Page 66 of Fire and Ice

The brick wall being Boris. "No kidding," he muttered.

Rick looked thoughtfully at Maia and said, "Will you be in top form by this weekend?"

"I believe so."

Jack assumed the cryptic exchange was for Boris's benefit, but he knew they were talking about Baltimore.

The generator was restored to working condition, Boris had removed a capacitor that powered the switching mechanism. Luckily they had found the device on his person, and the house was now humming with natural-gas-powered electricity. Jack wouldn't put it pass Boris to have rigged the transformer to explode at a certain time. The power company couldn't fix it until the Nor'Easter blew over next morning.

Jack checked Maia's body for glass fragments, but she had surprisingly not gotten any in her. She had a lump on the back of her head and another bruise forming on her cheek. His face was not better. The giant brute had gotten in a few licks and he now sported a shiner and a cut on his cheek.

"You should just have shot him," Maia said as she rubbed some lotion on her elbows. They were in his bathroom getting ready for bed. Jack couldn't wait to have Maia's body pressed close to his. Just a night without it and he missed it like hell.

"Could have hit you," Jack said shortly as he applied some strips of white tape to hold the cut on his cheek together. In truth, he had an overwhelming urge to beat the guy to a pulp; a quick easy death with a gun would have been too good for him.

Maia stood up on tip-toe and kissed his good cheek. "Thanks, Jack, for saving me."

"I shouldn't have left you alone."

"Don't. If anything it was my fault for falling asleep."

"Maia, you were high on pain killers, what was I thinking?"

"Jack, stop this."

"It was fucking stupid! He almost got you!" Jack shouted angrily. He spun away from her and rested his hands on the counter, his head bent low. He was breathing hard.

Jack knew he was working himself up with remorse. But everything that had happened to Maia had, indirectly, happened because of him: he had told her to protect his parents and Brett, he had left her alone to go check the generator.

"It made me realize one thing," Jack whispered still not looking at her.

"What?"

"I can't let you go."

"Jack, you're not making sense. What do you mean you can't let me go?"

You're mine, Jack wanted to tell her but it was not the time. She was going to resist and the last thing she needed right now after that bump on her head was to get worked up. He turned to look at her.

"Nothing babe, I'm rambling. Let's get you into bed before you fall over."

"I'm really feeling better."

"Uh-huh. You've got an egg-size bump on your head. Tanner is right, I'm doing a bang-up job of keeping my woman safe."

"I wish you wouldn't refer to me as your woman."

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm really not, it makes me uncomfortable and it sounds ... primitive."

"I believe you called me a Neanderthal once," Jack smirked.

"Well, you are..."

"Let's get you to bed babe, really. No more arguing."

"See, that's what I mean. You ... are ... too ... bossy!"

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