Chapter 47

Hannah couldn't believe she stood perched on the edge of a chair attempting to cut a man down from a rope tangle she couldn't even see. But when you love that man with your whole heart, you'd do anything for him. Even if it meant embarrassing yourself in the process and she was likely to do just that.

She had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was she had to get him down. The only alternative would be to call someone, and she wouldn't put Myles through the humiliation of someone else seeing him this way if she could prevent it. She had to try.

"Starr?"

Biting back a groan, she considered not responding. Why did he insist on calling her by her last name in times like this? Myles knew her first name; he'd even used it a few times. But when she needed him to be quiet or to be helpful, he always reverted back to this formal way of addressing her – as if they were nothing more than co-workers.

Silly! They are nothing more than co-workers. Well, ex-coworkers now since Hannah had come to accept she'd never return to the Bureau in her previous capacity. Still she had thought they'd shared something more in their time buried alive and on the run. Just the memory of his kisses heated her blood to cosmic levels. But she couldn't let herself be distracted.

"Not now, Leland." Her voice sounded particularly harsh, but she couldn't let the emotions assaulting her body from the contact with his get the better of her. She'd already given in to tears in the kitchen and couldn't explain why. Oh, his listlessness when she'd left him to search for the knife and chair had her worried, but she'd been in worse situations with her partners before.

Then the truth had hit her with the force of a runaway train. Myles Leland the Third wasn't just a partner to her anymore. He'd become so much more. This was love she was feeling. The wild out-of-control kind of love she thought only existed in books and on screen. IShe was in love with Myles./I

Nothing else explained the way she responded to him whenever he touched her. Nothing else explained the volatile combustion between them whenever they were in the same room. Nothing else explained the deep desire she felt to come here tonight of all nights. And nothing else scared her so much she thought she'd hurl.

But it couldn't be. It wasn't possible. They were from different worlds. Loving him would only bring her pain. Terrible, heart-wrenching pain.

She took a deep breath as tears threatened again. It was too late. She had no choice. She was deeply in love and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Starr?"

She forced her errant thoughts from her mind when he spoke. Part of her wished he'd just stay quiet until she got him down, but the other part knew Myles wouldn't if he felt he had something to say. Regardless of how relevant it really was.

"But Hannah…who's going to catch me when you cut –?"

When her knife broke through the rope, she wanted to shout in triumph, but her cry of victory quickly turned into a yelp of surprise. One second she was falling; the next she couldn't breathe. Her ears rang from her head's impact with the floor as she fought to draw air into her burning lungs. What happened?

Not being able to see made the disorientation worse. She was sure she'd cut through the rope. They should have been celebrating. Then Myles' unfinished question penetrated the haze around her mind.

She couldn't believe her stupidity. She had been in such a hurry to get him down that she hadn't thought her rescue attempt through. She could have seriously hurt them both.

Remembering his injuries that he was still recovering from the last time she saw him, she wondered if she might have hurt him with her actions. Tears of worry mixed with those of pain by the time she sucked life-giving oxygen into her lungs. It took several gasps before her head cleared. Her thigh hurt where his elbow bruised her flesh in their fall. The rapid beating of her heart pumped relentlessly, mocking her with her own mortality.

"Please say something Hannah." His own breath came in short bursts, his muscles hard and tense as he held her to his chest. Desperation etched every syllable of his words. "Please tell me you're okay."

Hannah nuzzled her cheek against the hard fingers that trailed lightly along her hairline. The smell of spicy after-shave and booze assaulted her nostrils as she lifted her hand to his face. His cheek felt raspy under her fingertips bearing evidence of a rather scruffy beard reminding her of their stolen kisses at the hospital and at Ruth's. A tremor of instant reaction jolted her and she swallowed hard.

"Guess the catching was my part too."

A strangle sound, a cross between a laugh and a snort, escaped his throat before he pushed her face into the hallow of his throat and pulled her close. "Guess so."

She huddled close to him as his body fitted around hers protectively. He held her tightly, his fingers moving restlessly up and down her back. She clung to him, her cheek rubbing against his shoulder as she reveled at being in his arms again.

Several moments passed while she allowed him to cradle her quaking body in his arms. The December rain held a distinct chill causing her to shiver violently, but it wasn't her tremors that worried her. The lack of Myles' own trembling sent up warning flags as he'd been in the frosty rain much longer than she had.

Pulling back, Hannah was relieved when his arms loosened but didn't drop from around her. "You're not shivering," she frowned up at him, wishing she could see his face.

"I believe you're shivering enough for the both of us." His voice was light but she picked up a hint of sluggishness that didn't belong.

"I'm serious, Leland." She tried to sound stern, but her tone lost much of its impact when his hand slid down her back to caress the curve of her hip. His hand lingered, pressing into her side and she could feel the strength in those long fingers. "Y-You could have hypothermia. I should call for an ambulance."

"I'm fine," Myles insisted, his lips brushing her temple. "Nothing a hot shower wouldn't cure."

His fingers teased her flesh making it hard to think. "I don't know—"

"No ambulance, Starr." His arms tensed around her. "It's bad enough I'm going to have to call someone about patching the roof."

"Well, you're not getting back up there while I'm here."

"Aww, I didn't know you cared."

Her breath caught in her throat. She cared more than he'll ever know. In spite of her obvious anxiety, she had enough spunk to glare in his general direction. "Don't try to change the subject, Leland. I have no qualms about calling Bobby and Jack for backup."

His audible groan confirmed her threat had the intended impact. "Please not koala boy."

Hannah almost laughed at the pathetic whimper in his voice. Despite his complaints about the Aussie, she knew the coworkers thought of each other like brothers. Even though neither of them would ever admit it aloud.

"Then what are we going to do?" she asked, leaving the decision to him. Distracted by the lazy circles his fingers drew on her back, Hannah barely noticed the cold anymore as his touch warmed her instead.

"Perhaps we should find some dry cloths and get warmed up." His lips just inches from her ear sent shivers down her spine that had little to do with the cold. His voice sent images of just what she'd like to do to warm up through her mind.

She didn't even question when he nudged her to her feet. Just as long as he kept his arms around her.