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When the plane came to a stop on the ground in Atlanta, Chris stood up in the middle aisle. "There are cars waiting to take us to a hotel. You should find clothes and other essentials in your rooms. Eat and relax tonight. We'll start the debrief tomorrow at 9:00 AM. We believe you're all safe now, but there will be guards on your floor of the hotel and in the lobby keeping an eye on things. If you need to leave the hotel for any reason, call me first, and we'll arrange it."
I stood up. "Chris... uhm... Agent Driscoll, do you really think we're still in danger?"
"No, but until we're sure, we aren't taking any chances."
We exited the plane and climbed into the waiting SUVS that whisked us away to a large downtown hotel. As soon as our door closed, Chance wrapped his arms around me and kissed me senseless. Once my ability function as a normal human being returned, I said, "I'd like to continue that, but I feel like I need to check on Gracie Layne."
"I understand, Babe. Go, but don't take too long. I've missed you."
When I slipped out the door, I noticed the guards at each end of the hallway. My doubts about ever feeling safe again started to return. The capture or death of all those involved in the Randerran incident had given me a false sense of security. Now, I was back to wondering just how we would ever get back to normal life.
"Gracie Layne, It's Em," I said after knocking on her door.
"Just a minute," she called from inside.
She opened the door just a crack. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing OK. I know you've had a tough few days." She hadn't stepped back or opened the door wide enough for me to enter. I pushed my way through. "Do you have what you need? If you want to have dinner together we can go to the hotel restaurant, that way we get out of the rooms but don't have to bother calling Chr... Oh, hi Chris," I said, as I saw him sitting in the chair in the corner of the room.
"Hi, Everly. Is your room OK? Great minds think alike, huh?" he said. "I was just checking on Gracie to make sure she had everything she needed."
I grinned. "Thanks, Chris. That's nice of you. I worried about her being all alone. I'm guessing you've got that covered," I said. "Gracie Layne, call me if you need anything or just want to talk."
"Thanks for checking on me. I'm doing better. I'm not looking forward to going through everything tomorrow, but I'm going to try not to worry about that tonight."
"Sounds like a good idea," I said, closing the door behind me.
"It's nice to see you smiling," Chance said when I walked back into our room. He'd just stepped out of the bathroom and had a white fluffy towel wrapped around his waist. His chest was on full display. It always sort of takes my breath away.
"I think you can shelve your jealousy of Agent Driscoll. I went to check on Gracie Layne, but he was already taking care of that."
"Good. Maybe he's figured out he can't have you."
"True." I stepped into his arms. I ran my hands over the scars where he'd been swiped by the chupacabra. I'm glad they healed, but it looks like you'll have scars. I guess Wainwright hadn't figured out the secret ingredient yet."
"I guess not. I'm just glad it's healing."
"It does give you a certain rakish appeal," I said.
"Good to know," he said as he nuzzled my neck and made me forget about everything but us.