Page 74 of Chain Reaction

“OK, we’ll call him tomorrow.”

Their food arrived and they went quiet and started eating.

—

Elwood went straight to his room when they got back. Reacher and Turner went straight to theirs. It was a standard motel space, similar to every other, honed by decades of industry experience to maximize revenue per square foot, but even so it was trying very hard to be pleasant. There were flower pictures on the walls. It was extremely clean. Most of the colors matched. Reacher took off his heavy jacket and dumped it on a chair. Turner slipped out of hers and laid it on top of his.

She said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Are you going to model the towel for me?”

“No,” she said. “I decided to skip that part.”

She went into the bathroom and closed the door. The water ran. Ten minutes later she came out naked. Reacher was ready for her. Her hair was wet and her skin was slick. They took it slow. Patient, exquisite, tender, exploratory. Reacher’s random life had taught him that every time could be the last time. For anything. A smile, a laugh, a shared glance, an hour in bed, a conversation. He had learned to savor the moment. Everything came to an end. Tomorrow would always be different. Sooner or later she would be gone. Seeing her twice in his life was already a bonus. He couldn’t expect a third chance. His own fault, he knew. He loved solitude but feared loneliness and had never balanced the two. His own deficiency. All he was left with was the here and now. The rare intensity, the rare intimacy, the rare connection. Each of which right then was happening big time. Truly a moment to savor. She rolled on top, eyes closed, breathing hard, maybe just as lost as he was.

Afterward they lay entangled, spent, content, warm and relaxed. He said, “Last night was my fault. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have encouraged you to stay home. I should have respected your workaholic instincts. The house would have been empty.”

“No, I think it helped us,” she said. “Hugo wouldn’t have talked so easily if he hadn’t just gotten fired. Right now we’d still be in the woods, pulling his fingernails out. This was a better way to spend our time.”

“Much better.”

“The downside is now we face a private army instead. I guess last night was a preview. Submachine guns, not semiautomatic pistols.”

“No more yahoos from Denver, no more moonlighting strip club bouncers, or whatever they were. But hey, no big deal. The harder they come, the harder they fall.”

“You’re really not a worrier, are you?”

“Not about things I control.”

“You think you can control a thing like this?”

“I have so far, all my life.”

“I checked on Bisley’s wife. She’s not doing well.”

“What about the kid?”

“She’s a kid. Doesn’t understand. But she’s picking up on the vibe. She cries a lot.”