He stood and began to dress. The jeans were snug in most places except on his left leg. The T-shirt was snug because the size was smaller than his usual size. Oh well, he’d have his own clothes soon enough.

  He’d go find Mae and tell her the good news. Yay, we get to rush home so we can be interrogated, sounded like great news to start one’s day.

  He padded barefoot out of his room and headed to the bathroom. A yawn widened his jaw and he closed his eyes as he opened the door. When he opened them, he saw the luxury tub filled with bubbles with only a head poking up.

  The gasp made him stop.

  “Levi, what are you doing in here? Turn around!”

  He turned so quickly he almost fell. “Um, I’m sorry.”

  “I gathered. Now what do you want?”

  He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and tried to remember why he was in the room. “I-I, oh yeah, um, Tom called. He said we need to get home as soon as possible. The army isn’t happy that I took out their little gadgets. Apparently, we’re going to be interrogated and they are going to compare our stories of the assailant.”

  “I see.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem. We were both in the cave when it happened, so big deal. The guy came in asked for the plans. I had the first one we found on a rock, I smeared the information away, rolled it up and handed it to him.”

  “They are going to want to know what he looked like.”

  “Sure. A little over six feet, tan, had a thick accent.”

  “Spanish accent.”

  “You think so?”

  He heard the slosh of water. Was she getting out of the tub with him in the room? He should offer to leave. He really should.

  “I do think so. That makes a Russian and a Spaniard that we’ve heard. This is sounding more like an international group.”

  “Or a group of international terrorists selling to the government with the deepest pockets.”

  “Possible.”

  “Um, would you like me to leave?”

  “I would have said no, but it seems that I hung my clothes up on the back of the door.”

  There they were. Her white capris and a bright pink blouse. Who had picked out her clothes?

  “I’ll step out.”

  He was out before she could reply. What would she say if she knew that he’d never been with a woman? He’d promised his mother he would wait until marriage. And so far, he’d kept that promise.

  She would probably think he was a freak.

  He didn’t really care.

  Or did he?

  ****

  Mae would have stayed in the tub, but the water had chilled and the bubbles were beginning to pop. Soon there wouldn’t have been enough to cover her. Levi never once even acted as if he was going to turn around.

  Being in the presence of a gentleman seemed so rare, but it was nice.

  Once the door closed behind him, she continued to towel dry then hurriedly dressed. The idea that government men were going to come to her home and ask her questions was making her nervous. They‘d told the military everything they knew, why did they need to go over it again?

  The story.

  They thought they were telling a story and that they had taken off with the real plans. That had to be it.

  There actually was one more real copy of the plans.

  She hadn’t told Levi yet.

  She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She should never have looked. She should have kept her eyes closed, or averted, or something. But once she’d seen them, they couldn’t be unseen.

  The entire formula to run the code for the laser was all programmed in her head. If it ever got out that she was the only way to get the true code her life would be forever in danger.

  That’s why she hadn’t told Levi. He felt bad enough about burning it. What if he felt they should tell what they had done, then where would she be?

  The white capris were all that she had left that were clean otherwise she would have worn anything else. She was going to stick out like a sore thumb in white and pink. Or maybe it would make her look just like a tourist. All she needed was a really floppy hat and a pair of the sunglasses from the car.

  Out of the bathroom, she stopped. Levi was standing there looking out the window. His jeans hugged his body in an alluring way, but the shirt was way too tight. It seemed to pinch his arms and ride up on his waist.

  He’d packed his bag and the backpack and they sat next to the door ready to be grabbed.

  “You ready to checkout?”

  “Would it work if I said no?”

  He shook his head. “Afraid not. We have a date with destiny.”

  “Uh-huh. Great. Love that.”

  Backpack slung over one shoulder, and the bag in his hand, he used his cane in the other hand. She didn’t think about his cane much, but it was there. He’d suffered great injury during that raid on his troop, but he never talked about it. He didn’t seem bitter either.

  But she’d seen the evidence of what it had done. Why didn’t it bother him? She would have been angry, if nothing else.

  The reports she’d read about him said that he had a rough time in recovery, because he couldn’t find OPAL. Now that he knew what OPAL really was and he’d done his friend’s bidding, almost completely, maybe he would be able to live his life with more satisfaction.

  The hotel checkout went smoothly and soon they were back on the road. The trek back home would take many hours. She might as well get comfortable and not get too excited.

  Not that there was much there that she had missed. She didn’t have a roommate or a boyfriend. She didn’t have any pets. If she had they wouldn’t have made it this long. She didn’t even have a plant. Her thumb was decidedly not green.

  So, what was so special about going home? Sure, she could pile up on the couch and watch television. She did enjoy old action movies. But what else did she have? Maybe her gym membership.

  A tear formed in her eye and her throat started to burn. This wasn’t a time to get emotional. She was going to be leaving someone that she barely even knew. Why did it seem like such a big deal? Such an extreme loss.

  “We should be out of Kansas soon.”

  “Okay.”

  “When we get back, I’ll take you home first.”

  “Okay.”

  His hand clenched the wheel tighter. “Want some music?”

  “Sure.”

  She only felt slightly guilty by her one word answers. Sadly, she couldn’t get over the overwhelming sense of depression at the loss of his companionship.

  With each passing mile it intensified. She realized that soon her life would go back to normal. Why did she hate that thought so much?

  ****

  The gentleman in the white lab coat wearing round spectacles looked at him with intensity. He’d repeated the same words over and over, but Ivan refused to accept what he heard.

  “Did you hear me, sir?”

  Ivan slammed his fist against the metal table and dented the top.

  “I guess you did.” He paused. “What would you like us to do?”

  Ivan’s maniacal laughter echoed in the lab. “You are saying that you can create the physical laser, but you can’t make it work.”

  “We cannot. The code. The written code has an error. We’ve tried everything, but we can’t figure out the correct function. I think only Gram himself knew the answer.”

  “Burn it.”

  “Burn it?”

  “Burn it. Burn the plans. Burn the lab. Burn the couple.”

  “Sir, I believe…”

  Ivan slammed his palm into the groove he’d created and looked straight at the scientist whom he hadn’t bothered to learn his name. “Do you not understand, we have no time! If I do not have a working plan to the boss by tomorrow as well as a working prototype then he is going to kill us all. You hear me? All of us are going to die!”

  The scientist cocked his brow and calming looked away. He grabbed his briefcase, took the coat off and hung it on a hook next to the door, and left.

  Ivan would have chased after him, but it didn’t matter. If the boss wanted him dead then he would be found. None of them would be able to hide now.

  None of them.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Levi saw Mae lift a strand of her hair and twist it around her finger. That was her nervous, I’m thinking, tell. The girl was expressive whether she knew it or not.

  That was something he was going to miss about having her in his company. The ways that she expressed herself, among other things.

  Darkness began to descend. They were about two hours from town. A wooden building with a neon sign above it flashed Line Dancing was up ahead on the right. He wanted to get out and stretch his legs. Especially the hurt one.

  Maybe this would be just the way to do that. Plus, it might leave Mae Girasol with a good memory of their time together. Instead of all the bad things like being shot at, almost falling off a swinging bridge, being beaten by people at night in a park, sleeping in a culvert, and on and on.

  He pulled over and shut off the engine.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting out.”

  “You’re going line dancing?” Her eyes had widened and her jaw dropped.

  “I thought I might.”

  “B-but we are supposed to go straight home. They are waiting for us and all that.”

  “Ah, they can wait another hour. What will it hurt? Not like they have anything better to do.” Admittedly they should have had a lot of things to do besides interrogating their citizens, but that was the way it was.

  He climbed out, grabbed his cane, and shut the door. Part of him considered that she might not follow. The other part knew she would.

  The door opened, and she was beside him, rubbing her exposed arms. “You really want to do this?”

  “I really do.” He didn’t know the first thing about line dancing. Being a quick study should mean he could catch on, but who knew?

  “All right. Let’s do it.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and headed for the door.

  He hobbled along behind her. The smile that graced his face was so wide it was hurting.

  They entered the smoke filled room. Huge mugs of beer were being slid across the bar only to be caught by a different person each time at the opposite end. When they were caught a whoop of happiness went around the room.

  A gentleman in a white suit and a wide brim white hat stepped on a small stage.

  “I’m sure you all know this one. So get in line and let’s get to it.”

  The Watermelon Crawl played and off the people went. Levi and Mae joined a line in the back. Having the cane didn’t make it easy, but he was able to keep up, mostly.

  Mae bumped into him and laughter filled the room. Despite her initial hesitation, she seemed to be having a great time.

  When the song ended, he went to a booth and took a seat. Mae slid into the booth opposite him. “That was so much fun!”

  “Agreed.” He massaged his aching leg under the table.

  “Why don’t we have a drink? Or maybe I’ll have one since you’re driving.”

  He would have explained that he’d chosen not to drink years ago, but he didn’t mention it.

  “I’ll have a coke, please.”

  He cocked his brow.

  “I think I’ll wait until another day. Who needs alcohol when you can have this much fun without it?” The waitress brought the drink and Mae sipped from the straw. “So, what now mighty leader?”

  Was she mocking him? He hoped not.

  “I, well, I think we should dance a few more times then hit the road.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Another song started, and she dragged him so hard from the booth that he almost dropped his cane.

  They shuffled left then right. She seemed as if she’d done this more than once. He felt like he had two left feet, but he was having agonized fun.

  The Cupid Shuffle stopped, and she let out a rush of air and danced back to their table and took another swig of her soda. “I think that we’ve overextended our play time.”

  “Too bad. I was having a good time.”

  The corner of her lip quirked upward. “Me, too. Maybe sometime we can…” She stopped talking.

  He understood. They wouldn’t be able to meet up without casting suspicion.

  She picked up a strand of hair and rolled it around and around her index finger.

  He placed some of his remaining bills on the table and put his cane to the floor. “I guess it is time to get home.”

  She nodded and placed her hands back in her pants once more. She led the way to the car. He unlocked the doors with the fob and she climbed in before he could reach her side.

  Night had descended fully while they were inside. The winding road he’d taken was pitch black and no cars were seen. He put the bright lights on and drove with both hands on the wheel. Perhaps getting off the Interstate early hadn’t been such a good idea.

  The GPS continued to direct them around curve after curve giving them an ETA of about two hours. Quickly, he shot a glance at Mae. Her head was facing the window, the clear glass cast her shadow back at him. He could see tears glistening off her cheeks.

  He swallowed.

  There was nothing he could do. Circumstances had thrown them together and circumstances were going to pull them apart.

  No matter if he wanted to be with Mae or not, he couldn’t without putting both of their lives in danger forever.

  Why was life so unfair?

  ****

  Mae swiped the tears away before facing front. If Levi had noticed her distress, he hadn’t commented on it. She was grateful for that. The radio was on very quietly. He probably needed to concentrate on the narrow two lane curvy road anyway. Being the passenger was harrowing enough on its own.

  She clutched the sides of her seat as they took the curves. Tree limbs hung so low she was sure they would be taken out.

  There was a plan.

  They could fake their own death and then they could be together.

  With her computer skills she could easily create them new identities and erase the old ones. Although that would lead to more suspicion.

  What was she worried about? They hardly knew each other. This had been a temporary adventure that shouldn’t have even happened. She could easily go on without him. She would be fine.

  She was such a liar.

  They rounded a curve and the road straightened. The GPS directed them back onto the Interstate and Levi complied and sped up immediately. He adjusted in the seat. No doubt he was getting tired. She didn’t blame him. She was fighting sleep herself and her muscles were tightening from all the sitting. The dancing had been a good idea. Such a shame it couldn’t have lasted longer.

  They came close to their exit and the city lights began to light their way.

  He drove to her two bedroom cottage style home and stopped.

  She didn’t move.

  She didn’t want to.

  “We’re here.”

  “I see that.” She squeezed her hands together in her lap.

  “I guess I’ll see you…” He stopped talking.

  “I guess this is it, huh?” She finished what he couldn’t say.

  “I guess so. We did what we set out to do. You found out that I didn’t know about OPAL and then we found it together and handed it over.”

  He knew they could still be listening. They had ways. She understood.

  “I’ve had fun; I think that’s what it was.”

  She laughed. “Me, too.”

  She held out her hand and he took it and shook.

  “Thanks for keeping me safe, Levi Anderson.”

  The streetlights lighted his red hued cheeks. “I didn’t do that much.”

  She moved his chin so that he faced her. “If you hadn’t done the little you did then I wouldn’t be alive.”

  Before he could respond, she leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. He didn’t pull away and she deepened the kiss.

  When she did pull away, she was having trouble catching her breath. Instead of speaking more, she reached into the back seat and pulled her bag to the front. She climbed from the car and kept her back to him as she walked her sidewalk to the front door.

  Since her purse was with her car if it hadn’t been stolen, she took a key from a potted plant on the porch, walked the two steps to the door, and inserted it into the lock. Thoughts that someone could be inside waiting for her ran through her mind, but the thought was ridiculous. Probably there was an officer waiting down the road for her lights to come on. Then he would swoop in and demand an audience.

  She would be forced to entertain him with the food she had left in her home that hadn’t spoiled. Maybe she could beg him to come back tomorrow when she wasn’t so tired.

  Yawning behind her hand, she paused then pushed the door the rest of the way open and went inside.

  This would be a new chapter in her life. She just needed to decide what the title would be.

  ****

  “Ivan, she’s coming in. Get ready.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Levi waited until Mae lifted a curtain and waved him away. He headed toward his apartment constantly looking through the rearview mirror to make sure that no one was following or that anyone went up to Mae’s door after his departure.

  Something didn’t feel right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was wrong.

  He called Tom.

  “Are you finally home?”

  “I’m in town and headed to my apartment. I just dropped off Mae, but I’m having a bad feeling.”

  “Probably just nerves from being separated. But I’ll call the officer that was on duty and see if he is still waiting for her or if he went home. Then I’ll call you back. And it seems I won’t be at your apartment until tomorrow or at least later. The baby has an ear infection, and Leah needs a break.”

  “Tomorrow is fine. I’ll wait on your call.”

  The phone clicked off.

  So, there were officers waiting for him like he was a common criminal.