Saints and Assassins (The Sentinels) (18 page)

S
he went back up and kept watch, just in case, keeping the gun handy. As she watched the ocean slosh around the boat, she thought of all of the questions that she still wanted to ask Adam. Would this ever be over so that they could be at peace?

It didn’t matter though. The idea of being without Adam seemed ludicrous to her and if that meant they ran for the rest of their lives then so be it.

As the morning turned to
afternoon,
s
he really
wish
ed
that she had some of her own clothes.
T
he clothes she had worn yesterday were filthy and there was no way that she could clean them in the sink. Then it dawned on her, she wondered if there was a washing machine aboard?

Surely there was, with a boat this size there had to be.  She decided to go below to search. There were still a couple of areas that she hadn’t
seen
so she searched quietly trying not to wake up Adam.
Pleasantly, s
he actually did find a
small washing machine
. When she went to retrieve her dirty clothes fro
m the
bathroom,
she heard Adam
talking.

“We’ll be leaving here within the next
twenty-four hours
,” she heard Adam say. Eve stepped toward his voice to find him on his cell phone. As he spotted
her,
a huge grin came over his face. Adam said goodbye to whomever he was speaking to and shoved the phone in his pocket.

“Hello angel,” he said as he stepped to her. She smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. She still couldn’t believe this was all real.
The good or the bad, but she was definitely reveling in the good.

“So how are you feeling?” She reached up to touch the bump on his head.

“Much better I think. I just spoke to my contacts in
Chicago
. No one has heard of the failed attempts yet, so we have some time.”

“Who exactly is it that wants me dead?” She arched one eyebrow as she looked at him. She just felt that if she had a name that she could at least
mentally
channel her anger to that name.

“It’s the president of one of the banks that your . . . that Michael’s firm represented,” he told her.
She noticed his hesitation in calling Mich
ael her husband, but ignored it.

“And what
is it that they think I know?” She tried to think of
what
confidential information that she
would have
been privy too, but drew a blank. Adam told her that he wasn’t sure what they thought she knew about. Michael had o
nly told him that she needed watched
, just in case.

“I think we should probably leave before we give them too much time to regroup,” he said.

“Where will we go or have you decided?”

“Actually, we’re going to go to
Chicago
,” he replied.
She felt a lump in her throat and
swallowed hard.

“What? But you said . . . why would we go back into the lion’s den?” She definitely didn’t understand. Going back home meant that they would be in dange
r, that Adam would be in danger. The fear of him being harmed because of her terrified her. Eve had already lost Michael and for Adam to have kept himself in harm
’s way all this time, well it told her how much he cared for her and she didn’t feel deserving.

“We’re going to end this once and for all. No matter what happens, you need to be safe forever. You can’t live in peace if you are constantly looking over your shoulder,” he explained.

A wave of anxiety hit her and she couldn’t help but notice that he indicated her singularly.

“Why didn’t you say we? We are going to be togeth
er right?” She pleaded
. Maybe she was over emphasizing the words that he had spo
ken, but he meant
everything to her now.

“Of course we are,” he said as he held her. “I’m sorry it’s just an old habit. I haven’t been a part of anything in so long that it may take me a while to break that habit.”

“Good.”
She smiled a
nd
understood what he meant, but that brought up one of the questions that she had wanted to ask him yesterday. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Yes, what’s your question? If you’re going to ask what
my favorite color is, it’s green
, but it may be changing to white,” he stated as he tugged on the white t-shirt that she had on.

“Seriously, I know you were trying to keep undercover when we talk
ed at breakfast that first day, b
ut have
you ever been married
? It doesn’t matter of course, I’m just curious.”

The corners of Adam’s mouth turned up quickly into the big smile that she of course was very attracted to. “No, I haven’t actually. Everything that I told you that morning was the truth.
Sure,
I had a few girlfriends in college but over the last eight years, I’ve been alone. I just didn’t have time and it wasn’t exactly practical either. I will admit that the part about
acquiring
real estate was a bit of a stretch though. I did get a degree in business
and worked
for a friend for about a year in real estate. The
only
part that I failed to mention was that I was
a Sentinel Protector
and you were in my
care
.”

The sound of that made chills run down her spine,
but
it wasn’t
out of fear though. It was pure joy that neither of them would be
alone now. She smiled back at him, thinking of how much she wanted him again. Eve could tell that this was definitely going to be difficult, for her at least. All she wanted was to be one with him in body and soul. It
made
her feel like a hormone ridden adolescent.

Adam looked deeply into her eyes, she felt as if he were able to see right through to her soul. He kissed her softly for a moment.

“We have
all day
, don’t worry,” he told her.
H
e moved his hand up the back of her shirt, pressing her body agains
t his. She let out a deep sigh.

****

The warmth of the sunlight came through the
porthole
alerting them to the fact that it was morning now. Her body ached, but in a good way. Her muscles were stiff in some places and felt like pudding in others as she stretched her arms out above her head. Eve had slept like a rock, not having any bad dreams
and she knew it was a
ll because she was with Adam. He had loved her and kept her safe.

Adam called ahead to Koa
to inform him that they were on their way and
he
asked Koa
to pick up some kind of package
.

When they arrived at
the dock Koa was there waiting. He climbed aboard and met
the two of them in the wheelhouse. Eve still only had on one of Adam’s shirts, as she never had washed her clothes since they seemed to be a little preoccupied. Adam had his arm around her waist.

“I see that you took my advice.” He cocked one eyebrow and smiled at them. Eve looked up at Adam wondering what Koa’s comment meant. “I’ll tell you later,” said Adam as he looked at her, she had a hunch.

“Ms. Nash, here are some clothes for you,” said Koa as he handed her a shopping bag.

“Thank you so much.” Taking the
bag,
she stepped closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You have been so kind,” she said quietly. His caramel complexion turned pink as he blushed, then Eve
excused herself to change. She opened the bag to find a dress, bra and panties and a pair of high heel sandals in a size seven. She felt a little embarrassed at the fact that Koa had to purchase the undergarments. She would have wondered how he could have known what size to get her, but she was sure that Adam knew her size almost better than she did.

The dress was thin cotton with a light floral pattern and it buttoned all the way down the front reaching about midway down her thigh. Eve
had not
worn anything like it in years since the weather in
Chicago
never warranted such a lightweight outfit. She left her hair down, combing it smooth and throwing it behind her shoulders. When she returned Adam was waiting for her on the deck, he too had changed clothes. He
wore
his blac
k pants and a white
shirt
with the sleeves rolled part way up
.

Damn
, he looks gorgeous!
If there were such a thing as
a
sex
model,
he would be it.
She felt good in the dress,
as if
she didn’t have a care in the world, not
as if
she was being hunted by murderers. They went ashore
and
Koa
took them to the airport
.

Eve had left her small suitcase in the hote
l, but
there was nothing in it that she couldn’t replace
. She had her I.D.
with
her, which
was the only thing that she could possibly need. On the way to the airport Adam kept looking over at her, he would slide his hand up her leg reaching under the hem of her dress. It was pure torture.

“Are you sure that we have to go? Why don’t we just run away to Mexico or Italy, just anywhere except Chicago
?”

“Don’t be afraid, it will be over soon,” he said as he squeezed her hand.

“I’m not exactly afraid, I’m just anxious that’s all.”
Moreover,
she was. She was very anxious to get this nasty business over with so they could begin whatever life it was that they were going to have. Adam reassured her that things would work out
all right
and that they would be alone together soon.

The airport was very busy when the
y arrived as
the bulk of the days’ flights were returning to the mainland. Adam kept Eve at his side as they walked past the crowds.

“Our gate is over there,” Adam pointed out.

A man
met them at the entrance to the jet bridge. “Hello, Mr. St. James,” the man said.

Adam extended his arm to shake the man’s hand. “Todd, thank you for hopping over on s
uch short notice. Ms. Nash will be joining me today.”

“Ms. Nash I’ll be your pilot today.” He extended his arm to her and her jaw went slack as she realized that Adam had his own plane or at least had chartered one. She smiled and said hello before the three of them walked through the jet bridge.

The thoughts flew threw her mind about Adam. What kind of
bodyguard
can afford a private plane? And not only that
,
the pilot had flown over to pick them up?

Eve looked up in amazement to Adam and well, maybe a little shock too.

“
I’m not taking any
chances with you at this point. I have to have complete control of our surroundings.
” Adam’s tone became seriously scary and the reality of Eve’s situation came back to her.

“We can sit here during takeoff.” Adam sat down on the leather
sofa. The cabin of the jet also had a table, leather seats, and a kitchen. She sat in awe.
At least e
ight hundred questions came to mind, but she thought she should wait.

Once the altitude was high enough
,
they were able to move aroun
d, but
Eve was only interested in
staying next to Adam.
Nestling up against him, she prepared for the duration of the flight.

Eve moaned as she breathed in his masculine scent. What she wouldn’t give to have him naked right now. Adam tilted her chin up and
kissed her. Adam’s mouth moved on hers forcefully. She reached up knotting her fingers in his hair, keeping his mouth locked to hers.  Suddenly she felt lightheaded and realized that she hadn’t breathed in a minute or more. Eve gasped for air.

“Sorry,” Adam said as he bac
ked away.
“You can deprive me of oxygen anytime
,” she said smiling.

She tried to keep her urges under control but Adam was definitely
not
helping. His hand moved quickly as it slid up her dress and across her stomach. From the center of her
body,
the
sensation
s
seemed to radiate outwardly. It turned into pain as he pulled his hand away from her skin. She needed him to touch her more. She wanted him to show her
again,
how he loved her but she would have to wait until they were in
Chicago
and
off
the plane.