Savage Beauty (The Arrow Tactical Series Book 5)

Chapter 26

“Do you want to shower?”

Max’s suggestion sounds nice, but there’s so much to do. How will I validate what happened to me? How do I prove I was drugged, abducted, and held against my will? I have witnesses for the rescue part.

“Hey, there, beautiful girl… where’d you go?”

He tilts my chin, forcing me to take in all the glory of recessive genes. “You have beautiful eyes. Did you know that?”

His calloused hand glides over my hip and down to my behind. I like the rough feel of his skin. He playfully takes a fistful of my right butt cheek and smacks me. “I think I’d prefer a more manly word. But for the record, I’m a big fan of your dark eyes. There’s nothing like that moment when you first look at me, directly at me. I feel it right here.”

He finds my hand and places it over his sternum, between his bulging pecs. We’re standing in a room naked. Well, I found my underwear on the way to the bathroom and put them on, but otherwise, we’re naked.

“This is so unusual,” I say, flattening my palm over the curve of his pec. He tilts his head, and that maddening grin spreads. “You make it hard for me to think. You distract me.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” He lifts my hand from his chest and sucks the tip of my index finger into his mouth.

“We have things to do,” I remind him. He’s got a flight, and I need to move back into my apartment.

“What’s unusual?”

What’s he… Oh, I said this is unusual. He’s asking me why I said it. “I’m not used to this.” I stop touching him and scan the floor for my clothes. “With William, and…” My shirt’s crumpled against the wall, and I bend at the waist to reach for it. “We would just have sex and then get on with it. With our day. You…you want to…” I stumble, both with my words and into the wall.

“I want to what? Hold you? Make love? Over and over? You walk around in only your panties and yeah, I’ll never get enough.”

I roll my eyes because I can hear the tease. With my bra in hand, I search the room for my sundress. Maybe I should shower and put on a more work-appropriate outfit.

He steps closer, and while it is tempting to just fool around and waste the afternoon in here, we can’t. I hold out a hand to stop him, because I know it won’t take much for him to make me forget all that we have to do. “You have a flight this afternoon, right?”

He glances at his wrist. His watch is one of those that scuba divers wear. I recognize the dial because Sam had one like it.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“And I’ve got a letter to write.” I point at the bathroom. “Go get your shower. Now.” I use my stern voice and face, the same as I’d use with an intern.

He tugs me into his arms and gives me a sloppy, wet kiss. Haze clouds my brain, but thankfully he listens, and just as quickly, he pops my rear and disappears into the bathroom.

“You like my behind, don’t you?”

He grins over his shoulder. “I love that firm ass of yours. And those mighty fine legs, too.”

My gaze follows his down my body. Barely there boobs, but like Mom once said, some men are leg and ass men. I wonder if there’s a gene for that. It would be interesting to find out, but it would be hard to derive the benefits of such a study.

The rushed sound of pouring water enters the room, and it has the effect of washing away the Max haze. I find my clothes, twist my knotty hair up into a low bun, and locate my old laptop.

By the time Max returns, his skin dewy, smelling like a fresh fragrance-free bar of soap, I’ve finished the letter. It’s a highly unusual letter, but I’m not sure what else I can do to prove the truth of my story. And I want my job back. I’ve invested my career in cellular regeneration research. We’re on the cusp of something great.

I spin the laptop to him so he can read what I’ve written:

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to confirm that Anton Solonov abducted Dr. Sloane Watson. He illegally transported her to Cambodia against her will.

The Arrow Tactical Security Team rescued her from the compound where she was being held.

The reasons for her abduction remain unknown, but multiple agencies, including but not limited to Interpol, the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and Arrow Tactical are currently investigating the reason for her abduction and for the associated attempted abduction of her sister, and the murder of Felix Hernandez.

The signatures below are from Arrow Tactical team members who can verify the veracity of Dr. Watson’s claims.

He reads it, and those blue irises become hard to see through his squinted eyelids.

“Do you need glasses? I can increase the font size.”

“Sloane, you think this is what they’re looking for?”

“What else could I provide?”

“I’m not sure, but I have to tell you, I don’t like this at all. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we jumped to the wrong conclusion about who is coming after you and why. But it strikes me as all kinds of FUBAR that you’d need to write a letter like this.”

“What’s FUBAR?”

“Fucked up beyond all recognition.” He bites out the words and I cross my arms below my chest.

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“I’m not sure.” He runs a hand through his hair. “But I can tell you that this doesn’t sit right. Can you hold on to this letter? Come back with me. Let’s meet with the guys in D.C. Let’s see what light they can shed on everything that’s happened.”

“I have a chance to get my old job back. I can’t risk… She’s interviewing my replacement next week. I can’t leave.”

Frustration seeps through his pores and his frown. It’s an expression I’m quite familiar with.

“I tell you what. I’ve got to go. They sent a plane here to get us. One of us needs to be on it. I’ll meet with the men in D.C. We’ll figure things out. But…just sit tight for the rest of the day. Can you do that for me? Arrow is setting up security for you. It sounds like they’ll have you stay in the villa. It’s more secure than your place.”

“That’s not–”

“Please Sloane? For me?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll call you when I land.”

“Oh. We should schedule a call.”

“What?”

“That’s what I do with Sage. We schedule a call on Sunday. We could schedule to talk before or after that call.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Once I get back in the lab, it’ll be manic. I have so much to catch up on.” He’s looking at me like he can’t comprehend what I am saying. And that’s fair. It’s difficult for people who are used to clocking in and out of their jobs to understand dedication. “I’ll speak to you on Sunday. That’s only three days away.”

“Wow.”

He’s wearing those hiking boots he likes so much, and they’re still dusty.

“That’s what you want?”

“I prefer scheduled calls. It’s disorienting to get a phone call when I’m working. I know not everyone is like that. It’s part of my differences.”

I shouldn’t have to defend myself.

“Is a Sunday phone call what you’re seeing for this week, or is that what you’re expecting from here on out?”

“I mean…” His tone sounds agitated. He doesn’t like what I proposed. “We can add a few more calls in. The time difference will only be two hours.”

It’s awkward. I can’t tell exactly why. But I have the same sensation I get when I break a rule, and I don’t like this sensation. He needs to get to his plane, and I need to go see Dr. Kallio. I want her to see my draft of the letter and agree that she’ll cancel interviewing my replacements. I’ll let Max make changes to it, or anyone on the Arrow team really. It’s a draft. We can make revisions to it.

“So, I guess this is it?” He stands at the door with his hands shoved in his pants pockets.

“You’re not happy, are you?”

“I think I just thought something more happened between us…” He draws out the sentence, letting it hang there in the silence.

“You know, that’s the thing about Sage’s books. They end when the couple gets together, and you’re supposed to imagine their lives being perfect. They don’t show the day to day. And…this is my life.” I don’t know how else to explain it. What I am working on could change the world. It could give life to so many who might otherwise die. My work requires time. And focus. And really, he distracts me.

“What were your parents like?”

That’s an odd question. One we don’t really have time for. “Why?”

“I’m curious.”

“They were exemplary parents.”

“I get that. But what were they like as a couple?”

Memories of my parents surface. Mom at the hospital while Dad heated dinner in the oven. Mom driving through a drive-thru, only to be met at the hospital later with Dad after he’d had to work late. One of them would stay, one of them would drive Sam and me home. Shouting. Always behind closed doors. Tears. Over Sage. “They disagreed sometimes,” I say, thoughtfully. “They saw a couple’s therapist. But neither of them ever told us why. I always assumed it had to do with Sage being sick.”

“They told you they were seeing a therapist but didn’t tell you why?”

“They didn’t tell us. But we spent a lot of time in the car, driving back and forth from the hospital. They never told us, but they didn’t keep it a secret. We have ears. Why?”

“My parents loved each other. But they had a day-to-day reality too. Everyone does. But they also prioritized each other. I’ve always wanted a marriage like my parents.”

“Marriage? You want to get married?”

“One day. I take it that’s a negative for you?”

“Marriage is based on religious principles, and I’m not religious.” It’s a fantasy. I’m not sure why, but it surprises me that someone like Max would want the traditional construct of a marriage. He seems more open-minded.

“Well, then. I suppose it’s better that we realized we want different things before we invested too much energy in scheduling phone calls.”

I’m not sure what to say to that, so I focus on the unevenly tied laces of the out-of-place hiking boots he’s wearing.

“I’ll see you around.”

A quivering sensation assaults my chest cavity. He’s leaving to catch a plane. But this doesn’t feel like a good goodbye. “Do you not want to talk this Sunday?”

“No, Sloane, I don’t think I do.” The room blurs, and it becomes hard to breathe. “Our paths are bound to cross, you know. Knox is like a brother to me.”

“And he and Sage are going to have children.” If something happens to her… She’s all I’ve got. “I don’t want her to go through a pregnancy. It’s a risk.”

“I remember.” Again, he doesn’t sound happy with me. But I’m only concerned for Sage. I just don’t want her taking unnecessary risks.

I return to my laptop as the door clicks closed.