Code Red (7 page)

She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“I understand. I should have called and
explained everything, but I preferred to talk to you in person. I
always mess things up on the phone.” He sighed and slid a small
silver-wrapped box through the window. “Have a wonderful life, Red.
You deserve every bit of happiness you can find.”

He turned and walked away.

She looked at the box. In the attached
envelope was a letter from the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency. He thanked Kieran for service and praised his dedication to
his position. He also commended Kieran for extending his time with
the service in order to stop a known assassin. Although his tactics
broke protocol in a matter of national security, and although funds
had been used to protect non-citizens, the letter continued, the
operative might not have been taken down without Kieran’s hard work
and planning.

His assignment had been a choice. This letter
proved it, Jess saw. He could have retired earlier and walked away
from his work and her.

Behind the letter she found a handwritten
note.

To the woman I dream about
every night,

Since the moment I first
met you, you captured my heart. I’ve done nothing since that time
but try to return to you permanently. Life, however, placed a few
roadblocks in my path. Mostly Russian roadblocks. Separation is
never easy, especially when it keeps you from the woman you love. I
lied to you about protecting you, but I won’t apologize for it. In
fact, I’d do it again to keep you safe. I never lied to you about
my feelings. In fact, they’re more intense than you
know.

I love you, Red. I love
your humor, your strength, your enthusiasm, and your inner beauty.
There are a few other things I love about you, but I’ve been unable
to show until now.

I never did receive an
answer in the hospital. Will you marry me? Not later, Red, but now.
Today, if possible. I never want to spend another day without
you.

Forever yours,
Kieran.

She opened the box and found a diamond
solitaire in a simple gold setting.

He wanted marriage? Kieran was a man who
wouldn’t leave. A man who set her insides burning for not just a
good life, but a passionate life. He’d made her heart blossom, and
now she was sending him away.

“Frank, I’ve got to go,” she hollered to her
manager.

She grabbed her coat and purse and raced out
the door. Looking right and then left, she saw nothing. Where was
he? She ran to the edge of the road.

Gone.

The sharp cold stung her lungs as tears began
to fall. Then she turned back and saw him leaning next to the door
to the bank.

“You ran right by me.”

“You waited?”

“I hoped.”

“Yes,” she whispered, inches from his
lips.

“‘Yes’?” One of his eyebrows lifted.

“I’ll marry you.”

“Thank God.” He wrapped his arms around her
waist and pulled her in for a kiss, at first soft and sweet, and
then deeper, infused with the promise of a shared future. Her whole
body ached for him, her need unbearable. And it felt like his was
as strong because he added, “Take me back to your apartment.”

She drew back and looked at him, half
grinning. “I thought you were waiting for us to be married.”

His eyes were on her lips. “Hell, no.” He
wrapped an arm around her waist and walked toward home. “There is
no more waiting. The future’s now.”

Veronica
Forand is an attorney and an award-winning writer of romantic
suspense. She’s lived in Boston, London, Paris, Geneva, and
Washington, DC, and she currently resides near Philadelphia. An
avid traveler, she loves to roam across continents with her husband
and kids in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and finding the
perfect piece of chocolate.

She is a member of the Romance Writers of
America (RWA); the Kiss of Death, the RWA chapter for romantic
suspense and mystery; the RWA Contemporary Romance Chapter; the
Valley Forge Romance Writers; the Washington Romance Writers; and
the International Thriller Writers.

Veronica is represented by Michelle
Grajkowski of 3 Seas Literary Agency.

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