by Desiree Holt
“Sam, I—”
She shook her head. She couldn’t have a discussion with him now. “No talking, okay? It was…beyond great. Can we just leave it at that for now?”
“Just as long as you agree it was good.” Hunger still swirled in his eyes. “Damn good, and I’m not going to let you forget it. Now.” He stroked her hair. “Right now I think we can both use a little nap, don’t you?”
Sam knew at some point they would have to talk about this, and she wasn’t even sure what she would say. Meanwhile, a nap sounded good to her.
“Mm-hmm.”
She closed her eyes and rested her head in the curve of his neck, but she didn’t fall asleep for a very long time.
* * * *
The ringing of Sam’s cell phone woke them. At first, she had to remember where she was, whose bed she was lying in, and who was spooned against her, one arm around her, hand cupping her breast. Then in an instant it all came back. Blake. The events of the afternoon. And the unbelievably spectacular sex.
No time to reflect on that right now, though. The job was calling. She fumbled for her phone and saw it was Avery.
“Hey, Avery, what’s up?”
“Couple of things. First an update on Grant Kennelly.”
Sam sat up in bed, pulling the sheet up to her breasts and doing her best to ignore Blake’s warm hand insinuating itself between her thighs.
“Yes. How is he?”
“Okay, but he’s got a long recovery ahead of him. As the chief law enforcement officer on this, Sheri was able to get the details for me. He has a broken jaw and a bad concussion. Looks like the guy pounded his head on the concrete of the porch on top of everything. He also took a punch to the chest right over his heart so they’re monitoring that.” Avery’s sigh carried over the connection. “Tell Blake I spoke to the hospital administrator about Blake paying Grant’s bill. He’ll have to jump through some hoops to do it because of HIPAA, but there are some appropriate ways to do it. As soon as I have the info I will forward it to him so he can make arrangements.”
“Good. That will help, although I’m not sure anything can make him feel better about this. He still blames himself.”
“And I’m sure telling him it’s not his fault doesn’t have any effect.”
Now it was Sam’s turn to sigh. “You got that right. Anything else?”
“No. Just wanted to check in. Take care of him.”
“That’s my top priority,” Sam assured her before hanging up.
“Okay.” Blake pulled her back down to hm. “I know you were talking about Grant. Tell me everything.”
Sam repeated what Avery had told her.
He was silent for a long time, digesting the information. “I guess it never occurred to me someone else could be in danger from this guy. Sam, we have to find out who he is before someone else gets hurt.”
“And we will. Meanwhile, let’s get up, search for that wine and raid the refrigerator. I think it’s long past dinner time.” Her stomach chose that moment to grumble softly. “See what I mean?”
They both laughed, and the tension eased just a little bit.
“Yeah, I see,” he chuckled.
“Let me take a shower and we’ll see about eating.” She started to slide out of bed.
“Wait.” He tightened his hold around her.
“What for?”
“You were right earlier. I don’t know where this is going. Yet. But it’s more than a roll in the hay to me, Sam.” He nipped her earlobe.
“And like I said, let’s just see what happens. Maybe we’ll fulfill that teenage dream, and that will be enough. But whatever happens, I want both of us to be sure.”
She wanted to believe that so badly, but that hurt teenager kept getting in the way. Not to mention the memories of her other bad decisions. Well, she’d think about them later. Now she just wanted to enjoy the residual good feeling.
Then he grinned at her. “But think of the fun we can have figuring this out.”
She laughed softly, turned around, and brushed a kiss over his lips.
* * * *
When they brought their luggage upstairs, Blake didn’t even give her a chance to put hers anywhere but his room. He knew even though what they’d shared had been nothing shortly of cataclysmic, Sam was probably still uncertain of what this was between them. That was okay. She wanted to be sure and so did he. In the middle of all this madness she was the one bright spot.
Baby steps, he tried to tell himself. Remember, baby steps.
He urged her to shower in the other bathroom, however, afraid that if he got naked with her right now they’d never make it downstairs. He was in the kitchen standing in front of the refrigerator when Sam came up behind him.
“How are you fixed for groceries?”
Blake chuffed a short laugh. “Take a look. Leave it to my mother to make sure we don’t starve.”
She looked over his shoulder, to the fridge stuffed with every variety of groceries they could need and burst in laughter. “I guess we won’t have to worry about what to eat.”
“Yeah, that’s my mom. She still thinks I don’t eat right. Of course, when I’m into a book, sometimes that’s the case.” He spotted what he was looking for and pulled a bottle of Riesling out of the second shelf. “I’m pretty sure we can use this, right?”
She nodded. “I’ll make us some sandwiches to go with.”
As nice as the day was, under normal conditions he’d suggest they take everything out on the patio to eat. But he wasn’t sure he could sit out there without imagining Grant Kennelly’s bleeding body stuffed under the hedgerow. Instead they took the sandwiches, the wine, and two glasses to the table in the breakfast nook. Blake filled both wine glasses and lifted his toward Sam.
“To you, Sam, just for being here and keeping me sane.”
He watched, waiting, until she touched her glass to his.
“We’ll get past this, Blake.” Her lips curved in a warm and gentle smile. “I promise you.”
They each took a sip of wine. Then Blake picked up half of his sandwich, took a bite and chewed thoughtfully.
Sam studied him for a long moment. “Listen, Blake, I—”
“Sam, I want to tell you—”
They looked at each other and just like that the tension eased.
“Ladies first,” he told her.
She let out a tiny sigh. “I just wanted to say that this afternoon was really great.”
“I agree.” He swallowed some more wine and tried to collect his thoughts. He was feeling his way here, no pun intended. “We waited a lot of years to see if the chemistry from that one night is real, and was something beyond high school. Something that would get past my being such an ass to you. Circumstance, fate, whatever you want to call it, brought us together. I’d say we at least made a start. Let’s leave it at that for now. Okay? No pressure here.”
“Yes.” She said the word slowly. “I agree. I’m not rushing anything. We have to be sure.”
He nodded. “But I just have to say this. I’ve carried the memory of that date—that kiss—around with me for a long time.”
A memory that was never out of his mind. He had a limited time to see if this worked, to convince Sam that it could, and he didn’t intend to make any mistakes.
“I have, too.” She said the words reluctantly.
He nodded. “I just want to be sure you know I’m not just looking for a roll in the hay.”
She smiled. “I get that, Blake. We’re good.”
“Okay, then.” That would have to do for now.
“Besides, first and foremost I have a job to do here.”
“And I don’t want to get you crosswise with Avery. Fraternization and all that.”
“She trusts us to handle things and be alert. Anyway, lately we’ve had a couple of
assignments turn into permanent relationships and it worked out okay.”
He reached across and took one of her hands. “Then let’s see where this goes, and take it from there. So. How about telling me how you ended up being a high-risk security agent?”
“Oh, well, that will require a little more wine.” She refilled both glasses. “So let’s see. Where should I start?”
“How about the beginning.”
“Okay.” She swallowed a bite of her sandwich and washed it down with a sip of wine. Once upon a time…”
He listened while she told him about her four years at Florida State. Studying criminology, of all things, she told him and laughed. She sat on a bench one day wondering exactly where she wanted to go with it when she learned military recruiters were on campus.
“I was graduating, had no clear plans except I wanted to go into law enforcement.” She grinned. “And the recruiter was really cute.”
“So you joined the Army to get a date with the recruiter?” He winked.
“Not exactly. And it was the Air Force.”
He stared at her. “The Air Force? For real? I didn’t know you liked to fly.”
“I do, but that’s not why I joined. I just saw a great chance for advancement.”
Blake cocked an eyebrow. “So what did you do in the Air Force?”
She shrugged. “This and that. After four years I could apply for the Ravens, which was really cool.”
“What are the Ravens?”
She grinned. “I could tell you what we did but then I’d have to shoot you.”
He frowned. “No kidding?”
“Yes, kidding. Just pulling your leg. They’re part of the Air Force Security Forces. We provided security for the Air Mobility Commands, and that’s just too complicated to get into right now.”
“Where did you provide the security?”
She shrugged. “In all the fighting zones. For dignitaries, special passengers, and some very expensive airplanes the people might want to steal or destroy.”
Now that he really didn’t want to think about. Not about Samantha serving in the midst of the wars going on overseas.
“How long were you in for?” He kept trying to visualize her in an Air Force uniform.
“Eight years. Four until I could get into the Ravens and a four-year commitment for that. And don’t look at me like that,” she warned. “I was well trained for what I was doing.”
He had no doubt about that.
“So when your contract was up you decided to stay in the same business, so to speak?”
“So to speak.” She fidgeted with her glass, twisting the stem. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. My family wanted me to be in a more secure environment. I guess they were done with being glued to the television for bad news.”
“And after that?”
“I came home to hang out with my folks while I looked around.” She took another swallow of her wine. “Avery had moved Vigilance here a couple of years before that. Someone must have told her about me because she invited me to lunch one day and we clicked.”
“It’s obviously working out.”
She nodded. “Avery’s great. So is everyone there.”
He had so many questions he wanted to ask her. Questions about her friends. Questions about men in her life, which he probably had no right to dig into. But suddenly he wanted to know every single thing about her, including what kind of movies she liked and if she was a baseball fan or did she like football. He hoped that even with the situation they were in, he’d still have the opportunity to find out. Because today might have begun as a stress reliever but it ended up being way more than that. He hoped that the upcoming trip would be the beginning of something for them.
If only they could find the fucker that was screwing with him.
Blake chewed the last bite of sandwich, swallowed, and drained the rest of the wine from his glass. This had all been a nice respite from the reality of what was happening. A respite that he needed and that was important to him for a lot of reasons. It was nice sitting here with Sam, talking, learning little things about each other. It almost made him think none of this crazy stuff had happened at all.
Almost.
And then reality intruded again.
They had both placed their cell phones on the table next to their plates. Now Sam’s went off, its distinctive tone the sound of a foghorn. They looked at each other, the softer mood broken.
Sam looked at the name on the screen. “It’s Avery again. Maybe they found out something.” She hit Accept. “Hey, Avery. What’s up? Anything new to report?”
Blake waited with barely controlled patience while Sam nodded, said “uh-uh” a few times, and finally hung up.
“Well?” he demanded.
“Sheri called. And no,” she said quickly when Blake opened his mouth to ask if they’d caught the guy. “They did, however, find a few neighbors who remembered seeing a pickup parked in your driveway. They didn’t think much about it because it has some kind of commercial name on the door.”
“Removable signs,” Blake guessed.
Sam nodded. “No doubt. Pickups are up pretty commonplace these days, especially around here. And people are so used to seeing service people of all kinds they don’t pay much attention to it.”
“But if we know it’s a pickup, we can keep an eye out for it from here on out.”
Sam shook her head. “That would be nice, but no. You can bet the first thing he’s going to do is swap vehicles. I’m sure this one isn’t his. He had to fly in here from someplace, if he’s hitting you at all your tour stops. You don’t know, he could even have flown in to Tampa on the same plane you did.”
Blake’s sandwich suddenly felt like a lump of cement in his gut.
“Are you kidding me? On the same plane?” A chill raced along his spine. “You mean he could have been that close to me?”
She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “I just said maybe, because anything is possible. You need to be aware of that.”
He squeezed her hand but then leaned back in his chair, his brain spinning with the whole situation.
“I’m thinking maybe we should get out of Arrowhead Bay sooner rather than later.”
“And go on to your next book signing early?” She shook her head. “That would accomplish nothing except give him lead time there to cook something up.”
He ground his teeth in frustration. “I feel trapped, Sam, like I have no place to go. Like I have a big black X on my back. I want to take this trouble away from Arrowhead Bay but I don’t want to bring it with me someplace else. And that’s not possible, is it?”
“No, unfortunately. But there are still things we can do.”
“Like what?”
She held up four fingers and bent one down. “For one thing, staying around here has its advantages. We’ve got immediate access to Vigilance and all its bells and whistles, as well as more manpower if we need it.” She bent a second finger. “We’re in a location where we know every nook and cranny, better than your stalker. Makes it easier for us to be aware of anything out of sync.”
“Except for today,” he interrupted.
“Except for today,” she agreed. “But that came out of nowhere. You can be damn sure that won’t happen again.” Another finger. “Third, he’s probably expecting you to leave here and may even be making his arrangements to hit your next stop ahead of you.” She bent down the last finger. “Plus, it gives Avery time to dig through all those names you gave her and maybe identify some possibilities. People we can be on the lookout for.”
“I know you all keep saying that, but truth to tell, I can’t imagine anyone I know doing something like this.”
Sam snorted. “You know how many people have said that and been wrong? Not too long ago we had someone kidnapped by a man who suppo
sedly was her father’s best friend.”
He stared at her. “Are you kidding me?”
She shook her head. “Not even a little. So we both need to be hyper alert at all times. Don’t assume anything about anyone just because you know them. You never can tell what goes on in someone’s brain.”
He looked at his phone. “At least I haven’t gotten any text messages since we switched phones.”
“Right, but that’s because we haven’t been anywhere that he could get close enough to you to clone it and get your number.”
He swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. “There’s a comforting thought.”
“You want comfort? Lock yourself up until we catch whoever this is. And even that is no guarantee.” She reached across and touched his hand. “I’m just trying to make you understand all the aspects of this. It’s my job to see that nothing happens to you, and I need your help to do that.”
“I know.” He turned his hand over and wrapped his fingers around hers. “And I’ll do my best not to give you grief.”
“I’ll count on that.” She smiled. “And maybe I have some extra incentive to keep you safe.”
At once memories of what happened in his bedroom came alive in his brain and his cock swelled to painful proportions. He thought it would be great if they could spend all their time in bed. Maybe the stalker would get tired of him. Every word Sam had said to him at lunch was burned into his brain. He knew the connection was there, in spades. But getting her to trust it was another matter altogether, something he planned to work on. He’d take it one day at a time with her and hope like hell when this book signing tour was over and the stalker was history they could make plans for the future.
“What else did Avery have to say?”
“They’ve already eliminated a number of names on the list, especially those people who have daily routines that would be disrupted if they were flying all over the country stalking you.” She swallowed the last bit of her sandwich. “She did say, however, that it was strange that Annemarie Schaefer seemed to have no family at all. Her parents are both dead, she has no siblings—at least that we can find so far—and her mother and father both appeared to be only children.”
