Moments later he ended the call and placed the phone on the dresser. The resort was a pretty nice place if you needed somewhere to hide out, and until that lunatic was caught he intended to keep Sam right here. What nearly happened today had taken a good twenty years off his life.
He glanced up when he heard the bathroom door open. She had showered. They usually took showers together, but he"d needed to call Luke to apprise him of what had happened. Of course, both Luke and Mac were furious, but grateful Sam was okay.
Blade saw that she was wearing the bathrobe supplied by the hotel, and knew that she was naked underneath. s.e.x should have been the last thing on his mind but it wasn"t. He would always want her, anytime and anyplace. But now, what she needed was for him to hold her, a.s.sure her that she was safe.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
She nodded as she tried drying her hair with a towel. "Yes."
He crossed the room and took the towel out of her hand. "Sit," he said, pulling out the chair at the desk for her.
She glared up at him and he saw some fire returning to her eyes, but not enough to suit him. When she sat in the chair he went about drying her hair. This was the first time he"d dried a woman"s hair, but then there had been so many firsts with Sam.
"I called Luke and Mac and told them what happened," he said.
She didn"t say anything. She simply nodded.
"Mac is going to clear your calendar for the rest of the week."
She nodded at that, too.
"We"re staying here for a while. At least till Sunday, and then we"ll decide where we"ll go. If I have to, I"ll take you back to Houston, to Whispering Pines. n.o.body can get on that ranch unless Jake wants them there."
When she still didn"t say anything to that, he said, "And I want you naked for the entire time we"re here."
She turned around, glared at him, stood up and s.n.a.t.c.hed the towel out of his hand. "You h.o.r.n.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d, don"t hold your breath!"
He laughed. "Hey, the fire"s back and I love it. I was beginning to miss your smart mouth."
When Sam realized what Blade was trying to do, she threw herself into his arms and pressed her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She needed his strength. And she would give just about anything for his love.
Blade held Sam tight for a long moment and then picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. "I just want to hold you, sweetheart. Nothing more, I promise," he said, tucking her close to his side as he stretched out in the bed. "I really need to hold you."
There was no conversation between them as he held her, needing to have her close to him as much as it seemed she needed to have him close to her. A few moments later, he said in a strained yet husky voice, "I could have lost you, Sam. d.a.m.n, I could have lost you. And what scared me most is the thought of losing you without letting you know how much I love you."
Her body went still and for a moment he wasn"t sure she was breathing. "Sam?"
She shifted slightly and turned in his arms to meet his gaze. "You love me?"
He reached out and traced the tip of his finger down the side of her face. "Yes. And I"m not saying that to try and put pressure on you or anything. I know you don"t love me yet, but I might as well warn you that if I have anything to say about it, you will eventually."
Sam had to fight the tears from falling from her eyes when she whispered, "I do."
Blade lifted a brow. "You do what?"
She reached out and placed the palm of her hand against his cheek. "I do love you."
He pulled back slightly and stared at her. "You do not."
She couldn"t help but grin. "I do, too."
She moved up in the bed and leaned over him. "I love you, Blade Madaris, and that"s what scared me the most, too. The thought that I could have died and you would not have known how I felt. You would have had no idea how much I love you."
"Oh, baby." Blade pulled the woman he loved into his arms and covered her mouth with his. This was his woman. He loved her more than life itself and was determined more than ever to protect her. Nothing in this world was more important to him than her.
Chapter 24.
When Sam awoke the next morning it was to find her body curled up close to Blade with his large arm slung over her hip, as if he needed to make sure she was there, plastered to him and safe from harm. She shifted her body and smiled, knowing she truly had something to smile about.
Blade loved her.
She never considered herself a crybaby, but she felt tears welling up in the back of her eyes. The two of them were an unlikely couple. He had been the player and she, the player hater. And she had done all the things to him that had been her trademark. And he still had come back. He had been there when she needed him. If she would have defied him and opened that box, she would not only have taken her life but taken his, as well.
She closed her eyes when she realized just how close she"d come to doing that. That d.a.m.n lunatic. That crazy person had a lot of friggin" nerve to want her dead. She couldn"t wait until he was caught and when he was, she would- "The fire is boiling over in your eyes now. You"re pretty hot in more ways than one," Blade said, lifting her up and placing her on top of him. She"d known he"d only wanted to hold her, but after his sensual confession that he loved her, she had wanted him to make love to her, and he had, several times. And she had drifted off to sleep with him still embedded deep inside of her. It hadn"t been the first time they"d gone to sleep that way, and she was going to make sure it wasn"t the last.
"What time is Alex arriving?" she asked. She was ready to hear what he had to say.
"His flight got in a couple of hours ago."
Her eyes widened. "That means he could be on his way here," she said, trying to pull out of Blade"s arms.
"Doesn"t matter. I"m getting this."
And then he kissed her in the way she was getting used to being kissed by him. It was a long, drawn-out, make-your-panties-wet kiss. The only problem was she wasn"t wearing any panties.
She pulled back and broke off the kiss. "Come on, Blade, we have plenty of time for that later. We need to get dressed."
He released her and she eased out of bed. "I want to be dressed with the coffee brewing when he gets here, and I need to shower first."
Blade watched her walk into the bathroom in all her naked splendor, and when he heard the sound of the water running, he decided he wanted to take a shower, as well. He eased out of bed and followed the woman he loved.
"Thanks, Sam," Alex said, accepting the cup of coffee. He glanced over at Sam and Blade and thought something was different. Oh, he"d known since the other night in Houston that they were having an affair, but Christy thought it was more than that. Seeing them together now, he was beginning to think so, too.
He watched how Blade was keeping her within easy reach, and when she moved, so did Blade"s eyes. She was rarely out of his sight. If Blade hadn"t already fallen in love with her, then he was more than halfway there.
Alex bit into his bagel. Luke had stopped by a deli and bought a dozen of them. Sam had eaten only one. He, Luke and Blade had practically finished off the others.
"So, you think you know who sent the bomb, Alex?"
That question came from Blade. He, Alex and Luke were in chairs in the sitting-room area of the hotel room. Sam was perched on the arm of Blade"s chair and his arm was wrapped around her waist.
Alex took a sip of his coffee. "I think so, but first let me tell you who I don"t suspect any longer."
Blade nodded. "All right."
Alex opened his notepad. "First, Tyrell Graham."
Sam"s gaze sharpened. "And just what is good old Tyrell doing these days?" she asked.
Alex met her eyes. "Nothing. The man is dead. He was shot by his girlfriend last year and she"s presently serving time for it. She caught him cheating and blew him away."
Sam flinched upon hearing about Graham"s death. Although she thought he was sc.u.m, she felt bad about it.
"And I think we can scratch LaSalle off the list, as well. In fact I"m pretty sure of it," Alex said.
Luke, who had heard the story about Belton LaSalle from Mac, asked, "Why is he off the list?"
"Because he hasn"t lived in the United States since his probation ended. He found religion and moved to Africa to work as a missionary," Alex responded.
Sam leaned forward, clearly astonished. "You"ve got got to be kidding me." to be kidding me."
Alex shook his head and tried hiding his smile. "Trust me, I"m not."
"Wow."
"And as far as Guy Carrington is concerned, he is practicing law at a firm in Miami and has a nice place on the beach. He"s a happy-go-lucky bachelor, although he"s paying out the yin yang in child support."
Blade had been quiet, listening to what Alex was saying. "If all those people have pretty much been eliminated, then who"s remaining?" he asked.
Alex met Sam"s gaze, and hesitated. "I"ve narrowed it down to one person who is our prime suspect right now."
Sam swallowed and pulled in a deep breath. She felt Blade"s arms tighten around her. "And who is he, Alex?"
The room got quiet as Alex leaned forward in his chair and held Sam"s gaze. "I know you"re going to find this hard to believe, Sam, but all my evidence points to Frederick Rowe."
For a moment Sam just stared back at Alex and then she stood. "That"s impossible. There has to be a mistake. I don"t believe it. I refuse to believe it. And I hope you have a good reason for saying something like that!"
Everyone could tell how upset Sam was. Anyone who knew her for any length of time knew she didn"t do anything halfway, whether it was seeking revenge, settling a score, defending a client or choosing her friends. Rowe was a friend she trusted, and she refused to believe the worst about him.
Alex flipped a page in the notepad, then glanced over at Sam. "These are my reasons for making him the prime suspect. Maybe there is an explanation, but until we know what that is, he heads the list."
Drawing in a deep breath, she went back to sit on the arm of the chair beside Blade. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"First of all," Alex said, "were you aware that over the past three months Rowe has come to Oklahoma City at least a dozen times?"
Sam blinked. No, she hadn"t known that. Why would FDR come to town without contacting her, or not even stay at her place? "No, I didn"t know," she said honestly. "But maybe he has business interests here that he"s keeping private," she added in his defense.
Alex shrugged. "Possibly. And did you know he"s in town now and has been since the beginning of the week?"
Sam pulled away from Blade to stand up again. Surprise was etched all over her face. "FDR is here? In Oklahoma City?"
Alex nodded. "Yes. I had someone track him to a hotel last night, where he is staying."
Sam didn"t say anything. She couldn"t help wondering what FDR was up to. When she had talked to Angelo earlier in the week, he"d said Frederick had taken a few days off to visit the aunt who"d raised him. She lived in Florida.
Knowing everyone in the room was waiting for her to respond, she said, "No, I didn"t know that, either. My brother mentioned he"d taken some time off to visit a relative in Florida."
She rubbed her hands down her slacks. She knew those two things alone raised suspicions about FDR, but she still wasn"t convinced. "Still," she said, "that doesn"t mean anything other than he"s keeping his comings and goings a secret for some reason and-"
"And we"ve discovered the secret," Alex interrupted. "It baffled me how your "secret admirer" knew when you were out of the office, which is the reason flowers weren"t delivered that week you went home to New York to visit your parents. Now I believe I know why."
Needing the comfort of Blade"s touch, Sam sat back down on the arm of the chair and he automatically reached out and again wrapped his arms around her waist. "Why?" she asked.
Alex hesitated for a moment. "He"s having an affair with someone in your office, Sam. And from what I gather, the affair has been going on for about six months now."
Sam threw her head back and closed her eyes. This was crazy, simply crazy. FDR was having an affair with someone in her office and she didn"t know about it? She lowered her head, opened her eyes and looked back at Alex. "Who is it?"
Alex"s gaze was unwavering. "Your secretary, Priscilla Gaines."
If Blade"s arms hadn"t been around Sam"s waist, she would have toppled over and literally fallen and hit the floor. Priscilla had been the law firm"s secretary since day one, and Sam knew she rarely dated anyone. Not that it mattered, but Priscilla was twelve years older than FDR and she was a single mother raising her twin boys.
Sam glanced around the room and saw the way the men were all looking at her. Alex was right-all of FDR"s secrets were incriminating. However, she still refused to believe the worst about him.
"Fine, those things make him a suspect. But there is the one thing that as an attorney I know you haven"t presented, and that"s a motive."
Alex leaned back in his chair as he flipped to another page in his notepad. "I think this would be sufficient motive," he said, tearing out the sheet and handing it to her.
Sam hesitated, refusing to even look at it as she pa.s.sed it on to Blade. "What does the paper say? What would have been his motive, Alex?" she asked softly.
Alex took a deep breath. "Revenge. Does the name Alvin Quincy ring a bell?"
Sam scrunched up her face for a moment and quickly said yes. "Years ago, when my father was a prosecutor, he sent him to prison. Quincy escaped around six years ago, a little after I moved here. He"d always made threats about getting back at my father, and when he was freed, he went after my brother, Angelo, running him off the road, nearly killing him. Everyone figured he"d come after me or my parents next, which is the reason my family talked me into moving to Windsor Park, for security reasons."
"Was the man ever captured?" Luke asked.
Sam shook her head. "Yes, but he swore he would never be taken alive and was killed in a shoot-out when the police tried to apprehend him."
She glanced over at Alex. "But what does any of that have to do with FDR?"
Alex closed his notepad. He met her gaze. "It seems that Frederick Damon Rowe is Alvin Quincy"s son."
Those were the last words Sam heard before everything around her suddenly turned black and she pa.s.sed out.
Chapter 25.