by Lisa Lace
We smiled briefly at each other. Outside the door, I heard the fire roaring. We rushed to the window, and I hung the ladder on the sill.
"You first," I said.
She didn't argue with me, which I took as a sign that she was scared. She kissed me and stuck her leg out the window. Then she hesitated. I could see that she was uncomfortable to be so high, but she didn't complain. She found the strength to climb down. When she reached the bottom, she called up to me.
"Come on! Get out of there, Jori!"
As soon as she was on the ground, I climbed out of the window and made my way down the ladder, which swung back and forth under my weight. As I jumped to the ground, the fire trucks pulled up. It had only been a few minutes since the explosion, but an eternity since we had been making love. I couldn't believe it. What a way to get interrupted.
I looked around. We needed to give our statements and get out of here. The person who had put the explosive in my apartment might still be around. And I knew who had put them up to it.
My enemy. Harrington.
* * *
An hour later, I finally got Sam away from the police, and they dropped us off at a nearby hotel. We walked wearily to our second floor room. I wasn't going taking any chances staying in a high place right now. First floor rooms were a security nightmare. The second floor was a reasonable compromise.
Whoever put the bomb in my apartment tried to make it look like an accident. If my place had burned down, it would have looked like a mistake. After a house fire, one of the heirs to the Lachlan fortune was found dead upon arrival at the hospital. No one knew what caused the fire.
And if they tried once, they would bide their time and try again. I thought we would be safe tonight, at least.
Harrington said my wife might have an accident. The bastard. I would pay him back for hurting my wife and everyone else.
Samantha and I showered separately and put on hotel bathrobes. Our clothes reeked of smoke and had been tossed in the garbage. I had asked the concierge to find us some clothes, but no stores were open at this time of night. My request would probably go unfulfilled until morning.
I still wanted her, of course. I was feeling desperate now. Unfortunately, there was no way we were going to sleep together tonight. I was sober and didn't have the excuse of being drunk and unable to think straight.
All the reasons that had made sleeping together a bad idea before were still valid. What made it more difficult was that her touch remained in my mind. Resisting her would be even harder, but I would do it. It was the right thing to do, and I was a good guy. Samantha said so.
SAMANTHA
"So, what's going on here?" I asked. We only had bathrobes to wear, but we sat as far apart from each other as possible. It was easier for me this way. I didn't want to think about having him inside me. I still ached for him, but I knew he wouldn't touch me. He had been drunk earlier. I had tasted the alcohol on him. I knew that was the only reason he ended up in my room with his hands down my pants.
I remembered how it felt to wake up aroused and realize that I wasn't dreaming. I discovered Jori's hands on me, doing everything I had imagined. It made me blush. Finally, I sighed deeply. There were other things I wanted him to do to me. They would never happen because he had a peculiar sense of chivalry. Somehow he thought remaining chaste was the right thing to do, which I just didn't understand.
That reminded me. He owed me one hell of an explanation.
He leaned forward and closed his eyes, interlacing his fingers, then pulling his hands apart to rub at his temples.
I wanted to touch him badly, but I stayed where I was. One of the rules was no emotional entanglements.
I reminded myself that he was just my husband.
"You owe me, Jori. You said if my life were in danger you would tell me everything."
He nodded, his eyes still closed.
"I know what I said, but I never thought it would come to this or that your life would be in danger. I'm breaking an important vow, so please give me a minute."
He seemed distressed. On the outside, he was big, he was strong, and he was a hot, sexy alien. Right now I thought he might fall to pieces, and I didn't know how to comfort him.
Was it even my place to calm him down?
He began with a name. "Harrington."
"The asshole at the party."
He nodded.
"Hang on a second. Before I start talking about myself, we need to figure out what happened."
I thought he might be stalling, but the mystery had been grating on me, too. Why, who, and how the hell had someone blown up the apartment?
"Was it an explosive?" I asked. "That's what you said at the time. Do you still think so?"
He nodded again.
"Yes. The police said that because the entire third story burned, it was going to be hard to tell if it was deliberate. I told them I had heard a loud noise before the fire started. They thought it could have been the gas pipe bursting or any number of other things."
"They wouldn't think it was a bomb?"
"Crime is rare on Vandwa, and I didn't want to tell them what I suspected," he said.
"Is keeping secrets from the police a good idea?"
"The police can't catch the person who did this. But it doesn't matter what the police know or what we can prove. What matters is us knowing the truth."
"Let's run through the sequence of events," I said. "The sound came from the living room."
"Right. I had noticed before we went down the hall that the door was gone. Something blew it clean away."
"Does that mean the bomb was close to the door?"
"Yes. It was a small one. They only intended to use it for starting the fire. It would burn away evidence of its existence. Whoever hid the bomb was close to the door."
"Where do you think they hid it?" I asked. "You never kept anything by the entryway."
I closed my eyes, imagining the entrance to his apartment.
"There's a table near the door. How did the bomb get into your place? A box? A container?"
"I have no idea. They can make them almost microscopic these days. They could have hidden it in anything. A box, like you said, or a pin on someone's lapel or even an envelope."
"Was there any mail on the table?" I said. I was trying to remember, but I had been emotional at the time. I had been too disappointed about Jori's lack of desire to pay attention to anything around me.
"Nope, I clean and sort my mail right away. I keep that table clean."
I looked around the hotel room for inspiration. The room didn't have any unusual decorations, but something odd was a bouquet of a dozen beautiful red roses on a table. Why were they there? Maybe Jori had ordered them.
My mind flashed back to the single rose in my hand I had laid on the table when we came back to Jori's apartment from the party.
"Jori. The rose," I gasped.
"What rose?" He frowned.
I moved my head towards the bouquet of roses on the table. Jori rose to his feet immediately. He grabbed them and ran out onto the balcony, throwing them, vase and all, as far as he could in the empty lot down below. They smashed, and we ducked down. Jori covered me with his body, waiting for the explosion.
Nothing happened.
I felt the loss when he let go of me, and we peeked over the balcony. We looked at each other and smiled weakly. Jori made a quick tour of the suite and reported that there were no more flowers in sight.
We sat down again. I felt sheepish for causing an alarm. Jori thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I remember there was a rose on the table. Where did you get it? I noticed it when I came back from the bar. I didn't know where it came from."
"Harrington," I said, feeling ashamed. "Before you showed up and the two of you had your showdown, he gave it to me. He said a lovely lady deserved a flower that matched her dress."
"He's a manipulator, Sam. Don't believe a word he says."
I shrugged. "I know
that now. At the time, I thought he was a harmless old man, being mesmerized by my dress."
"I'm sure he liked the dress," Jori said, spitting out the words like he couldn't stand to say them. "He likes his women younger. He's anything but harmless, though."
"Obviously," I said, shivering at a sudden thought. I could have been carrying the rose when the bomb exploded. Jori frowned and stood up. He hesitated a moment but then came and sat down beside me on the couch. I leaned towards him, and he put his arm around me.
I drew in a deep breath. I felt better now. I didn't stop to consider why his touch helped me. I just enjoyed it.
"He is aware of some of my secrets, and he's worried about what I know. That's why he's trying to eliminate me. He's a powerful man and thinks nothing of killing people that get in his way."
"Was he threatening you when he spoke about an accident at the party?"
"He certainly was. I knew it at the time but I had no idea how or when he would strike."
I reached out and took his hand, interlacing our fingers together. Jori stared down at our hands.
"I shouldn't have married you, Sam. It was a huge mistake. I see that now."
"What?" I said, taken aback. I hadn't expected him to say that.
"I let myself get carried away by my cover story and forgot about what's real. I should have left you alone. I could have stayed out of jail some other way."
"I'm not sorry I married you. And I'll stick by you, whatever happens," I said. "I'm not the type that runs away as soon as things aren't sunshine and roses anymore."
He gave me a pleasant half-smile. "That's sweet of you, Sam. And you don't know how much I appreciate it."
"But."
"But it's too dangerous. I'm in deep, and there's no getting out now until I complete the job."
"Jori. Please," I squeezed his hand. "Just tell me what's going on?"
He swallowed and looked away. He tried to pull his hand away, but I clung to him.
"Tell me," I said firmly. "You promised."
"I know. I promised. And I keep my promises because that's what a good guy does, right? My mother taught me to keep the promises I made." He frowned. "She wouldn't be proud of how many I've had to break recently."
"Jori. It sounds like you've been keeping these secrets for a long time," I said, untangling our hands and setting his gently on his knee. "If you want to keep them, it won't be a problem. I can't make you do anything. But I've had my share of secrets. I know they can eat away at you. I'm sure it would help you to tell me."
He pressed his lips together as if the words wanted to come out, but he wouldn't let them. He took my hand again. When he spoke, the words he said were the last things I expected to hear.
"I'll tell you everything, Sam. Just like I promised. But you can't say anything to anyone. Your life might depend on you keeping this secret."
"Okay. I promise not to tell."
"Good. I guess I should just say it." He breathed in deeply and spoke the words in a rush. "I'm a secret agent for the Vandwan government, and I've been undercover for years. We're trying to catch Harrington and prove that he's smuggling children."
Chapter 8
JORI
I didn't know if Samantha was angry or shocked. She was certainly taking a while to process the information.
Maybe she would return to Earth. Was the financial incentive from TerraMates enough to keep her here? What if she believed she had made a huge mistake getting involved with a nutcase like me? It might be for the best, but I had grown accustomed to having her around. I studied her face, hoping that she wouldn't get up and leave.
Her eyes were dark brown. She had an elegant nose. Her lips were red and full. I had noticed that she never wore lipstick because her natural lip color was bright already. Her long brown hair went past her shoulders. Tonight she had it drawn up and curled; the curls draped behind her neck. Right now two curls framed her face, making Sam look so sweet I wanted to kiss her. I inched towards her unconsciously.
My movement broke her paralysis. "Don't do that," she said, finally finding her voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Don't kiss me. Everything I thought I knew about you has been a lie."
"I wasn't going to kiss you, Samantha."
She glared at me. "That's right. I wouldn't have let you," she said.
Maybe she was right. But her lips were too much. What did she expect?
"You don't work as a lifeguard? Was that part of your cover? What about Nathaniel? Is he your brother? For your cover personality, you should have picked someone who wasn't a jerk."
I held up my hand, and she fell silent. "Let me start at the beginning. My mother died when I was seven years old."
Her eyebrows darted up. "Whoa, don't you think that's too far into the story? Maybe you should start when you were born."
"It's necessary to start that far back to understand why I made certain decisions," I explained. "When she passed away I was devastated. I was her baby, and we were close to each other. My father wasn't the best parent. He tried, but he ended up spoiling and ignoring me. Nathaniel and Freya did their best to take care of me. I think I rejected them because they weren't her."
She didn't say anything, but squeezed my hand.
"I grew up self-centered. My mother raised me well, but I lost my way in my youth. By the time I turned sixteen, I had started going wild. Nobody could do anything to help me. I drove Nathaniel and Freya to distraction. My father washed his hands of me."
I remembered how I had no idea of who I was or what I should be doing. "Eventually I realized I was screwing up and I applied to a private school. I got in thanks to my family name. I toned it down a little at school because I didn't want to get kicked out. I'm lucky to have survived those years. I did some pretty stupid things."
"Didn't we all," Sam said to herself.
I glanced at her. She seemed to have her life together. Was it possible that she had ever been as confused as me?
"I was stupid as well, Jori. You'd be aghast if I told you all the dumb things I did as a teenager. Your story doesn't sound much different than everyone else's, although you did have more money."
How had I ever thought that this woman was lower than me? I was a fucking idiot.
"Then something unusual happened. I didn't know it, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"What was it?" she asked.
"The Vandwan government has recruitment officers everywhere, and they spotted me at school. One of them offered to train me. At the end of the training, there would be a job with the government. One of the options was the secret service."
"Was that an offer anyone would refuse?"
"I never thought of refusing it at the time. If I knew what I know now, I might have chosen differently."
She stared at me. "What do you mean?"
"I haven't lived a normal life, Sam."
"No kidding." Her eyes lit up in a flash of understanding. "When you said earlier if things were different...you meant if you weren't a secret agent. Do you mean that things might have different between us?"
"I don't know," I paused. I thought about saying what was on my mind. I've never felt like this before in my life. It was crazy. She filled me with desire. I felt comforted and supported.
It sounded like too much, even inside my head. I had no idea if she had feelings for me other than lust, so I opted for safer words. "I've never been married before. I am a government operative, so there's no use wishing things were different." I took a breath. "The training was fun," I went on. "It was a bunch of young men and women. We worked hard, and we played hard, and part of the training was to become completely trustworthy."
I laughed. "How ironic that I worked so hard to be worthy of someone's trust, and I ended up a criminal."
"I trust you," Sam said, tilting her head to look in my eyes. "I told you that, and I meant it."
I drifted off, thinking about my family and how my job had torn them a
part. She put her hand on my face and made me look at her. Then she kissed me softly on the lips, pulling back quickly.
I continued my story before I could get distracted by the warmth of her mouth.
"I was in training for three years. I got a college degree, and we learned combat skills, studied martial arts, explosives, guns...a bunch of things that were exciting at the time, but seem mundane now."
"Right."
"The best part was a sense of belonging I hadn't felt since my mother had died. They organized us into teams, and we stayed with our team for the whole training period. We took care of each other. We ate together and fought together."
"Did you sleep together?" Sam said, one eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, there was a fair amount of dating, though we had to keep it quiet because we were supposed to focus on training and school."
"I can see why you would have enjoyed it. That feeling of being a part of something. It's important. Without it we just feel like we're drifting without an anchor."
"When I finished, they offered me a job. Not everyone went into the secret service. There were other jobs in the military or the civil service. They needed people with certain backgrounds, contacts, and skills."
"You were ultra-rich, had a bit of a playboy reputation and could easily get in with the crowd they wanted you to infiltrate."
"Exactly."
"So that's your cover. You're a selfish, brooding, jaded guy. Partying and out for himself."
"I'm afraid Harrington has figured it out. I'm not certain, but I believe he's the one that tipped off Nat and Freya to my supply nightmare."
"What did you truly do to divert supplies?"
"It was an idea of one of my 'buddies'. I went along with it to see if I could stop him or sabotage the operation. I didn't think I would get convicted for it."
I didn't want her feeling sorry for me, so I pressed on.
"Now he's threatened us, and a bomb has gone off in my apartment. It's getting difficult for me to believe he doesn't know who I am and how close I am to taking his whole racket down."