Page 43 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

“Okay,” she whispered and, slipping her fingers into his thick, messy hair, pulled him close and kissed him with far more than tenderness or affection, though they were there too, mingled with fear and attraction and a touch of desperation. His free hand touched her waist and she felt a little electric thrill spiral through her. They were on the cusp of something neither of them condoned, with no idea how to stop, when the sound of crunching gravel finally broke through the haze.

Celeste lurched back, giving his chest a little shove as she struggled for oxygen. “Someone’s here.”

“What?” Sam murmured, smoothing his thumb over her bottom lip as he stared at it.

“People. People are here.” She reached for her gun and checked it and he finally snapped to attention.

“Why are you always armed when I caress you?” he demanded. She laughed and he smiled, softening. “And why do these newcomers have the worst timing in the world?”

Celeste wasn’t certain if it was the worst timing or the best. She and Sam had definitely been on a runaway train to nowhere good, and she was both glad and sad for the reprieve. Did she want to have a fling with Sam? She had never decided, but she knew it was something she needed to think about before anything else happened between them. There should be logic and discussion and no soft lips involved whatsoever.

“Oh, no,” Sam said, staring at the mirror in his visor. “It’s them.”

“Who?” Celeste asked. Had the cowboy from before followed them home and brought backup? And why was she absurdly hopeful that was the case?Better to deal with it now than let it linger.

“Them. The team. It might be her.” He squeezed his eyes closed.

“Her who?” she asked, still a bit dazed from the kiss.

“Herwho. My ex. It could be her and her husband. Would The Colonel be that cruel?”

“To you, maybe. Probably not to her.”

He relaxed, nodding. “Right, yes. No one can be cruel to her. It’s impossible.” He took a breath.

Celeste tossed him a scowl he missed. She wasn’t jealous. Shewasn’t. But no one could be as angelic as he made his ex out to be. It was, to borrow his word, impossible.

She holstered her gun and stepped from the car, squinting again in the bright sun/snow mix. At first she didn’t recognize the man who stepped from the other car, caught in the glare as he was, but as he came closer her smile grew until it beamed.

“Leo,” she called, waving like Maybe had earlier. She had always liked Leo and she hadn’t seen him in years, way too long.

“Celeste,” he returned, sounding equally as happy to see her. They didn’t hug, of course, former marine and soldier they were, but they did clasp hands mid-air, sort of an affectionate high five.

“So you know him,” Sam said, and was it Celeste’s imagination or did he sound a bit testy?

“We go back a ways,” Celeste said. “Wow, how long now?”

“Marrakesh, October 24th, fourteen years ago,” a woman said, and now everyone turned to face her. She had been so still and silent no one noticed her at first. Now she stood beside Leo, tempering his wild energy with her steady presence. They were like panther and keeper, Celeste thought, smiling wryly to herself.

Leo put his arm around the woman’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “This is Esther. Esther, this is Celeste and, I presume, Sam.”

“No,” Sam said testily. “I’m the other terrorist she keeps on standby for occasions such as these.”

“Reformed terrorist,” Esther amended and Sam beamed.

“I like her very much,” he said.

“Me, too,” Leo said, giving her another squeeze. His glance slid to the house. “Is it okay if we go inside?”

“Sure,” Celeste said, jumping to attention with a flutter. These were the first guests she’d had—Sam didn’t count, foisted on her without notice as he’d been. What if they thought the house was terrible? “I don’t have any food. I didn’t know when you were coming, and…” why hadn’t she thought to buy extra while they were in town? At the very least she could have gotten another pie. The house might not be impressive, but the pie definitely was.

“I brought food,” Esther volunteered, holding a plastic box aloft.

Celeste paused and faced her in amazement. “You did?”

Esther froze, now looking uncertain. “Was that okay? Leo gets hungry, so I brought some bread and a coffee cake. Also cookies.”

“Did you stop at a bakery?” Celeste asked, amazed they’d been able to find one on their snowy journey.

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