On The Run

Chapter Fifty - "The End Of The Beginning"

He smiled, “There is no way I can get any work done with you sitting next to me, half-dressed.”

A smile crept along my face as my heart skipped a beat, “Fine, I’ll put on some clothes.”

He shook his head, “I find that that doesn’t really do much for me. I’ll see you in a couple hours, Sarah,” he said, as he turned and walked off.

I winced as I felt myself resisting the urge to follow him. What the hell had happened to that confident, independent woman from months earlier? Surely, she couldn’t just be gone, could she?

Turns out she could, after all. After I’d done enough research with a growing frustration at not finding anything, I padded softly into the living room. Jake was lying on the couch fast asleep. It seemed he’d come up with nothing at all too; he was halfway through the list, and all the names had lines running through them in elimination.

I pulled his iPad off his chest and placed it along with the file on the coffee table. His darkhair, which was in a bed-head mess, had his hand within their roots; his naked chest looked almost sculpted, with the single dent from a bullet wound he’d gotten years ago on the job.

I remember being unable to stop screaming after I saw him fall to the ground that day, two and a half years ago. His eyes had been lost and wandering as I pulled off my jacket and held it to the wound.

“You’re going to be fine,” I’d murmured over and over.

At some point, I’d started to feel like I was talking to myself and my voice went lower, as his eyes started to snap shut.

I hadn’t been able to let go until the doctor practically pulled me off in the emergency room.

Every time I thought of the horror I felt that day, a shiver ran down my spine. I mean, how else is a person supposed to feel when they’re on the edge of losing someone they love? Again.

He stirred, as I ran my hands across his muscles, and he opened up his eyes. With a smile, he snaked an arm around my backside and pulled me on top of him.

“That’s not why I came here,” I murmured as he fiddled with the belt of my robe. I took his hand in mine to stop him.

“Isn’t it?” he asked with a raised brow.

“I take it you didn’t find anything,” I said, still lying on his chest.

“I’m only halfway through. You never know. I’m spent, though. I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep,” he replied.

“And whose fault is that?” I whispered, looking up at his face, my chin resting on his chest.

He scoffed, “Yours, clearly. Nobody should be this sexy.”

I looked away, holding back my smile. We’d returned from Chicago, and for about forty-eight hours, we hadn’t left his room for a minute. Well, except to get our pizza deliveries, at least, but that was it. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t complaining. But once in a while, a person needs to set their mind on other things. Besides, I needed to know it wasn’t just about sex with us. If it was, then I needed to be prepared for the moment when Jake would finally be bored. If it wasn’t, my sudden over-dependence might not be terribly pathetic.

He trailed his fingers along my cheeks as I scanned the list of names. How did anyone go through so many assistants and employees in one year?

I sat up, turning my concentration to both our lists of names. I had a list of all consultants employed within the Yates family in the last year and a half, and Jake’s was the list of PA’s and house staff.