Play It Again (28 page)

The last message was from Wanda, in Buffalo, telling him that if he let anything happen to him she was going to kick his ass.

He lay back in the chair, his head lolling on the headrest. It was all too much, had finished up too quickly, and he felt like he hadn’t caught up with himself yet.

The voices in the kitchen heated up a little and then died away. R.J., feeling happy for a change, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Much later that night, after Hank had gone to the airport to catch the shuttle back to Quantico, R.J. lay in bed, his eyes closed, still sorting through all that had happened.

He felt a gentle feather of a touch on his cheek and opened his eyes.

Casey stood beside the bed, looking down at him.

“How do you feel?”

“Okay. A little bit weak, but not so bad.”

She sat on the edge of the bed beside him and for a few minutes they were silent.

“You’re all right, Wingate,” R.J. said.

“You better believe it,” she said.

He took her hand again and held it for a moment.

“Thanks, Casey,” he said after a while.

“For what?”

“For staying with me. I—it means a lot to me.”

“Forget it,” she scoffed. “This pays for itself. This is a great finish for my story.”

He turned his head to look at her full for a minute, then smiled.

“You know what, Wingate?”

“What?”

“You’re full of shit.”

She finally smiled, softly, almost tenderly, looking into his eyes. Then she leaned all the way over and kissed him softly on the lips.

“Maybe,” she said.