“As far as we can tell, he had no special diplomatic status, so it would fall to the MPD to investigate,” Christina said. “As a thorn in the side of the Russian government, they wouldn’t offer him any kind of protection.”
“Lindsey sent me a photo of the John Doe,” Terry said. “I’ll take it to Gretchen. Be right back.”
While they waited, Nick read a text from Sam and replied, The day from hell continues. Will tell you more when I see you. Be safe out there. Love you more.
She’d argue with him that she’d won that fight, that she loved him more, and he’d let her win because being loved by her made his life worth living. How he wished they were floating together in the ocean somewhere rather than dealing with the nonstop bullshit they faced every day in their ridiculous jobs.
Thinking about being with her in Bora Bora, or anywhere, for that matter, was a nice mental respite while he waited for Terry to return with a verdict on whether the MPD’s John Doe was their missing Russian.
Terry returned to the Oval. “It’s him.”
* * *
U.S. Marshal Jesse Best went into his bedroom to check on his guest, fellow Marshal Memphis Rose Costello, who was recovering from a gunshot wound to the thigh that’d nearly killed her. “You need anything?”
“Nope. I’m good.”
He’d refilled her iced tea, doled out her lunchtime meds and made her a sandwich that she wolfed down. He was thankful that her appetite was returning and her complexion wasn’t quite as ghostly pale as it’d been in the hospital. Seeing her like that had terrified him.
“I’m fine, Jesse,” she said. “You can stop hovering over me like an old woman.”
Goddamn, she made him madder than anyone ever had. So why was it that he loved her so ferociously? Hell if he knew. But nearly losing her had served as a major wake-up call for him, which was why he’d taken a leave of absence from work to nurse her back to health. Not that she was making it easy on him. Of course she wasn’t.
“Stop scowling at me. It’ll give you wrinkles.”
He took a deep breath, praying for patience. “I have a podcast interview in ten minutes. Do you want to go to the bathroom while I’m here to help you?”
“I can do it.”
“I don’t want you to fall when I’m not there to pick you up.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Let me help you.”
“I don’t have to go yet!”
“Fine, but don’t fall, you hear me?”
“Yes, sir. Anything else?”
“No. Text me if you need me. I mean it. They can pause the interview.”
“I won’t need you. Focus on the interview and telling your sister’s story. That’s the most important thing right now.”
He looked at her in all her fiery glory and wanted her desperately in every possible way he could have her. Since he’d acknowledged the powerful feelings that he’d tried so hard to deny, it was like someone had turned on the lights and taken him out of the darkness. She’d done that. “Okay.”
“Jesse…”
“Yes?”
“I’m fine, and I’m going to continue to be fine. Okay?”
“You promise?”
She flashed that glorious smile. “I do.”
“All right, then, off I go.”
