Page 51

“Not with you there isn’t.”
“Oh, come now. Don’t be like that!”
Samuel pulled the undershirt over his head then unbuttoned the white dress shirt from the hanger. “She is an infuriatingly brilliant, beautiful woman. And I’m glad we both survived the last two days. Anything else is a conversation for her and I to have later. This doesn’t involve you.”
“Infuriatingly brilliant, beautiful woman.” Baruti nodded slowly. “She sounds like exactly your type. I’m looking forward to meeting her again.”
Samuel stifled a groan and focused on getting dressed.
They’d survived two days, but that was just the beginning. Maxwell Edward knew who Jessica was now. The threat wasn’t over. If Samuel wanted the time to explore and consider what a relationship with her might look like, he needed to do the work to protect her. Because the more time he spent around Jessica, the more he found to like.
She’d surprised him, truth be told.
He’d been completely wrong about her and Robin. He’d never been happier about fucking up in his life, because they were both wonderful people.
Samuel turned to face his partner.
“You look like a king,” Baruti said with a grin.
“Shut it, you. Where are we? What can I do?”
He shook his head and sighed. “I was hoping you’d have learned how to relax a little.”
Samuel just glared at Baruti. “I’ve been sitting on my ass for two months.”
“Actually, you were in a hospital bed for the first part.”
“I’m going to put you in a hospital bed if you don’t stop.”
Baruti threw his head back and howled with laughter.
Samuel smiled. He’d missed this banter. But part of him was still uneasy. There was so much to do and so much to protect.
Saturday. Task Force Headquarters, Fairfax, VA
“Jess? Jessica!”
Jessica pried her eyes open. They felt like they were glued shut. She was also acutely aware that something wasn’t… Right?
“Jess?”
She rolled over and stretched her feet, pointing her toes up to her hips as best she could until the back of her ankles and claves protested.
Robin.
That was Robin’s voice.
But Robin was halfway across the country, and Jessica…
She sat up in bed as reality crashed into her skull, playing the last two days like a movie. The attack. Maureen’s screams. Running and sliding through the rain. Stealing the Jeep. That night at the motel with Samuel…
Samuel!
The door to the apartment creaked open as Jessica felt across the sheets for his form, only to be met with cool material and no Samuel.
“Jessica!”
The curtain separating the bed from the rest of the space was thrown back. Jessica blinked as Robin shone her phone’s light in her face.