provocative thing to do, and she knew it. For the first time in so
very long, actually, longer than she could remember, she allowed
herself to enjoy what was happening here.
He didn’t say anything, then suddenly he pulled her tightly
against him again. He was rubbing his big hands up and down her
back. His breathing was sharp, ragged. “I was scared to death when
you were in that damned gym parking lot. When he shot that dart
at you, Savich had to just about sit on me. I knew I shouldn’t move,
shouldn’t yell like a banshee, but it was hard just staying still, watching
you, damned hard. In fact, it was about the hardest thing I’ve
ever had to do in my blessed life.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, holding her loosely now.
His warm breath feathered over her skin. “Oh, yeah, I was married
once. It was a long time ago. Her name was Vivie. Everything was
okay for a while, then it just wasn’t. She didn’t want kids and I did.
But I’m not serious about anyone else. It’s just you, Becca. Just you.”
“That’s nice,” she said and yawned against his shoulder. Then she
bit his neck, then kissed where she’d bitten him. “I wish you were
naked.” To his immense credit, he didn’t do anything other than
shake a bit. “This is very close, Becca. My fingers are actually itching
they want to touch you so much. But this is your father’s
house. We can’t. Hey, how would you like to go out in the backyard,
maybe we could take a couple of blankets?”
“Out from under the parental roof?”
“That’s it. Oh yeah, for sure we could wave to the FBI agents
that are scattered around.” He sighed deeply, kissed her ear, and
sighed again. “My molecules are even horny.”
Becca sighed and rested her hand on his chest. His heart was
pounding hard and fast beneath her palm. She arched up and kissed
his throat, then eased back in the circle of his arms. “Not fair at all.
I mean, the shirt you’re wearing is nice but I would love to kiss
your chest, maybe even run my hands down over your belly.”
He shuddered, drew quickly away from her, and rose. “I’ve been
feeling your breasts against me and it’s driving me nuts. Now, since
we can’t be wicked the way I would like, I’ve got to get out of here.
I just can’t take any more. I’d like to try but I know it wouldn’t
work. Good night. I’ll see you in the morning. I might be a bit
late. I’ve got to go home and do some stuff.” And he was gone. Her
bedroom door closed very quietly behind him.
She sat there on her bed, hugging her knees. So suddenly her
life had changed. And in all this nightmare, she’d found herself a
man she hadn’t believed could even exist. His first wife, Vivie, had
had peas for brains. She hoped that Vivie–silly name–lived as far
away as Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was a good enough distance
away.
Soon enough, of course, Krimakov intruded. She wanted to
shoot him, just point a gun at his chest and fire. She wanted him
gone, into oblivion, so he couldn’t ever hurt anyone again.
The next day, at precisely noon, when Governor Bledsoe of
New York -was walking his dog, Jabbers, in his protected garden, a
sniper shooting from a distance of at least fifteen hundred feet
nailed his dog right through the folds of his neck. Jabbers was
rushed to the vet and it looked like he would survive, just like his
master had.
Thomas turned slowly to his daughter, the two of them alone in
the house. “This is over the top. It’s just too much. Damnation, he
shot the dog in the neck. Unbelievable. At least the sick bastard
isn’t here.”
“But why did he do it?” Becca said. “Why?”
“To laugh at us,” Thomas said. “To make this big joke. He wants
us to know just how invincible he is, how he can do anything he
wants to and get away with it. How he’s here and then he’s there,