“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.” He slid his fingers into her hair, savoring the silky feel of her dark strands. “I love you, Natalie.”
There. That didn’t hurt, did it, McBride?
Her eyes widened, and she looked down at him, searching his eyes as if trying to see whether he truly meant it. “Zach, I—”
“Shh.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “When I realized I was going to die, the only thing I could think about was you and what an idiot I’d been for not telling you how I felt about you. I think I’ve loved you from the moment you lifted that awful blindfold off my face. I opened my eyes, and there you were, the bravest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. You set me free, Natalie. In so many ways, you set me free.”
Tears glittered in her eyes. “I was so afraid I’d lost you!”
He drew her down to his chest, held her. “When you’re up to it, tell me what happened and how you got back inside the loft. I thought they’d carried you off in that helo. I was so relieved to think you were safe.”
When she had finished her story, he found himself smiling. “My angel, up on the roof, shouting at the thunderstorm, telling it what to go do with itself. Sounds like I owe Rossiter big-time. I’m sorry I had to put you up there. I really had no choice. If I’d put you inside a closet, they’d have found you—if a stray round hadn’t killed you first. Even rounds from a handgun can pierce walls, and—”
“Hush, you. Don’t you dare apologize. You kept me safe, kept me alive.” She bent down and kissed him, her lips warm and soft.
Again and again she kissed him, and Zach knew that she, like he, was reveling in the feeling of being together, safe and alive. He slid his fingers deeper into her hair, teased her tongue with his, the feel of her beside him calling him back to life.
“Ahem.”
They both looked toward the entrance to his room—in the ICU there were no doors—and saw his favorite nurse, a tall big-boned woman named Chris who looked like she could probably bench-press him.
“You had several ectopic heartbeats, so I thought I’d come check on you, see how you were doing. Now I see the cause.”
Natalie looked at the nurse, guilt and regret on her face. “Ectopic heartbeats?”
Chris smiled. “That’s medical jargon for when your heart skips a beat. It’s completely harmless. You can go back to kissing your husband. Just keep it above the waist, okay? We don’t offerthatkind of intensive care here.” Then Chris walked off, laughing at her own joke.
Zach looked up at Natalie. “Husband?”
That guilty look came over Natalie’s face again. “I told them that so they’d let me stay here with you last night. I hope you’re not angry. I don’t think they really believed me, anyway. No ring.”
That was something he planned to change.
He wasn’t ready to ask her yet. There were still too many loose threads in his life. He needed to tie those up, consider the offers that were on the table, and choose what he thought would be best—for both of them.
Natalie looked down at him, a playful smile on his face. “So, kissing me makes your heart skip beats, does it?”
“That’s hell-to-the-yeah, angel. Now kiss me again.”
THEY MOVED ZACH out of the ICU just after lunch.
Natalie walked beside him as they wheeled him down to a medical ward, feeling lighter than she had since this entire ordeal began. For the first time in more than two weeks, she wasn’t afraid for her life—or for the lives of those she loved.
It was over. As impossible as it seemed, it was finally over.
She’d just gotten Zach settled in the new room, opening the blinds to let in the sunlight, when Tom called on the hospital’s landline, wanting to know when she planned to come into the office. She hadn’t even been thinking about work.
“We’ve got a big story that’s just waiting for you to get it into print. You fought hard for this one, Benoit. Don’t let the other papers take it from you.”
“I’ll be in shortly.” She hung up, then turned to Zach, who’d heard her side of the conversation. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
He reached over, took her hand. “Don’t worry about me. I did my job so that you’d be safe to do yours. Besides, I don’t think I’m going to be alone.”
In the doorway stood Rowan with two DUSMs. She entered, the two men behind her. “Ms. Benoit. McBride.”
“I want to thank you for all you did to protect me.” Natalie held out her hand, shook Rowan’s. “Whatever rules Zach may have broken, he did it to save my life. Don’t be hard on him.”
Rowan smiled. “You’re welcome. And don’t worry about McBride. The guys in D.C. might be idiots, but I’ve got his back. By the way, we found this on the bottom of your car, McBride.” She held up a strange long box with magnets on one side and an antenna sticking out of the one end.