Over the Line (10 page)

His expression didn’t waiver, but she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes. Or maybe it was just the fairy lights. “I sure am, honey. Can’t wait for the festivities to start.” He grabbed her hand. “You
are
engaged. When I heard, I was sure it was just idle gossip. Another Walker bites the dust.” He threw his head back and whooped in a way that would only work if he’d been wearing cowboy boots.

“I guess?” she said, pulling her hand back, torn between not wanting to give an inch, and wanting to talk to him, just to get a feel for whether he could be behind the e-mails. Well, and giving him a right hook for calling her “honey.”

“I guess we’ll be spending time together this weekend. I can fill you in on the Walker clan.” He looked at her intently. “Don’t worry, I’ve been cleared. I work for her father, if you know what I mean.”

“Okay, sure.” Ah, the barman at last. She took the bottle, and a cardboard carry pack of wineglasses, and put it on Sadie’s tab. She felt bad about that, but she didn’t want to give Jeffrey a look at the name on her credit card.

“I’m going to check you out tomorrow at work.” He grabbed her hand as if to shake it, but instead he just held it. “And if you’re cleared, I’ll tell you all about my experience with the Walkers. Why I called off my engagement. How to survive them. Trust me. You’ll need the information I have.”

Beth smiled, tucked the chardonnay under her arm, and said, “I’m not sure you’ll have much luck looking me up without my last name.” She wanted to laugh as his face dropped. “But it was lovely meeting you.” She decided to play nice, since she didn’t want him talking trash about her to James’s father. She left without a backward glance.

A little creepy, but probably not dangerous. Really unprofessional and indiscreet about his job and access to background checks, though. That was the problem with guys like that. Always had something to prove. The real men were the ones who didn’t shout about what they did. Anyway, she, along with probably every woman at the bar, had been chatted up by worse men. She just couldn’t imagine why an ex would be invited to a wedding. But to each their own.

As she approached the sofas, she raised the glasses and bottle and smiled at James’s victory celebration. He must have really wanted more wine, and maybe he was regressing too.

“I spoke to Jeffrey. He told me he was spending the weekend at the wedding. You invited your ex to your wedding?”

Simon answered. “We didn’t. Sadie’s father invited him. In fact, Sadie’s parents invited nearly all the people who will be there.”

“That explains why I didn’t get an invite!” William said with a big grin.

“I had no idea you were in town. Last I heard you were rocking Silicon Valley. What’s going on there?” Sadie asked.

William took a swig of beer. “I have this new start-up now. It’s looking good. Plenty of investors. It’s all about the freedom of the Internet.”

“I can’t believe you’re living in California, dude,” James said. “We should come visit you sometime.” He slipped his arm around Beth’s shoulders, pulling her in tight.

“I love California,” she said.

“That would be awesome. You all should. I have this amazing bayside house in Sausalito. In fact you guys can use it whenever you like. Just call my secretary and she’ll put it in the diary.” He stretched his arms out, draping them over the back of the armchair in the most assertive way Beth had ever seen. She couldn’t help but grin at his attitude.

“You have to come to the wedding, Will.” Sadie said. We’ll send an invitation around to your parents’ house tomorrow morning.”

“That would be awesome. I’d love to spend some time hanging with you guys.”

Sadie shrugged. “At least we’ll now have more than just a handful of guests who actually know us. Seriously, this wedding is so far out of our hands that it might as well be someone else’s.” But she and Simon twined their fingers together as she continued. “Just two more days until the honeymoon. You sure we can’t just skip the whole weekend and get on a plane?” Everyone laughed at her plaintive voice.

James poured Beth some more wine and started giving William shit for having a secretary, and a beach house, which segued into recounting the story of how he’d hacked their school’s computer system to flunk the biggest bully in the school. Sounded like William had been lucky to escape reform school. She laughed as James described how apoplectic both their parents had been when they’d heard what happened. As they sat back, and she listened to them chat, James put his arm around her shoulders again, snuggling her closer to him.

Thigh to thigh, hip to hip. She expected her mind to wander toward sex again, but instead she felt comfortable, protected. She wondered if she felt that way because he had already saved her life once. Maybe that had taken away a barrier between them. And maybe she had saved his, although that was less clear to her. She had shot a Taliban who was shooting at them, but in all honesty, he might not have hit either of them. On the other hand, James had definitely saved her.

She sipped her wine and listened to the banter and stories that Sadie, William, Jeffrey, and James were sharing. Simon made a head motion to James and held up his empty glass. They both headed out to the bar to get refills. She’d better start counting her consumption, she realized, or she was likely to make a spectacle of herself. She turned to ask James for a soft drink, but he had already disappeared into the throng.

“How are you holding up?” James asked Simon as they waited at the bar. Hell, he should have brought Beth with him; it seemed like all the women were getting served first.

“You mean the wedding? Oh, pain in the ass, but it’s cake, you know? Two days and we’ll be alone in the Bahamas. So I really can’t complain.” He drummed his fingers on the bar as they waited. “It’s just… knowing all eyes will be on us. I’m used to being anonymous; we’re both used to being in the background. There’s just been a lack of sensitivity around that that’s a bit mind-boggling. No offense.”

James laughed. “None taken. No one could accuse my parents of being sensitive to anything that doesn’t involve keeping up appearances.”

Simon shrugged and turned back to the bar to try to get some service.

“Something else is bothering you, though,” James said. It was true that he’d only met Simon a couple of times in the year or so he and Sadie had known each other, but James could tell that the tension practically oozing out of the man had to be caused by way more than a wedding. This was the perfect opportunity to ask him about the e-mails.

“Just work stuff. A lot of work shit hit the fan on my last day before coming here. I feel bad not being there to take care of it, you know? Leaving it to the team. Oh, thank God.” A barman made it over to them, and Simon gave a double order to take back to the table. Sensible man.

“Next time we send Sadie and Beth to the bar,” James said, taking the beer and wine bottles.

“Too right. They seem much better at this than I am. I really don’t know when I lost my drink-buying mojo.”

James laughed. He was looking forward to getting to know Simon better. He couldn’t imagine anyone being better for Sadie. He was about to say something new-family-ish to him, maybe something a bit corny, but as he turned from the bar, Simon’s eyes narrowed. James followed his look.

In less than a second, between the crowds dancing and milling around, he saw Beth’s face. She was standing, and holding her hand out as if to calm down a situation. Instinctively he headed toward her, never taking his eyes off her. Simon moved in tandem.

Then he saw Beth yanked backward. He dropped the drinks and took off, barging through and pushing people aside. As the crowd cleared, he saw Sadie being dragged to the exit by a man in a hoodie. Beth shouted for him, not knowing he was right behind her. She struggled against another man in a hoodie, holding her. James’s heart flamed in fury.
Get your hands off her.

“Simon, get Sadie.” James pointed to the exit as he reached for the man holding Beth. Simon vaulted over the sofas and caught her abductor, spinning him around and decking him in one punch.

James tore the man’s hands off Beth’s arms and held him the same way that he’d been holding Beth. Anger flared in her eyes as she kicked her would-be abductor in the balls. James couldn’t help but wince. He let the guy go so he could collapse to the floor, which he did.

“That bastard.” She kicked him again in the stomach, but he didn’t make a sound.

“Are you all right? What the hell happened?” James kept his eye on the other guy, still lying prostrate by the sofas.

“They tried to take Sadie. William ran, Jeffrey froze, and I tried to stop them. But he wrapped me up in a bear hold before I could get any leverage. The guy’s definitely a pro.”

Before she could finish, the man reared up on his shoulders and used his momentum to spring to his feet, a move James had only seen in movies. He reached for him, but the man had already jumped over the sofa and was making his way toward Simon and Sadie.

James ran after him, but Beth’s assailant grabbed his almost unconscious partner and threw him in the elevator, diving in after him as the stupid thing dipped out of sight.

“Fuck,” Simon said. “What just happened?”

The whole incident had taken less than a minute. Maybe a minute and a half. Sadie was visibly shaken. “Do you think they were the ones who sent the e-mails?”

Simon’s eyes narrowed again. “What e-mails, Sadie?” She groaned and rested her forehead on his chest.

“You told me he knew about the e-mails,” James said accusingly. “How could you not tell him?” Beth touched his arm, and when he turned to her, she shook her head at him. He looked back at Sadie, who was in Simon’s arms, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Come on,” Simon said. “Let’s get out of here.” He nodded at James. “I’ll take her home. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

James nodded. There was nowhere safer for Sadie than plastered to Simon’s side.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Beth asked. He knew it was probably the responsible thing to do, but all James wanted to do was get her home and away from whatever was going down here.

“I’m not sure there’s much point now,” William appeared out of nowhere, looking at his cell phone. “My Twitter feed says that the metro police are responding to an altercation at JibJab. We might actually need to go. No sense in answering questions all night, right?”

He was right, although to be truthful, William always had tried to avoid the police when they were growing up, mainly due to his hacking habit. But in this case James didn’t think that the added publicity would please anyone, including Sadie and Simon.

He took a minute to say good-bye to William and get his phone number. Jeffrey was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t a huge surprise. He was probably already reporting back to Director Walker. Breakfast was going to be fun.

He took Beth’s hand and steered her toward the elevator. Once inside he wrapped his arms around her in the way he’d wanted to do every time they’d been on patrol together. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined coming to the wedding would put you in danger.” He pulled her into him so her head rested just under his chin. “I’m sorry.”

* * *

Was he kidding? She pulled away from him. “No,
I’m
sorry. I should have been able to protect your sister. I can’t believe I let him get the upper hand. I didn’t even get a good look at him.”

It was true. All her training was in eliminating the enemy, not memorizing their features. She had zero idea what either of the attackers had looked like, except that they were both light-skinned and wore tightly pull-stringed hoodies.

“Hell, Garcia. Don’t beat yourself up. They got away from Simon and me, too,” he said in a low voice. “That should tell you something.”

She tried to suppress a smile. “That you’re both lightweights?”

“Unbelievable. Hell, I’ll take it, but feel free to tell Simon that tomorrow morning. Forgive me if I stand waaay back when you do!” She was spunky, he’d give her that.

“Who do you think it was?” Beth asked, the smile evaporating from her face.

“I don’t know. They seemed like pros, but also really young. One thing is for sure, we need to nail down this wedding. I don’t even like the idea of it being at the Washington Cathedral. It would make better sense if we did it all at the house. It’s big enough, and at least it’s secure. I guess we’ll be talking about this in the morning.” He pulled her to him again. “Let’s just forget about it for now, okay?”

His breath traced her face, sending shivers goose-bumping their way down her body. She wanted his lips on her. Everywhere.
Goddamn it. Get a grip, Beth.
It must be the adrenaline. She turned her face so she was looking at him dead in the eye.
Kiss me, damn it.

His eyes flickered down to her mouth, but just as she parted her lips in anticipation her stomach rumbled. It sounded like an explosion on the military base range. It echoed around the dim elevator. Yeah, that moment was gone.

“Crap, when did you eat last?” He winced when he remembered. “We haven’t eaten since breakfast, have we?”

“Nope, but the wine totally counts as a fruit,” she said.

“I know the perfect place for a fast meal,” he said firmly. When they reached the bottom, they stepped out of the building and paused. James stood slightly in front of her as he surveilled the road. She took a step back and checked the other spaces not directly on the road: the empty entranceways, the alley opposite, and the first floor windows. Nothing.

He turned back to her and held out his hand for hers. “Shall we?”

She grinned and took his hand. He led her to a small square, with grass in the center and a buzz of activity around the edges. Food truck nirvana.

“Bless you,” she breathed. “This looks like heaven.” She couldn’t wait to eat, and honed in immediately on a Taco Taqueria truck. “Tacos?”

“Excellent choice, m’lady. As long as you order.”

“Chicken!” she said, laughing.

“Maybe steak?”

“Very funny,” she said over her shoulder as she reached the window of the truck.

She ordered two steak soft tacos with everything. The smell from the truck reminded her of her mother’s kitchen, and the food she’d never taught Beth to make.

She handed one to James and took a bite of hers. Flavor exploded in her mouth, a little fire, a little fragrance…
Oh my God it’s perfect.

“
Oh por dios, esto es delicioso! Creo que te amo. Definitivamente estoy enamorada,
” she said to the old man serving.

He shrugged and replied in accented English. “Oh, sure you do. They all say that. Get along with you!”

“What did you say?” James asked, unwrapping his taco.

“I told him I loved him,” she said with her mouth half full.

“Unbelievable,” he replied, and finally took a mouthful.

“Yeah, he didn’t believe it either. It’s awesome, right?”

“Jesus. I think
I
love him.” He wiped some chili sauce from the side of his mouth.

“You should go tell him. I don’t think I was his type.”

“You’re everyone’s type, are you kidding me?
Caliente
!”

“Really? You’re really
caliente
-ing me? You idiot.” She took another bite. And then pointed at a bench. They sat down and scarfed down their food. When every last bit had disappeared, she said, “You look like you didn’t realize how hungry you were.”

His eyes darkened. “I know exactly how hungry I am all the time, Beth.”

She had a feeling he wasn’t talking about the food anymore. “We should go back, right?”

“To the house? Sure.” He stood and offered her his hand.

Beth rolled up her wrapper and drop-shot it into the trash, then took his hand and jumped up. “I’ve never been to D.C. before,” she said. “So aside from being set upon by some thug in a hoodie, this is pretty awesome.”

“You’ve never been here before? Holy shit. We are definitely not going back home right now, then.” He pointed south. “You know what’s four blocks in that direction?”

She laughed. “I have less than no idea.”

“Everything is. Come on, let’s go.” He set off at a fairly good clip, and she had to hold him up and take off her shoes.

“Look,” he said, drawing her to him, and crossing what during the day was probably a busy intersection to a large expanse of grass.

The Washington Monument loomed in front of them, surrounded by a circle of flags. “White House or Lincoln Memorial?” he asked her.

“Lincoln Memorial.” She imagined it as she’d seen it in movies, lit up in the night, quiet, still, majestic.

They walked along the reflecting pool, which in all honesty wasn’t doing much reflecting, and climbed the steps to the monument. A few people milled around, taking photos or talking quietly on the steps.

She wondered what he was thinking. About the guys in the bar? About her? In the pool, in the store dressing room, those kisses had been electric. Holy hell did she want him so freaking bad. Maybe just this once. Maybe it was the wine or adrenaline talking. She hadn’t had sex for so long, she wondered if she even remembered how.

James let go of her hand and pulled himself on to one of the balustrades and leaned back, looking at the clear sky. “It’s beautiful here. Hard to imagine we’re in the middle of a capital city, isn’t it?”

Beth leaned between his legs, back to the stone, and looked up. “You see more stars in North Carolina. More if you have NVGs.”

His hands landed on her shoulders. “Well, everything’s clearer with night vision goggles.”

“Not everything,” she said, rolling her neck under his massage. “Anyway, some things are clearer in the dark.”

He didn’t reply. His thumbs ran lazy, firm circles along her shoulder blades, turning her insides to warm liquid. She had no idea what she was talking about, no idea why she’d said that. Except it felt true. Complications that felt insurmountable in the cold light of day seemed less complex, and less important, in the dark. He was making her feel too much. No, not too much, just feelings she hadn’t explored in years. She turned. “What do you think is happening between us here?” She looked into his eyes, searching for a sense of honesty.

He took a hand and cupped her cheek. It took every ounce of strength she had not to turn her face into the warmth. “What do you want to happen?”

She couldn’t answer, didn’t want to answer, give anything away, or just give anything. She was lost in this unfamiliar territory. A place she didn’t feel entirely able to control. “I want you, but I don’t know if I can do this.” She shook her head, either in dismay at what she had said, or as an excuse to feel his hand over more of her face; she couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

She did want him. She just didn’t want the crushing broken heart that she knew would be around the corner. She could already feel it creeping toward her, as if it was inevitable.

“I want you too,” he said. “I can’t say where this is going. But I’d never deliberately hurt you.” He slid down from where he was sitting and traced her cheek with his other hand. “The first move is yours, Beth.”

She took a breath. Was she really going to do this? Embrace a one-night stand and hope she didn’t feel anything for him on Monday? His face, so handsome in the moonlight, studied her intently, waiting. To hell with the future and worrying and bad dates from the past. To hell with everything except this warm excitement his very presence gave her. Life was too short.

She stepped toward him and put her hand flat on his chest, taking pleasure in the heartbeat that pumped hard and fast beneath. “I do want you…”