“Come inside.” He glanced back at the car. “We can talk in my kitchen.”
She pulled her hand back and took out her phone. “First, let me call a cab.”
“I don’t believe that’s necessary.”
“It doesn’t matter what you believe.” How could she stay? And for what? To put herself in danger so he could be free of his job?
In her haste to dial, angrily punching at her phone, she dropped it. Bending down, she heard a shot ring out. Then Kieran dove on top of her, forcing her all the way to the ground. He pulled out his gun then deliberately aimed it into a tall stand of pine trees.
A large stone had wedged itself into Jess’s back, and her elbows were bruised. A shiver of ice raced through her body. She swallowed a deep breath that lodged in her throat, barely making it into her lungs, and when he twisted, her face was buried in Kieran’s chest.
“He’s here.”
“No kidding.” She spoke into his chest and fisted his shirt until her knuckles ached.
Another gunshot rang out, this time from the back of the house. Jess thought the bullet hit one of the pine trees. In response came a hail of gunfire from the first position, and Jess heard a female voice cry out. Kieran twisted and took that moment to fire. Then came silence.
They stayed curled up for several minutes before Kieran urged Jess to crawl along the ground to his front porch, still placing himself in front of her. He stood up once they were around the corner from the first shooter’s position.
Jess tried to stand, but her legs had lost mobility and her body shook uncontrollably. Kieran clasped an arm around her waist and practically carried her into the house.
“Go to the kitchen and get on the floor behind the island until I return,” he commanded. He pulled out his phone and started talking to someone as he walked away, but her brain couldn’t process what he was saying.
“Don’t go.” Her voice sounded weak and jittery, and she had no control over the tears smearing her vision.
“Wait here,” he repeated.
He left her alone, and all she could do was hug herself and cry. This was way more adventure than she’d ever wanted. It seemed like every time she wanted to leave Ohneka, someone died. She couldn’t deal with that. It was so much easier in her small town with its small town issues. Maybe she wasn’t made for the bigger world or the worry and heartache that came from reaching outside of what she knew. Or for the men who so easily told falsehoods to get what they wanted.
After what seemed like an hour, sirens from two or three different vehicles sounded at the house. The front door opened, but Jess stayed hidden in the kitchen, frustrated that she was unable to remember anything Marcia had taught her about self-defense. Footsteps approached. She clenched her teeth together to try to still the tremors rocking her body.
“Red?”
Her body calmed at Kieran’s voice, and her mind cleared a bit of the panic that had held her to the floor. “Are they gone?”
“Dmitriyev’s dead. Marcia was hit by a bullet—in the chest, but it hit her Kevlar. She should be all right. An ambulance took her to John Hopkins.”
Jess shook her head. She needed to leave, needed to escape all the blood and carnage and lies. Backing away from Kieran and his fake façade she snarled, “You’re just like Robert. A liar.”
“No. He lied to protect himself. I lied to protect you.”
But his eyes didn’t seem so warm and friendly anymore. They glowed with deceit and deception.
“Why didn’t you just tell me I was an assignment?”
“Because you aren’t my assignment,” Kieran snapped. “You’re my future. But I’d rather have you alive and hate me than allow you to die and earn your respect.” He blinked his eyes shut for a long slow breath, as though holding himself back.
It would be great to believe she wasn’t simply an assignment, but she couldn’t afford to be so naive anymore. “I want to go home.”
“A cab is waiting for you.”
“You called me a cab?”
Kieran leaned on the island, his hands in his pockets, his expression tired. “You said you wanted one. I was hoping you’d stay.”
“Right,” she said. “The assignment is over. No need to pretend to like me anymore.”
“Aren’t you listening?” With one step, he was in front of her. He moved his hands toward her and then pulled them back, balled into fists, and dropped them to his side. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have retired and moved to the beach months ago. You changed everything for me.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you now.”
It was too much. Jess rushed from the kitchen, grabbed her suitcase, and ran to the cab. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have a plane ticket or that she was wearing a muddy black dress. Nothing mattered. Kieran certainly didn’t matter. Because, apparently, she didn’t matter to him.
CHAPTER SIX
Another cold month in Ohneka. Jess would leave this town and her boring life, but she needed that darn degree first. She’d already sent applications for positions everywhere.
Nothing was worse than being alone in a town where people offered a place at their holiday table to keep her from eating alone. Yes, that was nice, but their hospitality underscored how pathetic her life had become. Once she could quit her job and begin entirely new somewhere else, she’d be happier. She was sure of it.
With fifteen minutes until the bank closed, she started restocking her workstation. She knelt on the floor to pull out more envelopes from a box under the counter.
“I’d like to change some US dollars for Canadian ones, please.” The voice sounded familiar, smooth like the best Scotch whiskey sweetened with a hint of caramel. But that was impossible. She’d stopped waiting for him to arrive weeks ago.
“You’ll have to meet with the manager. He handles all the foreign money transactions.” She lifted her head to see Kieran standing at her window. His hair was longer and lighter, but those green eyes still captivated her.
Was he here to apologize? She couldn’t handle that. She’d almost pushed his memory back with Robert’s, to the depths of her mind where things stayed hidden and away from her heart. Almost but not fully. No matter how much she wanted.
“It’s official, I’m retired.”
His grin radiated confidence. His eyes almost liquefied her instincts, the ones reminding her that she was official business to him. So, what was he here for?
“Congratulations,” was all she said.
“You don’t seem too interested in my return.” He reached for her hand, but she held back, scared that her heart would lead her back into hell.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?”
“I thought I’d surprise you.”
“I don’t do surprises too well. I need more peace and stability and fewer combat situations.”
“I’ve flown all the way out here to see you for a chance to explain what I didn’t explain at my house. Can we at least go to dinner?”
Dinner and another flirtation that went no place? She couldn’t do it. Her heart couldn’t handle him returning to town for a little companionship before he headed off to warm, sunny beaches. Because that’s what he was going to do. She couldn’t believe otherwise.
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. I should have called and explained everything, but I preferred to talk to you in person. I always mess things up on the phone.” He sighed and slid a small silver-wrapped box through the window. “Have a wonderful life, Red. You deserve every bit of happiness you can find.”
He turned and walked away.
She looked at the box. In the attached envelope was a letter from the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He thanked Kieran for service and praised his dedication to his position. He also commended Kieran for extending his time with the service in order to stop a known assassin. Although his tactics broke protocol in a matter of national security, and although funds had been used
to protect non-citizens, the letter continued, the operative might not have been taken down without Kieran’s hard work and planning.
His assignment had been a choice. This letter proved it, Jess saw. He could have retired earlier and walked away from his work and her.
Behind the letter she found a handwritten note.
To the woman I dream about every night,
Since the moment I first met you, you captured my heart. I’ve done nothing since that time but try to return to you permanently. Life, however, placed a few roadblocks in my path. Mostly Russian roadblocks. Separation is never easy, especially when it keeps you from the woman you love. I lied to you about protecting you, but I won’t apologize for it. In fact, I’d do it again to keep you safe. I never lied to you about my feelings. In fact, they’re more intense than you know.
I love you, Red. I love your humor, your strength, your enthusiasm, and your inner beauty. There are a few other things I love about you, but I’ve been unable to show until now.
I never did receive an answer in the hospital. Will you marry me? Not later, Red, but now. Today, if possible. I never want to spend another day without you.
Forever yours, Kieran.
She opened the box and found a diamond solitaire in a simple gold setting.
He wanted marriage? Kieran was a man who wouldn’t leave. A man who set her insides burning for not just a good life, but a passionate life. He’d made her heart blossom, and now she was sending him away.
“Frank, I’ve got to go,” she hollered to her manager.
She grabbed her coat and purse and raced out the door. Looking right and then left, she saw nothing. Where was he? She ran to the edge of the road.
Gone.
The sharp cold stung her lungs as tears began to fall. Then she turned back and saw him leaning next to the door to the bank.
“You ran right by me.”
“You waited?”
“I hoped.”
“Yes,” she whispered, inches from his lips.
“‘Yes’?” One of his eyebrows lifted.
“I’ll marry you.”
“Thank God.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss, at first soft and sweet, and then deeper, infused with the promise of a shared future. Her whole body ached for him, her need unbearable. And it felt like his was as strong because he added, “Take me back to your apartment.”
She drew back and looked at him, half grinning. “I thought you were waiting for us to be married.”
His eyes were on her lips. “Hell, no.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and walked toward home. “There is no more waiting. The future’s now.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Veronica Forand is an attorney and an award-winning writer of romantic suspense. She’s lived in Boston, London, Paris, Geneva, and Washington, DC, and she currently resides near Philadelphia. An avid traveler, she loves to roam across continents with her husband and kids in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and finding the perfect piece of chocolate.
She is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA); the Kiss of Death, the RWA chapter for romantic suspense and mystery; the RWA Contemporary Romance Chapter; the Valley Forge Romance Writers; the Washington Romance Writers; and the International Thriller Writers.
Veronica is represented by Michelle Grajkowski of 3 Seas Literary Agency.
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