Chapter 26

Bobby dropped the rest of the bags he was carrying, pulling his gun from the waistband of his jeans as he and Tara backed against the wall of the house. He waited for the petite blonde to retrieve her gun from her handbag before starting up the stairs to the front porch.

Trying the door, Bobby looked at Tara curiously when he found it locked. He dug his keys back out of his pocket, quietly unlocking the door and pushing it open. Peeking in, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. With Tara covering him from the door, Bobby cautiously moved into the foyer scanning around him.

The tension was thick as they made their way into the house. Splitting up as they entered the living room, Bobby glanced quickly at Tara, noting the determination on her face as she headed for the kitchen. Be careful, love, he thought silently before turning towards the bedrooms.

Inching down the hallway, Bobby scanned his room quickly before moving towards the other bedroom. He couldn't shake the feeling that Tara was in trouble, but he knew he couldn't go to her until he was sure his end of the house was secure. He'd never forgive himself if she got hurt because he'd done something careless.

The bathroom and closet in the hallway were empty, so Bobby moved into her room. Even though it was under unusual circumstances, he couldn't help but feel strange being there – where Tara slept and where she dressed.

Manning, do your job and get out of here, Bobby reminded himself as he back quickly out of her bathroom as images of her showering bombarded him. He'd just finished clearing the closet when Tara's scream sent his heart plummeting in his chest.

His gun out in front of him, Bobby made his way back through to the living room. The noise coming from the direction of the laundry room told him where Tara was. Cautiously, but quickly, he made his way around every corner as he moved closer to her.

"BOBBY!" he heard her scream, making him want to run to her. However, Bobby knew if he wasn't careful, he could cause more problems.

Kicking open the laundry room door, Bobby raised his gun as Tara suddenly propelled herself at him, causing him to stumble backwards. Wrapping his arm around her, he spun her protectively behind him, keeping her close as he aimed his gun into the room.

With trained eyes, Bobby scanned the room searching for the source of her flight. Except for the two of them, everything was still and the room appeared empty.

"Tara?" Bobby whispered, glancing down at where she had her blonde head buried in his shoulder. "What is it? I don't see anything," he told her.

Chapter 27

Trembling, Tara slowly pulled back, tilting her head to look up at the tall Aussie holding her. She didn't know what she'd seen, but it had scared her. He's going to laugh at me, she thought, turning slightly in his arms to gaze around the room.

"Um," Tara began, unsure of how to explain it.

Suddenly, a furry mass leaped from the shelf over the washing machine towards them. As Tara cried out in surprise, Bobby threw up his arm, knocking it out of the air. Pulling her against him, he half carried her, half dragged her to the door, aiming his gun at the corner where the creature disappeared.

"It's a squirrel," Bobby groan relieved as it peeked out from behind the cabinet again. "See, shelia, it's just a squirrel," he tried to reassure her with a smile as he set the safety on his gun and stuffed it back into the waistband of his jeans.

"I don't care what it is," Tara muttered as she saw it slowly creep out from behind the dryer. "I want it out of my house," she shrieked, circling around to hide behind him. I'm not living here with an animal in the house! she vowed silently. "What are you doing?" she asked, keeping her arms around his waist as he started forward.

"I'm going to get it out of the house, shelia," Bobby told her laughing. "Which would be a little easier to do if I could breathe?" he teased, rubbing his hand across hers flattened against his stomach.

"Uh, sorry," Tara murmured quietly as she reluctantly released him, backing into the doorway.

Looking down, Tara realized she still had her gun in her hand and clicked on its safety as Bobby grabbed a broom from behind the freezer and approached the door. Oh, my! she gasped silently as he swung the broom with one hand as he threw opened the back door.

"Yay!" Tara shouted triumphantly as she watched the squirrel scamper out the door. She ran up, throwing her arms around Bobby's neck as he turned around. "I didn't think we'd ever get him out of here," she said as she hugged him tight.

"Uh, no worries, shelia," Bobby stammered as his arms tightened around her waist.

"Er," Tara pulled back slightly as she realized that was the second time in less than five minutes she'd thrown herself at him. What a way to start the evening, she sighed as she caught him gazing longingly down at her.

Suddenly, Tara felt the strongest urge to wet her lips as she felt her heart quicken at his closeness. Maybe I should go ahead and talk to him now, she thought, struggling to control her erratic breathing. Why didn't I ever notice that Rob and Stanley never had an effect like this on me? she wondered, letting her fingers twist into the ends of his hair at his neck.

"Bobby…" Tara started only to be interrupted by another loud crash coming from the living room. "Not again," she moaned, dropping her arms.

"Come on, shelia," Bobby stated, grabbing his gun again. "It can't be another squirrel," he maintained, leading the way back through the kitchen.

I hope not, Tara shuttered as she followed him silently.

Strange bangs and grunts came from the other room as they stood just outside the door. Bobby nodded to her to see if she was ready before spinning first through the opening. Tara almost rammed into his broad back when he suddenly stopped a few steps inside the room.

"Bobby?" Tara questioned as he slowly slid out of the way. Dropping her gun to her side, her eyes widened as she saw the sight before her.

The magazines from the coffee table were strewn across the floor, where a man laid faced down on the carpet. A brunette woman straddled his back, pulling his arm up behind him as he bellowed in pain.

"Hannah?" Bobby questioned wide-eyed.

"Myles?" Tara stammered disbelievingly.

Chapter 28

Her head snapped around when Hannah heard them enter the room. She couldn't believe Bobby was just standing there, watching her struggle. She was about to shout for him to find her a set of handcuffs when the words the petite blonde said finally registered.

"Huh? Myles?" Hannah questioned in confusion. "You know him?"

"Yes, they know me," Myles shouted, between grunts of pain. "Now would someone get this Amazon woman off me?"

"It's okay, shelia," Bobby struggled to control his laughter. "Harvard's one of the good guys," he smiled, crossing the room in broad strides to help her up.

"Oh, my!" Hannah gasped as he pulled her to her feet. "I am so sorry. When I saw you sneaking up the front porch, I thought you were breaking in," she apologized, offering Myles a hand up.

"Lelands do NOT sneak," Myles scoffed, ignoring her hand as he stood up. "I heard Tara's scream and thought she was in trouble," he barked, rubbing his shoulder where she'd wrenched it behind him.

"Uh, sorry," Tara grimaced, moving forward. "I was just, uh, surprised by an unexpected visitor in the laundry room," she explained, blushing slightly in embarrassment and hoping they wouldn't question her further.

"Not as surprised as our unexpected visitor out here," Bobby chuckled as he draped his arm casually across the petite blonde's shoulders. "Now that the two of you have met perhaps we should introduce you," he teased as Myles glared at him from across the room.

"Bobby," Tara warned, playfully jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow.

"No worries, luv," Bobby grinned, pulling her close to plant a light kiss on the top of her head. "Special Agent Hannah Starr, lead agent with COPS program at the Austin RA, this is Myles Leland…"

"The third," Myles interrupted indignant.

"The third," Bobby grinned as he continued. "He's from our team back in DC," he explained briefly.

"Charmed," Myles sneered annoyed as he brushed imaginary dirt from his suit pants.

"Uh, why don't we sit down?" Tara suggested, hoping to change the subject. Glancing quickly up at Bobby, she could see he felt the same tension she did between the two of them.

"After you," Myles motioned, stepping back when they both headed for the couch at the same time. Tara noticed with a smirk how he avoided the seat next to her, instead skirting the coffee table to sit across the room.

"I'll just get the bags from out front," Bobby mentioned quietly to Tara before turning away.

Longing to finish what was started earlier at the beach, she watched him walk away, and then reluctantly followed the others to sit alone on the spacious love seat. She tried to tell herself that she wasn't sitting there hoping Bobby would join her, but she knew in her heart it wasn't true.

"So you're Tara. It's great to finally meet you," Hannah spoke first. "Your husband talks so much about you I feel like I know you. I hope someday to find a love like yours," she mentioned, causing Tara to dip her head shyly as a pink blush tinged her cheeks.

"It's nice to meet you too," Tara smiled stiffly. "Bobby seems to really enjoy working with you."

"Thanks, he's really a joy to work with, and such a fast learner," Hannah grinned. "He is so wonderful with the kids. He's going to make a great father someday, but I guess you already know that," she mentioned, suddenly nervous as she realized Myles was studying her intently.

"Um, yeah," Tara murmured quietly, her head spinning. Bobby, a father? Our children, she thought and couldn't help feeling a little excited at the prospect.

"I know Bobby said you didn't want to take that step until you got a permanent assignment, but I hope it's here," Hannah laughed tensely, glancing at the tall blonde agent out of the corner of her eye. "I know it's selfish, but your husband is such a fantastic partner, I'd really hate to have to train another one so quickly and Texas is a great place to raise kids," she suggested.

"Yeah," Tara muttered breathlessly. Bobby had been talking about having kids with me, she wondered distractedly. Oh, Williams, don't get your hopes up. He's only following our cover story, she admonished herself quietly.

"So have you kissed and made up yet, Myles?" Bobby asked with a broad grin as he returned. "Guess that's a 'NO', huh?" he chuckled at the other man's somber expression.

"Listen, I'm really sorry," Hannah apologized again, leaning forward on the couch. "After what Bobby told me about the drive-by the other night, I just assumed the worse. No hard feelings?" she shrugged hopefully, offering her hand.

"Understandable," Myles agreed, moving forward to accept her 'peace offering'. "It's good to know koala boy has someone here that can help him when he gets into trouble," Myles taunted briefly.

"Oh, is that going to be a problem?" Hannah speculated, glancing at the tall Aussie.

"Uh, honey?" Bobby leaned over the back of the love seat, brushing his fingers across her shoulder as he pressed his lips lightly to her cheek. "I know we were planning a quiet evening at home tonight, but since Myles is here, what do you say we splurge a bit and take him out on the town?" he suggested as he pointedly ignored the other man's remarks.

"Er, sure," Tara agreed, a little shaken by his closeness. "Hannah, you'll come too, won't you?" she asked smiling anxiously.

"Um," Hannah stammered, trying to think of a reason why she couldn't.

"Come on, shelia. You can tell me over dinner what brought you all the way to San Antonio to see me," Bobby recommended, subconsciously massaging Tara's tense shoulders as he spoke. "I'm sure it wasn't to wrestle on the living room floor with Myles," he ribbed.

"Funny, Manning," Hannah grimaced, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt at the situation. "Okay, I'll go," she decided, noticing a slight smile form on the tall blonde's lips as she consented.

"Great!" Bobby slapped his hands together. "Give us a few minutes to change and we'll be on our way," he smiled, grabbing Tara's hand and pulling her towards the bedrooms as he passed.

Hannah raised her hand briefly to wave back to Tara as she disappeared around down the hall. Slowly lowering it, she directed her attention back to the man sitting across from her. She shifted uncomfortably as Myles continued to stare at her. She'd been through many assignments and uncomfortable situations before in her job, but nothing compared to the awkwardness she felt just sitting in the same room with this man. She could only hope the others would be back soon.

Chapter 29

The restaurant the foursome went to wasn't as elegant as the one Bobby and Tara went to on their first night in San Antonio, but it was still quite nice and somewhat romantic. However, the mood was lost on Myles and Hannah, who spent most of the time keeping as much distance between them as possible.

Hannah had attached herself to Bobby's side, as if he would protect her from Myles' glare, while the Bostonian, being the blue blood he was, ignored her, spending most of the evening in conversation with Tara.

As the night progressed, Tara noticed that Myles had moved his chair closer to hers, their thighs touching under the table. He seemed to be touching her hand or her arm as he spoke, stroking her shoulder gently as he draped his arm lazily over the back of her chair.

Normally, it would not have fazed her, but Tara noticed his touch sent tingles down her spine. His light caresses brought back the sensations she felt when Bobby had touched her earlier that day.

Returning to the house, Tara planned to make excuses so she could escape to her bedroom to think. However, somehow she and Myles ended up on the back patio while Bobby and Hannah retreated to the office.

With Hannah finally gone, Tara thought Myles would bombard her with questions about the case. Instead, he stalked towards her with determination in his eyes. His arm snaked around her waist as he pulled her closer, lowering his head…