Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)

14.2|| Sleep in it

Even after he left Jimmy's place, Kyle had a hard time computing what had happened. Jessie left. Just like that. She asked them not to contact them. She was married.

And through it all, Jimmy's words spun inside his head. As long as you and Kay are still together, we have hope.

The pressure filled him with fear and it was stupid beyond belief. Him and Kay were fine, better than ever actually. Their relationship was bliss, made even stronger by their trip to Texas. He'd never felt closer or more comfortable with her. And yet... And yet...

What if Sarah was right? What if his mother was right? What if Kay secretly wanted to get engaged and he couldn't see it? The thought made him squirm because he wasn't ready. He liked where they were now and he'd rather they stayed that way for a while. But except for some brilliantly hidden frustration, he couldn't see any other potential threat to their happiness.

There's not threat. It's all inside your head.

And his mind was doing a damn good job at screwing everything up. Nope, he was going to bury all that and focus on reality. On seeing Kay and letting her know what happened. Ask her for advice on Jessie because he sure as hell didn't want to cut ties with her.

He entered the station and took the stairs to the second floor where his division had its offices. The moment he stepped into the open space area his team shared, Kay's laughter made the tension in his shoulders disappear. Seeing her was even better. She'd always looked gorgeous in her uniform, her pants hugging her hips and the shirt unbuttoned just the right amount to be decent and professional, but still smoking hot.

But unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who appreciated the view. He normally didn't judge other people staring, unless it was the guy she was talking to.

Eric Matthews. He'd been in her class at the Academy and was one of her closest friends at work. Kyle knew that, so when the kid had applied for his team, he'd been immediately accepted. And not because he was Kay's friend, but because he had such an embarrassingly obvious crush on her and Kyle liked to keep his enemies close.

It turned out to be a good call since the guy was good at following orders, fairly talented, and now kept at bay by a sense of loyalty to his commander. Not that Kyle was worried or anything. Kay had never even looked at him with anything more than friendly compassion. At anyone for that matter. The naughty glint in her eyes was reserved for him and him alone.

So he forced himself to relax and strode to them. The smile slipped off Kay's face once she saw him and Eric immediately knocked his heels together and brought his hand to his forehead in salute.

"Commander."

"Are you okay?" she asked at the same time.

"Not really. We need to talk." He threw Eric a fleeting glance. "At ease, kid."

"Permission to speak, sir."

Kyle hated to be called sir. He also hated the formality that his position implied, but he kept up appearances, especially in front of him.

"What is it?"

"The captain needs to speak with you about the airport job. You didn't name a second in command and the report--"

He had no time for that administrative bullshit. "You're second in command. File the report."

Eric's mouth dropped open. "Um, really? Because I'm not..."

"What?" Kyle asked sweetly. "Experienced enough?"

That was a bit of a jab at everyone in the office who had protested loudly when he'd been made unit commander at twenty three. Which happened to be Eric's age at the moment. On cue, all the older members of his team started pretending they were very busy with what they were doing. It had taken them precisely two missions to figure out that Kyle had more field experience than all of them. He still hiccuped when it came to proper procedure, but the older members now respected him enough to help out with that.