Page 78 of Bulletproof

“Agent Holt.”

We all turned to the man who had just come through the door.

“Cristo Liron is in the ER, looking for Detective Kage—or for Jason Bradley—so everyone needs to clear out of here.”

I stayed where I was.

“Jory?” Agent Calhoun sounded worried.

“You’re gonna take care of Sam, right? I mean, like, really ’cause he’s hurt.”

“Yes,” the agent in charge, Crosby Holt, promised instead. “I’m quite pleased with how he’s handled himself, and he’s going to be a deputy US marshal, Jory, so, yes, we’ll take very good care of him. You have my word.”

I crossed the floor fast, bent, kissed Sam, and rubbed my nose along his. “Please be careful. Please.”

“I love you,” he said softly under his breath, clutching at my shirt. “I’m sorry for everything, but I’m not sorry for yesterday. It was stupid, but I’m not sorry.”

“Good.” My breath caught as I kissed him.

“Don’t come back.”

I nodded, and without looking, I ran out of the room. I did what I always did and took the stairs up two flights and then took the elevator all the way down. I went out the front and was on the street and in a cab minutes later.

I haunted my own house, and finally, after two in the morning, my phone rang.

“Hi,” I sighed deeply. “How do you feel?”

“I feel like I got run over by a truck, but I’m okay. I’ve taken worse beatings.”

“I’d rather you took none from now on.”

“Well, that’s never gonna happen since I’m an officer of the law and all, but I promise to work on it.”

“Try hard.”

“Yes, baby.”

I took a breath.

“I’m okay, J, really.”

It was so good just to listen to his voice.

“And I have no regrets, like I said. I was stupid. It was stupid but inevitable.”

He was talking in generalities just in case someone was listening, I was sure. Not, as I was always reminded, that he was good with details. He was completely horrible with them.

I would ask, “How was the wedding?” and be told that they, whoever, had gotten married. Big deal.

I would ask, “How was your day?” and get a shrug of broad shoulders before I was pinned down onto the couch or pulled into his lap.

“I want you to go out of town for a bit. Can you do that?”

“To where?”

“I called Dane, and he said he has a time-share in Waikiki.”

“You want me to go to Hawai’i without you?”