He ended the call. Carter and Alice sat in silence for a minute, Carter still staring at the phone on the seat beside him. Alice interlaced her fingers with his and gently squeezed.
“How do you feel about that?” she asked quietly.
“Totally empty.”
“It’ll come. I’m here if you want to talk. Anytime.”
“And I am so damn grateful for that,” he said, pulling their entwined fingers up and kissing her knuckles. “And I’m grateful that Mom’s okay. When I thought something might have…” He took a deep breath and huffed it out.
“Me too. When Tania told us she was going to kill you… Oh God, waiting there, waiting to find out. And then hearing your voice! That was the best thingever.”
“When I saw you lying on the ground, completely still…”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe any of that just happened.”
“It’ll take a long time for the dust to settle on all of this. But Silvia is not going to rest until that happens. She’s already kicked quite a bit of ass. As have you.”
“I don’t know about that—it’s just lucky I didn’t have time to think any of it through.”
“Well, I have thought it through, and I think you’re incredible. I mean, I kind of knew you were special when I first met you and you pulled those schoolteacher scissors on me.”
“Please don’t remind me. And stop making me laugh!”
“But I keep finding new things to appreciate,” he said, cupping her face. “Like, every single time I look at you, every conversation we have. The fact you took Nika in and sat with her while she died—a woman you’d only known a matter of months. The way I can talk to you about shit that matters, and yougetme. And you’re just so funny. And listening to the tape of you goading Tania, when she thought she was the one with the power…” He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Not to mention how unleashed you are in bed.”
Alice’s whole body warmed. She inhaled deeply, and then winced. That wasn’t reallyherin bed, though she had thoroughly enjoyed it. But she’d demonstrated that itcouldbe her…
“You having trouble breathing?” he said, pulling back, concern etched into his face.
“I’ve been having trouble breathing around you since day one. You know, there’s so much happening that I can’t believe is happening. But mostly I just can’t believe that a guy like you is saying things like this to a woman like me.”
“Thought you were done underestimating yourself.” He stroked her jaw and angled her face towards him. Oh God, those eyes. They were so different from the eyes of the man she’d met only a few days ago. Still deep, but just looking at them made her melt like she was … well, obviously notin lovewith him, not after just a few days, but she could very easily find herself heading there, given permission. And there he was, looking at her like she was a marvel. Men didn’t look at her like that.
He brought his lips to hers, and it was hands-down the most deliciously romantic moment of her life, sitting in the back of an FBI car, broken, bruised, and filthy.
“You know,” he said as they broke off, “this is where you get your wish—tell your story to the authorities and get back to your regular life.”
“Yeah. Wow,” she said, though she couldn’t help feeling a little deflated. Regular life? Book boyfriends didn’t exist in regular life. “And I’m sure you’ll get your job back at the CIA.”
“Nah, I think my cover is well and truly blown. And you know what? I don’t feel the urge to run to some backwater postinganymore.” He lowered volume. “You know what Idohave the urge to do?”
“Wait, did I switch off the pendant cam? Shit!”
He laughed as she grappled with it. It seemed to have switched itself off—when she dove onto the gun?
“Well, sure, but I wasn’t gonna say anything X-rated. I was just gonna say I have the urge to stick around Montrose for a bit.”
“Montrose?”
“It is my hometown, after all. I know this has all been crazy but…” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down. “It seems like you and me could be something real, if we give it a shot. I feel like coming home, Alice. And I haven’t felt that in, well, forever.”
She smiled so hard her cheeks hurt. “I’d like that. I’dreallylike that.”
“Besides,” he said, slinging his arm around her again and settling into the seat, “you’re gonna need some help freeing your car. Howdidthey get it in there?”
“And you owe me a phone.”
“I’m gonna buy you the best fucking phone. And then, you know what? We should write a book about all this.”
