So Mike did the only thing he could think of.
“Get ready to run,” he yelled back to Jessica.
Then, he spun the wheel so the Jeep went perpendicular to the road and skidded to a stop. He launched out of the car at the same time as Jessica. They both landed hard and rolled in the dirt. But Mike didn’t stop to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. He hauled Jessica up and they ran towards the checkpoint with their arms up. Thankfully, Jessica had left the gun behind.
The soldiers looked ready to shoot them on sight. But then the Zolegan rebels fired, and the soldiers turned their attention to the more immediate threat. It gave Mike a chance to shove Jessica through the checkpoint, past the startled guards.
Once they were a safe distance away from the action and hidden by the tollbooth, Mike knelt to the ground and pulled Jessica with him. They both put their hands behind their heads to show they weren’t a threat. The Colombian guards approached them cautiously, guns drawn.
“Asylum,” Mike said clearly. “We seek asylum.”
Chapter 16
Mike tugged at the tie around his throat. He hated the things. But considering he was about to enter the home of a US Senator and one of the richest men in the country—not to mention the woman he’d fallen for—Mike figured it was worth the sacrifice.
He swallowed as he pushed the doorbell. He hadn’t seen Jessica for five days. Not since the political complications of their race across the border had been smoothed out by Senator Vanderslice’s people, and Charlie had flown them back to the states.
Would Jessica even want to see him? He had to assume he was here with her permission, but was it for the reasons he hoped? Because he didn’t plan to leave this place without her.
Did she believe he hadn’t had an ulterior motive in rescuing her? And how did she feel about him? They’d been through a lot together in the rainforest. Maybe she wanted to forget the whole thing.
Forget him.
The door swung open, and Mike pasted a smile on his face. A man he didn’t recognize opened the door, and the white gloves immediately gave him away as a butler. Rich people still had those? He’d thought that was just in movies. For once, one of his weird views about rich people had turned out to be less strange than the reality.
“Hey, man,” he said. “The name’s Mike Ford. I was invited to dinner tonight.”
“Please come in Mr. Ford.”
Mr. Ford. Jesus.
“Call me Mike. Not even my dad was Mr. Ford.”
The butler’s mouth twitched but he said nothing. Mike stepped inside and stopped short. He was in a large foyer. Lush cream carpet swallowed the shiny shoes he’d borrowed for the occasion. The walls were the color of biscuits and decorated with tasteful watercolors. The furniture, what little of it in the room, was tasteful and well-constructed. A carpeted staircase was against the far wall, leading to the upper floors of the house.
Mike had expected marble and gilt. Instead, the house was reasonably comfortable, if huge and spotlessly clean. Maybe this wouldn’t be torture after all.
He turned to the butler, and the man’s face was scrupulously pleasant. “This way, please.”
Mike turned to follow him, but a movement at the top of the stairs caught his eye, and he froze.
Jessica stood there, in a knee-length red dress that hugged her like a second skin. The neckline dipped low, revealing the top of her breasts, and her arms were bare. Her shiny hair was swept up into a complicated-looking knot, revealing the long line of her throat.
His breath caught in his chest. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
A slow smile curved across her face. Mike couldn’t take his eyes off her as she came down the steps. It wasn’t until she was right in front of him that she said anything.
“Hi.”
He grinned. “Hi.” His gaze swept over her and she did a twirl for him.
“Better than the ratty cargo pants and shirt I wore, huh? I burnt those the second I could.”
Mike’s heart flipped. “I didn’t mind the cargo pants.” In fact, he’d liked her that way. Adventurous, strong, approachable.
Now, she looked like the untouchable socialite he’d always know she was. His gut clenched. This would be a lot harder than he’d imagined.
“How have you been?” she asked.
Thinking about you every minute. He cleared his throat. “Fine. I’ve been forced into a lot of debriefings with Duncan and Mandy, but that’s all right. You?”
“Taking lots of showers,” she said on a laugh. “And obviously my parents needed to know every detail of what happened.”
“Every detail?”
She blushed. “Well, I kept some things to myself.”
Thank God for that. “And are things okay? With your parents, I mean.”
“Yeah,” she said, and she seemed genuinely happy. “They’re better than they have been in a long time, actually. We’re finally having some honest conversations. Thank you for that.”
“What did I do?”
“You made me see they really cared, and gave me the confidence to confront them instead of running away. It’s changed things for us.”
“I’m really glad.”
Christ, he wanted to hold her. Where the hell did they stand?
He stepped forward and took her hand. Their fingers tangled together. Belatedly, he glanced around for the butler, but the man had disappeared.
His gaze met hers. Was that hope in her gaze? “Jessica—”
Over Jessica’s shoulder, Senator Vanderslice and her husband walked into the room. Mike stepped away from Jessica immediately, snatching his hand away. His palms grew damp. He and Jessica weren’t even together—officially, yet—but he was still meeting her parents. Even though this was the second time he’d encountered them, it was worse than the first, because it was far more momentous.
He wasn’t meeting clients, he was meeting the people he hoped might one day become his in-laws.
“Senator Vanderslice. Mr. Vanderslice. Nice to see you both again.”
Jessica’s father stepped forward and held out his hand. “Thank you for saving our daughter. We’ll owe you more than you can ever know.”
Mike glanced at Jessica, who beamed at him, so he shook the man’s hand. “It was my pleasure,” he said, and then instantly regretted the word. He should not be thinking about pleasure while Jessica stood next to him in that dress.
“And thank you for agreeing to this dinner,” Senator Vanderslice said. “It’s hardly enough to thank you.”
He didn’t tell them that he’d only accepted because it gave him an excuse to see Jessica. He hated unnecessary praise, and rescuing Jessica had only been him doing his job. He deserved no additional thanks for that.
But now he had a chance to figure out where he and Jessica stood. And if her parents were more inclined to like him purely because he’d done his job, he wouldn’t ruin that.
He glanced at the woman he’d spent one of the most interesting, life-changing weeks of his life with. He needed to get her alone, so they could talk. Would he have to wait until after dinner? That would be an excruciating meal, sitting there making small talk with her parents when he had no idea how she felt about him.
Having a plan for every occasion was his specialty. He was about to make some excuse to get Jessica out of the room, when Jessica spoke first.
“Mom, Dad. How about you go check on dinner? I need to talk to Mike.”
Far less subtle than he’d planned, but he’d take it.
Her parents shared a smile, and then nodded. Soon, he was alone with Jessica in an opulent lobby, feeling very out of place, and he suddenly had no idea what to say.
Jessica, apparently, had no such problems. She gripped his face in both of her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. He didn’t waste time, gripping her hips over the silky fabric of the dress and pulling her closer. He tilted his head for a better angle, deepening the kiss.
Her parents were in
the next room, and the butler could pop up at any minute, but Mike didn’t care. Jessica was in his arms and everything was right in the world.
They broke apart, panting, and Jessica grinned at him. “I’ve wanted to do that for days. I missed you.”
“Me, too. I wasn’t sure what would happen tonight, where we stood.” He paused and took a deep breath. Time to take the plunge. “I want to be with you, Jessica. I fell in love with you somewhere in that jungle, and I don’t ever want to let you go.”
Tears sprang to Jessica’s eyes even as she smiled. “Oh, Mike. I want to be with you, too.”
“So you didn’t believe all that stuff about your mother hiring me to spy on the rebels?”
She scoffed. “No. Nothing in your actions told me General Moreno’s theory was correct.”
“Good,” he said with satisfaction. She’d believed in him, trusted him.
He kissed her again, unable to help himself. Her mouth was so sweet. He could spend a lifetime kissing her and never get tired of it.
They came apart again, and Jessica grinned. “I have a surprise for you.”
Mike eyed her dress. “Is it what’s under here? Because I can’t wait to find out.”
Jessica laughed. “You’ve already seen all that, so it doesn’t count as a surprise.”
“Oh,” said Mike, pretending disappointment.
She gave him a saucy look. “Doesn’t mean it’s not on the cards for tonight, though.”
Mike’s skin heated at her expression. He wasn’t sure he could wait until later. It had been too long since he’d been inside her. He reminded himself her parents were in the next room, but it barely dampened his desire for her.
“So what’s this surprise?” His voice was rough in his throat.
Jessica stood back so he could see her more clearly. Then, she pointed to herself, crossed her arms over her chest with her hands in fists, and finally put her hand out towards him as if offering him a platter.
I. Love. You.
Mike’s heart kicked and his breath was trapped in his throat. “You learned it in sign,” he whispered. She’d even learned the more intimate version of the phrase, since there was a more casual way to say it. He hoped to God that was on purpose.
She smiled at him. “You said there was less chance of confusion with sign language. And I didn’t want you to have any doubt about what I felt for you.”
Mike let out an unsteady breath, and then snatched Jessica into his arms. He kissed her fiercely, tenderly, letting all his emotions pour into the kiss.
Jessica was safe, in his arms.
And he wouldn’t ever let her go.
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More by Aislinn Kearns
Soldiering On Series
Soldiering On: (Soldiering On #0.5)
Station Alpha: (Soldiering On #1)
Guarding Sierra: (Soldiering On #2)
Dangerous Victor: (Soldiering On #3)
Christmas Tango: (Soldering On #3.5)
Hotel Hideaway: (Soldiering On #4)
Whiskey-Eyed Woman: (Soldiering On #5)
Underground Fighters Series
Caged Warrior: (Underground Fighters #1)
Russian Beast: (Underground Fighters #2)
Undercover Fighter: (Underground Fighters #3)
Author Bio
Wounded Heroes. Action Movies. Happily Ever Afters.
These are a few of Aislinn’s favourite things, and you’ll find all of the above in her writing. Whether it’s the Soldiering On series – about wounded military veterans starting a security company together and finding love along the way – or her upcoming series about underground fighters.
If she’s not reading romance novels or watching action movies, you’ll find Aislinn writing like mad to get the next book out. She also loves to travel to new places around the world, forever in search of the perfect cottage in the forest that she hopes to one day call home.
Visit her at https://aislinnkearns.com/
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And Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15428911.Aislinn_Kearns
On the Move Page 18