[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

who got up in the middle of the night, the one who the baby would look
to for help, the one who would hold Samara s hand as she struggled to
bring the baby into this world. He didn t want to be hiding in some alley
while Samara was counting minutes between contractions.
The thought of getting killed in another bust and never seeing
Samara or the baby sent chills down his spine. There were other ways
Connor could make a difference in the world. Just like he had made the
decision to leave the armed service because he felt like he could be doing
something more meaningful somewhere else, he now felt that he could
make a difference in the war on drugs somewhere else too.
Connor couldn t do anything right this second, but at least he had
made up his mind about his future with Samara and their baby.
 It really is beautiful out here, isn t it? Samara sat next to him.
www.samhainpublishing.com 175
Arianna Hart
 It s very peaceful, relaxing, Connor agreed, wrapping his arms
around her.  What are you doing up? I thought you d be asleep for days
after the way you crashed.
 I had to pee, and when I got up you were gone so I went looking for
you.
 I just wanted to enjoy the silence for a bit.
 Enjoy it now. By Memorial Day the college kids will descend upon
the bars and the beaches, and come mid-June the families with mini-
vans packed to the gills and bikes strapped to the roofs will swarm any
available vacancy. Route 6 becomes bumper to bumper every Saturday
as one family leaves their rented home and the next family arrives. The
locals hate the summer, but complain all winter about how lonely it is
out here.
 That s human nature I guess, you re never happy with what you
have.
 I don t know, I m pretty damn happy right now.
 Even if there are people out to kill us?
 Hey, at least we re together.
 Yeah, for now. You know, I ve been thinking& .
 About what?
 You and our baby. I was really floored by the ultrasound yesterday.
 I never would have guessed.
 Stop being smart. I thought you said you weren t a smart aleck?
 No, I said I don t go out dancing every night, and that I didn t sleep
around. I said nothing about not being a smart aleck.
 Great. Anyway, wise ass, I was really floored by actually seeing the
baby on the screen. It made me think about everything I had missed in
the months before I knew you were pregnant. I was thinking about how I
didn t want to be in the middle of some huge, undercover, sting operation
while you were in labor. I didn t want to miss weeks at a time of my
176 www.samhainpublishing.com
Surprise
child s life so I could socialize with drug dealers. I m not going back to the
DEA.
 But Connor, I thought you left the army to work for the DEA
because you thought you were making a difference? I don t want you to
quit because of me.
 I m not. I m going to quit for a lot of reasons. Not the least of which
is that I don t even know if I can get my job back anyway. There isn t just
one reason I m leaving, there are many. I ve been feeling dissatisfied with
the job for a while, the names and faces change, but the people stay the
same. I don t feel like I m making a difference, I just feel like I m getting
in deeper and deeper. I want to try another way to make a difference. I d
like to work with the school systems, identifying kids at risk for drug
abuse, working with the younger kids to help them find alternatives to
drugs. I want to work in the neighborhoods to help them get rid of the
drug dealers that prey on their kids. I keep thinking that the way to get
rid of drugs is to stop the demand, not the supply.
 I d be lying if I said this didn t make me happy. Every time I look at
that scar on your leg, my stomach clenches. I hate the idea of you being
in danger all the time. I know you d do an excellent job in the school
systems, because you know the nitty-gritty, not just the theories that go
along with drug use and abuse. I just don t want you changing your life
because you think that s what I want. I want you to be happy, and if that
means you have to work undercover, well, I ll bite my tongue and
welcome you home with open arms. If working a safer, more mundane
job will make you happy then I m all for that as well. I just want you to
think this through very carefully. I ll be here for you no matter what.
 Have I mentioned that I love you?
 Maybe once.
 Oh, than I guess I don t have to say it again.
www.samhainpublishing.com 177
Arianna Hart
 Maybe you better refresh my memory. Samara stroked the inside of
his thigh.
He scooped her into his arms, carried her into the house and
refreshed her memory all night long
.
Connor answered the phone on the first ring. Habit made him look at
the caller id on the phone, even though he knew it must be Romero, as
he and Macayla were the only ones with this number. The clock said it
was close to three in the morning. This had better be good.
 Romero, Connor growled.
 Well aren t we cheery.
 It s almost three in the morning, if you want cheery, go to a diner.
What have you got?
 What makes you think I have anything?
 Cut the crap. You didn t call me at o-dark-hundred to chat. You
have that annoying tone to your voice that says you know something, so
give. We ve been here forever, I m starting to go stir crazy.
 What, romantic bliss isn t so blissful?
 You try spending twenty-four hours a day in the same two rooms
with anyone and see how blissful you feel. I ve never been in the same
building as anyone else this long, never mind the same two-room cottage.
If Samara wasn t so great I d probably be committed by now.
 She must be great to put up with you.
 She is. Now tell me what you ve got before I reach through the phone
line and kill you.
 They took the bait.
 How do you know?
178 www.samhainpublishing.com
Surprise
 What am I suddenly? An idiot? I know they took the bait because
I ve been waiting around doing nothing else but fishing for them for the
last three weeks.
 Tell me everything. I m living vicariously through you right now.
 Don t rush me. A week after you left Miami I heard from some
sources that there was an interested party looking for a way into the
hard drive of computers wiped clean. What I figure is that whoever put
the money in your account didn t know what he was doing, and was
trying to get the money out. When the smear job didn t work, they tried
to steal the computer to get your passwords and accounts.
 Then why did they grab Samara?
 Probably as a bargaining chip, how the hell do I know? Anyway,
when the hacker finally got your computer, he thought he had scored,
but then realized it wasn t your run-of-the-mill laptop. When he ran into
trouble he went looking for someone who could break into the hard drive
of government wiped computers.
 Which is where you come in.
 Yes sir-e.
 How did you get the word out without being obvious?
 Do you think I just started this game last week?
 Romero. Enough with the ego. I trust that you did it with your usual
finesse. I m dying here. I want this done so I can get on with my life.
 I m trying to understand that you re not used to depending on
anyone to do your work for you, but try to trust me, I do this sort of thing
for a living.
 I do trust you, go on, and tell me the rest of your brilliant strategy.
 Okay, so the hacker gets the laptop, doesn t want to admit that he
can t get into it, professional pride you know, anyway he puts the word
out to people that are better left out of the light of day. They get in touch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]