She shoots me the loveliest smile I’ve ever fucking seen. “I’m fine. Just a little banged up.”
I kneel and kiss her belly, where she couldn’t fully button the uniform. “And how’s our little roo?”
I’m rewarded with a couple of baby kicks to my lips. Fuck if it doesn’t make my throat tight again. I need my wife home but one step at a time. Off my knees, I wrap my arm around her waist, and exit in the opposite direction of her kidnappers.
“We should get you to a hospi, luv.” I flip on my comm unit. “Team leader, I’m taking Callie to Georgetown.”
“Copy that,” the FBI special agent responds. “But we’ll need to talk to her soon.”
Callie clutches onto my waist, and leans her head into my chest. “I’d rather go home.”
“Shush. We will, real soon. I promise.”
Arm and arm, I walk her out of the control room, back down the hall, and up the escalators. At the top, Suds gives her a hug while Patten employees and FBI agents cheer.
Outside, I ignore the ambulances in the parking lot, open my passenger side door, and gently sit her down. When she’s all buckled in, I kiss her repeatedly and thank God I got her back safely. When we finish, there’s tears dripping down our cheeks.
My willy throbs, wanting to enter her, fill her, make everything right again.
“Did anyone ah… force sex on you, sweetheart?” It’s the toughest question I’ve ever had to ask and one I may not want the answer to.
Whatever, I will see her through it.
“Seriously? Look at me.” She chuckles, makes light of it, and I release the breath I was holding.
Then, with her small hand gripping my knee, I drive to the parking lot’s exit where an Army truck blocks the way.
A serious-faced guy in a suit and a comm unit knocks on my window and I roll it down.
“Secret Service.” He checks my ID and says a few words into the comm.
“Thank you. You’re good to go.” He waves to the truck driver. “Let them pass.”
Once we’re clear of the parking lot, I reach across the cup holder, and grab her hand. I can’t stop touching her.
What if I’m dreaming and when I wake, she’ll be gone?
“So, I guess you found my message?” She brings my hand to her lips and softly kisses my knuckles.
“Yeah luv. You were so brave but you took an awful chance.” I won’t scold her, even though I should. What if the kidnappers had seen the lettering under the toilet seat? Would she still be sitting next to me or left for dead somewhere near Camden?
She smiles. “I knew you would save me. Why did it take so long? Did you arrest them all?”
Gritting my teeth, I grip the steering wheel. “The FBI wants to track them for a while, get the big picture, yeah?”
“Nah yeah. That sucks.” She bolts upright then puts her hand to her head. “Ow.”
“Headache?”
“Not enough to write home about.” She shares the chagrined look reserved for whenever she thinks of her mum.
Then, her brows crease more. “So, after all this, we don’t know why I was kidnapped. That sucks.”
I glance across the seats, my anger spiking. “We’re only sure they wanted the tunnel accessible and shut down.”
“And you did it?” Her hurt face cuts me deep.
“I had to, to get you out safely.”
