Piper came out of the bathroom dragging a comb through her wet hair and wearing only his shirt from what he could tell. When she saw the bags from the greasy spoon chain, she squealed with delight, tore into them and dug right in. Her laptop did the same thing it had done for him earlier, and the second she saw the screen pop to life she offhandedly slapped it shut and shoved it aside as she handed him one of the chicken fried steak sandwiches and a cup of coleslaw with a flourish that made serving up dinner look like the most important thing in the world to her.
“What’s going on, Piper?” he asked as he set his food aside, suddenly not the least bit hungry.
“What do you mean?” She peeled off the top half of the bun, dumped her slaw on top of the deep-fried slab of meat and slapped the bun cover over the whole mess. Then she took a big bite. Coleslaw dressing oozed out the sides of the bun and dribbled onto what had been one of his last clean shirts. Creamy white splotches dotted her left breast and all he could think of was wishing she wasn’t wearing the shirt so he could lick the sauce from her honey-brown skin and watch the dusky bud spring to life beneath his ministrations.
It took every ounce of mental fortitude to corral his lustfully wandering concentration, and he shook his head to clear the last shreds of his food-related fantasy. “I, uh—umm—” He cut off his blathering, scrubbed his hand down his face and tried to refocus. “I just found you in the shower with your clothes on, and now you’re acting as if there’s nothing wrong. So I ask again, what’s going on?”
“Look, Riggs, could we just forget this ever happened? I don’t want you thinking I’ve gone off the deep end.”
“It’s a little hard not to think something’s not right with you after what I just witnessed.”
“It’s just one of my ways of coping. I prefer walking in the rain, but I’ve learned a shower works almost as well in a pinch.”
“How long have you been using water therapy as a coping mechanism?”
She scrunched her face. “You make it sound so clinical when you put it that way. It’s just that, well, I find water calming, that’s all.”
“Exactly—” he said. “Therapeutic.”
“Can you blame me for needing a little therapy after the news you delivered?”
“No,” he said. “I can’t blame you at all.” Carter took her hand and urged her to sit next to him. She moved toward him with minimal convincing and took a seat in his lap instead. He didn’t mind. In fact, he couldn’t be happier, and neither could the rest of his body to her nearness.
She scooted the T-shirt up over her hips and wiggled her bare bottom against him. “Why, Agent Riggs,” she purred seductively as his hands moved under the shirt. “Is that weapon of yours on safety?”
“It could go off at any moment,” he murmured.
She raised her arms and the shirt floated up and over her head. Turning to face him, she pushed him down and straddled his waist, her fingers working frantically on his shirt buttons. When they refused to cooperate, she ripped the shirt apart, then turned her attention to his belt and pants. She had him stripped and every bit as naked as she was in record time.
Then he had her on her back before she could protest the switch in dominant positions. Braced on his elbows, he faced her, his eyes flashing green with desire and desperate with longing. The weight of his hips pressed into the soft flesh of her open thighs. Keeping her pinned to the mattress, he moved slowly, easing her open with probing, measured thrusts. She shifted herself upward and accepted the fullness of his erection with a pleasurable intake of sighing breaths. They moved in rhythm to the music created by the lusty beat of their hearts and the strumming friction of their perfectly attuned bodies.
His thrusts came harder and swifter as he lowered his dark head and buried his lips into the curve of her shoulder. His breath flowed hot and heavy across her damp flesh as his hands gripped her hips and pulled her into his climax. Husky gasps of fulfillment punctuated his final spasms, taking her over the edge with him. He collapsed onto the mattress, shifting most of his weight, yet he successfully managed to keep a possessive arm and leg across her to keep them connected.
She turned away, not wanting to reveal the recent discovery of how deep her feelings for him flowed. Emotional exposure meant vulnerability, and she knew that could only mean trouble. But long, hard fingers cupped her chin and forced her to look at him.
Piper shifted restlessly beneath him, expecting him to take the hint. He remained steadfast, successfully keeping her pinned to the mattress.
“Let me up,” she said, squirming and frowning with elevated effort. Her palms pressed against his chest. Something very odd and very foreign stirred inside her and before it reached the surface, she had to get away. She had to stop it.
It started with a scratchy burning in her throat, an uncomfortable itchy tightness that threatened to choke her from the annoying tickle. Then her eyes began to sting and water, as if she’d been exposed to gaseous airborne irritants. She swallowed past the annoyance and mentally hardened herself against the threatening emotional onslaught.
Then it happened without further warning. A single tear had the unmitigated nerve to challenge her will and make its escape. It pushed and struggled its way to the surface through a miniscule crack in the dam she had built years ago and snuck out from the corner of her eye before she could repair the break. It oozed and trickled slowly, taking its sweet time, meandering down the line of her nose before taking a sharp turn to follow the sloping curve of her cheek to finally leave a single wet shadowy dot on the dark blue quilted bedspread.
At that moment she wholeheartedly wished Carter Riggs was one of those men who promptly rolled over and went to sleep after sex. It would have made her retreat to the bathroom much easier for a needed splash of cold water and an even more needed slap of hard reality.
She wanted more from this man than she’d ever wanted from someone in her life, so much more, but in that moment she also knew she’d take whatever he’d give her for however long he could give it. She also realized that no matter how long they had together would never be enough. The thought caused another traitorous tear to follow the first.
“What’s this?” he asked, following the path of the second tear with the pad of a single fingertip. “Did I hurt you?”
Afraid if she spoke the dam would burst, she shook her head and blinked.
“Then what is it?” The gentleness in his voice carried her beyond the tears and gave her the courage she needed to say what she had to say.
“Riggs,” she said, finally managing to work her way out from under him to sit up. “Have you considered every possible method of treatment for your condition? I mean, shouldn’t you be treating this more aggressively?”
He swung his feet off the bed and snatched his pants off the floor. “What would you suggest I do?”
“You’ve got to fight this!”
“I’d rather take my chances with leaving it alone,” he told her as he stepped into his pants and yanked them over his hips. He zipped but didn’t bother to button.
“And leaving me alone.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if she’d spoken aloud or not. His prompt comeback was all she needed to know she had.
“That’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative of leaving you with feeding me through a tube and changing my diapers.”
“I don’t understand this defeatist attitude of yours, Riggs. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve always had this never-give-up attitude. You’re a fighter. Your example taught me to be one, too.” She pointed her finger at him. “You’re taking the easy way out by not doing anything—the coward’s way—and I’m having a hard time thinking of you as anything but brave.”
“Do you think choosing this path was an easy one? I’m living with a time bomb in my head, and nobody can tell me when it’
s going to go off.”
“Then take the element of surprise out of the equation.”
“How do you propose I do that?”
“There are some amazing new treatment options available. Pick one. Worst case it’ll kill you, which is what doing nothing will eventually do. The best case is it’ll fix you.”
“Just one little problem with your best—and worst-case scenarios, you failed to mention the very worst that could happen—I could have a massive stroke during the procedure that would leave me in an irreversible vegetative state.”
“Isn’t that something that could happen with the do nothing approach you’re taking now?”
The mattress absorbed his weight as he sat down hard and dropped his head into his hands with an agonizing sigh. “Winding up like that scares the hell out of me, P.J.,” he confessed. “If it’s going to happen, I’d rather it take me by surprise without any doctors around to fuck it up then shove me into some long-term care facility with a ventilator keeping me breathing because there’s nothing more they can do.”
The hardest part about all of this was, she understood his reasoning. She’d make the same choice if their roles were reversed, but she also knew if she were the one with that thing in her head he’d be doing what she was doing right now—trying to convince her to do whatever was necessary to fix the problem. They both knew there was no definitive right or wrong answer here. This was one of those times she needed to follow her heart every bit as much as her head.
Piper scooted across the bed and took his hand. She kissed his knuckles and pressed his fingers to her cheek. “I’ll make you a deal. Promise me you’ll consider other options, and I’ll give you my solemn vow to never let anything like that happen.”
Without a word, he took her into his arms and held her close. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, wordlessly wrapped in each other’s arms, but she knew their bargain had been irrevocably sealed. In the moments of their silent embrace she’d promised the man she loved that she would end his life.
Chapter Eighteen
Carter awoke with a satisfied smile that was no doubt still plastered on his face from the night before. God, the woman made him happy, and he didn’t care who knew it. Rolling to his back, his smile faltered when he realized he was alone. Even the lowly motel double bed seemed too big and empty without Piper sharing it, and her absence made him frown.
He stretched and tucked his hands behind his head, amazed that in just a few short days she’d become the axis on which his whole world turned.
From out of the corner of his eye, he discovered her near the closet alcove tugging a fitted black tee over her head. Then he watched her lift his money clip from the dresser and thumb off a twenty as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Caughtcha!” he said in a deep, sleep-husky bass.
Her head snapped around. “Morning,” she said, stuffing the bill into the back pocket of her jeans. “I was just going to get coffee, but since you’re awake I’ll go ahead and get us breakfast while you shower.”
She sat on his side of the bed and stuffed her feet into her running shoes, tying them off with hasty fingers. “What can I get you?”
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Nothing deep-fried again, I hope.” There was a greasy film still lingering in his mouth from last night’s dinner.
“I thought I’d zip through Mighty Mo’s drive-through,” she said as she pecked him on the lips. “I’m sure they have a few health-conscious items on the menu. So what’ll it be, heart-healthy or gut-busting?”
What he was in the mood for had nothing to do with food. He reached for her, but she was a little quicker and wriggled away...
“Although—” she grinned as she eyed the sheet covering his lower half, “—from the looks of that tent you’ve pitched, it would appear that your cardiovascular system is working on all cylinders.”
“So what’s your rush? It’s only—” he rolled to his side and lifted his head to glance at the digital clock on the nightstand, “—quarter to seven,” he said as he flopped to his back with a groan.
She shrugged like she didn’t have an answer as she snatched the Denali key and cell phone from the table and unlatched the security chain and deadbolt.
Carter swung his feet to the floor and started to stand. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go out alone. Give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll go with you.”
She waved off his concern as she paused in the doorway. “I don’t need an escort. I’ll be fine,” she assured him. Blowing him a kiss, she mouthed, “Love you” on her way out the door.
Her impulsive gesture knocked him back on his ass. He landed on the edge of the bed and realized he loved her, too, and he didn’t know why it took so long to admit it, let alone tell her. Jumping up, he decided to rectify that oversight without further delay.
He snatched a pair of jeans from his bag and stepped into them. As he yanked them over his hips, he was already heading for the door. He threw it open and stepped barefooted onto the concrete balcony overlooking the motel’s parking lot.
He heard hurried steps echoing down the exterior stairway and called out. He didn’t want her leaving before he told her how he felt. He’d waited too long already.
She poked her head out from under the overhang and smiled as she backpedaled into the parking lot to get a better look at the half-naked man standing overhead.
She eyed his open fly. “Forget something?”
He grinned from ear to ear and said, “I forgot to tell you something.”
“Couldn’t resist the lure of Mo’s bucket o’ biscuits and gravy, huh?”
Her fresh-scrubbed face and big brown eyes looked to him expectantly. He couldn’t speak. With her hair tethered in a ponytail, she looked so young, no different from the eager kid he’d recruited and trained years before, and he choked back his declaration. She deserved a lot better than the uncertain future he faced.
“Be careful,” was all he said.
“Where’s the fun in that?” She winked and aimed the keyless remote toward their vehicle parked a couple of rows back.
The explosion rocked the block.
The motel shook and swayed as if an earthquake had swept beneath its foundation. Rumbling vibrations sent Carter reeling, knocking him to his knees. He shook his head to clear the clanging in his ears and pulled himself to stand using the iron balcony railing for support.
People poured out of their first—and second-floor rooms and stood around in various states of dress and undress. Carter couldn’t help note with a quick glance that he wasn’t in the minority of shirtless, barefooted men hastening from their respective rooms. Except for a few diehard travelers who’d checked out before sunrise, seven o’clock on a Sunday morning had the motel still fairly occupied to capacity. Nearly every room had someone standing in the doorway or just outside.
As he searched for Piper, his gaze was drawn to the pillar of spiraling smoke from across the parking lot. The Denali had been reduced to a fiery mass of twisted metal and busted glass.
He finally saw her scrambling across the blacktop between the vehicles. He was so overwhelmed at the sight of her that it took him a few seconds to draw a deep enough breath to call out her name.
* * *
Chaos erupted all around them. Car alarms shrieked in disharmony and the sound of approaching emergency vehicle sirens screamed in the distance, yet she heard him over the rising din and glanced to where he’d last been standing.
Relief swept through her when she spotted Riggs at the railing seemingly unscathed. As she straightened and waved to him, a brown panel van screeched to a halt in the aisle behind her.
The side door of the van rolled open and out jumped two men dressed in combat fatigues. Their boots hit the ground running. She didn’t recognize them,
but she couldn’t help wondering just how many men Pritchard had working for him. Pushing that thought aside, Piper assumed a defensive stance and prepared herself for combat. Then she heard the pounding of two more pair of booted feet coming at her from behind. She was good, but she knew she couldn’t fend off four attackers, so she turned to make a run for it.
Four steps into her retreat the sting of Taser barbs penetrated her shoulder.
Carter pushed and shoved his way through the crowd and scrambled down the stairs. There was nothing he could do but watch the taillights of the brown van speeding away. A second van, the white one, followed close behind.
He didn’t know what to do first. Following them was out of the question, since the Denali was a smoking wreck, but he had to get out of there. He didn’t want to be around when the local authorities started asking questions he didn’t want to waste time answering.
Rules and regulations, be damned. He was through playing Pritchard’s games.
* * *
Carter had Pritchard pinned against the door frame of his Fairfax County home the second the man answered to door.
“Where is she, you son of a bitch?” Carter demanded, pressing a Beretta 9mm against the old man’s forehead. “What have you done with her?”
Although he would have preferred immediate compliance, he wasn’t all that surprised by Jackson’s lack of cooperation. He knew better than anyone that Jack hadn’t gotten where he was by being easily intimidated. Jackson stiffened his posture and glared at his aggressor in spite of his clear disadvantage.
His lips drew back, exposing tobacco-yellowed teeth. “Try to remember who you’re dealing with.”
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