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When he intensified the kiss, everything else fled her mind. Her knees buckled as he swirled his tongue around her mouth, driving her crazy with his own unique flavor--a flavor she found herself craving more and more.
After breaking off the kiss, he captured her face in his hands and stared down at her for several long moments, as if he was about to say something. But then, he simply dropped his hands, turned and left.
Wow… She couldn’t seem to move, although she had to go into the kitchen and take their dinner out of the bags. If that kiss was priming her for what was to come later, she was all in. If things were different, and her life wasn’t in danger, she would even surprise him when he came back by already being naked.
She shook her head. With Roland, their relationship wasn’t just physical—it was emotional as well. Each day they spent together, she got to know him better and was starting to understand the way he lived his life…and the rules he’d put in place for himself. After all, she’d gone through a similar experience when she’d lost DeWalt.
One of the things she’d learned when she’d attendedGrief Anonymouswas that men grieved differently, and usually harder, than women. Men generally needed more time to discover their ‘safe place’, their new normal. For the longest time, she hadn’t thought she would ever find such a place for herself, because DeWalt had been such an important part of her life. He’d been her first serious boyfriend.
Neither one of them had ever doubted that they’d share a life together, and so there hadn’t been any need to rush things. They’d wanted to concentrate on building their careers before settling down and getting married. For them, marriage was the final step in the process.
Of course, neither of them had considered that one of them would die before taking that final step. When DeWalt’s life had ended, she’d thought hers had as well.
She thought back to Becca Summers and the way she’d died, fighting to give her husband another chance at life. Her actions proved her love for her husband and sealed her fate. So a part of Lennox understood Roland’s guilt and the extent of his grief. And though she knew he had friends, she could tell there was a part of him that he kept closed, even to them. She supposed they’d accepted his reticence and let him be.
But she wasn’t about to do that. She was determined to break down some of those walls he’d built around himself…and his heart.
Why she felt so strongly about it, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because she felt she owed him. After all, if it hadn’t been for him, she would be dead right now.
But she’d realized one thing, during their time together--that though a part of Roland had died years ago, he still had a lot of life to live. And she, more than most, believed in second chances.
And if anyone deserved a second chance at happiness, it was him. But would he take it? It didn’t necessarily have to be with her, but hopefully, by the end of their adventure, he would have realized that there was more to life than meaningless sex. So much more.
Her father and grandmother had always told her she could achieve anything, if she put her mind to it, and now Roland Summers headed the list.
Whatever it took, she wanted to help him live again.
• • •
Clearwater picked up the phone, listening. “You sure about that, Holley?”
“Positive. There’s just one thing. When things go down, my FBI friends might figure things out and connect me. So I need to blow this town and have to have some money to do it.”
“No problem. You’ll have it in your account within the hour. When do you plan to leave?” Clearwater asked, rubbing his chin.
“Tonight.”
“Headed where?”
“South America.”
“Well, take care of yourself. It was nice doing business with you. Peace out.”
Clearwater disconnected the call and shook his head. He liked Holley. Too bad he was going to have to kill him. Holley knew way too much and with his ties to the FBI, he was a liability Clearwater didn’t need.
He punched a number into his phone and when a gruff voice answered he said, “I got a job for you.”
A short while later, he placed another call, this one to Meadows. The boss would be happy to hear they’d discovered the location of Dr. Roswell and her bodyguard. And he’d be surprised—and thrilled—to find out they were thesame two people who’d busted his human trafficking ring. The news would definitely make Meadows’s day and put Clearwater at the top of his list to move up in the ranks. Hell, he might even make him his number two man.
Clearwater smiled at just the thought of that.
ROLAND DISCONNECTED THE PHONEafter he’d spoken with Stonewall, Striker and Quasar. All three were still at the office and had reported that things were running just fine without him. They’d stated, quite vehemently, that the only thing he should worry about was keeping Lennox safe.
None of them had liked hearing that they were spending the night in one of the FBI’s safehouses. Given that there was still a leak in the agency—the person who’d planned the roadblock massacre just weeks ago still hadn’t been identified--the less the Bureau knew about their whereabouts, the better.
He agreed with them, but at this point, there weren’t any options. Besides, it was just for tonight. And he had programmed the Jeep to relay a signal to him if anyone, in another vehicle or on foot, came within a two-mile radius of the cabin. That would give him and Lennox time to prepare.
He hadn’t told Lennox about all the Jeep’s capabilities. It was a test model Dak had created for the government--one equipped with some of the most advanced technology imaginable. It had been built for military use, mainly for international covert operations. If the SUV they’d had earlier could be considered a smart-car, the Jeep was a rolling genius, a brilliant work of machinery. He’d been one of the few people who’d been there when Dak had done a test run last year.
