Long Road Home(46)

Tony left the question dangling, and Manuel felt a brief moment of indecision. He didn’t want to expose Jules to the senator until he knew for certain it was safe, but neither did he want to leave her alone in the townhouse.

He’d have to trust her. He did trust her.

“No, she’ll stay,” he said. “Just make sure no one takes an interest in this place.”

“No problem,” Tony said. “Good luck with the senator.”

Manuel replaced the phone on the nightstand then slowly turned over to put his arm back around Jules. She stirred in his arms and snuggled deeper into his chest.

Damn, she felt good. This was so right, waking up with her in his arms. If the meeting with the senator went as he hoped, they’d have a shot at a normal life together. And they could put the last three years behind them.

“Jules,” he whispered close to her ear.

She stirred again. “Mmmm?”

“I have to go.”

She pulled slightly away and looked up at him with sleepy eyes. “Go?”

“To see the senator. Tony just called. I meet with him in an hour.”

“So soon?”

He nodded. “The sooner the better. We need to get you on the right side of the law so you can be protected.”

He curled his finger around the ends of her hair then tugged her toward him. He nibbled at her jaw and worked his way to her lips before giving her a long, slow kiss.

“I want many more mornings like this. And the only way we’re going to get them is if I go meet with the senator and see what he has to say.”

She nodded and burrowed deeper under the covers.

Reluctantly, he slid out of bed and walked naked to the bathroom.

“Am I staying here?” she called.

He turned back. “Yes. There are agents watching the townhouse. You should be safe. But just in case, keep your gun close by.”

She stared at him as if she didn’t quite believe what she’d heard. “You’re trusting me to stay here alone?”

He cocked his head sideways. “Is there any reason I shouldn’t?”

She frowned and shook her head.

He smiled at her. “I’m going to take a shower now. Go back to sleep if you want.”

A few minutes later, Manuel walked out of the bathroom and glanced over to see Jules asleep again. He stood staring at her for a long moment then quietly left the bedroom. So much rode on today’s meeting. He just hoped like hell the senator was as receptive as Tony had suggested.

At the sound of the door closing, Jules cracked one eye and carefully surveyed the room. Manny had left. She waited for several minutes, listening for any sign he was still downstairs. When she didn’t hear anything, she crawled out of bed and went to the window overlooking the street below.

She was just in time to see the SUV she and Manny had driven to Bethesda heading down the street. She whirled away from the window and sprang into action.

Her bag lay on the floor in the corner, and she fumbled through it until she found her phone. She’d spent a lot of time wondering how she would be able to check her e-mail and get Northstar’s orders without Manny knowing, and now he’d made it very easy for her. Too easy.

He trusts you.

She closed her eyes. No, she wouldn’t dwell on that. She spent a moment composing herself, mentally tuning out all the emotion, the pain and the anguish associated with what she had to do.

She hated that Manny went to the senator in hopes of a miracle fix and that he harbored hopes of a fairytale ending for the two of them. The CIA would never let that happen. They had Manny in their grip just like they had her. No matter what the senator might agree to, Manny would expect to settle down somewhere with a picket fence and a nice boring life, when in fact the only chance they’d ever have would be if they ran far and ran fast.

What she had to do was carry out her mission and then disappear. Let Manny continue to operate under the guise that he worked for the good guys. That ignorance would keep him alive.

She could live with more blood on her hands. She would trade her soul for his life.

When she reopened her eyes, she felt calm. She felt like the killer she’d become.

She turned the phone on and pushed the buttons to access her secure e-mail. Sure enough, one message sat in her inbox.

She read over the message, taking in the location and date of the hit. Two days. It didn’t give her much time to prepare. She arched her eyebrow when she read the locale. Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. Eight a.m. A political breakfast, no doubt. But then most of her hits were political in nature.

No I.D. on the target yet. She frowned. Why the secrecy? In the past, she’d had all the information upfront. Instead she was told the target would be provided to her the morning of the assassination.

The message went on to give details on the credentials she would be provided in order to enter the building. She let out a deep breath. This one would be risky. Lots of security. That it was in the middle of D.C. didn’t help.

But she hadn’t spent the last three years of her life making stupid mistakes. She was good. She’d been trained well. She’d succeed, and then she’d walk away from this life forever, and in the process leave behind the man she loved.

Her eye twitched, threatening to put a crack in her metal facade. She steeled herself and shoved the dangerous thoughts aside. Manny would be safe. That was all that mattered.