Page 52 of Jacob

Jacob’s eyes creased a little with stress. He felt he was asking her for a lot. But he wasn’t.

Alex sat up and placed her hand on his chest. “Of course. I don’t want to be a source of stress for anyone. I have plenty on my plate because I’ve begun going back over all of Elias’s reports, dating from a year ago. I downloaded everything before coming to Black Inc. Plus, I’ll be going over the information the Queens will be giving me.” She glanced outside the window. The sky was a slightly lighter shade of gray now, but the clouds were low and sleet pinged against the windows. “Not to mention the fact that the weather is terrible. I’ll stay put, promise.”

“And… a favor?” Jacob asked.

“Of course.” Alex meant it. Anything she could do for him, she would.

Jacob brought out a flexible plastic rectangle from his pocket. He peeled it apart and extracted what looked like a small band aid. “Okay here’s the deal. We all wear these on the backs of our watches. They are transponders, transmitting GPS coordinates, and are unjammable. It’s saved lives and it just might save my sanity. Would you—would you be willing to wear one?”

Alex didn’t answer. Just undid the buckle of her watch and held the watch out to him, face down.

Jacob let out a breath. “Thanks. I think I’d go crazy if I couldn’t know where you were, even though you are going to stay put. Right? And I left a Black Inc. ruggedized cell on the table.”

He pulled back, hands on her shoulders. She nodded. Of course. It made sense to her. When on field trips, everyone could be tracked by their phones. Viruses and bacteria couldn’t mess with cellphones but bad guys could.

Jacob let out a breath.

“We have no idea what the situation is, if someone has clued in to our presence here.” He took her hand and brought it to his mouth. “Go back to sleep if you want to, I just wanted to tell you I’m heading out. Didn’t want you to wake up to an empty bed.”

Going back to sleep. No way. Jacob was going out on a mission. Walking into possible danger. She felt little flutters of panic in her stomach.

Rising, Alex put on the hotel bathrobe and followed Jacob to the door.

“Honey, you don’t have to see me off. I’d just as soon you grab another hour or two of sleep.”

“I—I couldn’t sleep,” Alex said starkly. “Not knowing whether you are in danger or not.” She grabbed the collar of his parka, suddenly terrified. She’d just found him and here he was, walking into possible danger. Life couldn’t take him away just as they’d found each other again, could it? Life couldn’t be that cruel, could it?

Of course it could. Life was cruel. Life killed her parents when she was sixteen. They’d been young, healthy, their whole lives ahead of them and their lives had been snuffed out like a candle in the wind. There were no guarantees.

She clutched his parka, pulling his head down. “You’ll be careful, won’t you? Promise me you’ll be careful.”

She was being foolish, but she couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help this leaden feeling in the pit of her stomach, the dread.

Something in her face must have told him she was truly frightened. He didn’t make fun of her. He just placed his big hands over hers, warm and hard.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised, deep voice serious. “I am the most careful man you’ve ever met. Nick, too. I’ll come back to you. Promise.”

She gulped, suddenly choking, unable to pull in air.Ohmygod.Was it going to be like this every time? For the first time, she realized what she was getting into, being with a man like Jacob, who lived with danger every day. Was she going to be terrified every time he walked out the door?

“What if—” she began but he bent further and kissed her. Hard and deep, a kiss she felt down to her toes. He held her tightly against him, so she could feel how strong he was, how steady.

“I’ll be back,” he said again when he lifted his mouth.

Alex gave a shaky smile. “That’s what Schwarzenegger said.”

“And did he come back?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah, he did.”

“There you go. So will I. I’ll definitely be back.”

He turned and an instant later was out the door.

* * *

Alex’sbare feet hit the floor. She’d been on tiptoe to kiss him. The marble floor felt cold. She felt cold. What to do?

What she always did.

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