Page 76 of Critical Doubt

"It's almost five. We should get back to the dock. We'll need at least an hour to get into DC, maybe more at this time of day."

"I hate to go."

"Me, too," he said, pressing his lips against her forehead. He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of her, wanting to make it a memory that would never leave him, even if she did. And she would leave. Or he'd make her go, because his life wasn't a life for sharing, not the way he was now. She could handle an afternoon on the boat, but she had her own life to lead, and that life wasn't here.

Her arms tightened around him, and she pulled away slightly so she could look at him. "I just have to say… Second time around, just as spectacular as the first."

"I might need another round before giving my opinion."

"Really? I thought you were in a hurry to get back to DC."

"Well, round three can be later tonight."

"I'm not against that, but we should probably not make promises that we might not be able to keep."

"I hear you," he said, although he didn't really like what he was hearing. But his sense of duty was coming back. As much as he wanted to blow off the rest of the world and make love to Savannah for as long as she'd stay in his bed, he was still on a mission to get to the truth, to find justice for his fallen brothers, and to protect the ones who were still alive. "But I want us to make one promise that we can both keep."

"What's that?"

"No leaving without good-bye."

She met his gaze. "I can do that."

"So can I."

She framed his face with her hands and gave him a long kiss that made him less inclined to want to get out of bed. But then she was rolling off the mattress, grabbing her clothes, and moving into the head.

He slid off the bed and put on his clothes. As his phone fell out of his jeans, he realized it was still off. Savannah probably wouldn't appreciate him turning it on, but he wanted to make sure he didn't have any messages from Mason or Hank.

As the phone came on, there was a text from Mason, and it was more than a little disappointing. He said he couldn't get away from work, but he was taking precautions, and he'd touch base with him tomorrow.

He'd really hoped they could all get together.

Savannah came out of the bathroom. She gave him a pointed look. "Really?"

"I had to check my texts. Mason isn't coming."

"Well, there's still Hank."

"I hope he makes it. I'm going to text him just to make sure. Otherwise, we really don't need to race back to DC."

"Good point."

He sent off a quick text. "I'll just leave the phone on for another minute. I want to throw some clothes into a bag." He grabbed a duffel bag out of his closet and threw in some clothes in case he didn't get back for a few days.

As he finished with that, his phone started vibrating, and he saw Hank's number. "Damn. It's Hank. This doesn't seem like a good sign." He took the call. "Hello? Hank?"

To his surprise, a woman answered. "This is Brenda," she said, her voice kind of choked up. "I'm Hank's girlfriend. I have some really bad news."

His gut tightened. "What happened?"

"Hank went for a run this afternoon, and he was hit by a car."

"Is he all right?" He sank down on the bed, very afraid of her answer.

Chapter Eighteen

"He—Hank didn't make it,"Brenda stuttered.