Page 88 of Garrison's Creed

Frederick and Elizabeth smiled. The woman waved hello. Emeralds glittered from her bouffant to her pedicure. “Oh, it’s the Penningtons. From New York.”

The man turned to their companions and started introductions. Something about how the Penningtons made their supposed loot in the chemical market. Something vague enough to be untraceable.

Elizabeth kissed her cheek. “Sarah Beth, I didn’t expect you!”

“We made an unanticipated stop. Mallory had a European qualifier in her show jumping competition, and since the jet was fueled and we were so close…” Nicola shrugged a silk-covered shoulder as elegantly as she could. That was the extent of her lines. Time for David to shine.

Nic glanced at him. He was on a roll. This was his type of work, hobnobbing and schmoozing. How boring, especially when real life waited for her thousands of miles away. At least she hoped it was life waiting and not a soul-wrenching obituary.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Their minor assignment was a success. Nicola and David were back at the hotel, and her room was packed. Nothing left in her closet, designer or otherwise. The Louis Vuitton bags rested by the door, awaiting a bellhop. Having a jet on standby was convenient, but they both had to agree to leave. The bag brigade was nothing more than an effort to convince David they were leaving tonight, but he wasn’t budging.

At least she’d kicked him out of the bedroom to one of the smaller adjoining rooms. Nic swept the room for bugs, set up her signal jammer as a just-in-case backup, and thought about getting the hell out of Istanbul so that someone could give her some intel. All she needed to know was that everyone was alive and kicking.That Cash didn’t blow up in his truck.

Ring.She lunged across the room, catapulting across the king size bed to grab the phone. She didn’t look at the screen, only accepted the call and prayed for good news.

“Nic.” The sound of Cash’s voice hugged her tightly, making her believe in the power of desperate prayers.

“Thank you!” she cried, realizing that tears streamed down her face. “Cash, you’re okay. Oh God. You’re okay.”

Her breaths surfaced, rapid fire. All of the pent up emotions boiled into a fierce mess of wet tears, running down her cheeks. She sniffled and rambled without the slightest clue what she said.

“Slow down.” He paused. “I’m okay.”

The words didn’t work. Tears raced down her cheeks, blurring her vision. Her mind sped, swirling into an anxious frenzy. “I thought this is how we were going to end,” she whispered. “That you wouldn’t be there when I came home. That I left and lost you once. That you died tonight, and I lost you—”

“Who’s Jackson?” The sharp-tipped question sobered her from the nightmare of possible bomb blast causes and effects.

“What?” She shook her head, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.Jackson?This morning seemed years ago. Had that really happened?

“Tell me a lie, and I swear to God, sweet girl. You will lose me. No explosive charge needed.”

It had really happened. Cash was alive and… angry. His voice scratched through the phone. The not knowing. The bomb scare. Everything else was trivial. Everything wastrivial except him. Her throat tightened. She couldn’t imagine the words to make it better.

“Nic!”

“He’s a bomb specialist for the FBI—”

“I’ve learned that much on my own. Who is he to you?”

“We dated.”

“You live together.”

“Technically—”

He coughed a harsh laugh in her ear. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is karma. This is for all the nice girls who I should’ve called and all the bad ones I should’ve left alone.”

Are you serious?Nicola smirked into her handset.“Like Sugar?”

“Yeah. Like Sugar. Hell, woman. You’ve got everyone fooled, including Sugar. You know, she tried to take up for you tonight. Like—”

“I knew it. I knew you’d go see her, you ass. Fuck whatever walks, Cash. Fuck me. Fuck her. Fuck every goddamn woman you see. That’s you. I get it, but you certainly don’t know me if you think I’d sleep with you and then go home to someone else.”

Silence.

She checked the phone. The line was still connected. Nic was content to wait until he had something to say.

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