Now, staring at Faith, Devlin was happy to see her sister, but mad that she was ‘seeing’ her sister. She came back to Randall.
“Hey,” he lifted hands in surrender, “I agreed to work with you to take down violent criminals...not to,” he whipped his finger back and forth from Devlin to Faith, “come between two feuding sisters.” He shook his head at the floor. “No. I’m afraid the CIA never quite got around to training me on how to handle something as dangerous as that.”
Faith inwardly smiled at the man playing both sides. “Oh, this is nowhere near us feuding with each other. Isn’t that right, Jess?”
Devlin glimpsed Faith and faced Randall.
He eyed his miffed partner. “Besides, you weren’t there.” He tipped his head toward the doorway. “She wasn’t going to be denied.”
FOUR-AND-A-HALF HOURS AGO...
6:11 A.M. (LOCAL TIME)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Her hair wet, Faith stood in the bathroom doorway at the hotel, one hand gripping the edge of the door, the other haphazardly holding a towel up to her dripping body. “I’m coming with you, and that’s final.”
In a split-second, Randall’s gaze flitted down and up her figure. Disappearing behind rounded shoulders, her blonde hair looked as if she had just surfaced from a swimming pool. Curvy hips and toned legs greeted him next. Finally, his attention strayed to other areas of her anatomy peeking out from behind the white bath towel. Intimate parts he would not be seeing had she taken more time to cover her upper body before throwing open the door so quickly.
She stepped back and closed the door on him.
“Don’t you,” hoping to clear away the distracting images, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, “don’t you think you should be taking it easy for a while? It—”
A hair dryer started.
He raised his voice. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since we left that place. No one’s going to fault you for getting some rest.”
The hair dryer’s speed doubled.
Chuckling, Randall looked at the floor. This reminds me of when I was married. A tick later, he studied the bathroom door and envisioned the woman on the other side. And the make-up sex after those spats.
Four minutes later, the hair dryer stopped.
Two minutes after that, the door opened, and Faith stood in the archway again, her right hand squeezing the doorknob, her left hand on her hip. “If you think I’m just...”
Glimpsing wavy blonde hair that fell around her shoulders, Randall took in the tops of full breasts, held in check by a black sports bra, before he observed black, seamless, bikini-style underwear.
“...going to lie around and watch TV while the S.O.B. who tried to kill my sister’s family—my family—is out there enjoying life somewhere, then,” she brushed by him, “you don’t know the Mahoney women very well. I’m coming with you and Jessica whether you...”
His attention wandered south to her tight-fitting underwear riding up to reveal the start of firm butt cheeks.
“...like it—” grabbing her pants and spinning his way, Faith caught him looking at her backside. She suppressed her amusement while stepping into her clothing. Glad to know he’s interested in more than just feet. “Whether you like it or not.”
Spying the woman spying on him, he cleared his throat, looked away, and came back to her. “All I’m saying is, after everything you’ve been through—”
“I’m fine, all right?” After running a black belt through pant loops and securing the buckle, “I’m fine,” she slid a tank top over her head, put on socks, stuck feet into hiking boots, and sat on the edge of the bed. “And don’t you think it’s better for me to be doing something productive...rather than moping around and feeling sorry for myself?”
Watching her lace up her second boot, Randall envisioned her in her underwear before imagining how she had looked wearing only a towel.
She stood, attached her Colt 45 and spare magazine pouch to her belt, slid arms into a blue jean jacket, flipped out her hair, and faced him, plopping hands onto hips in the next instant. “Well?”
Admiring her pose—hands on hips, weight shifted to one foot, her figure silhouetted by a table lamp behind her—he felt his body temperature rising.
“Don’t you?”
“I,” he took in her sexiness, I think I’d like to spend more time with you...that’s what I think, “I think someone who has experienced what you’ve experienced should take some down time.”
She sulked at him.
“But,” a tiny part of him, his selfish side, overruled his common sense, “you’re an adult, and you can make your own decisions.”
She smiled.
“So are you ready to go?” He checked his watch. “The jet’s already waiting on the tarmac.”
PRESENT TIME...
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
“You know yourself, Jess.” Turning away from Devlin, Faith eyed Randall. “I get what I want.”
Oblivious to her sister’s subtle overture, the older woman fumed. Following a ten-second staring contest, she shook her head and lifted her arms. “Just get over here.”
Beaming, Faith embraced her sibling.
The women squeezed each other while listing from side to side a few degrees.
“Oh,” Devlin rubbed Faith’s back, “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you, little sis.”
Faith winked away a tear. “Now, this is more like the greeting I had hoped for.”
Devlin snickered and held the other woman at arm’s length. “Let me look at you.” She cocked her head at Faith’s eyelashes and lips. “Since when did you start wearing makeup? You’ve always said you’re a natural beauty.”
Faith threw a look at Randall and came back to Devlin. “I’ve worn makeup before.”
Noticing cheeks with skin-toned rouge on them, Devlin zeroed in on a hint of purple under the cosmetic, and her facial expression betrayed the sinking feeling in her gut.
“It’s okay, Jessica. I’m not hurt...really. Nothing’s broken. In time, everything will heal.”
“Were you,” Devlin held Faith’s face in her hands, “were you...”
“No. Your man’s timing was spot on.”
Devlin turned
