Bulletproof Seal. Carol Ericson

       Chapter Three

      Rikki heard the door bang open all the way, and the woman with the Southern accent let out a whoop.

      “Whatcha doin’ there, sugar?”

      The man, who seemed a bit more sober, said, “This isn’t a burglary or anything, is it?”

      Quinn rattled the handcuffs. “Just a little...fun that got out of hand.”

      The man swore and chuckled. “Is the little lady still here?”

      Rikki held her breath as she pressed the palms of her hands against the rough siding of Quinn’s apartment building.

      “Long gone. Can I get some help here, Elvin?”

      “I don’t know about that, sugar. I like what I’m seein’.”

      Rikki didn’t blame Ms. Southern Belle. She’d liked what she’d seen of Quinn, too. His slide into despair over her supposed death couldn’t have been that dire, given the condition of his hard body. Hard all over. Hard for her.

      Elvin grunted. “Alice, if you think I’m going to hang around while you torture Quinn here, you’ve been drinkin’ too many Hurricanes.”

      “Who said anything about torture, and who said anything about you hanging around?” Alice must’ve walked toward Quinn, as her words carried right out the gap in the window.

      Rikki shuffled a few steps on the ledge to the left.

      “I finally got Quinn right where I want him, as soon as he loses that underwear.”

      Quinn cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I think I’ve had enough fun and games for the night. Thanks anyway, Alice.”

      Elvin interrupted Alice’s foreplay. “Do you have the keys, man?”

      Rikki traced the outline of the cuff keys in her front pocket. At least Elvin seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there. A nearly naked man in handcuffs would probably give this good ol’ boy nightmares.

      The handcuffs jangled against the radiator. “She took the keys. Must’ve thought it was pretty funny.”

      “You want me to call a locksmith or something? Go home and get my saw?”

      “God, no.”

      Quinn practically shouted, and Rikki couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips. Served him right for leaving her for dead in the DMZ.

      “Grab a paper clip from the drawer by the dishwasher. There should be a bunch of loose ones in there. That’ll do it.”

      Rikki heard heavy footsteps and then heavy breathing near the open window.

      Alice asked in a low, hoarse voice, “You sure you don’t wanna give me a whirl, sugar? I know I could do you better than the girl who left you here.”

      “No offense, Alice, but I’m not sure you could. She wore me out.”

      Rikki clapped a hand over the laugh bubbling on her lips and teetered forward.

      Finally, Elvin came to the rescue. “Will this work?”

      “That’ll do it. Right there.”

      A scrape and a click later and Quinn said, “That’s better. Thanks, man, and thanks for picking up my hat. I could’ve lived without it.”

      “We’ll get out of here. Maybe that little firebrand will return.”

      Quinn raised his voice. “I hope so.”

      “Can we at least take the pizza?”

      Quinn answered, “Go for it, Alice. I’ll see you guys around.”

      “Maybe another time, sugar, when you’re not so...tired.”

      Quinn mumbled something incoherent, and Rikki closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thankful she didn’t have to listen to some other woman having her way with a naked and chained-up Quinn.

      The front door shut, and Rikki’s eyelids flew open. Now Quinn was free, probably armed and most likely pissed off.

      The window beside her slid open the rest of the way, and Quinn stuck his head out. “Are you okay out here? God, I had visions of you tumbling off my building.”

      Rikki tossed her head. “It’s a wide ledge and it’s so humid out here, I’m practically stuck to the side of the apartment.”

      “Come here.” He stretched out his arms. “And for God’s sake, be careful.”

      She sidled along the wall and ignored his help when she got to the window. “I got this.”

      When Quinn stepped back, Rikki swung into the room, her gun in the waistband of her jeans. She drank him in, still in his briefs, a light sheen of sweat dampening his chest.

      “Why did you do that? Why’d you leave me hooked up to the radiator?”

      “How was I supposed to know your front door was unlocked? If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of breaking into your place through your bathroom window.”

      “You left me exposed to that...man-eater.” He hooked a finger around one bracelet of the cuffs and dangled them in the air. “I should’ve taken her up on her offer and left you out on that ledge until morning.”

      “Why didn’t you?”

      Her question wiped the smile from his face. “Because you’re here, standing in front of me, fulfilling every one of my wishes over the past year, and now I don’t ever want to let you go.”

      Before she had a chance to blink, Quinn had her in his arms, and hers curled around his neck in a traitorous response.

      His head dipped, and his mouth sought hers. The kiss he pressed against her lips tasted like booze and...desperation. Her muscles tensed. She wasn’t here to be Quinn McBride’s salvation.

      The desire that pumped through her veins and clouded her brain began to lift. As if waking from a dream, she planted her hands against the flat, smooth planes of muscle shifting across his chest. She pulled away from his demanding mouth, backed away from the prodding erection that promised a night of heaven and a morass of hell.

      “Quinn. We’re not doing this.” And how much of “this” was a trick to lure her into trusting him?

      Quinn’s large frame shuddered. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and clenched his fists at his sides.

      Rikki felt the loss of his touch like a cold wave washing over her. Tears ached in her throat. While she’d been locked up, she found out it had been Quinn behind that sniper rifle, and her hatred of him had kept her alive in the labor camp—that and his baby in her belly.

      Without her anger, what did she have left but love? And loving Quinn McBride had only ever brought her heartache. That’s all love ever brought.

      Flexing his fingers, he turned away from her and plucked his shorts from the floor. He stepped into them and ran a hand through his messy hair. “I just hope you believe me, that I’d changed my mind about the assignment. You can’t stand there and tell me that if the CIA had given you orders to take me down, you wouldn’t have done it.”

      “I guess we’ll never know.” She shoved her