So he knew that, too. Was nothing in her life sacred?
Tom eased her to his chest as she closed her eyes. "Get 'em all out of here and stand clear of the room. You can have your crime scene when we're done."
She lay there against the solid, comforting strength of Tom's chest as Foster complied, ordering the EMT techs to get their patients out and his men to remove Pepe. The murmurs, shuffles and footfalls gradually lessened until she caught the sound of the door closing and then there was nothing but silence and the steady thud of Tom's heart beneath her ear. She opened her eyes as he smoothed the hair from her cheek.
"You okay?"
She shrugged.
"I'm sorry about your mom. Luis. That must have been rough to hear it like that."
"I knew." His brows shot up. Evidently she'd surprised him for a change. She'd surprised herself. "I didn't admit it to myself until then, not even when the combination clicked in this morning, but I think I've always known. Maybe that's why I really came back. To admit it once and for all. Settle it."
He smoothed away the tears she hadn't even realized had slipped free. "Well, you did that. Damned nicely, too."
"Thanks. You did pretty good yourself."
He shook his head. "No. I almost blew it. Didn't I?"
They weren't talking about the bomb.
She shrugged. Not much else to say. Yes, she'd forgiven him for his insinuation regarding Juju. But it still hurt.
"I was an ass. I know it doesn't help, but I'm sorry."
But it did. The ragged kiss he pressed to her hair helped even more. She lifted her face and accepted his second, shakier kiss on the lips. Like the caress out on her balcony, the kiss was warm, soothing and healing.
They both sighed as he finally pulled away.
"What happened, honey? Why did you exchange the pills? Where? At the hacienda?"
She nodded. "This morning. After the shower. The bottle was still in my bra. I knew you wouldn't understand. You'd blame me or hate him. I didn't want either one. I swear I didn't take them with me when I left his office this morning deliberately. I took the ring. But I wasn't thinking. I couldn't throw the bottle away at the house so I filled it with some of the pills from the economy bottle of Tylenol in the bathroom. I have to be honest, Tom. When I opened that bottle, the thought did cross my mind. But when I looked in, I knew I'd already made it up. So I dumped the pills in the toilet and flushed them."
He believed her, but it still hurt.
She could tell by the way he dropped his gaze to study their hands as he linked his fingers to hers. "You've got a good friend in Sam. I'm glad. I'll be forever grateful for the ring she left."
"Tom?"
He dragged that too-blue stare back up. "Yeah?"
"It wasn't the ring. It wasn't even the pills. It was what I couldn't see in that bottle that stopped me."
She watched him swallow firmly. But his whisper still came out hoarse. His hope. "And what's that?"
"You."
His eyes filled with tears.
He blinked them back several times, but it didn't help. Not even when he turned away to wipe them with his sleeve. She didn't stop him. Nor did she stop him as he rubbed his fingers on his shirt to clean them so he could remove the set of disposable contacts from his eyes. But when he blinked again and slowly met her stare, she gasped softly and smiled.
He had the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen.
They were a gorgeous shade of light green, still a bit reddened around the edges, and definitely still hoarding the bulk of those tears. They hadn't changed a bit. She could still see the love reflected in them that she'd been seeing since that morning and she could still see the need for her love in return. She felt her smile spreading out right along with her heart. She didn't try to stop either one.
"What about the hair, Major?"
He blinked.
"Well, I suppose we can't find a stylist this late in the evening." She sighed heavily. Teasingly.
His grin followed. "I could always offer up another portion of my anatomy for reference. We're about to be kicked out of here anyway. We could take the bastard's advice and head back to the room. Maybe even order some room service. Neither one of us had lunch."
She nodded. "I am hungry."
"For dessert?"
He looked so hopeful, she laughed. "For you."
A split second later, she was seated not in his lap, but on the cold concrete beside a rusting propane tank and a deactivated dirty bomb. She stared up at him, bereft as Tom used the key Foster had tossed him to release his remaining handcuff. He dropped the cuff beside the tools he'd used and held out his hands. She took both as she rose, bringing them to her lips so she could kiss the raw flesh encircling his wrists inch by inch. By the time she finished, she was blinking back her own tears. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
He pressed his fingers to her lips. "No more apologies, Anna. The past is the past. You were right in that room, about a lot of things. We both have issues to work through and we both need to start fresh. I say we do it right here and right now. Take it one step at a time. Figure it out as we go. But we have to do it openly and together. It's the only way we'll make it." He lowered his hand and held it out. "What do you say?"
Hope swelled within her, burning off the lingering pain in her chest and in her heart. But it wasn't until she slipped her fingers inside the warm, quiet strength of his that she knew Tom was right. No matter how long it took or where the road led, they would make it. As long as they did it—
"Together."
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8097-1
A DANGEROUS ENGAGEMENT
Copyright © 2003 by Candace Phillips Irvin
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*Sisters in Arms
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*Sisters in Arms
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Table of Contents
CANDACE IRVIN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
A Dangerous Engagement Page 25