The Throwbacks

by Stephanie Queen

  “We’ll all be going outside, miss. Grace, is it?” Junior said with a flattering smile.

  “Oh, of course.” She smiled back with a distracted look and nodded at David.

  They all trooped down the hall, through the cavernous storage area and out the door on the opposite side of the building where he and Dan had entered. The three prisoners were being escorted by the police and Dan had Theresa. David walked alone. He watched the young FBI agent hold Grace’s elbow while they walked. To her credit, she kept peeking back at him with that charmingly adoring smile she had. The man spoke to her, but David couldn’t hear what was said. It looked like flirting to him. He’d better not be a married man, David thought.

  Chapter 20

  ONCE outside, David’s cell phone rang and he answered it.

  “All is well?” Oscar asked.

  David looked around in the darkness lit by only a streetlight here and there, a quarter moon and a sprinkling of stars. Sure enough, he spotted Oscar’s car parked across the road a ways down, although he didn’t see Oscar in the car. Of course not.

  “No thanks to you. What the hell happened?”

  “It’s your fault, not mine. She went after you and nothing short of a bullet was going to stop her,” Oscar said.

  David would be damned if he didn’t hear smug amusement in his friend’s voice.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll deal with that shortly,” David said and before Oscar could reply further, he pushed the off button. It was his decision, and he wasn’t interested in hearing Oscar’s—or anyone else’s—take on his relationship with Grace. Not even Grace had a say in his decision.

  Tonight proved that, like his wife, she’d have a better chance at remaining alive without him. That was the most important thing, after all.

  Oscar’s car backed away without the benefit of headlights as David watched. Dan directed the herding of the criminals into cars, and a scraggly-looking man approached from the shadows.

  “Hello, Nick,” David said over the hubbub.

  The man grinned and nodded his head as he approached the scene in his normal stride and with the posture as opposite of a street person as one could get. He flashed his ever-ready badge when FBI Junior eyed him. He was still talking to Grace, who was looking at David from under her luscious lashes every ten seconds.

  David decided to intervene. He walked over to them and put his hand at the small of her back, and gave the junior agent a bland smile.

  “How about if you and the BPD take Ms. Rogers’s statement in the morning?” he said.

  “No can do. We have a press conference in the morning. We’re going to need your report right away too,” FBI Junior said.

  “What? Oh.” Grace frowned. She backed away a step from the FBI man and closer into David’s embrace. He felt her warmth instantly, and the smell of her made him dizzy, as if he were drunk on her mere proximity.

  God, he loved this woman.

  So that was it. His body tensed and his mind blanked. Blood roared with the adrenaline of warring emotions from incredulity to despair to euphoria. But his years of training didn’t let him down. There was no outward sign and his mouth still worked. He chuckled coolly.

  “Don’t worry, Grace. I’ll arrange a reprieve for us with the chief—or the mayor if need be. We’ll be delivering Theresa back to her fiancé, the lieutenant governor, momentarily. We’ll have the mayor, or perhaps even the governor if you insist, meet us there to decide on how and when to proceed with statements,” David said.

  FBI Junior scowled instead of answering and Dan came over with the senior FBI agent, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge—fondly known as the ASAC.

  “We ready to bring Theresa back to our makeshift headquarters in your hotel room?” Dan asked.

  David spared a glance at the junior agent, who rolled his eyes and nodded.

  “I’ll drive back with Grace in her car,” David told Dan.

  Dan and the ASAC raised their brows.

  “She drove here? I thought she was a kidnap victim,” the ASAC said.

  “You’ll get it all in a statement—don’t worry.” Dan ushered the man to his car, where Theresa waited in the back seat talking animatedly on the phone. She waved to him and Grace as they walked by.

  David thought it was one thing to keep all his emotions at bay when he had people around, but as they walked to the car where he’d be alone with her, a mix of adoration and anxiety surfaced and threatened to change his mind.

  He brought her around to the passenger door and helped her inside.

  “You’re driving?” she said in a squeak.

  “Yes, I think I’d like to be the one driving tonight. You’ve done enough already.” He closed her door. She’d done plenty, and she didn’t even know half of it. He went around and got in the driver’s seat, pushing the seat back as far as it would go. She looked worried and handed him the keys. He realized she was quiet and that was not at all like her.

  “Don’t worry—I know how to drive,” he said and winked. Such a small thing, but it worked. She smiled and leaned over, wrapping her arms around him and enveloping him in her scented warmth.

  “Oh, David, I was so worried about you. No, it was more than that. I was terrified that I’d never see you again. I’m sorry I followed you to the warehouse,” she breathed the words in the vicinity of his ear, giving him chills. Then she straightened. “But I would do it again in a flash.”

  He shook his head at her logic—which scarily enough he understood—and started the car. Her words sank in and settled like a gray fog of gloom around him. She was worried she would never see him again, and he was going to tell her exactly that. He didn’t want to see her again.

  Perhaps “want” was the wrong word.

  At the same time her words confirmed the rightness of his decision. He couldn’t imagine her following him around Boston on every investigative assignment, and in particular the dangerous ones.

  “What are you smiling about?” she said.

  He hadn’t realized he was smiling.

  “I was imagining you following me all around Boston on every investigative assignment I have in the future. I guess on some level the thought was amusing. But Grace.” He glanced at her as he pulled around the corner onto School Street, to the valet parking entrance covered by the blood-red awning at the Parker House Hotel. “It was a dangerous and therefore extremely foolish thing to do. If anything happened to you—I can’t have it on my conscience—I have enough burden there already.”

  She gasped. “Your wife. You feel like the danger would lead to something awful and it would be like your wife all over again.”

  She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck just as the valet opened her door. He looked at the valet over her shoulder and nodded, holding up his index finger to indicate a moment. He felt her softness and her murmuring of reassurances to him, of all things, and decided he could indulge in embracing her in return. This one last time.

  They could spend this one last night together—but he had to tell her it was their last night and let her decide. That was about as noble as he could force himself to be right now, with his beautiful, loving Grace in his arms.

  They returned to their hotel and she rushed ahead of him to their room, ignoring the abundance of uniformed policemen littering the hallway outside the door. David was only a step behind her.

  “No need to hurry, Grace. That was Dan’s car out front. I’m afraid we’ve missed Theresa and Rick’s reunion,” he said.

  She was too excited to slow down now. She pushed through the partially open door and charged into the room until she stood in the middle and had everyone’s full attention. Then she gestured behind her.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the hero of the day—the man who rescued not one, but two damsels in distress. He cracked the murder and smuggling cases too while he was at it.” She turned to David, fully expecting his cool reception to her over the top introduction and was pleased that the room instantly f
illed with clapping and shouts of congratulations. Rick immediately rose, and he and Nick met David in the middle of the room and shook his hand. Grace noticed Dan’s smug smile of approval and the teasing glint in his eye as he exchanged looks with David. Theresa wedged her way in and embraced her hero in a generous hug. Pixie jumped from the couch and rushed to her side to give her a quick hug too.

  “You’re all too generous. The entire Boston Police Department and its erstwhile chief deserve the credit, as you know—not to mention the FBI and I.C.E.” David nodded his head in the direction of the ASAC who’d accompanied Dan to their room.

  “He’s right, of course,” the ASAC said. “I hate to cut into the revelry of the homecoming, and understandably you folks are tired and want to put this all behind you. But we need to get our statements tonight. Dan and I agreed that we can get joint statements down at his office right now to get this over with.”

  “Yes,” Dan confirmed. “And tomorrow morning we’ll have a press conference that’ll include your office, Rick—I spoke to the governor—the mayor of course, me, David, an agent from ICE and the FBI. I don’t think I’m leaving anyone out.”

  Grace couldn’t help but feel like she was being left out. She wasn’t sure if he didn’t acknowledge her unofficial role in the fiasco because it was unofficial or if it was because he didn’t want to encourage her crime-solving tendencies. David disentangled himself from his well-wishers, and the blue uniforms started leaving the room with their gear packed up.

  “Don’t worry, Grace. I’ll tell everyone who’ll listen that I couldn’t have done it without your help—and Oscar’s help too, for that matter.” David placed his possessive arm around her with his hand in its comfortable spot just above the rise of her derriere.

  “How can you do that without—”

  “I may not mention either of you by name, but I will give you both full credit.” He smiled at her open mouth as she closed it and licked her lips.

  Dan ushered Rick and Theresa toward the door, with Nick and Pixie following. Grace looked around at the dwindling crowd and wasn’t sure if she was thrilled or bereft. Working on the case and being protected by David had been the thrill of her lifetime, but it had been the scariest time too.

  Dan turned to David when he reached the door. “I’ll see you in my office within the hour?”

  “Grace and I will be there. I’m already composing my report in my head,” David said and turned back to her with a teasing glint. “I’m not so sure what the devil Grace is going to have to say, but I’m sure it will be interesting for us all to hear,” he said.

  Dan, Rick and Nick all laughed, but Theresa looked concerned.

  “You’re not in any trouble, are you, Grace? Is she, Dan?”

  “No, I’m sure she’ll be fine—as long as David is looking out for her,” Dan said.

  They all trooped out the door with what little energy they had left. It looked to Grace like Theresa was propping Rick up and Nick was propping up Theresa. Pixie gave her a wave and a wink before disappearing over the threshold.

  The door closed and the goose bumps of anticipation rose on every centimeter of her skin. She’d been waiting for this moment for, well, seemingly all her life, now that it was here.

  This was the moment she would finally get to tell a man that he was the love of her life.

  “You have that look in your eyes, Grace,” he said in a quiet voice as he stared back at her with what she guessed was the same look—adoring.

  “I do?”

  “Yes. But I have one more thing to do before we have a long overdue tête-à-tête. I have to call Mabel. I promised I’d call her as soon as I’d returned from the mission unscathed—her words.”

  “And what would you have done if you’d returned scathed?” she asked, trying to keep the squeak from her voice. It should’ve been be easy to talk about it now that all was well, but she felt a lump where it wasn’t supposed to be all the same.

  He laughed his gentleman’s laugh that crinkled his eyes and rolled down his throat in an easy, thrilling sound that was no less sincere for all its controlled verve. She felt the goose bumps rise again and then hiccupped, as he tapped out all seven digits of Mabel’s phone number and waited for her to answer.

  “Yes, Aunt Mabel—it’s me—your difficult nephew back in one piece. You’ve lost whatever bet you may have placed on my early demise,” he said with his easy smile and a very satisfied manner. Grace could hear Mabel laugh and then call him some names before insisting that he come by for dinner the next night no matter what else he might have planned.

  “I couldn’t think of a better place to be. Yes, she’s here. I’ll be sure to remind her of the dinner invitation to her as well. Goodnight, my loving aunt,” he said and tossed the phone aside. The smile he wore was not a big one, but it was…she couldn’t put her finger on it…

  “You’re happy,” she said.

  That made him grin. “Yes. For this one brief and shining moment, I am happy. Case solved—and as you so kindly pointed out to all, not one, but two damsels in distress rescued. And spending the night with my best girl.” He ended in a near whisper and a most serious look, bringing both arms around her and pressing her close, but not squeezing. It felt like he was stopping short of seduction and she wasn’t sure why. Wasn’t sure she wanted to know why. But she had to know.

  “What is it David?”

  “I adore you.”

  She believed him, but instead of the tingling sensation of excitement, dread suffused her.

  “I sense you have more to say.” She automatically folded her arms across her chest and stepped back, leaving his embrace.

  He sighed. Her goose bumps multiplied. She held herself in check, though, striving to match his control.

  “We’re not meant to be together,” he said and stepped closer to sift his fingers through her curls. She remained steady, but he was killing her. She didn’t dare speak now.

  “I’d love more than anything to have this one night together, but it would be unfair to you—to both of us. Because it would be that much sadder to say good-bye in the morning.” He paused.

  She continued to play mute. Speechless didn’t begin to cover what he was doing to her, though. She felt as if she’d lost all power to function. She was frozen. She’d never felt this numbness before, and she didn’t like it one bit. A corner of her mind wondered if he’d felt this way when he lost his wife. That thought snapped her back to life as she listened to him.

  “You need to move on and live your life. Start your family. We’re heading in different directions. I wish I were twenty years younger so I could give you that white picket fence and brood of children that I know you want.” He smiled kindly.

  She opened her mouth in surprise. She never remembered telling him about her white picket fence fantasy.

  “You telegraph your dreams in every wave of your warmth. You never had to tell me. It’s what you were meant for. I, on the other hand, was never meant to be a suburban family man. There’s nothing more remote from my experience than that existence. Even if I would consider it—for you—alas, I can’t turn the clock back.”

  “Are you serious? Do you think just because you’ve fooled yourself into thinking it’s all about our ages and having a family—that I believe you? Because I don’t care about the white picket fence dream anymore. You were right. I wanted that once upon a time, but not now. I want you more than any girlhood dream.”

  “That’s easy to say now, but—”

  “No buts. I know the real reason that you’re turning me away in spite of your feelings for me.” She stopped. She was making a leap. What if she was wrong? She looked at his face, and he was waiting for her to go on. She saw real pain there. She was right.

  “You are afraid of losing someone again—especially because you feel responsible for your wife’s death because of the dangers involved in your career—no, make that your life’s work.” She unfolded her arms and moved toward him when she saw him flinch. />
  “I won’t say there isn’t some truth in what you say, Grace.” He held her and murmured in her ear. Tears welled, but she held them back. She refused to give up on him. She refused to hold anything back because he was the one. He was the love of her life.

  “It’s more complicated than that—my marriage was never what…what I would have wished for.”

  “You mean it wasn’t a love match?”

  “More like a fondness match. In truth, I can say now that I was too in love with my ‘life’s work,’ as you put it. But either way, I can’t move forward with our relationship, Grace. It wouldn’t work. Your fear for my safety today confirmed for me that it would be impossible for you to tolerate my, shall we say, life as Batman, as much as I am unsuited to do anything else.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, but a tear leaked out. All could not possibly be lost, she thought. She backed up and looked up at him.

  “David, I love you. You are the love of my life.” She begged him with her eyes to not turn her away.

  “I know, sweetheart. I’m falling for you impossibly hard. It would be far worse if we become any more entangled and hurt each other later.”

  Noodles jumped up and she looked down at her. Then she remembered what he said about tonight.

  “What about tonight? It would be too sad to think that we might never make love,” she whispered, barely getting the words out past the lump in her throat that she was sure was her heart. If he was offering her this one night, she could put everything else out of her mind. She blinked the lone tear away. She put the dog aside and fell into his arms and against the strong solid length of him with her hands holding his dear face. She wanted to own this face. She would make it hers forever in her mind’s eye—if that was all she was to have.

  She tried to swallow.

  “You’re sure?” he whispered in his one last half-hearted attempt to be gallant, and that almost caused another tear to leak. Instead, she moved closer and nodded as she nuzzled his neck, taking in the scent of him.