Chapter 19
A long time later, in my bedroom with the lights off. The sheets tangled up around my lower legs. Jackie Cole beside me, staring up at the ceiling. Naked. That feeling of pure contentment slowly fading. Something else coming forward to take its place.
“I feel like I’ve waited my whole lifetime for that,” she said quietly.
“Yeah. Me too.”
“Was it everything you were dreaming of?” she asked coyly.
“That and more.”
“Yeah. Me too.” She sighed, throwing one leg over my leg. If Popov Pete could see us now...
I breathed out slowly, tried to get back in the headspace where I could think clearly. Just under that warm, contented glow there was a feeling a lot like panic.
“So what’s next?” I said.
“What do you mean, baby?”
Baby.
“We need a plan. We can’t go to the FBI, we can’t
