Chapter 58

Visiting hours had ended, but Jack refused to leave her side again. He needed sleep, but the thought of going home just didn't appeal to him. Sue was supposed to have gone home tomorrow, but now because she'd risked her life for him, she was stuck in here for several more days. It tore at his heart to see her in pain, not being able to help her.

The last few hours, not to mention the last week, had been extremely hard on her. Jack didn't know what he'd do to make it up to her. She didn't deserve the torment she'd been through. Most other women he knew wouldn't have been able to handle it like she had.

But she's not like most other women, he thought. She's more unique and genuine than anyone I've ever met.

It wasn't long after she made the announcement that Kyle Jarrett was being blackmailed by someone to commit crimes that the interpreter showed up. It surprised him when it ended up being Matt Martin, who was in town for the festival too. When he'd gotten the call and found out it was Sue, he rushed right over.

Sue was glad to see him, not only for his interpreting, but he'd brought along his younger sister, Emi. After the bank robbery in Berkeley Springs, she had rushed off so fast and didn't get an opportunity to see her again before they had to leave.

Sue was enamored with the young girl, her enthusiasm and joy contagious as they sat side by side on the hospital bed, watching Matt interpret the conversation around them. The team was in shock as Sue continued to provide information from the conversation she'd watched while she and Troy were being driven to the warehouse.

Since they knew Troy and Sue were deaf, the driver didn't hold back on taunting Jarrett with the information about their future plans. Unfortunately, all Sue was able to get was that Jarrett's wife was being held until he completed his mission, and if he didn't he wouldn't see her again. She hadn't been able to figure out who his wife was or where she was being held.

However, she did learn that the document thefts were just a cover to get the F.B.I. involved. Someone wanted them specifically on this case.

This would cause a complete shift in the way the team was approaching the situation. They had to take into consideration that, if they moved to fast, they may never get to whoever was really behind the stalking and the document thefts.

However, with their escape from the warehouse, the team really didn't know how long they had before Mrs. Jarrett was hurt, or even killed. They just hoped that they could get what they needed to find her, before it was too late.

Jack brought his hand up to stroke her face tenderly as Sue moaned in her sleep. He knew she couldn't hear him, but it made him feel like he was doing something. As the clock tick past 2am, he began talking to her, caressing her hand as finally he released his pent up emotions.

Chapter 59

Groggily opening his eyes, Bobby looked around the strange room his eyes coming to rest on the sleeping form on the sofa by the wall. Lifting his head off the pillow, he recalled coming back to his room after checking on Sue, with Tara as company. As he admired her features, she remembered their discussion just a few hours ago as he argued with her regarding what she saw as his need for a babysitter.

"I won't leave my room," Bobby insisted as she helped him back into bed. He could not believe how stiff and sore he was as he relied on her assistance getting out of the wheelchair.

When he finally stood up, his legs buckled under him causing Tara reach round his waist, attempting to keep him upright. However, her petite frame was no match for his height, and they crashed onto the bed, pinning her under his muscular body.

"Ah, um," Bobby stammered as he realized just how close their faces were together.

Breathlessly, Tara gazed up into his eyes, her arms trapped between them, unable to move. Her lips parted, her tongue slipping out running across them as she tried to form the words in her head.

His heart beat faster in his chest as Bobby felt her delicate form under him. He went to push himself away from her when his eyes fell on her mouth. Watching her tongue dip out wetting her lips, his strength seemed to vanish from his body.

Lowering his head, he was drawn to her like a magnet. His lips brushed hers and waves of electricity shot between them at the contact.

He could feel her body trembling under his as he raised his hand to cradle her chin. Holding her head at the right angle, he took possession of her lips again, deepening the connection between them.

The kiss ended way too soon as Bobby's expression sobered. Looking intently at her, he traced the outline of her jaw with his finger. Noticing the hint of red staining her cheeks, he took a deep breath, rolling away and allowing her to get up.

Moving quickly over to the other side of the room, Tara raised her hands to her hai,r brushing it back down as she struggled to control her wayward thoughts. She really enjoyed having Bobby kiss her. Or was that me kissing him? she wondered.

Turning back, Tara avoided his eyes as she told him that she would check at the nurses station for a pillow and a blanket. Despite her best judgment, she was committed to staying with him tonight as the rest of the team was busy following up on new information.

My luck, if I leave him alone, she thought as she quickly left the room, we'll be searching for him tomorrow. She just had to get the thought of their kiss out of her head. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be easy.

Chapter 60

Watching her sleep now as the morning sun peeked through the slats in the blinds, Bobby could remember the taste of her on his lips. In all the years that he'd known her, he'd never thought about Tara the way he did last night. She'd always been just Tara. That is until now, he thought.

Hearing her moan in her sleep, he had to wonder if Tara was thinking about their kiss too. With his eyes, he traced her features, realizing just how beautiful his bubbly co-worker was.

Bobby was thankful he wasn't on the heart monitors anymore. I can image how fast that thing would be beating right now, he grinned to himself as he felt his pulse quicken.

As he admired her sleeping form, Tara's eyes slowly opened and locked with his. Bobby saw her lips part as she took a shaky breath, and he immediately wanted to kiss her again.

"Morning," she muttered, breaking eye contact as she swung her legs off the sofa. Keeping her head down, Tara ran her fingers through her sleep-tangled hair, but she couldn't hide the telltale blush that tinged her cheeks from Bobby's prying eyes.

"Morning, shelia," Bobby whispered, his voice sounding husky even to his own ears. He watched her when she reach for her boots, her hands trembling slightly as she tried unsuccessfully to avoid his intense gaze. Holding one boot forgotten in her hands, Tara couldn't break the unspoken connection between them.

Noise at the door snapped their emotionally charged link as they both looked away as if they'd been burnt. Mike and D entered the room, their smiles brightening when they saw their fellow agents were already awake.

"Good, you're both awake," Mike beamed. "We were able to get a hit last night…well, this morning actually….on Jarrett's credit card at a motel in Hyattsville," he explained their early morning visit.

"SOG has been at the motel since then and verified a little while ago seeing Jarrett and another man…" D continued.

"We assume Mr. Van Driver," Mike interrupted.

"Right," D confirmed. "SOG is currently following them, and they're heading in this direction," he announced.

"You don't think their heading here, do you?" Tara asked as she finished pulling on her boots.

"Maybe," D shrugged. "The team we had staking out the warehouse said no one has been back since Troy showed us where they were taken."

"But it didn't look like anyone had been there between the time Jack and Sue left and we showed up," Mike revealed.

"And it's in the opposite direction from where they're heading," D declared grimly.

"We need to tell Jack," Bobby insisted, throwing the covers back to swing his legs out of the bed.

Mike and D moved to block him, but Tara was quicker. With a soft hand on his arm, she stopped him, bringing his attention to her face. The intensity in her eyes was so overwhelming, Bobby allowed her to gently ease him back against the pillows and readjust the blanket around him.

Witnessing the silent exchange, D and Mike just gawked at each other in confusion. Amazed, D had never seen a woman have that much control over his Aussie friend, not even Darcy when they'd been dating.

"Ah, well," D stammered. "Myles and Dale are going by Sue's room to tell them," he stated, watching Tara's hand tenderly stroke Bobby's arm.

"After they pick up, Matt and his sister from the hotel," Mike continued when D persisted to gape at the other two. "We didn't know how Sue's vision would be this morning so Myles thought it best to bring the interpreter," he added, seeing the confusion on their faces.

"Myles?" Tara questioned in awe.

"What do you know? Harvard's actually getting a heart," Bobby teased, earning a playful slap from Tara.

"So what's the plan?" Tara asked, blushing slightly at the passionate gaze Bobby was giving her. Looking at D and Mike as they explained, she tried to distract herself from the fluttering she felt in the pit of her stomach. Feeling Bobby take her hand in his, she took a wobbly breath, wondering where all this was going.