Third Half (21 page)

             
"Don't worry.  I know that sounds like false bravery, but I get
the feeling my brother's partner is a man who knows exactly what he's
doing."

             
"And you?"

             
"I certainly don't.  I'm going to need someone who does."

             
She ate half her sandwich while she scribbled a letter to her
sister.  After stuffing it into an envelope and addressing it, she handed
it to the tall blond man standing patiently beside her. 
             
"Thanks..."  She sighed, relieved that she had taken the time to secure
her sister's future.  "She couldn't go on forever hiding in that hospital. 
And I doubt she'd get far pretending she's me."

             
Luke placed the envelope inside his shirt.  "Now what?"

             
"Now I better leave,"  she looked at the half eaten sandwich. 
"I better wrap this and take it along for later.  I really don't have time
now.  Mr. Marshal's waiting just down the street."

I

             
She got inside the taxi beside the man and waited for his
comment on the length of time she had taken.  When it didn't come
she began her explanation. 

             
"I was hungry.   Are you?  I have a . . ."  She turned to the man
and saw through the streetlight creeping through the window, that his
eyes were closed and his breathing deep. 
He's sleeping.  She shook
her head in wonder. 
And at a time like this.

             
She then turned to the driver and told him to take them back to
the corner where he had picked them up, a few blocks from Marshal's
room.

             
"Mr.  Marshal . . .Mr.  Marshal . . ."  she said, then finally
shook the man beside her.  "We're here."

             
He grabbed her wrists and sat up with a start.   "Oh . . .!  It's
you.  Sorry."

             
"What did you think, they already came for us?"

             
"It's a possibility."  He yawned as he opened the door, got out,
and stretched.  "Here."  He leaned inside and handed the cabby some
money.

             
When they returned to his room, Liane watched as her
companion seemed to glance at the bed with longing.  "I think you
better get some sleep," Liane said as she looked at her bearded
companion.  She couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since
he'd had a good night sleep.

             
"What about you?" He frowned.

             
"I'm not very tired," she lied, knowing the entire day had
exhausted her too. 

             
He studied her closely, shaking his head.  "I'm used to this.  I
catch a few winks whenever I can."

             
"I get the feeling you don't trust me, Mr. Marshal?"  She said
sarcastically from beside him.

             
"First you can stop that Mr. Marshal stuff,"  he ordered. 
"Since we are now partners, I think you can call me by my name,
Todd."

             
"Todd,"  she repeated, the name that somehow seemed foreign
to her tongue.  "Okay, Todd it is."

             
"And since we are partners, I think you can start to trust me as
much as you seem to think I should trust you," she retaliated.

             
Todd stared at her a moment, then relaxed slightly.  Finally he
shrugged and walked over to the bed.  "Okay, I'll trust you.  But don't
say I didn't give you first chance on the bed," he said as he laid down. 

             
"That's fine.  I'll take second shift."

             
"Wake me in a couple of hours . . .no longer," he said, his
words already slurred as exhaustion caught up with him.

             
Liane spent the first hour of his sleep sitting at his table with
her head laid on her crossed arms.  She might have dozed, she wasn't sure, but the position was far from comfortable.  Finally she got up
and quietly opened her bag.

             
A smile spread across her lips as she searched her belongings
and pulled out the nearly forgotten bottle of floral bubble bath. 
I
definitely deserve this.  She looked at her sleeping companion and
was certain he wouldn't miss her for a little while.

             
Silently she went to the door, knowing there had to be a
bathroom somewhere in the building.  Probably one he shared with
the other residents of the building.  She supposed as Mary Catherine
she shouldn't mind the communal type living, but she had to admit she
longed for the luxury of a private bath.

             
In the hall she paused at several doors before seeing one partly
ajar.  A closer look revealed it to be a bathroom.  She was relieved it
housed a giant tub instead of a shower as she had feared it might. 
Now, as long as the water is hot.

             
She turned to close the door behind her and frowned when she
found the lock on the door was broken.  Hanging from the doorknob
was a small sign in Spanish, she hoped said
Occupied.  She hung it
outside the door.

             
Then as she stripped from her sister's clothes she turned on the
faucet, pleased to note there was indeed plenty of hot water.  She
added an ample amount of bubble bath to the water, then stepped in
the steamy water and allowed the foam to surround her.

             
She laid her head back and closed her eyes, allowing all the
tension of her day draining from her tired body.  Forcing all the
worries from her mind, slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

             
She was disoriented when she awoke from the knocking
sound.  Just as she realized where she was and was about to respond,
the door flew open and Todd Marshal stepped into the room.  His face
held a mixture of anger and relief.

             
How much time had passed she didn't know, but she was
thankful for the thin layer of bubbles that still remained on the surface
of the water hiding her nakedness from this man who was now boldly
assessing her.

 
             
Unfortunately the water had little of the warmth it had when
she stepped into the tub and she couldn't suppress the shiver that went
through her body.

             
"What do you think you're doing barging in here?" she
snapped, wishing he'd turn around so she could get out of the cooling
water.  She also realized the layer of bubbles was thinning fast. 
Certainly not covering her as well as she'd have liked. 

             
Worse still, she realized that in her haste to take the bath she
had not attempted to find a towel before she got into the water.

             
"I woke up and wondered where you'd gone," Todd finally said
in relief, leaning heavily on the door.  "I thought maybe . . ."

             
"I ran away," she finished for him.  Her words colder than she
was.  "I thought we were going to be partners."

             
His eyes darkened as he stepped further into the room.  "And
partners look out for each other.  Did it occur to you that I might
awaken and think Juanita's people may have come and abducted you? 
Or have you forgotten that only you have the information they are
most interested in getting."

             
She made a vain attempt to cover her exposure.  "I'm sorry if I
worried you."

             
"Worried me!  I'd like to wring that lovely neck of yours." He
stared down at her, his pupils nearly filling the centers of his dark
eyes. 

             
She stared back at him, unable to break his gaze.  His look was
charged with a current she couldn't explain.  She nervously licked her
lips, watching his breathing quicken.  She had no problem putting a
name to his emotion now.  She was suddenly warm within the cold
water.

             
"It's your turn in the bed," Todd nearly rasped as he turned
back toward the door.

             
"Wait!" she called as he was about to leave. 

             
When he turned it was like a shutter had gone over his eyes. 
She relaxed, her own breathing returning to normal.  "I forgot to look
for a towel."

             
He shook his head and walked to a cabinet on the far wall.  He
took out a towel and started toward her, then stopped, tossing it to her
instead, as if afraid to get too close. 

             
As she dressed she wondered about the sudden attraction she
had felt toward this stranger, Todd Marshal.  She had dated often, but
never had anyone affected her emotions so swiftly as he had since
they met.  One minute they were fighting each other like two alley
cats.  The next minute was charged with pure sexual tension.

             
Glancing in the mirror as she again became Mary Catherine,
she chided herself for being foolish.  After all, to him she was a nun
–
unapproachable.  It was the woman he did not know, she needed to
worry about.

I

             
This woman is a complication I don't need!  Todd Marshal ran
a weary hand through his dark hair, turning to walk across the room again, as he had so many times since finding his companion's earlier
disappearance had been caused by no more than a desire for a bubble
bath.

             
He glanced at the woman laying on the bed.  Even in the dim
light from the street lamp outside the window he could make out her
shapely form.  Or, he wondered, was that simply his mind playing
tricks on him?

             
What shapely form could be detected beneath all the black and
white material of the nun's habit she wore?  Of course, she hadn't been
wearing it earlier when he found her asleep in the tub of fading
bubbles.  Bubbles that did little to hide . . .

             
"Damn!" he mumbled under his breath, again running his
fingers through his hair. 
What's gotten into me?  I must have been on
the job too long.  Now I'm actually finding a nun sexy.  Troublesome
nun at that.

             
He forced himself to remember that he was now responsible
for Mary Catherine, no matter how much he disliked the prospect.  It
would have been far better had she returned to the States and left him
to do whatever he could to find Jack. 

             
Her adamant refusal was going to make the job ahead that
much more difficult.  A job that was going to be difficult enough as it
was, without added problems.

             
He was so tense he nearly jumped when he heard her call out.

I

             
Liane found sleep nearly impossible with Todd Marshal so
close.  The tiny room seemed even smaller with him pacing around
like a predatory cat, alert and tense, ready to pounce.

             
When sleep finally did come, it was a restless, fretful sleep,
filled with faces and strange images of the people she had encountered
during the last few days.  Most often it was a bearded face that
overwhelmed her dreams.  Dark eyes that seemed to bore deep into
her psych, searching for answers, but giving none in return.