Page 80 of Ace
‘Yes, we will. She’s quite frightening, isn’t she?’
‘She thinks she is.’The bitch.‘I’m sorry you had to deal with her alone, but yeah. Elaine is evil.’Even as weak as he was, Keller still wanted Savannah closer.‘Now forget about her. Climb under the blankets with me?’
No sooner asked than answered. Toes first, sweet, beautiful Savannah eased the length of her delicious warm body onto the bed, between the tubes and wires, and next to him. From her smooth bare legs to her silky black hair, she poured herself over him like the maple syrup she’d poured on those fluffy pecan waffles only days before.
‘You’ve got me, Keller,’ she whispered psychically. ‘You’ve always had me.’
‘I know that now.’And he did. With the scent of lilacs in his nose, Keller let his need to control all things slip through his fingers in exchange for the softness of her ebony locks. Today, he was just Keller, not a hero. Not even much of a federal agent. Just a man in love with his woman.
He closed his eyes and inhaled another breath of his future. He wasn’t going to confront What’s-Her-Name today, maybe not tomorrow, either. He didn’t need to. Queen Elaine wasn’t a witch, and she wasn’t worth the wasted drive to Turkey Creek. She was every bit as toxic as Doctor John’s avian flu, only now Keller held the antidote for Elaine’s brand of poison in his arms. Even Carol Marie’s grave could wait. She wasn’t really thereanyway. But Savannah was here and she was now. She was Keller’s tomorrow and his happily-ever-after.
‘Marry me,’he told the woman he loved.‘Marry me as soon as I can stand on my feet again. I don’t want to wait. I want to make you an honest woman.’
‘I’m already honest,’she said as her entire body wiggled against him. Oh yeah, Savannah was honest and she was happy. The world wasn’t such a bad place after all.
‘Is that a yes?’
She leaned into his face and kissed him then, her lips warm and juicy sweet.‘Yes, my love,’she whispered against his open mouth.‘That’s most definitely, yes.’
Keller closed his eyes as she kissed him again. He didn’t need to fight every battle or win each war. He was pretty sure he had what he wanted. He had everything.
Chapter Forty
Tucker stretched both hands over his head to work the cramp out of his back. He’d been sitting outside his newest agent’s hospital room for a while now. Kell didn’t need to know he was there. Neither did Savannah. Those kids needed privacy, and Tucker didn’t mind standing guard, making sure they got it. He had no doubt Kell was finally out of danger, but after losing him to Doctor John, then finding him very nearly at death’s door, well, Tucker wasn’t taking any chances. He was here to stay.
But he had inadvertently listened in on Kell’s marriage proposal. That sly dog. Kell was a smart man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it. That he’d relinquished control of this operation spoke volumes. Kell had finally let himself belong.
Tucker smiled at something Isaiah’d let slip a few months back, that Tucker’s powers were growing. Notthe case at all. Tucker was simply listening harder and better. Understanding more. Seeking to understand first instead of jumping into arguments and situations before he knew all the facts. He was learning how to let his agents take the lead. They were all capable psychics. They didn’t need him treating them like kindergarteners. Hell no.
His wife Melissa had even said she was proud of him. But Tucker knew he owed this enhanced power of his to her. She was after all his better half, and if not for her gentle influence in his life, he’d still be the closed-minded bombastic Navy SEAL he’d once been. Those were the days, but those days were also behind him. He had a team now, the best damned team in America.
Tucker was proud of them. Even now, two of his best were handling the homegrown terrorist who’d intended to kill millions through a new strain of avian bird flu. Dumb ass. The last time Tucker checked, Eden had RJ on his back and her boot on his windpipe. Even now, Tucker had to control his urge to order her to break the guy’s thorax. Bust him up. End him!
But once again, he restrained himself and let Eden handle things her way. She and Tate were a dynamic duo unto themselves. Two good agents. Two solid friends who’d helped each other through some harrowing times. Also Tucker’s friends. He’d die for them. They’d do the same for him.
Tucker hadn’t wanted the directorship when he’d been volunteered to manage Deuces Wild. Hell, he barely wanted to be an FBI agent back then. He’d just gotten his son out of Vietnam. He was a newlywed anda new man. For the first time in his life, he’d wanted to settle down, let someone else fight the good fight. Heroes shouldn’t have to step up time and time again to defend their country. That should be every American’s job, elitists and commoners alike. There ought to be a better way to balance the dirty job of civil defense across the spectrum of America’s entire population.
But there wasn’t. Even if there were, the wealthy and powerful would find a way to dodge their most basic duty, that of defending the United States against aggression, internal or external. Which was why good men like Kell would always be there. They didn’t know how to shirk or turn aside when their country called. If he weren’t injured, Tucker knew damned well Kell would be the one with his boot on RJ’s scrawny neck.
‘Hey, Boss,’Tate drawled extra slow and casual.‘Sorry to report, but this little bastard just offed himself.’
That perked up Tucker’s ears, not Tate being sorry, but the news that RJ was dead.‘How’d he do that?’
‘Had a derringer in his pants pocket. The minute Eden let him up, he screamed, ‘Now you’ll get yours.’ Then he ate a bullet.’
‘Hmmpf,’Tucker muttered.‘Thought doctors were supposed to be smart?’
‘Maybe in his own mind,’Eden cut in.‘Nothing scary about a worm like Rudy John. Tate’s got the detonator, and Mr. Goldenrod intercepted RJ before he planted any bombs. It was all talk, but we’ll double check before we wrap up here. I’m not sensing anyexplosives or incendiary devices anywhere on the premises, though.’
‘Good work,’Tucker said.‘Swing by Jacksonville on your way home. Kell’s awake. He’d love to see you guys.’
‘Will do,’Tate replied.‘Tell Savannah that Mr. Goldenrod volunteered to stay here until she gets back. He’ll watch her animals for her.’
‘Will do.’
‘Count us in, too,’Isaiah interjected from his penthouse in Crystal City, Virginia.‘Roxy’s dying to show off the squid.’
‘The squid! Haven’t you named that little boy yet?”Eden scolded.
