Afterwards she held him close and ran her hands up and down his back while they both caught their breath. Her muscles felt well-used but weak as water.
When James shifted position, she opened her eyes to look up at him and found him grinning.
Color ran up her throat to her cheeks, and his smile widened.
“Shut up,” she said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“The self-satisfied grin on your face says it all.”
He laughed. “We’ve always been good together.”
“Yeah, we have.” She drew him down to kiss him. “I’m ready for a nap.”
He eased onto his side and she turned her back to him so they could spoon. She drew his hand to her breast and held it there. For the first time in a long, long while she felt in complete balance. “I love you.”
His lips moved against her shoulder. “Roger that.”
James woke more than an hour later when Marsha slipped out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. He closed his eyes and waited for her to return. When she slipped back into bed he reached for her. They made love again. Slowly. Enjoying touching one another, being close.
Afterwards they called home to check on Alex, and finding everything under control, showered, dressed, and went downstairs to the casino. They wandered through, pausing just to observe from a distance. Then went into the slot room. A wide range of slot machines lined the length of the room.
“Want to try one?” James asked.
Marsha shook her head. “No. But I’d like to go to the art gallery tomorrow. They’re supposed to have an exhibit of landscapes. And let’s go to the Fashion Show Mall. I don’t really need anything, but I’d like to see it.”
“Okay.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ll catch a cab to take us to the restaurant.”
Twenty minutes later their cab dropped them at the Paris hotel. The sun was setting and the lights started to come on as they entered the hotel. The French provincial lobby decor featured panels of creamy white edged in gold, and crystal chandeliers gleamed overhead. From there, they were directed by the concierge to a private elevator in the casino manned by an attendant. Once on the restaurant floor, a hostess led them past an open, spotlessly clean kitchen and seated them at a table for two that looked out at the strip and the Bellagio fountains.
They talked about friends and Alex and lingered over their meal, sampling the food, Beef Wellington and wild salmon, from each other’s plates. In the middle of the meal Marsha said, “I’ve been thinking about getting a job I could do from home. What do you think?”
She looked relaxed, and though the subdued lighting created hollows beneath her cheekbones, the more dramatic eye makeup she’d used made her eyes look smoky blue, and her hair gleamed with highlights. She looked beautiful. She raised her brows, waiting for an answer, and he dragged his thoughts back to her question. “I think you should give yourself another couple of months to get back to full fighting form, then see how you feel about it. You may even want to try something different.”
She nodded. “You’ve always been supportive of me in whatever I’ve wanted to do.”
He laid his hand over hers. “You’ve always supported me, too. And I know it hasn’t always been easy. I know what a sacrifice you’ve made being married to me. If I’m home, I’m running the unit. If I’m downrange, I’m out of touch.” How would she respond to being alone if he had to deploy again?
They enjoyed crème brûlée and a caramel soufflé for dessert, and coffee.
Marsha looped her arm through his to cuddle in the back of the cab as they headed back to the hotel. After they arrived at the Bellagio, they strolled toward the front entrance while taking in the sights.
A man stepped from behind one of the Chinese dogs into their path, and Marsha started. James’s arm tightened around her.
“Good evening, Captain, Jackson,” Agent Barnett said, coming further into the light. He nodded to Marsha. “Ma’am.”
Agent Cooper approached from the other direction and nodded to him. “We need to talk, sir.”
CHAPTER 34
James settled on the couch in the sitting area of Agent Barnett’s room and stretched his arms out along the back. The room was more spacious than his and Marsha’s, with a living room area with a couch and two chairs.
“What are you doing here, Captain?” Barnett asked, his face settled into the same bulldog frown he’d kept the entire time they’d spoken before.
“I’m spending some quality time with my wife.”
“This place doesn’t come cheap. I bet you dropped a hundred fifty to two hundred dollars on dinner. That’s a chunk of change on a captain’s salary.”
As usual Barnett was coming in low and trying for the cheap shot. “Barnett, have you been stuck in bad cop mode for so long you can’t do anything else? Or is it your normal personality to be an asshole?”
Barnett scowled.
“You’re welcome to look through my financials. Which you probably already have. We haven’t taken a vacation in five years.” He bore down on the words, “I was fucking busy somewhere else. We eat out a couple of times a week. And the rest of the time we lead a quiet life within our means.”
“Except you’re a SEAL and are gone on deployment or training nine months out of every year,” Agent Cooper said.
He swung his attention back to her. “Which goes without saying. Now get to the point, or I’m leaving.”
Cooper flipped her ponytail over her shoulder impatiently. “We know this was Lieutenant Carney’s favorite vacation spot, Captain. It just seemed out of character for you to come here. You don’t gamble.”
“You mean I haven’t gambled since I’ve been here.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “There are other things to do here, agent.”
Her deadpan expression almost encouraged a smile.
“Because we have a two-hour window to report to base if something goes down, it has to be someplace we could fly to and from within that time frame. Tomorrow we plan to go through the art gallery here, and visit the mall to purchase a gift for our son. We’ll probably eat somewhere nice, not nearly as nice as tonight, but that was a one-time deal. While my wife goes for a massage, I’ll probably hang out in the casino and try my luck. Then we’ll fly back to San Diego around six.”
“You flew down on a private plane.” Barnett said, leaning forward in his seat.
“Yeah. With several businessmen.”
“That must have cost some cash, too.”
This accusatory tone Barnett adopted every time he spoke was wearing thin. “Not as much as you think. Dom is ex-military and a friend. He flew us down with the party he’d booked. He’ll fly us back tomorrow with another.”
“He used to fly Carney down all the time.”
“Yes, he did. He’s good about that. He knows the life. Knows the time restraints we have with the job and family.” James rose to his feet. “Now, if we’ve covered everything.”
“We know Lieutenant Carney is here in Nevada, Captain,” Barnett said.
Shit! James’s heartbeat ratcheted up to jogging pace in a nanosecond. “Then why aren’t you knocking on his door and talking to him instead of me?”
“Because if we approach him, he’ll be in the wind again,” Cooper said.
Every muscle in James’s body grew tense with the need to take action. But he kept his expression under control. “You can’t blame him for not wanting to be thrown in jail over something out of his control, agent. You haven’t exactly been supportive of his efforts.”
“He has bigger issues than us, Captain.” She leaned forward in much the same pose as Barnett. “If we’ve been able to track him here, other factions probably have, too.”
James’s tone grew sharp. “Do you know they’ve located him for certain?”
She shook her head. “But we know someone’s been picking away at the persona he built for himself. We’ve been monitoring it for the last few days.”
J
esus! He had no way of contacting Flash to warn him. “How did you find him?”
“He sent us a message, sir, stating he was ready to come in.”
Barnett and Cooper glanced toward each other in a silent exchange. “Admiral Clarence has already contacted us…well, actually, our superiors,” Cooper said.
“I don’t know what he’s said to them, but he has some major juice,” Barnett added.
James sucked in a quick breath, then stood and fished his cell phone out of his pocket.
Both agents leaped to their feet. “Relax, you two. I’m checking my voice mail for a message from Admiral Clarence.” He ran through the messages, and not finding one from Clarence, ran through his contacts and selected the admiral’s number. He put it on speakerphone.
Clarence answered identifying himself in a gravelly voice.
“I’m calling from Agent Barnett’s hotel room here at the Bellagio, sir. He and his partner Agent Cooper ambushed me on my way back in from dinner.”
“Their superiors and I are working on it, Captain. And the FBI has decided to come along for the ride. Stand down until you hear from me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Clarence’s tone was impatient. “And tell those two over-eager agents to stand down as well.”
James raised a brow at Barnett and the man frowned.
Clarence’s tone grew short. “I’ll call you back in a few hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
James looked from Cooper to Barnett. “We have nothing more to discuss until I have my orders and you have yours. Good night.”
He felt little satisfaction as he left Barnett’s room and made his way to his own. Flash was as good as arrested unless something could be done. All the two NCIS agents had to do was wait for him to show tomorrow.
Though it was nearly one in the morning, Marsha was still awake and waiting for him. She muted the television when he entered the room and slipped free from the covers.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Admiral Clarence is in negotiations with NCIS, trying to negotiate some kind of interdepartmental agreement on Flash’s behalf.” He shrugged free of his suit coat and tossed it on the foot of the bed.
“If they can’t?”
He shook his head. “They’ll arrest him when he shows tomorrow, and he’ll be transported back to San Diego and thrown in the brig.”
“After everything he’s done to try to lead them in the right direction?”
James nodded. “The only good thing is he’ll be safer in custody with us than he’d be out there with the cartel looking for him. They said someone is investigating his background. It could be them.” He loosened his tie.
“Is there anything you can do?” she asked.
“I don’t have any way of contacting him, and even if I could, I’ve been ordered to stand down until I hear from the admiral.”
Marsha put her arms around him. “I’m sorry, James.
“Me, too.” He held her close. “I really hoped we could find a way to get him back.” He knew in his gut Flash was getting a raw deal.
“If there’s a way, the admiral will find it.”
He rested his chin atop her head. “How can you be so certain?”
“He’s a SEAL just like you. You guys never give up.”
CHAPTER 35
Flash awoke at first light to a breath-stealing ache in his chest. The recurring dream about the mission he’d struggled with for so long had been replaced with one about Sam. He didn’t need a psyche eval to understand why he’d spent the last few nights searching for her in his sleep. Still gripped by the aftermath of the dream, his heartbeat raced like an overworked engine. He tightened his arm around Sam and rested his cheek against her hair, allowing her scent, her closeness to calm him.
She stroked his arm. “What is it?” Her voice sounded drowsy.
“Just a dream. It’s okay.”
She needed to sleep as long as she could. It would save her some of the dread and worry waking was sure to bring.
He tucked his legs beneath hers to spoon and she reached back to rest her hand on his bare thigh.
Sam looked over her shoulder at him, deep shadows darkening the pale skin beneath her eyes. Proof she’d had as sleepless a night as he.
She turned. “Come inside me,” she said softly. “I need to be as close to you as I can get.”
Flash turned to cover her body with his own. She reached between them to touch him and he grew hard in an instant.
He didn’t want their last time to be painful in any way. “Your not ready—”
“You are,” she said with a smile that had to cost her. “Come inside me.”
He pushed forward entering her the first small bit and felt her body open to him, accepting him. By slow increments he eased forward until he was as deep and close as he could get.
Sam raised a hand to cup his cheek and look into his eyes. “I love you.”
Flash kissed her, hoping the taste of her lips would ease the ache in his chest. “I love you, Sam.”
Her arms tightened and her slender legs bowed around him holding him, wrapping him close. He thrust forward and rolled his hips deepening the contact as she tilted her hips in response.
A desperate need to be closer seemed to seize them both and instead of withdrawing, he rocked against her, barely separating their bodies, and each time, she canted against the movement. The slow steady ebb and flow of the motion eased his emotional pain and allowed physical pleasure to sweep in.
The hitch in her breathing mirrored his own, the soft sound of her sighs and breathy groans fed his own need and played on his arousal like nothing had before. The natural grip and release of her response drove him toward climax, though he tried to hold off.
When she breathed his name in a husky, plea, he lost his tenuous control and fell over the edge with her.
Afterwards, Sam turned her lips against his throat. “I love you,” she whispered.
Flash realized he had never truly understood what those three words meant until meeting her, loving her. But he did now.
Will had never seen Marc Zusak smile so much. His horsy teeth looked too big for his mouth and his nose hooked downward over it. The sight was nauseating this early in the morning. But Zusak had a note of excitement in his voice he’d never heard before. “We finally cracked it last night around four in the morning. We weren’t sure who this guy was at first. We both, that’s Herman my tech guy and me, thought he was either an undercover cop or a criminal. His background was layered in like it was the real deal. It was a very professional job. We were able to uncover his real name and a little info about his background, but not much. His real name is Carney. Harold Timothy Carney.”
“Real name?” Will scowled.
“Yeah. He’s living under an alias, but the real name is Carney. Which was smart as hell. If anyone questioned it he could say it was a typo or something. He’s originally from Boston but lived in San Diego. Or at least that was his last known address. And he’s a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the Navy.”
“If he’s in the Navy, what the hell’s he doing hanging here in Henderson?” Will asked.
“We don’t know yet. There weren’t any wants or warrants out for his arrest. But we’re still picking away at the info, and I’ll have more by this afternoon. I just wanted to be sure to report our findings right away.”
A lieutenant in the Navy. God damn it! But the fucker had something to hide, otherwise he wouldn’t be living under an alias. If he turned out to be a criminal—Will rubbed his hands together gleefully. He could take Sam to court again and file for custody, accusing her of being a negligent mother for exposing Joy to a criminal element. Once he got custody, Sam would follow. She’d be too afraid not to.
“Find me something on this fucker so I can get him out of Sam’s life for good.” Will said. “You do that, and I’ll give you a thousand-dollar bonus.”
Zusak’s smile stretched across his face, becoming downright scar
y. “Will do, Mr. Cross.”
Working at the law office of Hinton, Hinton, and Chase as a receptionist paid the bills, but Sam wished the pace would pick up, giving her less time to think. As it was, she kept dwelling on how Tim had touched her, held her this morning as they’d made love. There had been a desperation in the way they’d clung to one another. She’d wanted to hold him deep inside her as long as possible, to make him as much a part of her as she could. Was that how military wives felt every time their husbands left for deployment? Was that how military men felt when they left their wives behind? If it was, it sucked.
She’d left early to drop Joy at school and Tim had gone on to work, needing to finish an installment before his meeting at the hotel. How could he just go on with business as usual? She felt as though she might fall apart at any minute. He’d said he wanted to meet all his obligations before he went to the meeting. He’d encouraged her to go on to work. Sitting at the house alone would only give her more time to worry.
They were supposed to meet at the hotel after lunch. She’d already asked for half a day off so she could go with him. Would they arrest him right away and take him into custody? Afterwards, would he be able to call her and let her know he was okay? The scenarios the lawyers had gone over had not given either of them much comfort.
The phone rang again. She welcomed the distraction. “Hinton, Hinton, and Chase.”
“May I speak to Mrs. Samantha Cross?”
Surprised to hear someone inquiring about her, she hesitated. “This is she.”
“Mrs. Cross. This is Detective Danny Howard of the Henderson Police Department. You filed a police report with us about someone opening a credit card under your name.”
“Yes, I did.”
“We’d like for you to come down to the station this morning so we can go over our findings with you.”
She didn’t need this today. She could barely concentrate on answering the phones, let alone this credit card issue.
Breaking Away (Military Romantic Suspense) (Book 3 of the SEAL TEAM Heartbreakers) Page 32