Her Rogue Russian(36)

 

And she was determined that it would be enough to set him free.

 

"I'm going to get you out of this, Karev."

 

"I know," he murmured. "I trust you."

 

In the distance, Savannah could see Travis and Rebecca Hammersmith hovering in the doorway to Slick Cycles and clutching one another. Thankfully, neither appeared to be hurt. As Travis spoke to one of the medics, Rebecca's eyes sought them out in the crowded parking lot and fixated on them. She frowned in confusion, arching an eyebrow at Savannah's FBI getup, but before anything could be conveyed between them, Agent Andrews stepped back into view.

 

"All right." He both looked and sounded shaken, but the skin around his eyes clenched as he summoned his resolve. "I've still got a job to do, and I'm still taking you in. Move it, Karev," he ordered.

 

Savannah moved first. Before Tom could say or do anything else to spoil the moment, she rocked forward on her toes and grasped Maxim's face between her hands. She smoothed her fingers through the overgrowth of stubble that shadowed his chiseled jaw, relishing a last, stolen moment together-then, in full view of everyone watching, she raised herself up to meet him. Maxim leaned forward, bowing his head in submission.

 

Their lips met, soft and warm and wonderfully alive.

 

Savannah smiled into the kiss, and thought she could hear Rebecca let out a cheer in the distance. Closer to home, she heard Tom Andrews mutter an oath of disbelief, but he did nothing immediate to break them apart. Only when she allowed her lips to linger longer than was strictly necessary, and ran her hand suggestively along the angle of Maxim's jaw-only when the Russian shifted his body close enough to brush against the front of hers-only then did Agent Andrews grab for the arm of his suspect and pull him back.

 

"Jesus. All right, break it up you two," Tom ordered. Savannah rocked back and planted herself once more, watching as another enforcer steered her lawless lover away from her. Maxim cast a hooded look over his shoulder, letting her know in no uncertain terms just what he intended to do to her once he was released from custody.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

Now, it was up to her to ensure he could make good on his silent promise.

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

 

 

 

 

Maxim

 

 

 

 

For the second time in as many months, Maxim Karev found himself behind bars.

 

He leaned against the front of his cell, forearms dangling loosely through the iron slats of his cage, watching Savannah Casillero yell at her supervisor through the viewing window into the other room.

 

Nothing much had changed, he reflected, except the depth of his relationship with the woman it was against every rule for him to want. He took in the scene before him now, watching it play out as if viewing a favorite television show on mute: the leading woman, a sexy and intrepid underling, taking her older male boss to task. Savannah waved her arms, pointed vehemently; contorted her lovely face in fury and flashed her pearl-white teeth, trading smiles with angry grimaces in rapid succession. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a tight, controlled ponytail, although Maxim noticed a few curls had sprung loose over the course of her argument with the director.

 

He thought he had never been more in love with her than he was in that moment.

 

I might just wind up married to the future head of the FBI, he mused as he watched Savannah wheel away from the discussion suddenly and slam back through the door to the block. Sergey is probably turning over in his grave. Good. The old man can sleep as lightly as the rest of his sons until we manage to bring his killer to justice.

 

"Good news," she said as she approached his holding cell. Maxim backed off from the bars a bit, only far enough to grasp them in his hands and lean into the space that Savannah would soon occupy. She stopped short in front of him, arms crossed loosely over her breasts. Her face was close enough to his that no one watching could mistake them for being anything less than intimate.

 

"How much did you tell them?" Maxim asked curiously, but Savannah dismissed his question with a shake of her head.

 

"All charges against you have been dropped-but there's a caveat. We want you onboard as an official FBI consultant." She shifted her weight to one hip as she awaited his response. It amused Maxim that Savannah wanted to negotiate without first letting him out of his cell.

 

"My first priority is still finding my father's killer," he reminded her. "I won't stop until he's brought to justice."