He’d loved her, damn it. So much. And she’d left him. He’d thought he could win her back. Finally accepted otherwise. And if he couldn’t have her, at least he would have a clean slate to begin a new life with a more malleable woman.
And Baker? Every crime needed a fall guy. The appearance of a murder/suicide between old lovers should satisfy authorities.
The oversize cargo plane straightened out of the turn, lining up with the runway, lower, closer, roaring overhead. Kent watched and waited. Patient.
Persistent.
Chapter 4
Her patience had worn thin.
Mary Elise wanted to call this day over. Now. The cargo plane had finally landed in Charleston, and they were seconds away from exiting the metal cavern that had grown more claustrophobic with each minute closer to the States.
Hitching the sleeping Austin higher on her hip, Mary Elise followed the loadmaster’s lead through the belly of the plane toward the hatch. The remaining hours of the flight had dragged, drawn tight by anxiety over what awaited her once she exited the front gate. What would she do with her life and how would she deal with the possibility that Kent might find her?
Moreover, how would she handle a week alone with Daniel?
She tried to shake off the jangle of emotions. The fear of the unknown had to be worse than reality. Surely once she had a good night’s sleep she could restore her boundaries and do away with the awful vulnerability pricking her insides.
The seal popped and swooshed as the hatch swung open. Her brief nap in the airplane barely made a dent in her weariness. Not that landing put her much closer to crawling into bed and sleeping away the exhaustion and frustration of the past hours. Trey still needed to check in with a doctor about his asthma.
The doctor. Kathleen. The woman who would drop everything just for Danny. Of course if he had someone else in his life, that would free her.
Yeah right, like she’d ever been free of this guy’s ghost. Surely it had more to do with him being her first lover that earned him a special spot in her memories.
Daniel stepped into sight from the stairwell leading up to the cockpit. She eyed the stretch of his shoulders as she made her way toward the exit hatch. What about her spot in his memories? How much importance did she want there?
Daniel pivoted to her. “Let me take the little slugger.”
Austin clung tighter in his sleep, his grip firm around her neck and growing dangerously tight around her heart. “I can carry him.”
“The steps are steep. A tumble will land you both hard.” He leaned to whisper against her ear, his warm breath scented with chocolate and the promise of passion. “Temporary truce. Everything doesn’t have to be a battle between us.”
Score one for Daniel. She passed over the sleeping child and forced herself not to smooth the boy’s tousled curls.
Or the stray lock brushing Daniel’s brow.
Steadying her hand on the metal rail, she descended the steps and inhaled the familiar Southern aromas in front of her mingling with Daniel’s bay rum behind her. The early afternoon sun crested over the band of pine trees and live oaks bordering the stretch of cement. Nostalgia nicked her, the low country of South Carolina so like her Savannah home. A hungry longing filled her to inhale greedy gulps of both the place and the man.
Rubistan’s isolation from temptation had merit.
Mary Elise steeled herself to move forward. The hum of engines from a distant bus, truck and ambulance mingled with the symphony of crickets and June bugs. Autumn in South Carolina resembled the summer heat in many Northern climes. Her silk shirt clung to her back by the time she cleared the last step.
A byproduct of the temperature, damn it, not the lure of home. She had to stop the past from dinging her control.
Guiding a groggy Trey to the side, she waited for Daniel and the others to clear the craft. She flipped a mental switch within herself, shifting from a too-vulnerable woman to analytical reporter mode. She would observe the world around her without getting involved.
One of the copilots, the young guy with a devilish twinkle in his eyes, strutted across the cement, guitar case slung over his back. “Need any help there, sir? I’ve got extra seats in my car.”
He tossed a wink her way, his flirting complimentary without a threatening edge. She allowed herself a smile. Detached, but participating, interacting in normal human exchanges. Something she hadn’t done in so long.
Daniel stepped closer. “No, thanks, Bo. My truck has an extended cab. We’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then. Take it easy, sir.” Bo backed away, morning sun glinting off the copilot’s jet-black hair and perfect features, increasing his fallen-angel air.
Actually more like an impish fallen cherub since the guy was probably all of twenty-five, making Daniel’s hundred-percent adult male hard lines vibrate tension through the air.
Jaw set, Danny cupped her elbow as he guided her toward the waiting crew bus. “Did you want to ride with him?”
Jealousy laced his words. Surprising her. Thrilling her.
“Of course I didn’t.” The answer fell free before she could think to say something that would put more distance between them. Instead she just stared back as the thrill tripped through her, all the while blaming the yearning on a weakness born of exhaustion.
Running footsteps jarred her back to the present. The copilot, Darcy Renshaw, sprinted by toward the waiting military truck. The passenger door opened and a man stepped out, a civilian if his unconventional clothes and spiked hair were anything to go by. His seafoam-colored windbreaker clashed with flowered, knee-length swim trunks. Darcy dropped her flight bag and flung her arms around his neck seconds before he kissed her. Really kissed her, like a man who couldn’t get enough of that one woman.
Screw distance. Analytical observations went up in flames as embers of long-dead dreams sparked. What would it be like to inspire that kind of passion? She and Daniel had been on fire for each other during those uninhibited weeks of lovemaking. But sometimes she wondered if years apart might have painted her memories a deeper shade of red as her discontent in her marriage grew.
Daniel cleared his throat.
Mary Elise glanced up. “They’re married?”
“Nah, still in the newly engaged stage.”
A rush of heat swelled through her. Yeah, she and Daniel had fallen well into that can’t-get-enough engaged state. “Oh. Uh, they seem well suited.”
He patted Austin’s head to soothe the yawning child back to sleep and charged forward, the path past the necking couple the only route toward the waiting ambulance. “They met last summer on a joint mission to Guam.”
“He’s Air Force?” She eyed the man’s nonregulation hair with curiosity, hair currently getting a finger comb from an amorous lady copilot who wasn’t overly concerned about public displays of affection.
“Was CIA. Now he’s a civilian employee with the OSI—Office of Special Investigations. Kind of like the Air Force’s own CIA.” Daniel cleared his throat and urged her forward, not even breaking stride as they drew alongside the embracing couple. “Thanks for your help, Spike. I owe ya one.”
Without slowing the kiss, the man pulled his hand off Darcy Renshaw’s waist and held his palm up for a high-five.
As they strode past, realization crept over Mary Elise. Wren’s spiky-haired boyfriend who looked more like a beach bum than an OSI Special Agent had played a role in the boys’ escape as well.