Chapter 2

I heard some soft thumps in the bedroom and I smiled, because it didn't sound like Sam was getting dressed. He was probably going through my dresser drawers, trying to figure out if I was friend or foe. Perhaps that meant he intended to stay awhile, despite the indiscretion earlier. He did say to Michael, or whoever was on the other side of that call, that he would lay low for a bit. Where else would he go?

The bedroom door snapped open and his feet padded down the hall to the living room. I poked my head out the doorway and watched him drop his shoes near the door. His expression was one of confusion. Hopefully over breakfast I could ease his mind.

"Pssst, Sam."

My eyes widened and my mouth formed an 'o' when he spun and stared at me, startled by my pitiful attempt not to startle him. He gave me a weak smile and spoke. "Yeah? Did you, uh, want something?"

"How do you like your eggs?"

His eyebrows shot up and settled just as quickly as they rose. "Oh, you don't have to go through any trouble for me," he said. "Maybe a cup of coffee and I'll be on my way. I don't want to bother you."

"You said you were going to stay in hiding for awhile." I stood in the door with hands on hips while I still held the spatula in my hand. "I'd say that's pretty hard to do if you're out there." I dropped my hands and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about this morning. I promise that if you stay here for a couple days until you meet up with whomever was on that phone, I'll behave myself."

A slight smile crossed his face and he dropped his head to hide it from me. Then he raised that adorable chiseled chin, looked me in the eye and said, "That's a two-way street, sister. I don't know what got into me, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You just thought you were somewhere else. So, your eggs?"

He sighed as he realized that he wasn't getting off that easy. If he really intended to run, he knew I wasn't going to send him away with just a measly cup of coffee. "Fried is fine. Thanks."

"Great!" My smile was smug, and I whirled on my heel and returned to the kitchen to finish breakfast.

While I cooked, Sam meandered around my apartment. He discovered the second bedroom where I kept my computer on a desk and a day bed provided some emergency overnight accommodations. I wouldn't dream of making him sleep on it, not that it wasn't comfortable. He spent some time in there, most likely studying the pictures on the wall or trying to get into my computer to figure out where he was. All in good time, Mr. Axe. I smiled at the idea of hosting him for the next couple days or so. It was like a dream come true, sort of.

My dream would have been a little more... robust... in the bedroom this morning. I felt my cheeks grow hot just as he popped in to the kitchen.

"Everything okay in here," he asked. I looked up to see his eyes narrowed and pointed at me, which only made my blushing worse.

"Just about done! I, uh, put some mugs out. Grab yourself some coffee and have a seat at the table." I busied myself with sliding the eggs onto plates instead of staring at his back as he slipped past me in the narrow space on his way to the coffee machine. His backside brushed mine, and just to be polite I tucked myself closer to the range. "Sorry, it's a little small in here."

"No problem."

"I... I noticed you didn't bother with a shower. There are plenty of towels in the closet in the bathroom and..."

"Thanks, but there's kind of no point since my clothes aren't exactly clean," he replied and sat at the table, his body angled toward me.

"True, but if you're staying here, I can throw them into the wash before I run off to take care of some things, and by the time I get home, you'll have clean clothes and be presentable again." I turned to him with the two plates in my hands and a smile on my face. "Sound like a good plan?"

He backed away from the table so I could set the plate in front of him. "I suppose that would work. Thank you."

My smile widened, and it gave me such a rush to be able to help him. "It's my pleasure." Oh dear, I'd said that with a tone that seemed to give him the wrong idea. I could see it in the invisible wall that came up between him and me. "So, uh, you're Sam Axe." I bowed my head and threw some sugar into my coffee to keep myself occupied.

"And you're Nina Kirk." There was an underlying hint of amusement in the tone. "Tell me about yourself. Since you seem to know so much about me, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage."

"Oh, you don't want to hear about me. I'm just a boring, single girl who writes human interest stories for the Miami Herald, and I have no life." I sighed and realized how pathetic I sounded, but it was the truth.

"A pretty woman like you? Really? I'd think you'd have guys banging down your door for a date."

I looked up at him. I thought maybe he was just trying to be charming but the warm expression on his face was genuine. "Thank you, but I'm afraid with my erratic life the only guys banging on my door are Russians in the middle of the night."

He laughed. My heart fluttered at the sound, and I felt utterly foolish for letting myself start to fall for a fictional character. Who was I kidding? I wasn't starting to fall! I'd already taken the leap and splatted on the pavement. Having him here in the flesh was going to be my undoing. Before he left, I would be ready for some serious therapy if I wasn't careful. But when I looked into those rich brown eyes, I thought to myself, why would I want to be careful? The sparkle in them was like a siren song calling me to my ruin, and I didn't care.

"Your breakfast is getting cold," he stated and pointed to my plate.

My eyes were on that hand with the strong finger arced in my direction and the glint of gold on his wrist. The sight left me breathless. "Yes, you're right." To shake myself out of my reverie, I told him about myself between bites. "As I said, I work for the Herald, and my work takes me to a lot of places around the metro area and at odd times now and then. It makes it difficult to get a steady boyfriend, so I have none. Plus, I'm writing a book in my spare time, so... well, I'm not a complete hermit. I have some girl friends who drag me out now and then, trying to set me up with someone." My smile was a lame effort to hide my embarrassment.

"Don't you hate that when people set you up with who they think is the perfect person for you," Sam asked in a rhetorical fashion. "I'd much rather go find 'em myself, thanks."

"I doubt you have trouble doing that." I praised him and held my blush hostage behind my coffee cup.

There was that laugh again, and at the sound of it I teared up because it was like hearing angels sing. Why couldn't I ever find a guy like him?

"I'm not looking right now. I have a special lady..."

"Elsa," I interrupted.

He stared at me. "Yes. How'd you know?"

"I bet you'd be surprised what I know about you, Sam." My voice came out shaky, and as I saw the fear trickle into his eyes, I knew I put him on guard.

"Who are you, and why do you know about me?" He glanced around the room, no doubt looking for a quick exit, and asked, "Have you been spying on me?"

This was it, the moment I could come clean. Could he handle it, that he was a fictional character come to life in my world? Confident that he wouldn't freak out, I answered. "In a manner of speaking. Wait here, I'll be right back." I stood and skirted around him, laying a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, but I sensed his muscles tense under the shirt fabric. "Really, it's okay."

I returned with the DVD case from season six, my latest Burn Notice purchase, and I held it out to him. Sam took it from me and his eyes were locked onto the cover, and his fingertips skated over the vinyl as he gaped. When I sat down he looked at me with incomprehension in his features.

"What is this? A TV show? And Mike, Fi, and I are in it?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I don't know how you wound up here or why, but you're..." I had to muster up the courage to say it. "You're not real. At least, not here. Maybe in some other universe you are and you fell out of it and landed here."

"The Russians sure sounded real enough last night." He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe this is all some kind of weird dream. I must have been in that hole too long."

"What are you talking about? Where were you," I asked and leaned closer in anticipation of hearing a spoiler. I had a love-hate relationship with spoilers. They, well, they spoiled the surprise, yet I couldn't help seeking them out.

"Mike is this close to getting out of the Agency," Sam said with a hesitancy in his voice and his finger and thumb millimeters apart. "Then the Russians caught up to us and threw us into a makeshift cell for a few days. I think that's all it was. They were holding us in an abandoned building, but Mike and I got away. We split up and I just kept running."

"How long?"

"A day. Just when I was thinking it might be safe to go back to Elsa's, get cleaned up and change clothes, I find out that they're tailing her everywhere." He paused and I could imagine the memories rattling around in his brain as his eyes grew misty. "I waited until she left for work and... dammit, I let them follow her. Then I snuck in through the back, got my business taken care of, and left a note under her pillow." He released a heavy sigh and folded his arms on the table. "I took a big risk. She could be dead now thanks to me."

Whatever was happening, it definitely hadn't occurred in any of the episodes I'd seen so far. Maybe this was after the season, and that somewhere in the ether the characters of Burn Notice continued to live their lives and fight the bad guys. He looked so distraught, I slid my chair next to his and put an arm around him.

"Sam, it'll be okay. They're not going to hurt her if they think she'll lead them to you."

"But how long will they patiently follow her? They're going to resort to other measures if I don't get back soon." The agony in his eyes broke my heart, and despite how our morning began, I took him into my arms and rubbed his back with my hand.

"Nothing's going to happen, Sam. You're not in that world anymore, and if they're here going after you, there's nobody to hurt Elsa." I hoped my logic was sound.

He pulled back and cleared his throat. "I don't want to bet on that." I was surprised when he took my hands in his as he said, "It's best if I just go and try to get back to where I belong."

"But how? And what about your contact?"

He licked his lips, just a little bit of tongue that would have tickled my insides if things hadn't been so dire. "Yeah, you're right. I need to wait to meet up with Mike."

"Good. Until then, you can stay here. Do your laundry while I'm gone to work," I said with a smile.

Sam released my hands and sat back in his chair as he smiled and picked up the DVD case. "Maybe I will, and I'll check out this show, see what you people think our lives are like."

I glanced at the clock and I froze. "Oh no, I'm going to be late."

"Late for what?"

"Work!" I popped out of my seat and felt his hand circle around my wrist.

"What day is it?"

My whole body relaxed. "I'm so disoriented. It's Sunday, not Monday! Between the huge Burn Notice marathon and last night, I'm all turned around." I laughed at myself, let out a relieved breath, and sat at the table. "Wow, that was close. But anyway, I do have to get myself together. I, uh, have to get out for a bit and run some errands. While I'm gone, you can get your stuff taken care of." I winked and added, "I'll make sure to give you enough time. I promise."

He chuckled and I could sense the discomfort wafting in the air. I decided to put him out of his misery by excusing myself. "You can leave this. I'll take care of it when I get back." I looked down at my half eaten breakfast and shook my head.

By the time I emerged from the bathroom wearing a white, sleeveless linen top and matching sand colored capris, I heard clinking in the kitchen and water running. I ducked my head into the room and found Sam at the sink, dropping the last of the silverware into the bin to air dry, and unstopping the sink to let the soapy water drain. I cleared my throat and startled him.

"What are you doing," I asked with a charmed smile. "I told you that it could keep until I got back."

"Well, it was the least I could do for your taking me in like this," Sam said, and he eyed me from head to toe and back and smiled. "You look nice, Nina."

"Thank you." He'd done it again! He was, without even trying, causing me to fall in love all over again. Such a pity that he wasn't real! I picked up my purse from the counter and snuck past him, looking down rather than into his eyes, because I was afraid my imagination was getting the better of me again. "I'll see you in a few hours, okay? If the Russians come back, don't leave. Hide or something." I braved a look into his eyes. "I want you to be here when I get back."

His head tilted and he pondered what I said, no doubt wondering why I would say such a thing. I left him like that and locked up behind me, and I checked my watch. In three hours I would return and hopefully Sam would still be there and my apartment wouldn't be in a shambles because a Russian black ops team decided to invade. Now, wouldn't the landlady, Mrs. Yarmush, love that!