Chapter 30 #2
Finn snatched Roman’s jacket from where it hung over the railing but held on to it for him. “I assume Luciano will be pissed you’re out of uniform, but I’m getting the feeling you don’t care right now.”
Roman removed his aviator sunglasses for a moment, and that only made him feel worse. Shades back on, he focused on Finn as Harper continued to grip his arm, clearly not caring who saw. “Let Wyatt know what I just told you,” is all he managed.
Finn nodded. His Ray-Bans may have hidden the emotion in his eyes but based on the tight draw of his lips and his flared nostrils, he was worried about Roman.
“I’ve got him,” Harper said as if trying to reassure Finn.
“Where are you going?” Carmen called out behind them as they started toward the hotel to get to the elevator.
“Where do you think?” Harper tossed out in a clipped tone, and Roman may have been out of it, but was that code for to have sex?
Once they were alone inside the elevator, Roman pushed his glasses into his hair and set his hands to the shiny gold walls. “My head is spinning, and I’m nauseous,” he confessed.
“Concussion or the lack of food?” She made small, soothing circles on his back. “Maybe both.”
He’d forced her to eat, but he didn’t remember having anything since the coffee yesterday. He turned and set his back to the elevator wall for support and worked at rolling his sleeves to the elbows. It was still too damn hot.
“Let’s get you some food. I’m sure that’s all it is,” Harper said softly, worry still clinging to her tone the same way his shirt stuck to his body.
Twenty minutes later, they found themselves at a small seaside cafe at the V&A Waterfront, a shopping and dining district on the harbor where Roman scarfed down the local fast food within a handful of minutes.
His head didn’t feel better. Nor did his stomach.
It’s nerves, he told himself. His concerns about this weekend and whether all the dominos would fall into place as they had planned. And with Harper in danger, caught between Will Hobbs and Luciano . . . it was enough to make him officially lose his mind.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” She set her hand on his thigh beneath the table and forced a smile to her lips.
“Will was the one who personally selected me to join Echo. Here in Cape Town. I just remembered that back at the hotel,” he quietly said, letting her in on the memory he shared with Finn.
“This case has us scattered all over the globe chasing leads, so I’m guessing Jess and Luke also forgot that detail when we mentioned Cape Town.
” Maybe it’s not my concussion that made me forget? Just stress?
“I thought the only person Will helped Jessica recruit was Luke. He was concerned their close sibling relationship would interfere with missions. That Luke might disregard orders and put his sister first.” She sat back in her chair, her hand slipping from his leg at the news.
“Will knew me from our drinking days, and he personally vouched for me. As far as I know, I was Will’s only pick for the teams.” He tossed his napkin on the empty plate, followed by a handful of bills alongside it since the location accepted U.S.
dollars. “I came to Cape Town to clear my head and just get away from life when I was on leave in January that year.”
They left the cafe a moment later and slowly strolled past the blend of old and new structures along the waterfront—Dutch architecture mingled with the shopping complexes. The signature H-shaped buildings in blues, pinks, and golds were interspersed with stores like Gucci and Prada.
His legs felt better, and his balance had returned.
At the sight of the Cape Wheel, a giant observation wheel there on the waterfront, Roman stilled as he thought back to the time he and Harper had snuck off to the Ferris wheel near the site of Natasha and Wyatt’s wedding last July.
He missed the happy memories, and he sure as hell hoped they’d have a chance to make new ones.
Harper surprised him by reaching for his hand and coming around to stand before him. The woman took his breath away. Even in the midst of chaos, he felt better simply by looking at her.
She reached for his glasses and carefully removed them, then pinned him with her beautiful brown eyes, which had him pulling in a deep breath like it might be his last.
“I’d had a tough 2012. Lost a few friends in different branches of the military. And by January of 2013, I needed a second to just breathe, and Cape Town felt like the place to go,” he explained.
She kept quiet, her eyes never leaving his.
“I had four weeks, and near the end of that time, Will, Jessica, and Luke came to my hotel and offered me the chance to join Echo.” He wet his lips, trying to work through his emotions.
“The bird tattoos on my body, well, I got them while I was here. My time here gave me a lot of perspective on life, on the world.”
She hooked his glasses at the top of his shirt and set her hand on the side of his torso where the South African cliff swallows were located. The wings of three birds were spread open and wrapped along his side and down to his hip bone.
“You told me they represented freedom, flow, and peace.”
“Different stages of life,” he said with a nod. “And here in Cape Town, I’d finally felt a sense of freedom.”
She looked left and then right as if taking in the beauty of South Africa all around them. “I can see how this place can do that.”
“Wait until I show you more. There are so many places I’d love to take you to.” His brief smile dissolved. “I mean if we can come back.” He was all too aware they weren’t in Cape Town as a happy couple on vacation.
“You had peace, but you lost it, didn’t you?” she asked as he put his aviator shades back on and worked to pull himself back to reality. They were still on a mission.
“I lost that peace when Thiago died.” Roman lifted their clasped palms between them and brushed his mouth over her knuckles, the warmth of the sun beating down on them as they stood out in the open, the mountains on one side and the Atlantic seaboard on the other.
“The peace I feel with you, though, is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
” He lowered their hands to find her eyes and saw that her lower lip was trembling. “I want that with you forever.”
Harper eased closer, ignoring the people walking all around them, then pressed up on her toes and set her lips to his. “I want you forever,” she murmured against his mouth.
Roman swooped a hand around her back and pulled her to him, her lush curves seeming to melt into his body as they slowly moved in a three-sixty and kissed beneath the sun.
Everything had come full circle. He was back in the place where he’d felt free and at peace, and this time, he was experiencing it with Harper. And as much as he hated Will as well as his uncle for bringing him there, he didn’t regret one moment he shared with Harper.
Music began to float softly around them, but it was only when Roman realized the whistles and claps were for them that he finally pulled back from their heated kiss. Harper cupped her mouth and blushed at the idea they were putting on a show.
It was then they noticed the musician who strummed his guitar and sang an unfamiliar song while people watched Harper and Roman instead of the performer.
Harper grinned, her dimples popping, then she surprised him by turning to the crowd and taking a bow. Roman couldn’t help but smile as he watched her, then reached into his pocket and generously tipped the musician.
Harper waved to the crowd before Roman pulled her away.
“That was unexpected,” she said with a light laugh as he guided her between two buildings around the corner, then positioned her back to the wall and kissed her again, this time without an audience.
She looped her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, and he raced his hands along the contours of her body. His palms slipped beneath her soft cotton dress and landed on her round, perfect ass. He groaned against her mouth as she deepened the kiss, and he grabbed her flesh and squeezed.
“Roman,” she cried into his mouth. “Oh God, I’ve missed you so much.”
He released his grip and stepped back to find her eyes. He was panting, and so was she. And his chest tightened with raw, unfiltered emotion.
He pushed his shades into his hair and gently cupped her cheeks. “Harper, you know I love you, right?” His voice nearly broke as he confessed words he was pretty sure he’d let slip yesterday when they’d kissed in the hotel. “I love you more than I can express with only words.”
Tears filled her eyes as she observed him. “I know,” she whispered with a small nod. “And I love you more than I can possibly express, too.”
Those words from her . . . he could now die happy.
But he didn’t want to. No, he wanted to grow old with her.
Maybe have a home in Cape Town one day. Watch their kids splash around on the beach.
Morning runs at Sea Point, followed by ice cream.
Hike at Lion’s Head. Walk through Green Point Park in the shadow of the stadium from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. And so much more.
Roman set his mouth to hers again, knowing they needed to get back to the hotel and that it was a risky move to be out in the city with Talon Fox possibly already in town and Luciano there, too.
But he needed one more minute with her. One more kiss.
And it was at this moment that he truly felt the words scrolled on the side of his arm had finally come true: pain is weakness leaving the body. He no longer felt pain or weakness. He only felt whole.
“You look a hell of a lot better,” Finn remarked when Roman and Harper returned to the hotel bar. He’d wanted to take her to their room and make love to her, but he was worried if they were gone too long, Luciano would send out the cavalry.
“Luciano here?” Roman kept hold of Harper’s hand. It no longer mattered what Luciano thought because they’d be done with that man soon enough.