Page 22

Tessa came up from the depths of a floating sensation to waves of pain. Dull, but still enough to make her curse inside her head.

The sterile hospital room came into focus in pieces—first, the soft beeping of the heart monitor, then a dim light from a nearby window. The faint smell of bleach and the stiff feel of sheets. Beige walls, ugly curtains, the weight of a warm hand wrapped around hers.

“Welcome back,”

Tommy said.

Her brain and body felt sluggish and exhausted, but his voice…oh, that deep, confident voice she loved so much, made the instant panic fluttering in her chest stop.

She turned her head just enough to see him sitting beside her. His shirt was dirty, wrinkled, and stained with blood. Hers or his? His hair was disheveled, reminding her of the mornings she’d woken to see him next to her in bed. Dark circles bruised the area under his eyes, but his smile was bright.

“What happened?”

she croaked, her throat dry.

He brought her a glass of water from the side table and guided the straw to her lips. “Easy. You’ve been out for a while.”

The water was cool and soothed her throat. After a long drink, she leaned back against the pillow. Her memories returned, bringing that old, familiar sense of dread. “Harris?”

Tommy’s grin faltered. He hesitated long enough for her stomach to drop. “You hurt him good, T, but he escaped. They brought him here for treatment, and somehow, he managed to evade the watch they put on him.”

Her heart sank. The panic spread.

Tommy squeezed her hand. “Meg, Declan, and Spence are on his trail. He won’t get far in his condition.”

But he was out there. Free. Her bottom lip trembled, and she bit it to hold back angry tears.

“We disabled the EMPs, saved the bases, and exposed him,”

Tommy said. “The CIA, in conjunction with several other agencies, has shut down the Russian investor group and frozen all the funds tied to every LLC and shell company Harris touched. He has no cards left.”

If only she could believe that. “And Jessie?”

“At Langley being debriefed by Flynn and some others. She’s got a lot to explain, but she’ll be all right. I’ve got her back.”

Tessa nodded. “I’ll do what I can to support her, too, even though I’m still upset with her.”

She would do it for Tommy. With Jessie’s insight into her stepfather’s strategies and contacts, Tessa might figure out where he’d gone and what he might try next.

But the weight it all felt like a thousand-pound elephant on her chest. Her side ached. Her eyes felt heavy. A gnawing question in her mind insisted on an answer. “What will you do now?”

Tommy’s grin returned, softer this time. “Jessie and I have some catching up to do. Flynn’s offered me a spot on the swans.”

How was it possible her stomach could sink any lower? “What?”

He shrugged, nonchalant. “Apparently, they need someone like me to fill a vacancy. Since you’ve refused to take the position?—”

“I’ve earned that spot,”

she argued, struggling to sit up straight despite the protest from her side.

Tommy didn’t try to help her, chuckling as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “Guess you better get well enough to fight me for it, then, Vulpe.”

It hit her then—what he was doing. The sneaky SOB. She rolled her eyes and settled herself into the pillows once more. “I’m clearly the better operative.”

“Is that so?”

His tone was teasing, but his gaze was steady and warm. It was also entirely too knowing. Unnerving. “You said you didn’t want the job. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve done everything in your power to avoid being a swan.”

Ire rising, she steeled herself against the pain and fog, swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress. “Flynn needs me to hunt down Harris since he was an idiot and let him escape. I don’t care if they call me a swan, or The Architect, or a dog on a bone, I’m not sitting this one out.”

And when she caught Harris this time, she would ensure he never took another breath. Never hurt another person. If meting out justice like that made her a vigilante and a horrible person, then so be it. She would live with the consequences of her actions and never regret them for one moment.

Tommy shot out of the chair, putting his hands on her shoulders to keep her from standing. “You’re not going anywhere. Doctor’s orders.”

She knocked his hands away. “I don’t need your permission, and I could care less about the doctor’s orders.”

“You are so stubborn,”

he said, exasperation and affection blending seamlessly into his voice. Without warning, he shifted her farther back on the bed and climbed in beside her. He settled his weight enough to pin her in place without hurting her.

“Tommy! What the hell?”

He smirked in her face, his lips close enough to kiss. “If you think I’m letting you out of this bed in your condition, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Now, who’s being stubborn?”

she challenged, trying to keep the anger stirred up enough inside her to fight him. Looking into his eyes, seeing that smirk, she couldn’t. “You’re insufferable.”

“True,”

he said, his gaze dropping to her swollen lip. He touched it with one of his knuckles, brushing it gently. “But you need me, and I’m not going anywhere.”

That stubborn part of her bristled at the thought of needing anyone. Of leaning on him. He’d already gotten past her defenses more than once, and now he was doing it again. She tried rebuilding the walls she’d kept so carefully constructed until he’d shown up on her doorstep, but as fast as she slammed the bricks into place, they crumbled.

Maybe she could blame it on the drugs pumping through her system or the trauma she’d just survived, but she had the urge to kiss him.

She did need him, dammit.

And wasn’t that a fine pickle to be in?

“I don’t need you,”

she told him, lying through her teeth, “but I want you. There’s a difference.”

He chuckled. “Not to me.”

Oh, this man! He frustrated her at every turn. “You’re ridiculous,”

she murmured.

And then she tugged on his wrinkled and bloody shirt, remembering all he’d done for her, and forced his mouth to meet hers.

He stilled, then kissed her back gently, running his tongue over her swollen bottom lip. She nipped at his, laughing at her own recklessness.

Maybe on one count, Harris was right—risk was the price of progress. Could she allow those crumbling walls to stay down? Could she, perhaps, eradicate them completely?

Definitely, the drugs talking. She’d evaluate that another time.

For now, she relaxed into the warm male body lying next to her. Tommy brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I love you, Tessa.”

Love. Her heart danced around, the old panic trying to find something inside her to cling to. It failed, a warm sensation blooming there instead. Blinking, she smiled, allowing it to fill her up. “Good thing I love you, too, then.”

He kissed her, this time slowly and deliberately.

When they broke apart, she poked him in the side. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going after the swan position.”

His deep chuckle made her smile. He tipped his forehead against hers. “You deserve it.”

As she laid her head on his chest, he tucked her against him. A realization hit her, clear and undeniable.

She wasn’t alone. She had Spence. Meg and Declan. Even Jessie.

She had a reason to live. A purpose. An odd but loyal family like she’d never had before.

And, for the first time ever, she realized as the warmth of Tommy’s nearness began to lull her back to sleep, she had the right guy in her bed.