by Jade Powers
Jumping up, Lauren raced to the bathroom, fluffed her hair one more time, applied more lip gloss, and studied her smile to make sure she looked good. She returned to the computer so that she could look busy when he arrived. Still, when the door opened and Lucas walked in, Lauren had no idea what to do.
The first few minutes were awkward. Lauren didn’t step forward to hug him. She stayed seated and wouldn’t look at him. Lucas started with a bright smile which quickly faded, and he stuffed his hands into his short’s pockets to hide the fact that he thought they would hug.
Nari dropped her purse on the counter and said, “I’ll leave you two to discuss things. Knock on my door when you want dinner. I’m making dumplings.”
Lauren forced a smile and said, “Thanks.”
Once the door to Nari’s bedroom closed, Lauren asked in her frostiest of voices, “Would you like something to drink? We can talk at the kitchen table.”
“Whatever you have,” Lucas followed Lauren to the kitchen, grabbing the seat next to the window.
“Why did you leave me?” It was supposed to come out as an accusation, as a strong GRRRR female attack. Instead Lauren realized that she had allowed all of her hurt and all of her angst to shadow the question. To her own ears, it sounded plaintive and maybe even whiny. She hated herself for asking like that.
Lucas reached for her. When Lauren couldn’t bring herself to take his hand, he put it on his lap. She stood, retreating to the kitchen. He said, “I understand why you’re angry. I didn’t abandon you, not like you think. When I called Drake, he said you were already out of the airport. I asked him what I should do. One of McFarland’s men gave me orders to go to Virginia.”
“And you went, knowing how I feel about McFarland, knowing that I could be in mortal danger?” Lauren asked. She stood at the kitchen sink, watching a bird flitting from branch to branch.
“And I went, knowing that you were safe with Drake’s man and that I faced a test from McFarland. I quit spying for McFarland. I had to tell him face to face. I’m really sorry. I thought this was for the best. Drake knew the situation better than anyone. If you ask him, he’ll tell you how worried I was about leaving you there. I asked him what I should do. He said you were fine, that McFarland was a dangerous enemy, and that I needed to follow his orders. So I went. I fully expected to meet up with you at Sun Valley.”
Lauren’s laugh was brittle. She shook her head, “Drake! I should have known.’
“What do you mean? I thought you liked working for him.”
“As long as he stays the hell away from me, I like working for him fine. Look, I should have told you this earlier, but Drake and I dated, seriously, for three years. I don’t like him interfering with my life. The next time Drake Ward gives you romantic advice regarding my preferences, do the opposite.”
Lauren could feel her ex-lover’s eyes on her. She glanced away from the window, toward Lucas. He watched her with a fierceness, not predatory, but perhaps possessive. His chin tilted up slightly, and he asked, “Do you still have feelings for him?”
With a snort, Lauren said, “If you consider anger a feeling, yes. Cause right now I’m mad enough to kick him in the balls for giving you the advice that broke us up.”
Lucas stood up and crossed the kitchen. He put both of his hands on Lauren’s shoulders. He needed to give her absolute honesty, but this last part stung, partly because he felt like an idiot for putting himself in such a position, partly because his stupidity had put them both in danger. He said, “I don’t think Drake meant to hurt you. There’s more. Someone tagged me with a tracking device. McFarland’s man found me in Miami without even trying. Drake knew I might be compromised. He gave me the name of one of his docs. I had it removed in Virginia. That’s what took me so long to get here.”
“I felt abandoned when I found out that you had already flown out.” Lauren closed her eyes. Those hands on her shoulders felt so good. She wanted him so much. If only he would just say the right words and make all of the pain go away.
Lucas slowly nudged Lauren, turning her to face him. He rubbed her shoulders all the way down ending at her hands. His hands felt so warm. When she met his gaze again, those warm eyes dueled with hers, searching for meaning, searching for hope.
He said, “Is it over then? Because I want forever. It’s a damn stupid time to ask, but I’ve been carrying a ring in my pocket since that dinner where you wanted distance. If you say no, I’ll walk away right now, but it will be with a broken heart. Lauren, will you marry me?”
He didn’t go down on one knee. He held her hands and met her gaze.
Lauren ached to be held. Ached for his company. She had missed him so much. With a deep, shuddering sigh, she said, “My heart says yes, but I need more. Where will we live? What will we do? I don’t want a long distance relationship, and I can’t go back to Miami. Let’s figure that out, and then you can ask me again.”
This time Lucas drew her into his arms, and she relaxed into him with her whole body, finally feeling safe and loved and far from abandoned. He said, “My job in Miami is still intact. I told my boss I had a family emergency. I’ll give them two weeks’ notice, and then fly back and finish up the two weeks. I can get our stuff packed and then we’ll go wherever you want. I don’t want you to return to Miami...Kendall is still in play, and he’s dangerous. I’m committed to you...wherever you want to be.”
“Then yes. Yes, I will marry you.” With her head nestled against his shoulder, Lauren knew she wanted this, a life with Lucas, regardless of whether she worked as a research scientist or a coffee barista. She sighed deeply, “I’ve missed you.”
They kissed, Lucas drawing her close. Their tongues were still dueling when Nari cleared her throat from the hall. Giggling, Lauren pulled away.
“I can see you guys made up,” Nari said, quickly joining them in the kitchen. She needed to start dinner if they were going to eat at a reasonable time. Making shooing gestures with her hands, Nari said, “You crazy kids have an hour before dinner. Go.”
Lucas tugged on Lauren’s hand. With a wink at Nari, he said, “You’re invited to the wedding. I still have to propose for real, but I have it on good authority that if we’re living in the same town she’ll say yes.”
Lauren protested, “I said yes.”
“I want to ask again in a romantic setting.” Lucas said. This was an emergency marriage proposal.
Nari smiled wistfully at the couple. She was almost thirty and her turn had not yet come. Her friends kept telling her that someday she would find her perfect man. But that was a hard thing to hear when no one ever appeared. She said, “After everything you guys have been through, you’d better do it right.”
Lauren grinned at Lucas.
With Lucas by her side, the whole world was right.
Chapter 17
IT WAS TWO WEEKS AFTER Christmas. Over a year had passed since the excitement. Lauren leaned back on Lucas’ arm while they watched the waves crash into the rocks, this time on the west coast. Lauren had been offered a position teaching in Oregon and was on winter break. They were watching Haystack rock and planning their future while a light rain drizzled on their jackets. She and Lucas had safely moved to a nice rambler complete with garden.
“It’s been a year. Do you think it’s over?” Lauren asked as they watched a dog with wet fur run happily ahead of his owner. They had spent the last year looking over their shoulder, nervously waiting for something to happen.
“Yes. We were never really heavy-hitters in the spy game anyway.” Lucas hoped his words provided some reassurance. He wasn’t at all sure of what anyone would do. But he wanted a peaceful life full of love surrounded by children he’d created with Lauren. The more time that passed without incident, the better he felt.
“I’m sure you’re right.”
When they returned to the hotel, Lucas said, “Would you like to go out to eat or shall I pick up dinner?”
“Let’s eat in. You grab dinner. I want to work on th
at letter to Carrie,” Lauren said.
Lucas kissed her cheek. He understood guilt. It had been a big deal to Lauren to tell him about her single act of evil. She had planned on keeping it to herself for the rest of her life, but somehow the whole thing came out when she read about the kidnapping victim online.
It wasn’t for Lucas to forgive, but she couldn’t marry him with that secret hanging over her head. Mrs. Lauren Roth. She enjoyed writing her new name.
She locked the door behind Lucas. Even in a quiet coastal town, one couldn’t be too careful. Opening her laptop, Lauren wrote the most difficult letter of her life.
Dear Carrie,
You don’t know me. A year ago you helped me out of a dangerous situation. You saved my life. I am sorry that I didn’t trust you with the opportunity to help me of your own free will. What I did will haunt me for the rest of my life. I am sending this letter in care of the journalist who wrote the article about your kidnapping. I am sorry that you have night terrors related to my actions and would take them as my own if I could.
I do understand how you feel, as impossible as that may seem. I’ve enclosed a money order for your trouble. It’s not traceable back to me, but please let the police look at it if you must. Just make sure you cash it and spend it on something that makes you happy when they’re done brushing for fingerprints. You will never hear from me again. I am most deeply sorry for my part in your fears and will stay far away from Miami in the future.
Lauren closed the laptop. The printing and sending of such a letter was extremely tricky, not the least of which would be sending an untraceable money order, but she hadn’t worked among spies without learning a few tricks. Her guilt would never be completely assuaged, but the woman she had kidnapped could hopefully get on with her life, knowing that her kidnapper bore her no ill will.
She and Lucas were staying in a rental. The coast had cheap rates in winter and no wonder when the ocean was a roaring fearsome thing and the weather rainy or foggy. Lucas blasted through the front door with a bag topped with steaming containers of thick beef stew, crusty bread wrapped in foil, and cokes.
“Oh, Hoooonnnneeeeeyyyy, I’m hoooommmme.” Lucas grinned while water dripped down his face, his hair plastered to his forehead. That was exactly why Lauren loved him. This was the future she had always envisioned.
With a smile on her face, Lauren opened her arms to Lucas and knew...they would have a happily ever after.
***The End***
Author’s Note
THIS PARTICULAR STORY was a lot of fun to write.
It’s funny that a person has to put so many disclaimers. I should probably do that for the character names, too. Could you imagine sharing the name of one of these hunks, and thinking...did he really just lick that?
Speaking of disclaimers...I have one. Thank goodness for the “replace all” function of Word. I started writing with The Miami Herald as my newspaper of choice for the story. But it sounded a little too real. I had a vague memory of the name. Indeed, there is a real Miami Herald. So I changed them all to The Miami Times. As far as I know, the new newspaper chosen is fictitious and if real, is in no way represented by this novel. The same is true for all of the companies, people, etc. It’s hard to think of good corporate names that haven’t already been thought of...
On another note, I’ve written Carrie’s story. It’s super-short. If you’d like to hear about the latest releases, great deals on romances, and other fun news, sign up for my newsletter. I will send a link to Carrie’s story to new newsletter subscribers.
Excerpt from With My Soul
Chapter 1
~~ MIAMI, FL APRIL 1998~~
Bryce Langden tucked the dragon statuette into a mug while the students behind him strolled by. He waited just long enough to transfer the blue and green dragon to his pocket. Even though he was in the University of Miami bookstore, this was not technically stealing. His father had hidden the statue in plain sight on the bottom shelf behind knickknacks that students would find more worthy. There were plenty of students into D&D who would have loved a tiny dragon statue, but his dad was savvy enough to hide it in a place where Bryce would find it.
Only one problem. As Bryce slipped through the crowds, he realized that he was being watched. Two men tracked him. They could only want one thing, the mind-control tech prototype hidden away inside the statuette. Bryce walked until he was at the edge of the crowd. Then he sprinted away, zigzagging down the hallway and ducking outside. Standing with his hands on his sides, he looked over his shoulder.
He’d lost them.
After a moment of catching his breath, he had to decide which way to go. He was surviving on wits alone. Feeling a prickle between his shoulder blades, Bryce glanced over his shoulder. A burly man had just pushed open the door and was now speaking into a walkie-talkie. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was saying. Which was good, because despite his father’s work in the medical tech field, his son, Bryce, was not a genius.
Bryce ran down the sidewalk and across the foot bridge, passing two more men coming down the long stairs that skateboarders loved to trick down. He hauled ass out of there. His long legs carried him across the foot bridge and past the lake with the fountain. The student housing surrounded the lake toward the south. Speeding across the footpath, Bryce noted a student walking ahead, but she was still several yards away. He thought he heard shouts behind him and turned his head while running.
Misjudging the distance, he plowed headlong into the woman. She was about his age, and he felt terrible for misjudging the distance. Bryce picked up her book bad and snuck the dragon statuette out of his pocket and into the bag. He held out a hand to help her up and said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She said, “It’s okay.”
Seeing two of his followers exit the building, Bryce didn’t waste any time. He fled down the path. His only chance was to hide in student housing. He ducked into a squat white building with two wings. Three stories tall, it was small compared to the two towers further down. The building was secured, and he couldn’t go upstairs. Still, it was better to be in a populated area with people who could call for help if they found him.
Bryce didn’t want to draw attention to himself. The worst thing that could happen would be to hide in a place like Eaton and have the RD call security. The high tech corporate spy world would be all over that phone call and have Bryce before the RD and Security even hung up.
He waited in Eaton for about twenty minutes. The men would have run past by now. Bryce used the back entrance that opened to the parking lot. He didn’t see anyone suspicious as he left.
Across the parking lot and further back at the edge of campus were apartments. Bryce ran for it. He ducked into the stairwell for the second apartment building nearest the Metro Rail and climbed the first set of stairs. There was a space in the corner where he could stand and no one would see him. He wouldn’t be able to see the goons after him, but they wouldn’t see him either.
The men would probably assume he had left campus. It was the smart thing to do. The only problem was that he knew at least five men were chasing him. They knew what he looked like. He had no idea how many people might be hunting him down or who they were. That gave them a double advantage. As long as they thought he had the sphere, they wouldn’t give up. His best option was to go to ground and escape under cover of night.
Standing against a wall for longer than five minutes gets really boring. Bryce closed his eyes and pretended he was a superhero rescuing a damsel in distress. Funny, that. Since Bryce found himself in trouble and there were no damsels anywhere nearby.
He was deep into his fantasy when the door three feet from him opened and the cutest girl he had ever seen stepped out. Technically she was a woman, probably in her early twenties like him. She had long, flowing, white-gold hair. He couldn’t see her eyes yet. If he’d given it any thought at all, he would have run back down the stairs instead of standing there gawking at her.
Sh
e slammed her door shut and deftly locked it, swinging her backpack over her shoulder and turning. When she saw Bryce, she screamed and jumped, grabbed her key ring and maced the hell out of him.
He screeched and held his arms over his head, even though the mace had already gotten in his face and made his eyes water. He cried out, “Don’t!”
“Why the hell are you stalking me? What do you want? I don’t have any money on me, you perv,” The woman yelled at him.
Bryce wanted to put his hands up in a friendly, non-threatening gesture, but he was too busy covering his eyes. Eyes running, Bryce coughed. The woman stepped back to her door, hiding behind it, ready to slam it shut and lock at a moment’s notice. Bryce needed to hide here for a few more hours, especially now that he had no sight.
“Ma’am, please. I swear I was being chased and I just came here to hide. If you go on campus, you’ll find men looking for me. I’m not a criminal. I know how crazy this sounds. I’m not going to hurt you. If you could please just let me call my friends, I swear I won’t hurt you. I swear.”
“Fine. I’m going to get a wet towel and you can wipe your eyes, but I’m not letting you in my apartment. And I’m meeting my friend for dinner. I’ll be late if I don’t leave now. You can hide here in the stairwell until I get back, then I’ll go into the apartment by myself and call any number you give me and tell them where to pick you up. Fair?”
“Okay.”
It wasn’t as if Bryce had any bartering power at all. He huddled in the corner, in pain, while his eyes ran and snot flooded down his lips, everything on fire. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and then his hands burned.
Bryce barely registered that the woman had already soaked a towel until he felt the wet slap on his head. She’d actually just dropped the towel on the top of his head. Some part of Bryce was offended, even though he knew it was silly. He was in the wrong here, well not completely in the wrong, it wasn’t as if he had planned to assault the girl or anything, but the point was...SHE ASSAULTED HIM. To slap his face with a towel was just adding insult to injury.