Chapter 13
The morning after hit Laura full force. From the first awkward moment when Drew caught her staring at his face, so handsome and at ease in sleep, all the way through a room service breakfast on the balcony. Now they were finishing off the coffee and waiting for word from Ross. She didn’t know what to say or quite how to be with Drew. They made small talk, but they kept bumping into each other as if they were both unsure about how the other would react to any display of affection.
For her part, she wanted the contact, but was afraid if she crossed that line she’d never find her way back. She thought a man like Drew, used to being alone, would find that behavior clingy and feel smothered.
Last night had been… amazing. As simple and complicated as that. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but she’d experienced so much more. Tenderness and passion, a physical connection that felt deeper than a one-night stand. Was she crazy? Was she caught in some foggy afterglow that painted Drew in a different light?
She had to be superimposing some previously unknown fantasy here. He was a loner. Even if she could help him reclaim his life, he hadn’t given any indication he wanted to change that status. She should say something, assure him she didn’t have any clingy expectations.
“About last night,” she began, not quite able to look him in the eye.
“Hold that thought,” Drew said as the phone chimed with a new message alert. “Ross says Aziz is well and has been moved to a secure facility out of town.”
“Thank God.” She would’ve felt terrible if the closest thing Drew had to a friend had died because of her. “What’s the plan for today?”
“We’re supposed to continue the honeymoon act. Spend some time downtown, have lunch, hope Hackett intercepts us.”
“If he does?”
“There will be two of us.”
True. Two of them armed and ready for anything. “And if he doesn’t?” She wasn’t sure how long she could go on this way. Not just because of her job, but the constant proximity to Drew would test her in ways she wasn’t sure she could pass.
“He has to show up to the sale. After the chaos we caused last night, I don’t expect him to exhibit much patience. With the ammunition I gave Cypress Security, I’m sure Eva is making him desperate.”
“Good. Let’s get moving then.”
“Just one last thing.” He caught her hand, preventing her escape from the balcony. “What about last night?”
“Oh.” She felt her cheeks going hot. Better to get it out there all at once. “I just think we should keep it simple.”
“It’s complicated?”
She sighed. “I’d prefer if it didn’t get that way. What happened was…”
“Amazing.”
“Well, yes.” She could hardly argue when he echoed her thoughts. “But I don’t want you to think I’ve forgotten who we are. I don’t expect anything.”
“Maybe you should.”
“What?”
He stared up at her for a long moment, making her wonder what was going on behind those striking blue eyes. She shifted away when he came to his feet, but he didn’t let her go, sliding his arms around her waist. “You want simple?”
She nodded.
“All right.” He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently, thoroughly, until she couldn’t recall why she’d said anything. “Simple it is.”
Once they were out in public, she relaxed. It helped to know there was a purpose behind the affectionate performance. They were as disguised as they could be, she thought. Holding hands like lovers and wandering through the outdoor art gallery in Marion Square, they blended quite nicely with tourists from all over the world.
Everyone had skills and secrets. The artists shared both on canvases, in sculptures, but the spy at her side kept most of his buried. Much as she did. It was a tough admission, even in the privacy of her mind.
For any other couple, she imagined it would’ve been simple. Two people enjoying each other in a romantic city on a delightful afternoon. While they were braced for any kind of action from Hackett, she did her best to enjoy the moments as a woman. Clearly, she and Drew presented the right picture based on how others reacted to them. Wearing the obligatory oversized sunglasses and flip-flops, no one seemed to realize they were armed or hyper-vigilant.
Despite the glorious sunshine and the breeze from the harbor combating the humidity, Laura’s conscience nagged at her. She couldn’t bear the way Drew had suffered because of Hackett’s treachery. The deaths on Ross’s team had been evaluated, investigated, and eventually blamed on Drew. How had she missed Hackett’s involvement? There had to have been some indication.
“Not your style, huh?”
The lanky young man in the skin-tight skater jeans with too many piercings to count pulled her out of her thoughts. “Pardon me?”
“You weren’t giving that piece much love.”
Drew squeezed her hand. “Are you the artist?”
“And proud of it.”
“You should be,” Laura said, actually looking at the bright colors screaming across the large square canvas. “I wasn’t judging it harshly, I was debating which room would suit all that energy.”
“She scowls when she thinks,” Drew explained.
“Oh, sure. My mom does that.”
“Ignoring that unfortunate analogy,” Laura continued, “I don’t think it will work in the hallway, honey.”
“No.” Drew shook his head. “Game room?”
“You guys have a game room?”
“Two incomes, no kids. It happens,” Drew said, releasing her hand to slide his arm around her waist. “Theater seating.”
Intelligent and charming, he never missed a beat. She could almost see such a room. No wonder the CIA had recruited him. Until the day Hackett screwed him over, his record had been outstanding.
“Well, honey? Game room?”
She nodded and laughed a little. “Will you ship it for us?”
The artist eagerly agreed and took down the address Drew rattled off. She did a double take when she realized it was her house in Fayetteville.
The artist glanced up. “That’s near Fort Bragg, right?”
“Yes,” she said, beaming at him while deep inside she worried his work might somehow get damaged by the people determined to take her down along with Drew. She had to push the nagging anxiety away—there were other things to think about.
“I like that area. I was an Army brat, but serving wasn’t for me.”
“Looks like you found your calling,” Drew said, his hand rubbing soothing circles across her shoulder.
Laura leaned into the touch, grateful for his silent affirmation that they’d succeed here. They chatted with more artists, enjoyed a casual lunch and whimsical dessert at a candy store, even strolled by the areas Eva was feeding Hackett as potential meeting sites, but Hackett didn’t show.
When they received a message from Eva confirming Hackett was locked down in his home near the Citadel, they stared at each other.
“What now?” she asked.
“I suppose it’s not a team kind of move to drag his ass out of the house?”
She shook her head, but she couldn’t hide her amusement. “Let Ross and Eva do this right. They’ll make it work.”
“Why are you so confident?”
“Call it a leap of faith.” In Drew. She could hardly admit that her growing confidence about netting Hackett came from being around him. His ease and expertise in the field made her realize how much she missed being out here. When they were clear and this was done, she was going to have to reevaluate more than her personal life.
“I suppose. Do you still have that turquoise swimsuit?”
She nodded.
His grin was absolutely wicked. “How do you feel about the beach?”
She pressed up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I could be persuaded.”
***
Drew didn’t like leaving Charleston to Hackett, but he was taking that leap of faith and trusting that Laura was right about the capability of Ross’s team. They’d returned to the hotel, changed clothes, and made a beeline for the surf. It was as close to idyllic as he’d seen in years.
“Another day, another beach,” Laura said as they waded along the shore. “This impromptu vacation is starting to feel less like work.”
And more like a real honeymoon, Drew thought. It was… comfortable. Nice. “I haven’t felt like this in years,” he admitted. “Didn’t realize how much I missed this kind of thing.”
“Surf and sand?”
“Along with the beautiful company,” he admitted, stealing another sweet kiss. Only the cell phone in his shirt pocket kept him tethered to the harsh reality of the task he needed to finish. He couldn’t remember ever wanting to put down roots, but today while they’d played the happy couple, it had come too easy. Felt too right.
Because of her. He tried to push those thoughts away, but they wouldn’t be relegated to the back of his mind. Somehow, in a matter of days, his entire perspective had changed.
They turned back toward the hotel and settled in a sunny spot back from the incoming tide to watch the sunset. Drew couldn’t decide if he was relieved or annoyed when Ross finally sent the message that Hackett agreed to a place and time for his deal.
“Eva’s good,” he said, putting down the phone.
Laura smiled at him. “You were doubting her, weren’t you?”
“I’m a natural-born skeptic.”
“That I doubt.”
He refused to dignify that remark, choosing to watch a young family playing in the surf.
“We take him alive,” Laura said quietly. The clipped words left no room for argument.
The abrupt change of topic and mood shouldn’t have startled him, but it did. “Have I said differently?”
“Only several times.” She rolled to her side and removed her sunglasses. “I’m serious, Drew. If you aren’t willing to do that, leave now. I’ll be sure you have a forty-eight-hour head start.”
How generous,he thought, stifling a laugh. Taking Hackett alive still felt like a mistake, but he understood why it was necessary, that it was one more hazard of working as a team. The man knew too much about too many things. If they didn’t close every loophole, Hackett would slip free or keep leaking secrets like a sieve from inside the system.
But she believed they could do it. Together.
Drew pushed a hand through his hair, wishing he could just tell her yes. But leaving Hackett alive would also make it damn hard to keep himself out of prison. An honored JAG officer’s word against an operative presumed dead for years. An operative who’d—
“I won’t let Hackett take you down with him,” she murmured, her hand warm and gentle on his arm. “Trust me.”
“I do.” It wasn’t a lie. He did trust her. In everything, he realized with a weird sinking feeling in his gut. She had skills and connections, had proven that time and again, but his past was full of darkness and secrets. The things he’d done to stay alive… the jobs he’d accepted to get him closer to Hackett… no government agency would touch him if all of that came out. She would regret touching him if all of that came out.
So this was the end.
Drew gazed across the blanket, soaking up every nuance of Laura as the ocean rolled up onto the sand. The sound of the water, the steady breeze, the fading sun still strong enough to warm her skin. The simple timelessness of it would forever remind him of her, whether he had days or decades left to live. She was steady, consistent, unflinching. She pushed forward, the ‘right thing’ at the forefront of every decision.
He didn’t deserve a gift as special as she was. Rewards like Laura should be doled out to worthy men. Men who didn’t compromise as easily as he had. He wanted to resent her integrity, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Her values guided her, shaped her, and led her to become the woman he loved.
His heart stutter-stepped in his chest. Loved? Loved. He tested the word, weighed it in his mind, but couldn’t risk letting it slip past his lips. Love would only make it harder to walk away.
Thank God for dark sunglasses, he thought, turning his attention back on the ripples of foam where ocean kissed sand.
When had it happened? When had he been fool enough to let her get into his system that way? But he knew. It had been that first night when he’d realized she could see right through his lies.
He wondered if she felt the same or if their deal to keep it simple and physical would work for her in the long run. He couldn’t change the parameters now, not when Hackett needed to be their focus. But he likely wouldn’t have the opportunity to tell her later, after they apprehended Hackett, even if he lived through that encounter.
One more secret to keep buried.
“Drew?”
“Yeah?”
“You can leave. I wouldn’t blame you. I’d understand.”
He marveled that she could understand when he didn’t have a clue. “We take him alive,” he said, echoing her words. “And deal with the fallout after.”
She rolled to her side, pulled her sunglasses down her nose and those changing hazel eyes held him captive. “Whatever you decide—”
“I’ve decided,” he insisted. He’d stay, give her the assist, and let the rest happen as it should.
“Whatever you decide works for you,” she repeated, “please know your decision will work for me.”
He gave her a smile, watched a reflection bloom gently across her face as she replaced her sunglasses and relaxed, letting the sun warm her back.
He envied her commitment to the job in front of them. Envied her confidence in his future. Until he’d met Laura, he hadn’t planned on anything beyond Hackett. With his resume, no less than three different countries wanted to put him in front of a firing squad. After Hackett started talking, the United States might join that party. Good thing he couldn’t really die more than once.
Leaving—running, to take off the sugar-coating—was a viable option. It was pretty close to being the smart option. Until he looked at her. Leaving her and Ross to deal with Hackett was the coward’s way out. Death happened to everyone eventually. Better to die for a reason, as her hero, than as a runaway eager to stay in one piece.
He leaned over and brushed a soft kiss against her shoulder. Tropical scented sunscreen and sunshine blended with her own scent, making him want her. Here and now. Tomorrow and every day yet to come. He knew it with a certainty he couldn’t accurately explain.
I love you. The words were right there. If he opened his mouth, they’d tumble out onto her glistening skin.
He bit them back, refusing to cast a cloud of potentially unwelcome emotions over what was working. Not with a bastard like Hackett in the shadows waiting to strike.
Taking him down—alive—required their full attention.
Life had blessed him with few guarantees. He had the rest of today and all of the night to make the most of his time with Laura. While she dozed, Drew made plans. Not for the purpose of intel or assets, this time he was planning how to spoil her. How to give her everything she deserved for a lifetime in the few remaining hours he could count on.
He wouldn’t say the words, but he could make sure she knew just how much she meant to him, how much he treasured the way she challenged him and set him free. No matter the outcome.