No Rules(111)

“No. In fact, I’m not going to do those.”

“What, no more Gordon Groundhog and the Safety Patrol?”

“Afraid not.” She followed him into the living room as she talked. “Kids need to be aware of safety, but they need other things, too. As it turns out, so do I. I’m planning a series of adventure books, starting with one about the tombs of ancient Egypt.” She blushed a little but couldn’t resist telling him the rest. “I’ve booked a trip back to Luxor in April. For research, but also for pleasure. I’m staying with Hakim and his daughter and grandson.”

He’d smiled when she mentioned the books, but now he laughed outright. “That’s great. Jess, you never fail to amaze me.” He grabbed her into a hug and she was suddenly suffused with heat at being so close to him. She hugged him back, fitting her head against his shoulder and inhaling the familiar scent of his aftershave, realizing with a sharp pang how much she’d missed it.

He broke the hug and stepped back, but not before smoothing his hand over her hair with a strangely wistful look. But their hug had broken through the awkwardness she’d felt, and she didn’t want to let that emotional distance creep between them again.

“For heaven’s sake, Tyler, let me take your coat. It’s warm in here.”

She reached for his lapels, but he placed his hands over hers and lowered them. He held her fingers securely as he looked into her eyes, all the laughter gone. “Maybe you’d better hear what I have to say first. Then you can decide if you want me to stay.”

She frowned with concern that he thought something he said could make her tell him to leave. Unless…She froze. “Tyler, you didn’t leave another dead body in my garage, did you?”

His lip quirked up. “No, no dead bodies.”

“Okay, then. What is it?”

He let go of her then, paced restlessly in a circle and ran a hand through his hair. “I rehearsed this a dozen different ways, and I still don’t know how to say it. I never thought I’d have to.”

His nervousness made her uneasy. “You sound so serious.”

“I’ve never been more serious.”

She swallowed, hoping no one had died. “You can tell me anything Tyler.”

He studied her then took a resigned breath. “Remember when we were on our way back to Chicago and you asked me about what I’d be doing next? I told you I didn’t know if I was ready to take over Evan’s position as director.”

She nodded. That had been at least eight weeks ago.

“Well, another mission came along while I was trying to decide, so I took it. I was in South America. I can’t say where. An exec of some big oil company was taken hostage, along with his family. We thought it would take about a week to scope things out and rescue them, but there were problems. We were given some bad info, and the mission almost turned into a disaster. It doesn’t usually happen, but this time it did. I was held by some drug runners for a week. They thought I was CIA, which is not a popular thing to be down there. They probably would have killed me if not for some quick thinking by my team members.”

“Oh, Tyler.” Cold ran through her like ice water. “Did they hurt you?”

“A minor bullet wound. It wasn’t serious in itself, but the resulting infection was pretty bad.”

“Oh my God. Where is it? Are you in pain?” She couldn’t help it; she reached out and gripped his coat sleeve as if touching him would ease her distress. It did, a little.

He pried her hand loose, but didn’t release it. Stroking her fingers, he said softly, “I’m okay, Jess. It was in my leg, and it’s healed now.” He looked down at her hand in his and twined their fingers together in a firm grip. She squeezed hard in return, smiling with relief. Whatever was worrying him, she still had his friendship.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. “But I can’t believe you came so close to death and I never knew. I would have…” She left it hanging. She didn’t know what she would have done.

“You couldn’t have done a thing. That’s the tough part for people waiting back home.”

She imagined the panic and fear, with no information to ease her worries. Like when her dad had been held hostage, but worse. Much worse. “I would have been scared to death for you,” she admitted.

“I know.” It sounded apologetic, as if she’d reprimanded him.

“Weren’t you scared?”

“I don’t know, it’s not important. Jess, listen.” He grabbed her other hand, keeping them both in a tight hold. “All I could think about during that week was how much you meant to me, and how much I enjoyed our time together.”