Code Name Desire (12 page)

She pushed off the floor with her good arm
and lurched from the room. Rush bellowed an anguished cry of pain
and frustration. She ignored him. She had to kill him. She couldn’t
call for help on an unsecured line, the computer was too far away,
and besides, how fast could the agency get to her in this weather?
No, she would personally handle this threat to her nation’s
security. This threat to her life. This threat to the man she had
unwillingly given her heart.

In Teague’s room, she seized her gun and
turned. Her heart beat so heavily she had to fight for breath. A
wave of nausea caught her off guard, stopping her in her tracks.
Doubling over, she winced as a terrible pain pressed against her
forehead and her already throbbing left eye. Blackness moved in,
filling her peripheral vision.

No. Don’t pass out
. She clutched the
gun. The floor came up to meet her, and she instinctively rotated
to keep the dagger in her chest from making contact. As her vision
narrowed further, Rush limped in. She could only see him from the
waist down. He had pulled the shoes free, and blood darkened his
clothes. At his thigh, his hand gripped a semi-automatic
handgun.

She had to stop him. She had to save Teague.
It was her mission. Oh, God. It was everything. She could barely
move. She managed to inch her hand along the carpet and point the
gun at his passing shoe, but he moved past too quickly.

Something’s wrong. I’m really hurt. Don’t let
me die before I take out this traitor.

Her vision narrowed further, making it seem
like she looked through a tube. She sank weightlessly, as if
drowning. In socks and sweatpants, Teague came running in and
stopped. She wished she could see his face. Warn him that Rush was
in the room. Tell him to run for his life. She couldn’t get the
words to form.

The world went black.

Oh, please, Teague. Please save yourself.

A horrible ringing sounded in her ears.

Then a gunshot.

No! God, no!

Chapter Fifteen

Jaeda’s head throbbed. And something ice cold
and heavy pressed on her forehead. Far away, male voices talked in
hushed tones. Teague’s television again? The thought made her
smile.

“Jaeda? I saw her smile. Jaeda?”

Teague’s voice. No. An overwhelming grief
banded around her ribs, and she gasped on a sob as a warm tear
trickled town her temple. Had she died with him? Were they in
Heaven? Couldn’t be – not with this headache. Hell? She’d never
believe Teague would deserve such a place. Then where? What waited
after death?

“Jaeda. Please…”

“I’m so sorry, Teague. I’m so sorry I failed
you,” she whispered.

“Please, open your eyes. You didn’t fail me.
You saved me. Us.”

She cracked a lid. A white ceiling came into
view, then white curtains and a white wall. Everything was white.
“It’s got to be Heaven.”

“Oh, Lord,” said a familiar voice. “If this
is Heaven, we’re all in trouble.”

Laughter sounded from multiple places. It
seemed disjointed and jumbled.

“Look at me, Jaeda.” Teague caressed the
backs of his fingers down her cheek.

Trying again, she opened both eyes. He sat at
her hip on a narrow bed with white linens. She searched his
forehead, his chest, and his stomach. They seemed perfectly intact.
It made no sense.

“But he shot you,” she said. “I heard
it.”

“No,
I
shot
him
. I took your
tiny gun from your hand and got him as he came from my
bathroom.”

“That can’t be right. He had a
semi-automatic. My pistol doesn’t sound anything like it.” Her head
throbbed harder as she tried to comprehend.

A man in a long white coat came forward and
removed the weight from her forehead. An icepack. At least
something
made sense.

“I’m Dr. Frelen. You’re in the hospital.”

American accent. Familiar name. She studied
his face until it came to her. “Dr. Frelen. From the agency. Spy
doctor,” she said, repeating the nickname she and her classmates
had assigned him when she went through training.

He chuckled. “You’re going to be fine. We
were worried about you for a few hours. You took a blow to your
head that caused your brain to swell. Medication is working well,
so we were able to avoid surgery. Your stab wound was another
matter. That took a lot of stitching, but it missed your lung. I
expect you’ll recover fully.”

Head injury? No wonder she had lost it in
Teague’s bedroom. “How long do I have to stay?”

“I’d prefer if you stayed at least overnight
tonight. For observation.”

Jaeda glanced at Teague. Hope and affection
shined from his eyes. She put a hand on his and turned to the
doctor. “I’m okay? And I can go if I want?”

“I’d rather you stayed.”

“I’d rather I didn’t.” She moved to sit.

From the far corner of the room, a dark
figure stood and came forward. In the light from a window, she
immediately recognized her director. “Ms. Bennett, maybe you should
do as the doctor advises.”

A look at Teague told her he’d support
whatever decision she made. “With all due respect, sir, I’m lucky
to be alive. I don’t want to waste a precious minute in a hospital
when I’ve got serious work to do.”

“I hate to break it to you, Ms. Bennett, but
you’re on mandatory leave. Six months. This was a level six
assignment. You did an outstanding job, Agent, and you know the
rule.”

“Yes. Successful completion of a level six or
higher requires a six-month disconnection before reactivation. But
that’s not the work I was talking about.” She looked to Teague.
“I’ve got some making up to do.”

“Ah,” said the director with a nod.

“What about my report?” she asked.

“Tomorrow. And no paper. Send it through the
same window you used to contact us last night. Now get some rest
and do as the doctor says.” The director gave Dr. Frelen a nod then
left.

“Last night?” whispered Teague, not looking
pleased to hear about her secret nighttime activity.

“Dr. Frelen,” she said, not taking her gaze
from Teague’s. “Release me. Give Mr. Jameson your contact
information in case we need you, but I don’t think we will.”

The doctor left the room without a word,
clearly not pleased with her decision. But she didn’t care. With
every passing moment, she felt more herself and less an
invalid.

“Your place or mine?” Teague asked, brushing
a strand of hair from her forehead.

“Oh, definitely yours. Mine’s a disgrace. I
do want to swing by and get some things, though.” Anticipation
fluttered in her stomach.

The next hours proved trying in her weakened
condition. Having her left arm in a sling made it more difficult
yet. But Caster and Teague helped every step of the way. Jaeda
disliked the questions written on Teague’s face, but she respected
how he refrained from bombarding her with them.

Finally, at the manor, Castor pulled the car
into the shoveled circle drive. It amazed Jaeda how the place
seemed untouched despite all that had happened the day before. She
imagined the back view of the house would tell a different
story.

When the driver climbed out and began
carefully making his way around to open the car door closest to the
steps, she placed a hand on Teague's wrist. "Allay my final
concern. Tell me what's in that locked desk drawer."

A gentle smile softened his features. "Of
course. I keep my father's antique watch collection in there. I'll
gladly show you. You needed only ask, you know. I'll hide nothing
from you."

As Caster opened his door, she relaxed. "I'd
love to see it, but later."

“How do you feel?” Teague asked, offering a
hand to help her out.

“Remarkably well, considering. I’m tired, but
the pain medicine is doing its job. My head stopped hurting and my
shoulder only pulls when I move wrong.” On his arm, she climbed the
steps while Caster followed with her bag and equipment case. “Are
you sure you want me to stay?” She glanced over her shoulder at her
suitcase.

“Positive.” Teague grinned, chasing her
doubts away on the breeze.

Sutton opened the door and smiled. Actually
smiled. “Welcome home, sir. Welcome home, ma’am.”

Home?

Mrs. Wilson beamed from the ballroom doorway.
“Welcome home, ma’am.” She eagerly accepted the suitcase from
Caster and disappeared with it.

“Oh,” Jaeda cried, hoping to stop her.
“Please, not the lavender room,” she said in a weak voice, knowing
the housekeeper wouldn’t hear her anyway. Darn it.

Sutton took her equipment case and went to
the study.

“Where to?” Teague asked. “Anything you want
to do. Anywhere you want to go. I want you to consider this your
home.”

There was that word again. Home. “For how
long?”

“Hmm,” he said, leading her into the
ballroom. “I distinctly heard the director mention six months. But
we’ll see.”

She gasped. “Six months? Are you serious? You
hardly know me.”

“I know you. I see the truth of you. It’s the
details that will take some time learning. But that’s the fun
part.”

She liked the way he thought. He had such a
unique view of the world, and unique way of coming at life. He
energized her. Thrilled her. And she looked forward to learning his
details, too.

“So, where would you like to go?”

“Honestly?” It made her wilt to think her
request might mean less time with him when all she wanted to do was
spend every minute of the next six months as close to him as he
would allow.

“Yes, honestly.”

“I’m growing exhausted. I need to lay down.”
In the lavender room? Ugh!

“Of course. Quite frankly, I’m surprised
you’ve lasted this long. I half expected you to fall asleep in the
car.” He took her hand and headed for the staircase.

“I’m not sleepy, really. Just weary.”

At the base of the stairs, he scooped her off
her feet and she laughed. “I told you, I can’t help myself.
Besides,” he added, climbing the steps with no effort, “I can’t
think of a better excuse. You’re injured and exhausted. It makes me
feel heroic to do this.”

She kissed his cheek and put her head on his
shoulder. “You
are
heroic. You killed a very bad man who
would have murdered me as soon as he’d finished killing you. Then
he would have cleansed the property by hunting down and taking out
every single one of your staff. You saved us all.”

He shook his head and halted outside the
closed doors of his bedroom. “You’re wrong. I
did
kill him,
but I only saved myself and perhaps you. Your director told me the
autopsy showed he was dying, and fast. You sent the heel of your
shoe into his bowel. He was spewing poison into his abdomen.”

“You didn’t know that at the time. You did
what you had to.” Whether he admitted his heroic deed or not, she
considered him her hero. She had never had one, and it filled her
with wonderment.

He opened his bedroom door.

“But…” She glanced at the door to the
lavender room.

“No, my love. This is your room.
Ours
.”

He carried her through the sitting room and
into a romantic dream. More than twenty dozen red and white roses
welcomed her in beautiful arrangements. Pink petals littered the
carpet. Chocolate covered strawberries waited on the dresser next
to an envelope, and her suitcase stood on the floor underneath. The
entire room smelled of rose garden and love.

“Happy Saint Valentine’s Day,” he whispered.
He set her on the bed and let her rest against a stack of pillows.
Bringing her the envelope from the dresser, he said, “I considered
champagne to go with the strawberries, but didn’t think it a good
idea since you’re taking pain medicine.”

“It’s so lovely,” she said, fighting tears of
joy.

Stretching alongside her on the bed, he
handed her the envelope and grinned.

Jaeda removed a booklet card and smiled. On
the cover posed a brown and white Teddy bear with blue sunglasses
reflecting another Teddy bear in red sunglasses and holding a rose.
The back said
Juicy Graphics
.

She opened it and read, “I could have had a
job with the CIA.” She turned the page. “They wanted me to work
undercovers. I thought that meant that I would be spying. But what
they needed were covert lovers.” She turned another page, her heart
beating harder. “Well you can imagine how surprised I was when I
realized what they wanted me to be. I was shocked and outraged at
their request. I told them they’d never recruit me.” Jaeda smiled
and turned the next page. “I still get letters asking me to join,
but it would be such a needless thing to do. I get all the
excitement anyone could ever want.” On the last page, she read,
“Under the covers with you.” Handwritten below that, Teague had
written, “With all the love in my heart, your undercover lover for
as long as you’ll have me, Teague.”

He ran fingertips along her bare arm. “Will
you have me?”

She forced her smile to melt. “Well, I don’t
know. Do you deserve me?”

“I’ll never deserve you. But that doesn’t
stop me from wanting you.”

She laughed, unable to help it. “In that
case, I’ll have you. I need you to understand that you may still be
in danger, though. Rush worked for some nasty people, and the money
they entrusted to you just got confiscated by your prime
minister.”

“I’m not concerned in the least. I’ve got a
level six kick-ass spy on my side. And if I’ve been very good
indeed, you’ll come to love me like I love you.”

“I’m surprised, Teague.”

“Why?” He arched his brows as a flash of hurt
glinted in his gaze.

She smiled to reassure him then planted a
kiss on top of his head. “You’ve been able to read me so well. I
can’t lie to you. You see it. You said yourself that you see the
truth in me. You trusted me when my actions would have told anybody
else not to. Yes?”