listening to the slow beating of his heart beneath her ear while he ran his hand down her back in gentle stokes. His steady breathing consoled her as much as his touch did.
“Thank you.”
“It’s not a problem,” Johnny said with his lips against her hair. “Do you want to stop talking?”
“No, no …” Lucy sniffed. “I want to tell you about Mac. He—he was very important to me.”
“I can tell.”
“We met in Kosovo when he gave me a package to deliver to DC. He, uh, decided to tag along with me. Our exit out of Yugoslavia wasn’t exactly smooth, and, well, we had some hardships, and a few laughs before we finally made it back to the states. We got married two months later. We had … a lot of adventures, and he taught me so many things—he made me a better agent, and he kept my secret.”
“How long were you married?”
“A little over five years.”
“Wow, and you saved him that many times in five years?” Johnny ran a caressing hand down Lucy’s hair. “He must’ve had very dangerous missions.”
Lucy shrugged a single shoulder. “They weren’t really, it’s just that, well, Mac knew I had his back, and over time he took more chances in the way he did his job. There were a few times when he was injured, where I couldn’t change the window completely, but that just made him look more …” she stopped when she remembered the accolades he’d get from Assistant Director Bancroft, all the handshakes he’d get in the hallways at the agency, but he had protected her, kept her safe—hadn’t he?
“Two years ago, while we were on an assignment in Paris, I was in the alley while Mac went inside to download some information. Anyway, I wasn’t feeling very well that day, and I didn’t notice when a woman came out of a doorway a little farther into the alley. She had a gun. But Mac must’ve seen her from the window. He tackled me just as the woman shot at me. I was able to return fire, but not before Mac took the three bullets that were meant for me. He died in my arms.”
Johnny asked, “And you couldn’t see a window around him?”
“No. The woman wasn’t after Mac. I was her target.” Lucy pushed up onto her elbows and looked into Johnny’s caring eyes. “I can’t see myself in the windows. I always have to watch other people die. Tonight, if those agents had decided to attack only me, and I didn’t notice their truck drive up …” Lucy shrugged a single shoulder. “I wouldn’t have had a window, and they might have succeeded in killing me.”
“That makes sense.”
“What does?”
He gently stroked Lucy’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “When I was going through that window with you on the freeway, I could see me getting shot, and I could see that semi-rig bursting into a fireball as it skidded toward me”—he brushed his thumb against her temple—“but I never saw you. I realize now that I was seeing out of your eyes.”
She nodded. “I only had that window because other people died, not because I saw me die. Do you understand?”
“It was the same on the staircase this afternoon, wasn’t it?”
Lucy nodded again. “I had to watch you and your friends get killed before I noticed that man in the suit at the bottom of the stairs. I was such an idiot for not paying closer attention to my surroundings.”
“You didn’t know that they were after you before today?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been attacked?”
“You mean besides when I was with Mac? No.” Lucy sat up straight and pulled the blanket up higher on her shoulders. “When I was eleven I made up my mind that I was going to develop as much skill and strength as possible to deal with any situation I might come up against because of my windows. I didn’t think all the deaths would be as easy to change as pushing a little girl off a bicycle. So I asked my dad if I could take Taekwondo. My dad drove me to the dojo four times a week for six years without ever complaining. I learned to
“Thank you.”
“It’s not a problem,” Johnny said with his lips against her hair. “Do you want to stop talking?”
“No, no …” Lucy sniffed. “I want to tell you about Mac. He—he was very important to me.”
“I can tell.”
“We met in Kosovo when he gave me a package to deliver to DC. He, uh, decided to tag along with me. Our exit out of Yugoslavia wasn’t exactly smooth, and, well, we had some hardships, and a few laughs before we finally made it back to the states. We got married two months later. We had … a lot of adventures, and he taught me so many things—he made me a better agent, and he kept my secret.”
“How long were you married?”
“A little over five years.”
“Wow, and you saved him that many times in five years?” Johnny ran a caressing hand down Lucy’s hair. “He must’ve had very dangerous missions.”
Lucy shrugged a single shoulder. “They weren’t really, it’s just that, well, Mac knew I had his back, and over time he took more chances in the way he did his job. There were a few times when he was injured, where I couldn’t change the window completely, but that just made him look more …” she stopped when she remembered the accolades he’d get from Assistant Director Bancroft, all the handshakes he’d get in the hallways at the agency, but he had protected her, kept her safe—hadn’t he?
“Two years ago, while we were on an assignment in Paris, I was in the alley while Mac went inside to download some information. Anyway, I wasn’t feeling very well that day, and I didn’t notice when a woman came out of a doorway a little farther into the alley. She had a gun. But Mac must’ve seen her from the window. He tackled me just as the woman shot at me. I was able to return fire, but not before Mac took the three bullets that were meant for me. He died in my arms.”
Johnny asked, “And you couldn’t see a window around him?”
“No. The woman wasn’t after Mac. I was her target.” Lucy pushed up onto her elbows and looked into Johnny’s caring eyes. “I can’t see myself in the windows. I always have to watch other people die. Tonight, if those agents had decided to attack only me, and I didn’t notice their truck drive up …” Lucy shrugged a single shoulder. “I wouldn’t have had a window, and they might have succeeded in killing me.”
“That makes sense.”
“What does?”
He gently stroked Lucy’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “When I was going through that window with you on the freeway, I could see me getting shot, and I could see that semi-rig bursting into a fireball as it skidded toward me”—he brushed his thumb against her temple—“but I never saw you. I realize now that I was seeing out of your eyes.”
She nodded. “I only had that window because other people died, not because I saw me die. Do you understand?”
“It was the same on the staircase this afternoon, wasn’t it?”
Lucy nodded again. “I had to watch you and your friends get killed before I noticed that man in the suit at the bottom of the stairs. I was such an idiot for not paying closer attention to my surroundings.”
“You didn’t know that they were after you before today?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been attacked?”
“You mean besides when I was with Mac? No.” Lucy sat up straight and pulled the blanket up higher on her shoulders. “When I was eleven I made up my mind that I was going to develop as much skill and strength as possible to deal with any situation I might come up against because of my windows. I didn’t think all the deaths would be as easy to change as pushing a little girl off a bicycle. So I asked my dad if I could take Taekwondo. My dad drove me to the dojo four times a week for six years without ever complaining. I learned to
Similar Books
