easy for the first time in months. Memory shifted, reordered itself into a jumble of confusion. He’d thought she hated him. He’d prepared for her anger, for a hundred warranted accusations. She’d left him, leaving behind divorce papers. Why would she do any of that if she weren’t pissed off? But here she stood, fixing him with a worried smile. She still cared about him, more than he’d thought possible.
The sound of a clearing throat broke the almost magical silence. She shifted her shoulder back as her friend stepped out from behind his desk to stand between them. “As her partner, I’d love some elaboration over who you are, and why you think she’s in danger.”
His vision flashed crimson. “Partner?”
“ Business partner.” The man lifted his hands palms up. “But stay tuned for further developments.”
Karl narrowly resisted the urge to bury his fist into that too handsome face. He turned to face his wife. “I left a voicemail—”
“Telling me to lock myself in my apartment with a pistol, pack my bags, and have my passport ready.”
“None of which you did.”
She shrugged. “Since I didn’t get an explanation as to why I should follow your instructions, I assumed you’d had some sort of break with reality. I love you, darling, but we’re separated. If you’d signed the papers my father sent you, we’d be divorced. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His focus narrowed on perhaps the least important part of her statement. “Your dad sent the papers?”
“I came to agree with the decision after the fact, so it’s really all the same.” She waved a dainty unadorned left hand in the air, reminding him of the chain circling his neck. He’d found her wedding band on the kitchen counter of their empty home. For reasons he’d never thought through, he’d kept the darn thing on him for the past two years.
And no, it wasn’t all the same. He’d make her clarify matters later. At the moment, they had bigger problems. “I gave an explanation. What part of ‘There are bad guys trying to kidnap you’ didn’t register? We need to leave the country.”
She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as her cheeks reddened. His jaw dropped. The damn woman was trying to stifle a laugh.
“What the fuck is so funny?”
After several coughs, she managed, “It’s important to find the humor in these situations. Otherwise, I’d have gone mad before I hit fifteen. Bad guys have been trying to kidnap or kill me since I was born. It comes with the last name. You should have been more specific.”
Realizing she was serious, he frowned. Though they’d been married—were still married—he was beginning to realize he knew next to nothing about her background. She’d never brought up her family, never talked about her past. And right this instant, she seemed completely unconcerned by what he deemed a clear and present danger.
She patted his arm. “I’m glad you’re concerned, but I’ve got this. You can go.”
A vein throbbed at his temple. Of all the possible snags he’d planned for, he hadn’t expected the biggest problem to be her. “This isn’t a game. Someone’s trying to kidnap you.”
She nodded and smiled in the exact same manner she once did when he’d told her not to buy groceries at farmer’s markets. “Okay. I heard you the first time. I’ll take the necessary precautions.”
Drawing a deep breath, he counted backward in his head from ten. He failed to make it past eight. “For the love of all that’s holy,” he bellowed, “This is not the time to be a ditz. I screwed up. Someone wants to make me pay for it. They came after you because you’re my wife. We need to leave.”
She massaged the side of her ear with one hand. “How does running away solve anything?”
His voice grew louder by a few too many decibels. “A group of Syrian criminals are in this city. Stop arguing with me and haul ass.”
When she crossed her arms and lifted her chin in a
The sound of a clearing throat broke the almost magical silence. She shifted her shoulder back as her friend stepped out from behind his desk to stand between them. “As her partner, I’d love some elaboration over who you are, and why you think she’s in danger.”
His vision flashed crimson. “Partner?”
“ Business partner.” The man lifted his hands palms up. “But stay tuned for further developments.”
Karl narrowly resisted the urge to bury his fist into that too handsome face. He turned to face his wife. “I left a voicemail—”
“Telling me to lock myself in my apartment with a pistol, pack my bags, and have my passport ready.”
“None of which you did.”
She shrugged. “Since I didn’t get an explanation as to why I should follow your instructions, I assumed you’d had some sort of break with reality. I love you, darling, but we’re separated. If you’d signed the papers my father sent you, we’d be divorced. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His focus narrowed on perhaps the least important part of her statement. “Your dad sent the papers?”
“I came to agree with the decision after the fact, so it’s really all the same.” She waved a dainty unadorned left hand in the air, reminding him of the chain circling his neck. He’d found her wedding band on the kitchen counter of their empty home. For reasons he’d never thought through, he’d kept the darn thing on him for the past two years.
And no, it wasn’t all the same. He’d make her clarify matters later. At the moment, they had bigger problems. “I gave an explanation. What part of ‘There are bad guys trying to kidnap you’ didn’t register? We need to leave the country.”
She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as her cheeks reddened. His jaw dropped. The damn woman was trying to stifle a laugh.
“What the fuck is so funny?”
After several coughs, she managed, “It’s important to find the humor in these situations. Otherwise, I’d have gone mad before I hit fifteen. Bad guys have been trying to kidnap or kill me since I was born. It comes with the last name. You should have been more specific.”
Realizing she was serious, he frowned. Though they’d been married—were still married—he was beginning to realize he knew next to nothing about her background. She’d never brought up her family, never talked about her past. And right this instant, she seemed completely unconcerned by what he deemed a clear and present danger.
She patted his arm. “I’m glad you’re concerned, but I’ve got this. You can go.”
A vein throbbed at his temple. Of all the possible snags he’d planned for, he hadn’t expected the biggest problem to be her. “This isn’t a game. Someone’s trying to kidnap you.”
She nodded and smiled in the exact same manner she once did when he’d told her not to buy groceries at farmer’s markets. “Okay. I heard you the first time. I’ll take the necessary precautions.”
Drawing a deep breath, he counted backward in his head from ten. He failed to make it past eight. “For the love of all that’s holy,” he bellowed, “This is not the time to be a ditz. I screwed up. Someone wants to make me pay for it. They came after you because you’re my wife. We need to leave.”
She massaged the side of her ear with one hand. “How does running away solve anything?”
His voice grew louder by a few too many decibels. “A group of Syrian criminals are in this city. Stop arguing with me and haul ass.”
When she crossed her arms and lifted her chin in a
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