Chapter 29
[ 508 words ]
Chapter 29:
It wasn’t a normal phone ringtone. It was a high-pitched, aggressive screech coming from the inner pocket of Jarrod’s coat. It was the sound of a military encrypted satellite phone. The highest level of emergency.
Jarrod’s body jerked. The sound was a bucket of ice water over a raging fire.
He tore his mouth away from hers, his chest heaving as he sucked in a harsh breath. He dropped his forehead against hers, his eyes squeezed shut, his jaw clenched tight as he fought to drag his mind back from the edge.
Caroline was panting, her lips swollen and tingling, her eyes glazed over. She stared at his face, her body still trembling from the aftershocks of the kiss.
Jarrod opened his eyes. The dark fire was gone, replaced by the cold, lethal focus of a soldier at war.
He gripped her waist and effortlessly lifted her off his lap, setting her gently onto the sofa cushion beside him.
He reached into his coat and pulled out the thick, black satellite phone. He glanced at the glowing screen. His facial muscles turned to stone.
𝗥om𝗮nс𝖾 𝘢𝗻𝖽 𝗉a𝗌𝘀іo𝘯 𝗼𝘯 𝗀а𝗹𝗇ov𝘦𝗅𝗌.с𝗼𝗆
He pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. “Status,” he barked.
He listened for exactly three seconds. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
“I’m on my way,” Jarrod said, his voice dropping to a freezing temperature. He hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
He stood up, his tall frame casting a shadow over her. He looked down at Caroline. She was sitting there, looking thoroughly kissed and completely disoriented.
He reached out. His rough thumb gently wiped a smear of moisture from the corner of her swollen lips.
“Stay in the house,” Jarrod ordered, his voice tight. “Do not go anywhere.”
He didn’t wait for her to nod. He turned on his heel, his coat flaring behind him, and strode out the front door, disappearing into the cold, dangerous night.
The next morning, Caroline stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at a ghost.
Dark, bruised circles hung under her eyes. She hadn’t slept a single minute. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt the phantom pressure of Jarrod’s lips on hers, the heat of his hands, and the terrifying realization that her body had betrayed her logic.
She splashed freezing water on her face, trying to wash away the memory.
Ding-dong.
Caroline jumped, grabbing a towel to dry her face. She heard her mother’s frantic footsteps running down the hallway to the front door.
“Oh, Colonel Romero, you shouldn’t have—” Mrs. Thompson’s voice drifted up the stairs, followed by a confused pause. “Oh. It’s you.”
Caroline walked out of the bathroom and looked down the stairs.
It wasn’t Jarrod. Standing in the foyer was Nurse Brenna O’Malley. She was struggling to hold a massive, comically oversized fruit basket wrapped in cellophane, bearing the logo of Washington’s most expensive organic supermarket.
Caroline hurried down the stairs. “Brenna? What are you doing here?”
Brenna shoved the heavy basket into Mrs. Thompson’s arms without a word of greeting, then grabbed Caroline by the wrist and dragged her into the living room, out of earshot.
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