Hart Attack

by Cristin Harber

  “That’s not a yes or no.”

  “Baby.” She smiled, feeling it all the way to her heart.

  “Already know the answer, but say it anyway, pretty girl.”

  “Yes!” She grabbed him, pulling him up and into a kiss.

  His mouth found hers; her tongue touched his. Her body sighed into him as Roman laid her down, holding her to him.

  The door clicked open. “Oh!” Nicola said. “Oh, okay. I’ll come back. You two are… busy.”

  Beth looked over Roman’s shoulder, whispering in his ear, “Our secret? Until everyone’s okay and on their feet?”

  He kissed her neck. “Sounds good.”

  “Wait, Nic.” Beth giggled as his scruff scratched her face. “Sorry. We’re good. He’s just… moving. What’s up?”

  Roman grumbled in her ear, “Not sure about your definition of good.”

  “Seriously, Roman. I can hear you.” Nicola groaned. “Anyway, Cash is awake.”

  “Yeah?” Roman sat up, then hopped off the bed, and nodded at Nicola’s stomach. “He knows?”

  “Funny about that. He knew before I told him today.” Nicola crossed the room and hugged him. Tears were in her eyes. “Thank you for saving him… saving us.”

  Roman’s arms slowly wrapped his sister. “Us?”

  Nicola hugged him then stepped back. “Without him, I’m nothing.”

  Roman hand went halfway to his bicep, his Nicola tat, but he stopped and cracked his knuckles instead. “Job well done then.” He turned back to Beth and held out his hand. “So, if everyone’s on their feet, want to go say hi to Cash?”

  She took his hand. “What’s the fun of a secret if you can’t share?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Deep in the heart of Langley, the utilitarian room was cold, completely devoid of life or personality. A large contraption that reminded Beth of a dentist’s chair sat next to a table with machines, computers, sensors… the works. God, Beth hated this. Even though she had nothing to hide, she hated submitting to a polygraph. It wasn’t the piece of cake folks saw on TV. This was a spy-worthy one, meant to get into her head by reading her body.

  The poly technicians came in as she wondered who was on the other side of the one-way mirror.

  A man approached. He didn’t smile, no small talk, just a nod for her to stand next to the chair. “Shoes off, sit down, lie back.”

  She knew the drill and stepped out of her shoes and into the wannabe dentist chair. Then he went to work. Oxygen monitor on her finger. Sensors to catch her perspirations and pulse. Every time she shifted in the chair, it was noted. Straps went around her chest, a hat on her head, and a patch over her eye to monitor her pupils. The CIA was nothing if not thorough.

  Actually, no. That wasn’t the case, because if they had been as thorough as they should’ve been, then she might not have been here to begin with.

  Once she was hooked up, another man came over to administer her questions, while the first man took his place at the table.

  “State your name.”

  “Beth Tourne.”

  “State your full name.”

  “Elizabeth Catherine Tourne.”

  “Eye color?”

  “Green,” she replied, knowing they were going to walk her through a few rapid-fire baseline questions.

  “Right or left handed?”

  “Right.”

  “Single, married, or widowed?”

  Ah, now they were getting to the good stuff. She had expected them to jump right into Roman to gauge her reactions, but this worked for shock value, too. “Widowed.”

  “When did you first meet Evan Nathaniel?”

  “Minutes before the first lady’s birthday event.”

  “And how long after that did you begin to work with Gregori Naydenov?”

  “Approximately fifteen minutes.”

  “What is the extent of your relationship with Joseph Jasper?”

  “He offered me the Naydenov assignment.”

  “And when did you accept?”

  “Never. They put me in play, and I went with it.”

  “When did you sleep with Naydenov?” he asked without missing a beat.

  “Never.”

  “When did you have sexual intercourse with Naydenov?”

  “Never.”

  “When did you have oral sex with Naydenov?”

  Her frustration grew. “Never.”

  “When did you sleep with Evan Nathaniel?”

  She rolled her eyes. Jasper must have put some lies in his report. “I didn’t sleep with either of them.”

  “But you did sleep with Roman Hart?”

  And there it was. That was an expected question, but it still caught her off guard. “Yes.”

  “Did you question Naydenov’s guilt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you have feelings for Naydenov?”

  “No.”

  “When did you decide to work with Nathaniel to sell government information and technology to Naydenov?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “When did you realize Nathaniel and Naydenov were working together?”

  “I didn’t. I still don’t know what happened there.” But she had a few guesses.

  “Evan Nathaniel and Gregori Naydenov were moving money and stolen intelligence. When did you begin to assist?”

  “Never.”

  “And how much did you personally benefit from that relationship, financially?”

  She stopped her eye roll. “None.”

  “Explain your offshore account with multiple recent deposits.”

  She frowned. That, she didn’t know. So Evan and Greg had been playing her, setting her up to take the fall if the need ever arose. “I didn’t know about them.”

  “Explain why you struck the senior officer on the Naydenov project.”

  She raised her eyebrows and looked at her interrogator. “Jasper?”

  “Eyes straight ahead. Why did you strike Jasper?”

  “Because some assholes deserve it.” Ignoring the request not to, she glanced at the man. There was the slightest uptick in his non-smile.

  “Thank you for your time, Ms. Tourne.”

  The man at the table came over and unhooked her from the polygraph equipment. It could’ve gone worse. Hell, they could’ve waterboarded her. So Evan and Greg had been in bed together. That was as much of a confirmation as she’d ever get.

  Beth stepped into her shoes and left the deep, dark hole where they’d gone relatively easy on her. As she rounded the corner, she saw Jasper huffing his way from the mouth of the hallway. Now that was interesting.

  They passed each other without a word. Then, seconds later, she heard a muffled, “Bitch.”

  Whatever. She’d given her notice and set her terms. Beth would work some CIA projects. She’d accepted the opportunity to work on some Titan projects, but mostly she planned to spend the next few weeks sorting out her life. Seeing what she really wanted. Seeing what was really her and not what had been expected of her.

  She walked past her desk, waved to some coworkers, and kept going until she was at her car. She had turned in the Lexus with a polite thank-you, along with the keys to her condo. That same afternoon, she’d jumped into Roman’s truck, and they’d gone to a car dealership, where he haggled until she got a new Jeep. It was exactly what she wanted.

  Her phone buzzed as she pulled out of the complex and hit the highway. Roman’s name was on the display. She answered, “Hey, you.”

  “You headed home?”

  “Yup. Soon as I knock out some errands” Her stomach fluttered because, even though they’d made the jump and moved her into his place, it was only just now sinking in that his home was her home. That felt pretty nice. It wasn’t his place anymore. It was their place, with lots of pictures and color and millions of new memories in the making.

  “I’m thinking pizza and TV.”

  “As long as it involves a glass of wine, I don’t care what we do.”

&n
bsp; “Sounds good, babe.”

  A couple of hours later, she was on the couch with Roman. His long-neck beer, her glass of wine, and a pizza sat on the coffee table. Food was nice, but nuzzling against him while he surfed the channels was better.

  Something caught her attention. “Wait. Go back.”

  He flipped the channel, and she saw a headshot of Jasper. The screen flashed to the local news coverage of a deadly accident.

  “Another spook bites the dust,” Roman mumbled. He grabbed his beer and went back to flipping the channels. “You’d think the fuckers would learn you always get caught.”

  She bit her lip, nodding.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” The CIA cleaned up their messes in permanent ways. “Just hits close to home.”

  He put his beer down and took her chin in his hand. “What’s up?”

  “You just never know who you work with. What their agenda is. Of the four people on that project, I’m the only one still alive.”

  “You’re the only one that wasn’t a piece of shit. Naydenov, piece of shit. Nathaniel, piece of shit. Jasper, piece of shit. See?”

  “I guess.”

  He tilted his head. “No one knew, babe. But when they did, the Agency took care of business.”

  “True.”

  “Honestly, I’d be stoked as shit if you never took another CIA job.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “With Titan, you know what you get. You know Boss Man and the team have your back. Those Farm boys? Nothing’s a guarantee.”

  “Titan’s a guarantee?”

  “I’m a guarantee.”

  Roman was her guarantee. She sighed happily. “I like that.”

  “Good.” He picked up his beer. “Besides, if we’re going to get married one day and have babies, you think I trust the CIA’s ass to watch my woman?” He shook his head. “That’d be a no. Titan, yes. Me, absolutely. Them, no.”

  He’d just laid it out there, making her throat close up. “You want to have babies with me?”

  Roman let out a deep chuckle. “O’ course. I’m signing up for the package deal. House. Wife. Kids. Whatever else comes with it. All the trimmings, good or bad.”

  If her throat had been closing up before, it didn’t matter, because her lungs had just given up. Her teary eyes burned, but she didn’t want the waterworks to start. She wanted all of the emotion that was choking her to marinate inside her, just in case she ever forgot what amazing felt like.

  “I also want you naked and in bed. So finish up your pizza, pretty girl, and move your ass.” He leaned over and kissed her, bringing her back to life.

  One giant gulp of wine later, she hopped off the couch and hauled ass to their room. He was hot on her tail, and that was exactly the way she needed to top off her night.

  EPILOGUE

  The sparkling lights dangled, crisscrossing the living room. The Christmas tree was decked out in dazzling reds and golds from top to bottom.

  Beth kicked back on the couch with a bottle of water. “I’m done!”

  “That’s the third time you’ve said that,” Roman said, walking into the living room. He eyed her final decorations. “Looks good.”

  “Well.” She grabbed the remote and turned on music. “White Christmas” flooded the room with classic holiday crooning. “For real this time.”

  He wandered the room she’d spent too much time decorating, perhaps appreciating that she’d spent way too much time doing it. His lips upturned as if he were trying to hide a smile. “Glad you’re done. People will be here any minute.”

  Maybe she’d gone overboard. “They’ll either love it, or they won’t. All that matters is I do.” She patted the couch. “Hang out with me for a minute.”

  “You ready?” He dropped down, and she locked her pinky around his.

  “Does it look like I am?” Her cranberry-colored dress was frillier than her normal, but it matched how she felt about the room. A fire roared, the tree sparkled, and poinsettias manned the corners. Perfect.

  He tilted his head, letting his gaze stroke over her. “Maybe?”

  She laughed, kicked off her shoes, and curled into him. “It even smells like Christmas in here.”

  Her phone buzzed. Text message from Nicola: Almost there!

  Beth tossed her phone down. “Nic’s excited.”

  “She’s easily excitable.” He shook his head, smiling. “My folks said they were running late.”

  “Mine are always late.”

  “Okay, considering… everything.” He waved his hand around the room. “I have a present for you.”

  She straightened, grinning because she had known he would, and she’d been keeping an eye out so she could shut that down. “No! We said no presents.”

  “Sometimes things don’t go like you plan, party girl,” he said, which was funny because nothing ever went like she planned. He reached under the couch. When he sat up, wrapped box in hand, he couldn’t have looked more confident. “Here.”

  She tore the ribbon off, trashed the paper, and was stunned. “Oh wow…”

  The picture he’d snapped with his phone after telling her to be the real her, right before they’d first gone to bed. He’d had it framed. Their faces stared in different directions as she half-scowled, half-laughed, and Beth remembered the day vividly. Not only because she’d slept with Roman, but because he’d called her out for hiding from her past. How true that was, and now, here she was, completely found and alive.

  He nodded at the picture. “I figured that was the only chance I’d ever have to get you in a white dress.”

  She laughed, play-slapping his chest. “It was cream.”

  “Looks white, babe.”

  He knew she’d done the white-dress thing before and wanted something different, something vibrant and colorful and exactly her. Well, exactly them. The doorbell rang.

  He stood, pulling her up. “Show time.”

  “I love it. I really, really love it. Thank you.” Beth popped onto her toes to give him a kiss. Then she slipped on her heels and walked with him to the door.

  Jared, Sugar, and their daughter, Asal, stood outside. Asal was holding a box half her size with a lot of help from Sugar.

  Beth scowled at Jared. “No presents, Boss Man.”

  “Hell, like Sugar wasn’t buying you something. Call it a housewarming gift; I don’t care.”

  Asal and Sugar headed toward the kitchen as Sugar called, “We brought disposable cameras, too. Kids will love ’em.”

  Jared hung back, a somehow caring scowl on his face. “You guys good?”

  Better than good, but Roman just grumbled. Jared took that as an affirmative and went after Sugar. The door stayed open, and everyone started to pour in: Cash and Nicola, Rocco and Caterina. Both women had that unmistakable pregnancy glow.

  Colby and Mia arrived with their kids, then Brock and Sarah with theirs. Parker showed up in a Santa hat, and then a couple of the Delta guys Roman had been working with while Cash was benched. At least Parker found some bachelor buddies in the Delta boys.

  Beth’s parents came in, then Roman’s. There was family that would always be family from Logan’s side, who were beyond thrilled to ring in the new chapter in Beth’s life with holiday cheer. And there were friends from the Agency, friends from the real world. A couple of them also wore Santa hats. It was the who’s who of everyone they loved.

  The living room was filled to capacity, humming with Christmas cheer. Beth wandered to the end table where the picture of her and Roman at Nicola and Cash’s wedding stood. She picked it up, rubbing her thumb over the glass, then went and found the framed picture Roman just gave her and placed the two pictures side by side.

  Nicola walked over with cranberry juice in hand. “You look cute. Nice decorations.”

  “Looks good, right?” Beth bit her lip, loving how everything had turned out. Bright and vibrant, exactly how she felt. “Everything’s perfect.”

  Jared walked to the center of
the room and cleared his throat. Doing as Boss Man did, he became the center of attention with ease, and everyone dropped their conversations and turned to him. His grin didn’t appear often, but there it was.

  Nicola put her hands over her baby bump. “There goes Boss Man.”

  Oh God. Beth’s heart jumped in her chest like she was about to swan dive into eternity. Well, she was. Her pulse quickened when Roman caught her eye from across the room and beckoned for her to come his way.

  “You good?” Nicola asked.

  “Hell, yes,” Beth whispered.

  Nicola patted her on the shoulder and followed Beth toward Roman, who was chatting with Cash. Cash winked.

  “Alright,” Jared said, “quiet down. It’s not a party until I’ve had something to say.”

  A few laughs and cheers went up. The beer and the wine had started flowing almost immediately. The kids were two-handing Christmas cookies, Santa hats now on their heads. Everyone was relaxed, hanging out, and totally unprepared.

  “Let’s do this.” He cracked his knuckles. “Titan. Delta. Friends and families.”

  If Beth thought the din had died down, she’d been wrong. The room went very quiet, very quickly. Beth could feel the wide eyes on her back, maybe even felt their jaws dropping. God, she loved a good surprise party. Roman took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Jared’s rare smile stayed in place. “We are gathered here tonight to celebrate Roman and Beth, two people who’d lay down their lives for you and each other. Hell, two people who were destined to be here today, getting married.”

  A couple of folks gasped. Colby gave a “Hooyah.” Rocco and Brock did their versions of the same. All the kids started cheering for no other reason than the adults did, and Beth let Roman pull her into his thick arms. Some women wanted to stare at the man they were about to marry, but that wasn’t her. She wanted to be held, wrapped tight and surrounded by him. Leaning back, she tilted her head when his cheek pressed against her temple. She sighed when his lips brushed the top of her ear.

  “Luckiest guy here,” he whispered.

  Jared did his version of a ceremony. They recited the short vows, and then Jared crossed his arms, and announced to the hollering, clapping room, “Congratulations, Roman and Beth. Time to kiss your bride.”