Two weeks later, FBI Headquarters, Los Angeles, California

Adila was in her office staring out of the window again. Her view contained the building next door and a sliver of blue sky on each side. The aesthetics did not matter because she was too lost in thought, too deep in her pain, to notice anyway.

"Adila?" her Uncle Tony called softly as he walked into her office.

"I'm not going home. That would only make it worse," she told him before he even asked her. He had been begging her to go home to her parents every day since she had returned. Her mother would give her an 'I told you so' for sure this time if she dared to tell her that she had committed the crucial error of mixing business with pleasure. She would honestly say she deserved it. Her Uncle did not know the whole truth, and she was certainly not going to tell him.

"Well, then quit moping around dammit!" he yelled at the back of her chair. "It's time to get over it and act like a grown up. You're not the first agent to get kicked off of a case. Besides, you weren't actually fired. As a matter of fact, the Director received a very nice letter of commendation about you from Ryūzaki."

"Oh, how nice of him," she remarked with malicious sarcasm. "I'm not moping. And it's not about being kicked off the case. I've got other things on my mind. I'll be okay," she reassured her Uncle Anthony hoping that would get him out of her office. She turned her chair to look at him finally.

"What happened over there exactly?" he asked like he had several times before.

"Nothing," she lied with a smile that quivered.

"Mmm-hmm," he mumbled, glaring at her with his icy blue eyes that were just like her father's. He did not believe her and did not try to hide that fact.

Adila did not care if he believed her or not. She allowed the beep from her computer to distract her so that she could ignore her overprotective Uncle Tony. An email from Okibashi Group had just arrived. They had just upped their offer to three times her present pay along with the purchase of a house. The digital signature was from one of the partners, Teru Mikami. So he had made partner with the firm? And he would be arriving at the airport in an hour.

"Son of a bitch!" she hissed, slamming her fists down on the keyboard. The computer released a series of loud beeps to protest her violence.

"What?" her Uncle asked her moving around her desk to see. "Son of a bitch!"

"Well, at least we agree on something," she muttered, getting out of her chair.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, grabbing her by the arm.

"The airport," she answered nonchalantly, grabbing the short sleeved jacket that matched her short black and white pinstriped skirt. Twisting out of his grip, she headed for the door.

"The hell you are! I'm calling security. Let him come to you. They can intercept him here," he told her, grabbing the receiver of her phone.

"NO!" she yelled with surprising strength before he stabbed a button. "No. I'm tired of this. I'll take care of him myself. I want to end this once and for all."

...

Adila stayed close to the baggage conveyor, pacing nervously. His plane had arrived thirty minutes ago. Where the hell was he? Glancing back up the stairs that led down from the gates, she saw him standing at the top. Unexpectedly, her heart thumped so hard it made her chest hurt. He still looked the same except for being more handsome. It was so damn unfair how men get more attractive with age and women just get old. She returned the easy smile that pulled up the corners of his mouth. Her eyes remained on his as he walked down the stairs to her.

"I didn't think you would come," Teru said, embracing her tenderly.

Adila inhaled the unique scent of him- the pine forest after a drenching rain. Her head swirled with thoughts, and she was dizzy from the memories the scent brought flooding back. With the memories came the feelings. She hated how one could trigger the other and always did with her. She had the startling revelation that this was a mistake. As of late, she had made way too many of those. Pushing him away, she cleared her throat and smoothed back her hair fretfully.

"Well, you are here for a business meeting so let's keep it strictly business shall we?" she inquired, turning her back to him to walk back to the luggage carousel.

There were very few unclaimed bags left so it was not difficult for him to retrieve his luggage quickly so they could leave. After he snatched his two suitcases from the conveyor belt, she led him outside to her car. She opened the trunk and waited for him to load the bags without lifting a finger to help. Getting into the driver's seat, she cranked the car and gripped the steering wheel with a choking force like it was his neck as she waited for him to get into the car.

'What the hell was I thinking?' she admonished herself. "Would you like to go to your hotel or to lunch first?"

"Why don't you take me to my hotel? We can just have lunch there," he suggested.

'Dumbass. What the hell did you think he would say when you gave him an option?' Common Sense nagged her. Adila kept her eyes on the road ahead of her. She drove too fast, switched lanes without signaling, and weaved her way through traffic like a race car driver competing for a good position which reduced a thirty minute ride to fifteen. When they arrived at the hotel, she had to peel Teru off of the door so the valet could open it. She left the keys in the ignition for the valet so she could follow Teru and the bell hop carrying his suitcases through the glass and gold front doors into the hotel.

Adila glanced around the lobby with feigned interest as he checked in. It was meant to look posh and sophisticated with the gilded Louis the XIV furniture and ornate fountain complete with cherub but it just looked overdone and ridiculous. The elevator ride was silent, and she made sure to stand on the other side of the luggage cart behind the bell boy instead of beside Teru. The worst moment came when the door to the room was opened to reveal a standard hotel room with a king size bed, a dresser, and a table with two chairs by the window. Once his luggage was deposited on the stand beside the dresser, the bell boy left.

Apprehension set in, making her heart beat faster and her body begin to sweat. 'Warning, warning! Danger, danger!' her body was screaming at her as her muscles began to tense and ache. 'Fear is a reaction to any stimulus that gives a human reason to believe they are in danger. Adrenaline is released. The heart beat increases, the muscles tense, the senses are on high alert. Will you fight or will you run? What are you in danger of?' L's disturbingly calm voice repeated the words in her head.

Adila clenched her fists at her side, contemplating what to do. She watched Teru silently as he shrugged off the deep forest green jacket of his business suit. Her eyes skimmed over the rest of him as he meticulously hung that jacket on one of the hangers provided by the hotel. The white shirt strained across his chest and arms giving the suggestion of the muscles that lie hidden underneath the material. Apparently he still visited the gym on a regular basis. She kicked off her black and white high heels that looked like a feminine version of a pair of men's wingtip shoes. After removing her jacket, she threw it carelessly onto the bed and moved toward him. A lopsided grin of pure meanness spread across her face when she bypassed him to cross to the window. She threw open the curtains to reveal the view that included the surrounding buildings but also of the pool and courtyard below that was decorated to resemble a desert oasis. Why did some hotels feel the need to be so tacky?

"How have you been?" he asked, moving toward her stealthily.

Adila could hear him coming. She had spent far too much time with L and learned to listen to the softest sounds to know when someone was sneaking up on her. The fabric of his pants made a barely audible swishing sound as he walked. She would have heard his breathing as well which was deep and slightly irregular. It seemed this reunion was not leaving him unaffected either despite how composed and collected he acted. Never one to lose control or disclose his real emotions, he had not changed in that aspect after all these years.

"I've been busy," she answered, staring out of the large plate glass window.

"I know. I'm proud of you, Sweetheart," he murmured, standing close enough she could feel his body heat radiating across her back. "You got everything you ever wanted."

"Not everything," she muttered, biting her lower lip but it was too late. She had not meant to speak those words out loud. Her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing ceased momentarily when his fingers grazed her neck to pull her hair out of the way.

"Why did you come here today, Adila?" he questioned her, kissing the back of her neck.

Adila's belly clenched, and she wanted to fall to her knees they were so weak. Why the hell had she come here today? What a dumb, stupid, idiotic idea. She should have let security handle this problem downstairs in the lobby of the FBI Building. But no. She wanted to do the grown-up thing and confront him. She wanted to tell him to stick the job offer where the sun doesn't shine and to go screw himself. Her breath came in uneven inhales as he pressed several kisses to her neck. The only person about to get screwed was her.

"Teru, stop," she begged, making a sound like a choked cry when his arms wrapped around her waist. It was meant to be an order, but had come out as a pathetic plea.

"Is that what you want?" he asked, turning her to face him.

Adila gulped audibly, forcing the words out of her mouth, "I don't want the job. I don't want you. What I do want is for you to leave me alone. Don't contact me again. Let me go."

"You don't mean it. I can see it in your eyes," he said, stroking her cheek as he held her gaze.

Adila was breathing in loud hitched breaths when he pulled her against him. Her pulse was beating so frantically it sounded like the pounding of a stampede of a thousand horses in her ears. She returned his intense scrutiny, searching his eyes for sincerity. Instead, she was completely incapable of reading him. What exactly did he see in her eyes? She would love to be enlightened as to what it was she was searching for in life because she no longer knew. She felt his warm breath blowing across her lips and neck causing goose bumps to rise across her skin. Her pulse quickened when he continued to observe her silently with his deep, dark brown eyes.

"What do I want Teru?" she asked him since he seemed to know.

"You want to be loved. Stop running from me. Loving you is all I've ever wanted to do. It's why you were given to me. Let me love you," he whispered, pleading with her through his intense gaze. He gently pressed his lips against hers, sliding his hands around her neck and into her hair.

"Teru, stop," Adila commanded vehemently like she had wanted to the first time.

Teru dropped his arms to his sides and backed away. He regarded her for a long moment before averting his eyes. Falling to his knees, he allowed the tears to slide down his cheeks.

Adila fought the impulse to rush to him, to gather him into her arms, and wipe his tears away while she whispered comforting words to him. She forced herself to stay rooted to the spot where she stood as he cried pitiably in his broken spirited position of submission.

"I've loved you for all these years. I've never let you go. What about the other men? I'm sure there were others. Where are they now?" Teru inquired, raising his head to look at her. "I'm right here and I love you."

Adila swallowed so vigorously she could hear the audible gulp. He could not have hurt her more if he had stabbed her in the heart with a dagger. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she fought for control. There was no need for him to be just plain vindictive and obscenely cruel. Taking a step toward him, she raised her hand. After taking the next step, she swung with such fury his head jerked to the left after her hand made contact with his face.

"Do not think you can play mind games with me. I've been mind fucked by the best," she growled, a picture of L forming in her mind which brought tears to her eyes.

"Can we forget about the past and just move on from here? Adila, I never stopped loving you," he told her, rising from his knees to stand in front of her. "I tried to show you and tell you for several years how I feel about you. I can't apologize enough and I can't change the past, but I can make a better future for us. Please, let me."

"I'll take the job, Teru," she said, raising her finger in front of his face in a gesture for him to withhold saying anything. "But there are conditions. I will live in the house your company has bought me. We will begin dating again. We can't go back to where we were as if nothing happened. We have to start over like it's a new relationship."

"I can do that," he assured her, the beginning of a smile lifting up the corners of his mouth slightly. "I'll call Mr. Okibashi right now to tell him the good news."

~\..'../~

"Yeah, you took care of it all right!" her Uncle Anthony yelled at her after he read her two weeks' notice that she had already emailed the Director.

"Uncle Tony, please," she begged, rolling her eyes when he turned his back.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed furiously, punching at the air because he was raised not to strike a woman.

If he knew it would do any good, he would go against his down home Southern upbringing and slap the hell out of her to knock some sense into her. He felt completely responsible for this. He had brought her here for the part time job. He had even helped her enroll in UCLA and secure financing. If he had known it would all lead her back to Teru Mikami and Japan, he would have left her in Texas. His big brother was going to kill him at Christmas for allowing this to happen.

Adila moved around her desk to hug her Uncle. "Thank you. Thank you for everything you have done for me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Yeah, dammit, don't remind me," he muttered irritably, kissing the top of her head as he embraced her. "Good luck, kiddo. And if that damn man ever hurts you again, I'm going to kill him. Then I'm coming after you! Do you hear me?"

Adila hugged him tighter as the tears fell down her face. Her heart felt like it was being ripped out of her body all over again. Before he had come into her office, she had just completed the call to her parents to tell them the news of her taking the job and moving back to Japan. She had wanted to tell her parents in person, but she had become a craven coward and told them over the phone. She imagined her father would have reacted just like her Uncle had he been with her. Instead, all she could hear was a disconcerting hush on the other end of the phone that was sporadically pierced with the sobs of her broken hearted mother. Why did she feel like she had betrayed all of them?