Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“You act like you’ve never seen the color purple before.” He flicked his wrist, motioning for her to come closer to his nearly naked body sprawled out atop her bed.
She clutched a bottle of oil tight in her hands, staring at the bruises that wrapped around his torso and cut straight up his neck.
The only untouched area of his body was beneath his boxers—thank God for that.
“What the hell did they do to you?” Tears built up in her eyes again as she sat next to him and poured some of the oil onto her palms.
He tried to hide a wince when he shifted in the bed to sit up higher. It’d been a couple of hours since he’d shown up at her door, so he supposed it was time to share the truth with her about what had gone down in Russia.
“Since I couldn’t kill Teteruk, I decided to leave Ukraine and hand him over to the Russians, hoping it could help pave the way for them to accept the president’s apology.”
She began to massage the oil near his hip bone, and the smell of peppermint flooded his nose.
He gathered a breath, hoping to hide his discomfort, before speaking again. “When we crossed into Russia, we were both arrested.” He closed his eyes, and another grimace touched his lips.
She lifted her hands from his body. “And the bruises?”
“Ironically, it was the Russian version of the Navy SEALs who beat the shit out of me.” He slowly peeled his eyes open. “They wanted me to admit who I really was, but I kept with my story. I was hired as protection for the event, and then I went after Teteruk when I saw him flee.”
“And they did this to you to try and get you to talk?” Her fingers trembled as they rested upon his abdomen.
“I think they also took their anger out on me after having learned about what had happened ten years ago.” He tried to shrug it off, but the movement of his shoulders caused a sharp throb of pain in his ribs.
A pulse of agony shot down his spine when he took in a breath a moment later.
“They’d never be able to break me, though. I’m trained for situations like these.”
“How’d you get free? I thought the president wouldn’t be able to save you. Luke and Jessica mentioned—”
“Yeah, well, after they finished treating my body like a pinata, they let me go since we did help save a bunch of Russian bigwigs from dying that night. And actually, the official deal between our countries was only wrapped up on my plane ride back.”
“I saw on the news this morning about the tariffs in China.” Her fingers slowly caressed his sides, tracing his bruises. “I assume they handed Cheng over to Rydell?”
He nodded. “Yeah, the president briefed me about it. Everything fell into place like we planned.”
“Except for you getting taken and tortured.”
“You nearly dying in Russia—that was unplanned. Anything happening to me is part of the job.”
She was silent for a moment. “What did Cheng tell the president?”
“Apparently, when he hacked Russia a few months back, he downloaded files that helped us ID three Russian spies within U.S. agencies.”
Her mouth rounded in surprise. “Really?”
“If they let go of the past, in return, they’d get their agents back.”
“Deals,” she whispered, probably remembering the deal her father had been ordered to make, the one that had started this all. “I think I’m going to quit.”
“What are you talking about?” Owen cocked his head and held on to her wrist.
“Gromov said something to me, and—”
“Don’t begin a sentence with Gromov and expect me to want to hear any more.” He tried to slide his legs over the side of the bed, but a hard gasp left his lips, and he clutched at his side.
She gestured for him to relax, her eyes scolding him for the movement. “The decisions we make in Washington have such hard-hitting consequences around the world,” she began, her tone somber. “It’s not fair we put guys like you on the line, while blood never touches our hands.”
He shook his head. “You can’t quit.”
“How can I not? Look at what Gromov did because of the choices made in D.C.”
“You can’t quit because I need to know someone like you has our backs. Someone sophisticated and caring. Someone who understands loss and uses emotions to make informed decisions.”
“How is that a good thing? It’s made me weak and—”
“No, it hasn’t.” His palms rested at his sides.
“You’re anything but weak. Losing Brad, knowing what it’s like to lose someone you love—it’s made you more cautious with the power you wield.
” His lips gathered into a slight smile.
“And I know it’s you, not so much your father, who has been breaking political ground. ”
His fingertips touched her cheek and swept to her lips as she stared down at him.
“Okay,” she conceded after a minute in thought. And he knew that, in her heart, she didn’t want to give up her work.
She started to stand, but he held onto her wrist, never wanting to let go.
“I have a question, and I want you to take your time and really think about it.”
Her brown eyes, lighter in the middle and wrapped in a dark chocolate rim, sucked him in; he nearly forgot his words. “Yeah?”
He released a breath. “Pancakes or waffles?”
The dimple in her cheek appeared at her smile. “You came all the way from Russia to ask me that?”
“No, I came all the way from Russia to see you smile.”