings and prep, and I wasn’t sure I’d get a chance to talk to you before you go. So I’m glad I got to see you tonight.”
