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Sort of like an old married couple...an old married couple under a death threat.
She turned her head and nibbled on Jack's salty shoulder, still damp with sweat. "Are you watching the TV or sleeping?"
He turned from the news story about the leader of a new African nation restored to power, and traced the curve of her hip. "I'm still awake."
"It's not that late." She craned her head over her shoulder to peer at the illuminated numbers on the alarm clock. "Feels like we packed a lot into one night."
"Storing up for the future?"
"What does that mean?" She shifted her position to get a clear view of Jack's face.
He lifted a lock of her hair with the tip of his finger and pressed it against his lips. "We don't know what the future holds for us, do we?"
"Who does?" She snatched her hair from his grasp, her heart lurching painfully in her chest. "Do you regret this? Us?"
"The physical act of having sex?" He snorted. "How could I? You're...we're...unbelievable."
"Then what?" She tugged at the covers, suddenly feeling exposed.
"There's something more going on here than the gymnastics in bed."
"Yeah, the gymnastics on the couch."
"Stop." He pressed two fingers against her lips. "You give too much of yourself."
She brushed his hand away in irritation. "Do you think I made love with you for your benefit alone? I guess you didn't hear the noises coming out of my mouth."
He grinned. "Not only did I hear you, but I think the neighbors a mile down the road heard you, too."
"So what's the problem? Believe me, I got as much out of our...uh...encounter as you did."
"I gathered that." He tapped her chest. "But you're thinking with your heart, and I'm thinking with another important part of my anatomy, and neither of us is looking at the future with any clarity."
"And I think you talk too much." She didn't want to examine the future with Jack. It stretched on the other side of this adventure and Gabe's ultimate rescue like a deep abyss.
She'd figured once they'd determined Jack didn't have a wife or girlfriend, they'd be home free. But the reality of his situation kept throwing darts at their enjoyment of each other.
Her phone lit up and buzzed on the nightstand. She swept it off, happy to avoid the conversation with Jack, and checked the display. Restricted.
"Hello?"
"Is this the number for Jack Coburn?" The clipped voice made her want to snap to attention.
"It is."
"This is Colonel Frank Scripps. Some woman left me a rather cryptic message this afternoon."
She swung around toward Jack, gesturing wildly at the phone and hit the button for speaker. "Yes, I did, Colonel Scripps."
"Would you like to tell me what you meant?"
She raised her brows and Jack nodded. "I'll let someone else explain."
Jack's head pounded. He recognized the Colonel's voice. How could he have ever forgotten it? How could he have ever forgotten him?
He took the phone and held it between him and Lola. "Colonel? It's Jack."
The Colonel choked and then cursed. "Jack! You're alive."
"Last time I checked."
"God, it's good to hear your voice. What happened to you? Why no contact? Did your mission go south?"
"You could say that." He grabbed a pillow and crushed it against his chest. "I took a tumble down a mountainside and lost my memory."
The Colonel let loose with a stream of obscenities. "That's one of the craziest damned stories I ever heard out of any of you. And I've heard plenty."
"You don't know the half of it. I just remembered you this morning and remembered the code phrase. Why am I a wanted man, Colonel? How'd that story get out that I'd betrayed my country and stolen the formula for myself?"
"I have no idea. I didn't believe it for a minute." The Colonel let out an audible breath. "Have you, have you contacted anyone else since regaining your memory?"
"It's not all there for me yet. Still have some black holes. You're the first and only person I've contacted."
"Good. Keep it that way for now. Where are you? Who is the woman who called me?"
"I'm in Miami...for now." Habit kept Jack's lips sealed about the details of Lola's involvement. He remembered very clearly not revealing everything to the Colonel during the Prospero years.
