Page 247 of Silent Target

I kiss him until neither of us is thinking about anything else.

The world narrows to warmth.

Touch.

Whispered names.

The fierce tenderness of two people who survived long enough to choose one another.

Afterward, I rest against his uninjured side.

Caleb’s fingers move slowly through my hair.

His heartbeat is steady beneath my palm.

“That was quieter than the parking garage,” I whisper.

“Barely.”

I laugh against his chest.

His arm tightens around me.

“Stay.”

The word is so quiet I almost miss it.

Not an order.

Not a temporary request.

A man who has spent his life leaving is asking me not to.

I lift my head.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

For once, Caleb McDougal closes his eyes.

And sleeps.

58

CALEB

Iwake with Evie’s head against my chest.

For several seconds, I don’t know where I am.

Then the pain in my ribs returns.

The hangar.

The mountain.

The evidence.

Evie.