Chapter Forty-six
Waking from a snooze, Charli found the bed empty. She laid there for a few moments, wondering where Blake had disappeared to. The coolness from the air conditioning blasted, driving her to search for her clothes. She found them piled on the floor by the bed.
Before she could dress, Blake appeared with a try of heated Chinese food that smelled like ambrosia. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not leaving yet. We need to eat, talk and make love again. I haven’t come anywhere near to getting enough of that delicious body you flaunt around here all the time.”
Charli let go of her shorts, and instead, she reached for the shirt he’d flung on the floor. “Okay, I’ll just borrow this. The air conditioning is making me cold.”
He stared at her hard nipples poking against the blue material and grinned. “I see that. And so you know, that’s just become my favorite shirt.”
“Down boy. And bring that food over here. I never ate much earlier.”
“Are you kidding me? You were the only one shoveling food into your mouth while the rest of us sat in misery.”
“I never tasted a morsel. Was I that scary?”
“Yep. Like a sixteen-hundred-pound ravenous gorilla in the middle of the room. One nobody wanted to mess with.”
Charli giggled. “You’re exaggerating, shame on you.”
He put the tray on the bed, held his hand over his heart and posed. “On my honor.”
Suddenly serious, she leaned forward, her worry apparent. “I know I was upset, but I never meant to make anyone afraid.”
“Honey, you didn’t just scare them, you… ahh, you terrified them. It was the huge sign written over your behavior that screamed a warning – I’M ON THE EDGE! The others realized they might have been the obstacle that pushed you over. It’s a dreadful scene watching the person you love fighting so hard to keep it together.”
She thought about his words and went to stand. “I need to apologize right now.”
Stopping her, he said, “Don’t. I just checked on everyone and they’re all out for the count. It’s been a crazy day for them too. They need to recuperate. It’ll wait until morning.”
She watched his expression and knew instantly. “Something’s wrong.” She put down the chicken wing she’d snagged and wiped her hands on the napkin he’d thoughtfully added.
“No. Yes. Well—”
“Blake Sebastian, I’m still the agent in charge here. Spill it.”
He handed her the two filled wine glasses before they spilled and snuggled onto the bed beside her, moving the tray between them. Then he chose the fattest chicken wing and held it without taking a bite.
“Can’t we wait until tomorrow before we let reality back in? Trust me, it’s not the end of the world, but the news isn’t good. I promise I’ll explain in the morning. For now, we’re all safe. I have an army of officers positioned around this joint. No one can get past them.”
She stared into his beseeching face and asked, “You promise there’s no immediate danger?”
“None. Tomorrow is soon enough to make some changes. Please, Charli.”
Charli had already heard about the new plans and felt confident that things would work out just fine. “Okay. Tomorrow we’ll move to another state’s safe house, which will make the data he collected null and void.”
Blake turned to the dresser by the bed and reached for his wine, nodding and at the same time speaking words that sounded as if he’d said, “That’s right.”
Charli didn’t like him dodging her gaze while mumbling a nonsensical reply, but she let him get away with it because she’d never enjoyed such a wonderful encounter and she wanted it to last.
Still, her mind did warn…Something’s up.