Evie’s head was on the table and a soft snore escaped her. He flicked off the light over her head and pressed eject on the laptop. He put the CD back in the case and went over to rummage through the cabinets. When he found what he was looking for, he ripped off a long strip and pressed it to the case. Then he bent down and taped the CD beneath the cabinet and behind the sink, as far and as high as he could go to make it disappear. A glance at Evie told him she was still sleeping. He ripped off another piece of duct tape and secured the package. It probably wasn’t necessary, but too many years as a covert operator wouldn’t allow him to do only what was necessary. He went the extra mile because he had to, because it was as ingrained in him by now as putting on his pants in the morning. There was something about doing this, something about helping Evie, that made him think, even if he never went into the field with HOT again, he’d be all right. Of course Leavenworth was still hanging over his head, but he tried not to think too deeply about that prospect.
