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He reached up and slowed the rhythmic moving of her hips. “You got me, baby?”
Her eyes never left his. “Always,” she promised.
Tiffany felt his body clench, and then Ivan tumbled into oblivion. Seconds later, she joined him a third time before collapsing onto his chest. They held each other tightly, reverently, and then slipped away into an exhausted slumber.
*
The morning came too soon, and with it the painful reminder that they were out of time. Like before, they said their goodbyes, and then Tiffany followed Ivan out to his Range Rover.
He laid his forehead on hers. “I’ll call you as soon as I get there,” he promised.
“You’d better,” she said tearfully. “No matter what time it is.”
He picked her up and held her. Both were oblivious to the people staring as they walked by. They kissed a final time before Ivan climbed up into his truck and drove off. She watched until he was gone from sight before walking with heavy steps back into her apartment. She went back to the bed and crawled under the covers. She hugged the bedding tightly, Ivan’s scent still fresh.
*
Somehow Tiffany settled into daily life without Ivan. She learned to cope for the first month with text messages, video chats and telephone calls, but the craving she felt for Ivan was becoming tangible. Her friends tried to get her mind off his absence by inviting her out as often as they could. As he’d promised, Cole kept in constant contact with her. They were having lunch downtown one day when sh
e said, “Have you spoken to Ivan lately?”
“Yep, I spoke with him a week ago.”
“How’d he seem to you?”
“Better now,” he replied. “I told him if he’s going to get his ass kicked every time he goes out of town, he really should think about lowering his health-insurance deductible.”
Tiffany’s fork clattered onto her plate. “What?”
Cole’s gaze snapped to her face. What he saw there made him stifle a curse.
“Cole? What’s happened to Ivan? Tell me,” she said in a voice loud enough to cause other diners to glance over at their table.
“Jeez, I’m sorry, Tiffany. I…I thought he told you. Ivan had a little run-in with some men trying to rob his client at gunpoint. That was a week ago.”
The color drained from her face. “Oh, my God. Cole, how…how little was little?”
“I swear to you that he wasn’t hurt badly, Tiff.”
She let out the breath she was holding.
“In fact, I’m shocked that Ivan didn’t tell you himself.”
“Yeah, me, too,” she whispered.
Tiffany’s worry soon gave way to anger. “How could he keep information from me like that?”
Cole looked decidedly uncomfortable. “I’m not sure, Tiffany, but I know my brother. His methods may be suspect at times, but I’m confident that Ivan was simply trying to protect you.”
She was incredulous. “Protect me?”
“Tiff, it’s his job. It’s what he does. He puts himself in harm’s way to protect others.”
“Yeah, well, who the hell protected him, huh? He’s supposed to have a team, and his plans are supposed to have backups.”
“Tiff, unexpected things happen in the field. Don’t worry. Ivan will be okay.”
“This time, Cole,” she said pointedly. “Ivan will be okay this time. But what about next time?”
