“Because everything I wrote was read by the military before getting sent, and I couldn’t risk exposing them as part of an undercover surveillance mission. That’s why I had to write in riddles and Hebrew. Honestly, I think you should go confess to Philip you are a complete and total nitwit for thinking him a mild-mannered clerk all these years.”
Caroline sat back down, sagging as relief washed through her. Luke was back. She still didn’t understand the plot he was in the middle of foiling, but she didn’t need to. Fifteen months of tension lifted from her shoulders, and she still didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry.
For the first time in his life, Nathaniel walked off his job in the middle of a shift. The assignment monitoring incoming messages was nothing but a face-saving task, and Caroline was hurting too badly for him to ignore. She’d been valiant in her telephone call, but he’d caught the edge of desperation in her voice. She was near the breaking point. They were all exhausted from the past few weeks, and it was time for him to pick up and start carrying his share of the burden.
Caroline was right about the Vermeer portrait. It was about loyalty, and he would prove his loyalty by being at her side. Tonight could be the start of something new and wonderful. They were both free. Nothing but his demons stood in their way, and he’d slay them eventually.
Hope motivated his steps as the streetcar delivered him to Caroline’s neighborhood. He strode down the sidewalk, faster and faster as he neared her address. The house was lit up. Good!
He knocked, his heart still thudding from the run and every nerve ending tingling in anticipation. He smiled as he heard her footsteps approach. The door opened, and there she was, looking flushed and beautiful. She was the most radiant woman he’d ever seen in his life, especially when her eyes widened in delight and a smile illuminated her face with pure joy.
He tugged her into his arms and kissed her deeply. She returned it, twining her arms around his neck. He lifted her from the ground, kissing her with everything he had in him. For once, everything was right, and he’d never felt so certain about a woman in his life.
“I’d prefer it if you unhanded my sister,” a wry voice said from the room behind her.
Nathaniel jerked back, spotting a mangy-looking man with long hair lounging on a sofa.
Caroline looked only mildly embarrassed as she performed the introductions.
“Nathaniel, this is my brother Luke, fresh from a Cuban jail. Luke, Nathaniel.”
He stared incredulously at the gaunt man on the sofa. It was hard to believe. Caroline had been out of her mind for over a year, and Luke’s last chance for salvation had died in Buffalo along with the president. It was simply too much to take in.
“Are you sure?” he asked her.
Caroline burst out laughing and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sure,” she said. She led him to a chair, where he listened in disbelief as Caroline said something about Luke being released on orders from President Roosevelt, and that he was “completely harmless.” Not guilty at all! Nathaniel could barely get his mind around the whirlwind of news, but one question leapt to the forefront.
“How did you get the artichokes into the White House?”
“Artichokes?” Luke asked. “What artichokes?”
Caroline raced to sit beside Luke on the sofa. “Tell us,” she coaxed. “I’ve been dying to know too.”
Luke shrugged. “I can’t do that without exposing my partner in crime.”
“Twinkle Toes?” Caroline asked.
The term made no sense to Nathaniel but seemed to annoy Luke, who sent his sister a tight smile.
“Darling, you know I adore you, but I’d rather that highly confidential information not be shared with your rule-following Romeo.”
“We can trust him,” she said. “He works for the Secret Service, which answers to the Treasury. It’s completely independent of the military.”
The sarcasm vanished from Luke’s face, replaced by a look of speculation. “How much do you trust him?” he asked Caroline.
“With my life,” she said promptly.
Her unflinching endorsement cut through Nathaniel’s annoyance. He grasped the arms of the chair to stop from bolting across the room to continue their kiss where he’d left off.
Luke closed his eyes, then leaned over to brace his forearms on his thighs. All teasing was gone as he rubbed his jaw and stared at the floor.
“Sorry, Caroline, but I can’t trust him. The last fifteen months have been too rough for me to risk it all on Romeo.”
Something was going on. Why had Caroline drawn the distinction between the Secret Service and the military? Who had Luke been working for? Nothing was clear to him, and his investigative instincts kicked into gear. He wanted to pull on this thread and see where it led, but Luke wasn’t going to allow it.
Caroline’s eyes were apologetic as they met his. “Thank you for coming over tonight,” she said. “I’m sorry I can’t ask you to stay....”
She looked exquisitely uncomfortable as the sentence dangled, and he stood. He wouldn’t make this any more difficult than necessary, but he wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye either. He closed the distance between them and cupped a hand beneath her chin, tilting it up as he leaned down and kissed her, long and deep.
