“Sara?”
The voice was filled with that deep, commanding ring that she had never forgotten. It peeled back the layers of panic, penetrated the emotional chaos of losing Everett and her maternal fussing that she couldn’t stop. For the first time that tone, that sense of self and of control, didn’t grate, but instead was a life raft in a sea of insanity. The tone cut through everything and his presence broke easily through the crowd. She knew his voice like she knew her own heartbeat, would always know it, could never forget it.
He was back and he’d brought her son, when she had thought that her baby was lost. There was only one thing important in this moment—getting Everett out of the hotel.
“Are you all right, baby?”
She ran her hands over her child as if she expected to find a fatal wound, a broken bone or some injury equally as threatening. There was nothing. Only a nose that was running and eyes that were red and, oddly, a smile on his face.
She fumbled in her pocket for a tissue, pulled it out and wiped her son’s nose, not slowing her stride as she headed for the door. Everett pulled away to look over her shoulder and what he saw made him giggle. At least her son was finding some amusement in a situation that was causing her empty stomach to want to heave. She clutched him tighter and walked faster.
Talib.
She could feel him right behind her and to her left. He wasn’t saying anything, but his presence was insuring that there was no delay in exiting the building.
She hadn’t seen him since that fateful summer almost three years ago. She’d hoped never to see him again and yet here she was looking for his help.
Despite coming here to find him, she hadn’t been prepared for it to happen like this. Just his presence brought back all the hurt. She’d been afraid of that. That was one of the reasons she hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place. There’d been many reasons, but that one had trumped them all. But she’d had no choice. She was here, with him right behind her. The hurt flooded back strong enough to steal her breath, like a tsunami from which she could never escape and with it came the anger.
Her heart pounded. For even after the years that had stretched between them, he affected her. He’d been a first-class jerk and one wasn’t apt to forget such a man. But now there was one other thing that she wasn’t apt to forget. He’d saved the most important thing in her life. Saved, found—she wasn’t sure which was accurate and it didn’t matter. Everett was safe.
She shifted her baby. He was heavy, even for the short distance to the exit. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t putting him down for anything, even as her hand shook from shock and Everett began to snuffle. She knew he felt her panic. Between that and the noise and the confusion of the last few minutes, she was surprised that he was as quiet as he was.
“It’s all right,” she whispered into his ear. She could smell the unique scent of the shampoo she’d used on his hair combined with the heavy smell of smoke. She ran a finger down his soft cheek, thumbing away the remaining tears. His bottom lip quivered and she knew that he was seconds away from bursting into a full-out wail. Once that happened, there’d be no stopping him. Everett’s crying jags could be legendary. Now he had every reason to cry. She imagined that his flair for drama might mean she had a future actor on her hands. Or...she looked back at Talib, remembering.
She blew the thoughts from her mind. No matter Everett’s discomfort or the former lover behind her, they could both wait. She needed to get her son out of this hotel and to safety.
And as she thought that a firm hand was on her waist and Everett plucked from her arms. Her heart stopped. This wouldn’t happen again. She was ready to fight for her child. She turned and met the eyes of the man she had come here to see.
“Sara. He’s heavy. Let me.”
This time, his voice cut through her panic. His voice, like his presence, his personality, his everything, was too smooth and he was much too sure of himself. He looked the same and yet something had changed. She could see it in the depths of his dark, gold-flecked eyes. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, only that it was different, as if he was haunted by something or someone. A woman probably, she thought with scathing awareness and then pushed the thought from her mind. If she expected his help she would have to be civil and to do that she had to begin with her thoughts, and that one hadn’t been fair. Whatever he was, he’d help her now. That was Talib, solid and dependable in anything that was not a romantic entanglement. Her mood dove again at that word. Entanglement. There could be no better or less flattering word for their failed relationship. And it didn’t matter, for it was over—had been over for a very long time. It was another entanglement that was the problem, that was more than a problem, and that was why she was here.
He escorted her to the door, his hand holding her by the wrist as if he was her jailer. There was nothing she could do but be led to safety, to the place on the sidewalk that he deemed safe.
“Where are you taking us?” she asked.
He ignored her question. Instead he said, “You’ve spent enough time in this and the smoke can’t be good for your little guy.”
Her little guy. She sucked back relief. For coming here had been a risk. Finding Talib here today, more than lucky. Still, nothing could remove the fear. And she had so much fear. Fear for herself, for Everett, fear at facing Talib once again with the truth.
But despite all of that, she’d found him in the unlikeliest of situations. Not the most unlikely place. She’d known that he and Ian were friends, and that Ian had requested his help. That was the main reason that she’d chosen this hotel, it had been the timing that was strange. The bonus in all of it was that her travel agent had found a great promotion—everything had clicked together.
“Over here,” Talib commanded and with those two words he made it clear that not only was he back in her life, but he was also taking charge, at least for now. And, at least for now, she would let him. Later—she hadn’t thought that far.
This had been a journey of desperation. And now, despite having come all those miles to find him, she wanted to run—take her son with her before it was too late for both of them.
Instead she looked up at him. “I can’t believe I ran into you in the midst of this. But I’m glad you were here to find—”
“What are you doing here, Sara?” He cut her off with a hint of anger in his voice.
The conceited donkey.
He thought she was here because of him. She looked at her son in his arms and that was the only reason she didn’t lose it then and there. Unfortunately the truth of it was that what he was implying, what he’d left unsaid...he was right. She was here because of him, just for none of the reasons that the arrogant fool thought.
What she was here for was much more serious than any romance ever could be. And despite what he thought, and she knew very well what he thought, it was hard to deny the truth. He was a magnet for women, but he was no magnet to her. Not anymore. Those days were long over. But despite not needing him romantically, he was right about one thing. She did need him, she needed him very much.
For without him she was terribly afraid she was going to lose her son.