Chapter 3
Holly's pursuer headed down the stairs, but Holly didn't know what to say or do. She was stunned. Her heart started beating again, only now it was pounding a mile a minute.
"Robert?", she fairly croaked.
"Robert!", she repeated, this time much more assertively.
At the sound of her voice, the man pulled up, his hood falling away in the process. For the first time in 8 years, Holly Sutton came face to face with her husband, Robert Scorpio.
Holly nearly fell over her feet as she threw herself down the steps. She caught up with Robert and looked him in the eyes.
"Robert?" she repeated again. Robert raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, looking as sheepish as one would expect a spy who's been found out in such a way to look.
Holly stared at Robert for a minute, and then launched herself at him in an embrace. Robert reeled for a second, trying to keep his balance on the stairs. He regained his balance and held on to Holly for a few seconds, relishing the feel of holding a loved one after so many years without.
"You're alive? How can this be? What happened?" Holly pulled away and launched into a rapid-fire series of questions.
"Hi Holly," Robert responded, still looking sheepish.
"Where have you been? What has happened to you all these years? How did you survive? We thought you were dead, how...:"
"Whoa, darling, slow down. One question at a time" Robert's face took on a familiar bemused expression.
"I could hit you, you know! Stop looking so smug. How long were you planning to spy on me?"
Robert's face clouded over: "Listen, as charming as this stairwell might be, it's a long story. Can we go talk somewhere else?"
"We can go to my place."