by Ana Stone
Adrian looked at her for a moment with a hard expression in his eyes then smiled. "Of course. Well, good night."
"Good night."
She waited until he got in the elevator, then ran back inside. Blake was sitting on the couch but stood and turned to her as she came into the room. Sydney stopped abruptly and looked at him for a moment then her legs took control and propelled her across the room to him.
Blake did not expect what happened next. She flung her arms around his neck and clung to him tightly, trembling fiercely. For one moment he did not move then he wrapped his arms around her and held her. "Syd, what's wrong?" he whispered softly.
"Just hold me," she whispered against the crook of his neck. "Please, just hold me."
"Okay." He pulled her down on his lap as he sat on the couch. "It'll be okay - everything's going to be fine."
"You promise?" she whispered shakily.
"Absolutely," he replied, wondering what had her so frightened. He had never seen her that way before. She was normally so in control and seemed so strong and confident. But now she was shaking like she was scared out of her mind.
He held her until the trembling ceased. Just as he loosened his hold on her to ask her what was wrong, the Senator walked into the room.
"Oh, excuse me," he apologized.
"It's okay." Sydney stood. "What can I do for you?"
"I called my aide and he should be here in a few minutes. I think I should go home. There are some things I need to think about. Mr. Edwards, it was a pleasure to meet you. Please forgive my behavior this evening. I assure you it is not typical."
"The pleasure is mine, sir," Blake replied.
Sydney walked the Senator to the door and spoke softly to him. "Senator, I'd like to see you in my office in the morning."
"Doctor, I really don't think therapy is going to do any good at this point," he said dejectedly.
"Perhaps not," she agreed.
He looked at her in surprise and she continued. "But you and I both know that we're in an unusual position here, Senator. We both have information that could be potentially dangerous and we have to decide what to do with it."
"You mean we have to decide how to save our own hides," he said despondently with a good measure of fear in evidence.
Sydney didn’t know how to answer. Her concern was not so much for herself but for the innocent people whose lives had been destroyed by what had happened. If there really was some secret group within the government that had planned the bombing incident then they had to be exposed.
"I think we both need to consider this very carefully," she responded with a noncommittal answer. Before she had finished her sentence one of the elevator doors opened and the Senator's aide stepped out.
Sydney nodded to the man then gave the senator what she hoped was a comforting smile. "I'll see you in the morning."
He nodded and walked away. Sydney went back inside the apartment and closed the door, leaning back against it and closing her eyes. God, what am I going to do? And more importantly, who can I trust?
As if in answer to the question she heard Blake's voice. "Syd?"
She opened her eyes as he walked over to her. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked softly, reaching for her hand. "If you're in some kind of trouble I'll help you anyway I can - you know that, don't you?"
Sydney nodded and went into his arms. "Yes, I do know that, and it means more to me than you realize. But this is something I have to work out on my own."
For a few moments they simply stood holding one another. With no small measure of surprise, Sydney realized that the change she sensed in herself was dramatic, and she suspected, permanent. She thought it ironic that she should spend her days trying to help other people get in touch with themselves while she had been so busy running from herself. Ever since she found out that her ex-husband, Evan was having an affair she had tried to build a wall around her emotions so that there would be no chance of her getting hurt again. She’d hidden behind that wall, hiding from life and from herself.
But somehow Blake had eroded those walls without her even being aware of it. Now she saw that the walls had crumbled and that she couldn’t continue to hide from her feelings. And for the first time in a very long time she didn’t want to.
As she was thinking about her personal revelations Blake stepped back from her. "I guess I better get going."
"No." She held onto his arms. "Don't go. Please."
"Okay." He looked at her in surprise. "You want to go grab some dinner or something?"
"I'll call out for something if you're hungry. Or I'll cook if you like."
"I'm not really hungry."
"Then why don't we just sit and talk or something?"
They went into the living room and Blake sat down on the couch. Sydney turned on music then sat down beside him.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked as she looked up at him.
Sydney looked at him for a few moments, trying to summon the courage to be honest. He smiled gently and took her hand, raising his eyebrows in question and she knew that if she chickened out she might never have the nerve again.
"Blake, will you stay here tonight?"
"Spend the night?" he asked with confusion clear in his voice. "You're afraid to be alone?"
"No, I'm not afraid." She placed her hand on the side of his neck. "I just want to be with you."
He opened his mouth then closed it, looking at her with a perplexed expression on his face. "Let me get this straight. You want me to stay here−with you−tonight?"
"Yes." She ran her fingers up his neck to caress the side of his face. "Very much."
"Why? I mean, just a few days ago you said−"
"Just a few days ago I was still running," she said softly and moved closer. "But now I'm not. I'm through running, Blake and I want more than anything for you to stay here with me tonight. If you want to, that is."
He looked at her for a long time before answering, as if searching for some answer in her eyes. Finally, he nodded. "Yes, I want to. If you're sure."
"Very sure," she breathed as she moved to loop her arms around his neck and straddle his lap.
Their lips met and she felt her breath catch at desire that rose inside her. Blake's hands moved to her shirt to pull it up. Their lips parted only long enough to pull the T-shirt over her head and toss it aside. Then he claimed her with another kiss.
Sydney pushed aside everything else but the feel of his hands on her. There was plenty of time for other things later. Right now all that mattered was that they were together.
The kiss soon became frenzied. Clothes were quickly removed and tossed aside. They explored each other’s body with hands and mouths, tasting, touching and experimenting with one another.
When finally they were spent, bodies slick with sweat, Blake and Sydney curled into each other, unwilling to break the contact. Sleep claimed them, still wrapped in one another’s arms.
Thursday, April 20
Washington D.C.
It was several hours before the first rays of light would streak the morning sky. Adrian Zayne stood in front of the window in the dark room of the penthouse suite of the Watergate Hotel, looking out at the lights of the Capital.
A knock at the door had him speaking without turning away from the sight. "Enter."
Two men walked into the room. "I think we may have a problem," he said without bothering to look at them.
"Tyler talked," one of the man stated, rather than asking.
"Possibly. However, considering that he talked to his psychiatrist, I do not think we have cause for alarm in that quarter at present."
"Then why did you summon us?" the second man asked.
"We have a new player in the game . One that may prove to be very troublesome."
He turned and pinned the second man with a hard stare. "I expect you to handle this problem personally."
The man swallowed and cleared his throat. "So, do I get a name or do I have to guess?"
Adrian's eyes glittered dangerously in the dim light. "Blake Edwards."
"What do you want done with him?"
"Use your imagination. Just neutralize him before he becomes a problem."
He turned to the first man. "And I think it's time you made an appointment with the doctor, considering the stress you've been under lately."
"You want me to talk to the doctor?" the man asked with surprise in his voice. "About what?"
"About the dangers of spreading unfounded rumors. And do make sure she is properly intimidated."
"What if she runs to the police?"
Adrian chuckled. He had no doubt that she would run to someone. But he fully intended that someone to be him. By the time he got through, Sydney Forrest would not trust anyone but him. "Just do as I tell you."
The man inclined his head and Adrian turned away. "That will be all."
Without another word the men left the room. Adrian looked out over the city with a smile.
Sydney untangled herself from Blake's arms and sat. He rolled over but did not wake. After a moment she got out of the bed, put on his discarded shirt and went into her study. She she turned on the computer and took a seat in the desk chair.
Only the light of the computer screen lit the room, bathing her face in blue light and turning her strawberry blond hair into a cascade of silver-blue.
She accessed the deep web and keyed in an address. It was a chat room she had opened some time ago. In all the times she had checked it, no one aside from herself and GW had been in it. She typed quickly, hoping that she was not making a big mistake in what she was doing.
After she and Blake made love she fell asleep and dreamed that Adrian was chasing her through a park. The dream woke her and she started to think. In a way, he was chasing her. He was very persistent about wanting to be with her and she didn’t understand it. She didn’t believe that he was in love with her and it didn’t make sense that he would pursue her the way he did.
Then it came to her. It made perfect sense. If Adrian was involved in this secret group the Senator spoke of and if he knew the Senator was having second thoughts then it followed he would want to find out if the Senator had talked. And how better to do that than to seduce the one person the Senator talked to, his psychiatrist.
I've got to do something! Her mind raced Somehow I've got to find a way to make the authorities take notice of Adrian without breaking the doctor patient confidence. But how?
The answer to that question came to her in a flash and she knew what she was going to do. It was risky and there was a chance that she would get not only herself in trouble but others as well. But at this point it was the only thing she could think to do.
As soon as the message was complete she exited, then keyed in another address. She emailed herself the recording she made of her conversation with Tyler earlier in the evening and uploaded it to the new site.
As soon as she finished she erased the recording on her phone. She shut down the computer and started to put the phone on the charger when a thought occurred to her.
The phone wasn’t scheduled to back up until four am, so the recording had not yet made it to the cloud. If she reset the phone back to factory defaults it should erase all trace of the recording.
But that didn’t satisfy her. There were ways of retrieving deleted data. She looked around and her eyes fell on a small metal statue her mother had given her.
Perfect. She hurried across the room for the statue
Blake woke and found himself alone in bed. He got up and walked out into the hall. There was light coming from the study. He padded down the hall to see Sydney sitting on the floor in front of her computer desk, pounding something with a statue.
For a moment he did not speak, but merely stood and watched her. She looked like a beautiful apparition in the eerie blue light of the monitor, her skin seemed to glow and her hair looked like molten strands of polished silver.
She’d surprised him. He thought things were over between them, that she was becoming seriously involved with Zayne. When she had asked him to stay he was shocked.
He was glad she had asked, more than he cared to admit. He’d not told her, but he knew he loved her. After making love to her he was convinced beyond all doubt. She was so beautiful and uninhibited in the act of love, responding to his touch as if her body were made especially for him.
A sense of curiosity broke through his thoughts of love. "What are you doing?"
She jumped and looked at him. Her expression of surprise changed as she took in his appearance making him realize that he had not bothered to put on any clothes.
"Just keying in some notes on a patient," she said as she turned off the computer.
“With a little metal statute. In the middle of the night."
"Sometimes I don't sleep." She left the statue and what looked like the remains of a cell phone on the floor and walked over to him. "And I didn't want to wake you."
"Are you sure there isn't something bothering you, Syd?"
She looked down. "No−yes, I mean I don't know how−I want to tell you but I don't know how."
"We don't have to talk if you don't want to," he said when she remained silent. "We can just listen to music or −"
"No, I want to talk," she interrupted.
He fell silent and once more she hesitated. "So?" he asked, feeling confused and a little anxious as well. A thought that maybe she was going to tell him that she’d changed her mind and didn’t want to see him anymore made his hands sweat. "What is it you want to talk about?"
"About−" she paused and looked down at her hands clenched in front of her. "About us."
"What about us?" His voice sounded harsh, even though he did not mean to sound that way.
He could see the anxiety on her face. "I wanted to tell you that − Blake, I don't care about Adrian Zayne and I don't want to have anything to do with him and…"
"And what?" Blake asked when she fell silent.
"And nothing. He's not important. But you are, Blake. I know that I've been the one who's been putting on the brakes in our relationship and I can only say that I felt like I had to. I've been through one rotten relationship that made me feel betrayed and used and I was afraid of letting myself care about someone again because that would set me up to get hurt again."
"I'm not like Evan Mallory," he said softly but firmly.
"No, you're not," she agreed. "You're the most caring, compassionate, giving person I've ever known. You're strong but gentle, smart and funny and−"
"This is starting to sound a little like a 'dear John' send off. Look, Syd, if you want to get rid of me you don't have to build me up to let me down. Just say it straight out."
"Straight out?"
"Yeah." He looked into her eyes. "Just say it."
"Okay." She took a deep breath then looked into his eyes again. "I love you."
"You−wait a minute, you love me?"
"Yes. I love you."
He looked at her for a moment then took her hands in his. "I never thought I'd hear those words coming from you."
"I never imagined I'd ever say that to anyone. And I wouldn't say it now if I didn't mean it. But I'll be honest with you. It scares me to death and right now I feel like I'm standing in front of a firing squad waiting for the hammer to fall−not knowing how you feel."
"I feel like −" He released her hands and pulled her close so that their gazes were locked. "I love you too, Syd. More than you can imagine."
"Then will you please love me now?"
"Most definitely."
She accepted his kiss eagerly and he scooped her up in his arms and took her back to bed. He gave no thought to Adrian Zayne or Senator Tyler. The only thing on his mind was Sydney and how grateful he was that she loved him.
Chapter Five
Thursday, April 20
Washington, D.C.
Blake picked up the dirty clothes from the floor and tossed them into the hamper. He
looped a tie around his neck, and knotted it, making a mental note to take his shirts to the cleaners.
He put on his jacket and started out into the hall. As he started by the guest room he stopped and looked in at the computer. He only considered it a moment before he walked into the room. He turned on the computer and accessed his mailbox. There were two messages in it. One was from Weasel.
Time to cruise. Click on this. A URL followed.
Blake scribbled down the address and read the next message. "What the hell?" His eyes flew open wide as he read what was on the screen.
What does a billionaire, mortgages, campaigns, ammonia nitrate and diesel fuel have in common with the military?
He leaned his chair back on two legs and crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. For several minutes he tried to come up with something, but he drew a blank. Finally he gave up and wrote down the message on a pad by the computer. Then he went back to Weasel’s email and clicked on the link. A popup window opened, asking for a password."Great!" he complained and reached for the phone. He dialed and waited. A few moments later Weasel picked up.
"What's up?"
"You didn't leave me the password."
"What password?"
"Come on, Weasel! The message you left with the address. You didn't leave a password."
"I didn't leave you an address."
Blake's eyes flew open wide. "You're jerking me around, right?"
"No way, my man."
Blake looked at the address on the screen above the password block and frowned. "Weasel, listen, I need a favor. Could you swing by my apartment after work? I want you to help me out with something. I'll spring for damn!"
"What?"
"I'm suppose to have dinner with my girlfriend at her place."
"Well I wouldn't want to mess with your love life."
"No." Blake considered it for a moment. "Listen, stop by and after we finish we'll go over to her place. I'll call and clear it with her. Besides, I'd like you to meet the lady I'm going to be living with."
"Whoa! This sounds serious, dude. I'll be there. Any lady who can tie you to one corral I definitely have to meet. See you around five."
