A Taste of Liberty: Task Force 125 Book 2 (17 page)

Vince shook his head.  “Sarah.  You're upset.  It's a lot to take in all at once.”

“A lot to take in?
  That's an understatement!”  She turned and paced some more. 
“Tapestries.
 
Artwork.
 
Antiques.
  I have a fucking ballroom for fuck’s sake!”

Sarah's face went white as a sheet.  She started to sway.

Vince jumped up and caught her before she fell.

“Okay, sweetheart.
  Let's sit down.”  He placed her in one of the large leather chairs and knelt in front of her.

“You aren’t doing this today.  You're still recovering.  You haven't eaten in days.  You need to rest.  That’s an order.”

Her eyes were glazed over.  The lack of sleep, the meds and the stress were too much right now.

“Yes, I think I should go to bed.  I’m sorry I flipped.  It’s been a big day.”  She moved to stand but her knees just couldn't hold out. 

Vince caught her and she collapsed against him.  He carried her up the stairs to the master bedroom, her bedroom, and his heart ached for the woman quietly weeping in his arms.

“He was a good man, Vince.  I didn't love him, but he was one of the good guys.”

“Yes, he was.  He was definitely one of the good guys.”

“I'm so tired.”

Vince laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.  “Get some sleep.”  He kissed her on the forehead.

She grabbed his hand.  “Vince, don't leave me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, brushed the hair from her face as her breathing slowed and he knew she drifted off. 
“Never.”

Pain shot through her shoulder. 
“
Aargh
!”
  Sarah couldn't help but shout out with the pain.  She sat up and looked at the bedside clock.

Hard, heavy footsteps ran down the hallway at the same pace as the beat of her heavily thumping heart.

Vince stormed into the room and scanned it, Sig in hand.  “What happened?  Are you alright?”

“Oh, my God, Vince!”
  Sarah flopped back down on the pillow with a wince.  “I'm okay.  I overslept and haven't taken anything for the pain in about fourteen hours.  I rolled over onto my side in my sleep and felt it.  That's all.”  She chuckled.  “That response was in record time, Marine.  You're pretty fast for an old guy.”

Vince tucked the sidearm into his belt and sat beside Sarah.  “You
wanna
see fast?  Just wait until that shoulder heals.  I'll show you what an old guy can do.”

“Promises.
  Prom…”

Vince stopped her with a kiss.  “That is a promise I will most definitely keep.”  He stood and walked to the dresser.  “You need some help getting dressed?  The guys are leaving today.”

Sarah kicked the sheet off and stepped out of the bed.  “I don't understand why they have to leave so soon.”

Vince helped her slip a shirt on over her bandaged shoulder.  “We milked the Italian debrief period as long as we could.  Young would only authorize one of us to stay behind until you're cleared by the doctor and ready to fly.”

“Couldn't you play the whole 'teams stay together' card?  Surely you could have thrown that team effort shit at him.”

“I tried, babe.”  Vince shrugged.  “A six-two, two-twenty
guy
can't pull that off as well as a five-ten, buck fifty knockout like you.  Besides, I was on the phone, and batting my eyelashes doesn't carry the same weight as it does in person.”

Sarah giggled at the thought of Vince batting his eyelashes for anyone.  She kissed him on the cheek. 
“Point taken.
  Looks like I'm stuck with you then, huh?”

“At least thirty or forty years.”
  Vince followed her as she walked downstairs.

“It's about time,
darlin
'.”  Brian's bright smile greeted Sarah as she walked down the stairs.  “We thought we were going to have to leave without saying goodbye.”

“Don't you ever do that,
Brian.
”  Sarah wrapped her good arm around him in a tight hug and kissed him on the cheek.

When Brian stepped aside, Jason was there with open arms and his devilish grin.  “It's just not going to be the same without you to kick around every day.  Get better and come back soon, okay?”

Sarah hugged him back.  “No bar fights without me, okay?”

“Okay, but you really do need to hurry.  You know how I like my brawls.”

Chris scowled when Sarah moved to hug him goodbye. 

“Why the sad face?”

“I still need a golf partner.  It’s going to take forever to break in a new one.  Just how long are you going to milk this handicap?”

Sarah chuckled.  “There's just no budging your priorities, is there?”

Chris hugged her, careful not to squeeze her bad shoulder.  “It’s all I've got.”

Will
shook
Vince's hand.  “Take your time, man.  There's no need to rush back.  See that our girl comes back safely.”

“No worries there.”  Vince pulled Will in for a one-armed hug.

A car horn sounded outside. 

Sarah gave Will a kiss on the cheek.  “I don't do long goodbyes so get the hell out of here.  I'll see you bums when the doc clears me in a few days.”

Brian picked up his bags.  “You talk a good game,
darlin
', but you know you're going to cry yourself to sleep when we leave.”

Sarah opened the door.  “There will be tears and lots of blubbering.  Be safe, guys.”

Chris and Jason responded in unison on their way out. 
“Yes, dear.”

“You don't look so good.”  Vince watched Sarah as she closed the door.

“I'll be alright.  Did the guys leave any coffee?” 

“I think Isabella made another pot for you.  Why don't you go sit on the patio?  I'll get the coffee. 
How about some breakfast and something for the pain too?”

Sarah turned to Vince and kissed him lightly on the lips.  “No. 
Just the coffee now.
  I'll be fine.  Thank you.”

If I didn't have this hole in my shoulder, I'd be in heaven right now.

She walked through the quiet house that had been so busy when the guys were still there.  It still hadn't sunk in that this beautiful mansion was all hers.  She walked out to the patio and sat on one of the chaise lounges by the pool.

Vince set a cup of coffee and a pill on the table next to her. 
“Just in case you need it.”

She grabbed his hand. 
“Really.
  I'm fine.  I don't even think I need this sling anymore.”  She slipped her arm out and pulled it over her head.  A twinge of pain shot through her shoulder but she tried not to let it show.

Vince sat next to her on the other chaise and sighed.  “Sarah, you've been shot.  You don't have to suck it up.  I'm not going to think less of you if you take something for the pain.  Just take the meds, please?”

She held his hand and leaned back.  “I don't want this memory to be clouded in a pharmaceutical haze.  I want to remember every bit of this.”

“Take the pill, woman.  I promise we have plenty of time to make clear memories, and we will.”

She looked into his eyes and the pain went away.  Somehow, all of this seemed so right.  She took the pill with a swig of coffee and closed her eyes as she faced the warm midday sun.

~~~

“You're gonna burn out here.”

“
Mmm
…”

A hand touched her cheek and she leaned into it.

“Sarah?”

“
Mmm
…”

Sarah felt his breath on her cheek

This dream seems so real.

His lips touched hers and she realized it wasn't the dream.  The sound of the ocean was real.  The palm trees whispering in the breeze were real.  The man next to her was real.  It wasn't a dream any more.  The sun shone down and warmed her body.  The air was fresh and warm as she breathed deeply.  All was right in her world now.  He was there. 

She heard him breathing ever so quietly.  She turned to him and opened her eyes.

Thank God, I'm not dreaming this time.

Vince was there, smiling at her.  “You've been asleep for hours.  Was it a good dream?”

“Very good.
  It isn't a dream anymore.”  Sarah touched his face and pulled him closer.

His lips met hers gently at first. 
Tentative.
  Tender.  He reached around her and softly pulled her closer to him.  His lips were more demanding now. 

She stroked his neck, his shoulders,
his
arm.  Her fingers mapped every inch they touched.  She'd waited too long for this.

Too soon, he pulled away and stood up.

“Vince?”

He picked her up in his arms.  His eyes softened and a look of pain came over his face.

“What is it?”

He barely spoke in a whisper.  “I can’t get that image of you, bloody and unconscious, out of my head.  I thought I'd lost you.”

“Never, Vince.
 
Never.”
  Sarah wiped a grateful tear from her eye.

His smile was indulgent but said he knew otherwise.

“Now you listen to me.  Not a bullet, not a million miles.  You'll never lose me.”  Vince carried her inside, set her gently on her bed and began undressing her.

She wanted him.  It was always him.  It always would be.
 
She didn't need a man to complete her, but she needed this man in her life to realize it.  Now she could give herself to this man without losing her soul.  For the first
time in her life, she could give herself completely without losing herself in the process.

Vince watched Sarah as she opened her eyes.

She snuggled closer to him with a sleepy smile.  “Good morning.”

“Yes, it is.  Uh…do you remember last night?”

She kissed his chest.  “How could I forget?  Do you have regrets?”

“Are you kidding?  This is the first time in years I woke up with a woman and didn’t want to gnaw my arm off to escape.”

Sarah winced. 
“Compliment?”

Vince rolled his eyes. 
“Very much so.
  How about I get us some coffee and we spend the morning in bed?”

“Oh, God yes!”

Vince slipped on his jeans and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

He pulled a carafe from the cupboard and started filling it with the coffee Isabella had made.

The low buzz of his cell phone pulled his focus from the coffee.  He pulled the phone from his pocket and flipped it open with a smile.  “Morning, Chris.”

Chris was tentative.  “Vince, I got some bad news and you're not gonna like it.”

Vince's smile melted away and he rolled his shoulders back, preparing himself for yet another crisis.  “Isn't that the meaning of bad news?  Get to it, Chris.”

“The team assigned to take out Nikolai didn't.”

“What do you mean they didn't?  It isn't a one-shot deal.  You follow him into hell if you have to.  You chase the son of a bitch down until you kill him.”

“Uh, Vince.”
  Chris paused.

Vince knew Chris was probably scratching his head, doing that nervous fidget he did when he had bad news.  “I'm tired of dancing with you, Chris.  Sarah is waiting for her coffee, and she can be downright bitchy if she doesn't get it.  Just say what you have to say.”

“The team is gone.  All but one
were
gunned down in their safe house.”

What the fuck?

“Are you
shitting
me? 
The whole team?”
  Vince knew Nikolai's connections were heavy but for him to escape when Victor hadn’t
was
a very bad sign. 

We had the organization mapped all wrong. 

If Nikolai knew about the bust on Victor, as well as the team following him, then he had to be higher up on the food chain than Victor. 
Much higher.
  “Jesus, Chris.  You know what that means?”

“Yeah, they gave us a bad organizational chart among other things.”

“We've got a hot one who knows who we are and what we do.  We've been made.”

Chris sighed.  “I know.  What do you want us to do now?”

“You and Brian get to the Camp.  Make sure you aren't followed.  Put Will and Jason on a private flight to escort Sarah.  Do it now.”  Vince hung up on Chris and hit a speed dial key.

A woman's voice answered.  “Swift Imports.  How may I help you?”