“If they need your assistance they will let you know.”
Adam supposed that was true but it didn’t diminish his worry. “What is this place?”
Portia said simply, “My home.” She then said, “Come with me and we’ll find you a room you can use while you are here.”
From the impressive gadgets and software Portia had developed, Adam knew that the house was more than just her home, but he didn’t press for a deeper explanation. He was her guest, after all, and he respected that.
Portia let the dogs out to play in the large field surrounding the farmhouse, then took him up the stairs to a bedroom on the second floor. It was decorated in dark blues and grays. There was an attached balcony that looked out onto the open fields and a small stand of trees. In the corner of the balcony there was a small table and a chair, in case the room’s occupant wanted to sit outside.
Portia asked, “Will this be okay?”
“This is fine. Thanks. How long do you think they’ll be working on Max?”
“When they’re done, they’ll let us know.” Portia smiled. “Dr. Gary, relax. She is in good hands.”
Adam’s lips thinned. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re worried about her. I am, too, but we can help more by staying out of the way and letting the doctors do their job.”
Adam wasn’t accustomed to feeling so powerless, and he was having a hard time with it.
“You got her here, safe,” Portia reminded him. “Give yourself credit for that.”
“It’s not enough.”
Portia didn’t respond for a moment, and then, after studying him silently, asked, “You care for her, don’t you?”
He didn’t lie. “Yes.”
Portia nodded. “Then it will work out, you’ll see.”
“She’s a very unique lady.”
Portia chuckled. “Oh yes. One of the most unique women I know.” She then asked him, “Do you need anything? Clothing, toiletries?”
“I have stuff in my bag in the truck. Is it okay for me to go back down?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll bring the prototype, too.”
Portia grinned happily. “Good. I’ve been wanting to see it.”
“Then let me go and get it.”
“And in exchange, I will show you my lab.”
It was Adam’s turn to grin. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll meet you down in the kitchen.”
The two scientists spent the next two hours discussing their work. Adam was impressed with Portia’s lab and the room she used as her communications hub. She was impressed with his prototype. When the dark-haired Dr. Maria Lorenz walked in a few minutes later, both Adam and Portia waited tensely for the prognosis.
“She came through the surgery just fine,” the lady doctor said reassuringly. “We were able to remove the bullets and repair her shoulder. She’s going to be real sore for a while, and there will be a pretty ugly scar, but she should make a complete recovery, providing she takes it easy so she can heal.”
Those were the best words Adam had heard all day, until Dr. Lorenz said, “She’s asking for you, Dr. Gary. You get five minutes. No more. She needs to rest.”
Inside, he shouted for joy. He looked over at the dogs lying on the floor by the stove and asked, “Can the dogs come along?”
The doctor seemed amused by the request. “Sure, why not? But they have to share your five minutes.”
Adam didn’t care. He knew how Max felt about her babies and he was sure that Ruby and Ossie wanted to see her as badly as he did. “Come on, guys, let’s go see your mama.”
They got up immediately, their eyes bright. Realizing how far he’d come in dealing with the two rottweilers since they first entered his life, he was happy to have them trotting alongside while they followed Portia and the doctor to where Max was waiting.
She was lying in bed in a small bedroom filled with monitors. IVs were hooked into her veins and a young Black man in a white coat was taking her pulse. As Adam neared the bed, he could see that her eyes were closed, and he thought she might be asleep. Unsure if he should disturb her, he looked to the doctor for direction.
She responded kindly, saying, “Call her softly. It’s okay.”
“Max?” Adam waited tensely for a response, and a few moments later she opened her eyes.
She gave him a groggy smile. “Hey,” she whispered. “If it isn’t the cute boy next door.”
Happy and relieved inside and out, he replied softly, “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Like a woman who’s been shot,” she tossed back with dry amusement, “but the doc says I’ll be fine and I’m holding her to that.”
Adam doubted she knew how relieved and moved he was to see her and to hear her voice. “Portia and the dogs are here, too.”
Ruby and Ossie took that as their cue to come to the bed. Both animals stuck their large heads on top of the bedding, and she stroked their muzzles weakly. “Hi guys,” she said to them. “You two okay?”
They barked in response, and that made her smile. “Good,” she whispered. Her eyes drifted closed for a few long seconds. When they opened again, she said to Adam, “Portia spoils Ossie and Ruby. Make sure she doesn’t let them run too wild while we’re here.”
Adam looked over at Portia and saw the secretive smile on her face. Amused, he turned back. “Okay.”
Unable to resist the urge, he slowly traced a bent knuckle down the smooth warm planes of her brown cheek then kissed it gently. Adam was immediately struck by the myriad emotions the contact evoked. He and Max might have come together in lust at first, but what he was feeling now was different, stronger, wondrous. “We should let you rest.”
She nodded almost imperceptibly.
Adam placed another tender kiss, this one on her forehead, as a farewell. “Get some sleep.”
“I will. Can’t wait until you can kiss more.”
Chuckling at her indomitable and, yes, scandalous spirit, he shook his head. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay.”
Lord knew he didn’t want to leave her, and it must have shown on his face because when he turned to Dr. Lorenz, she was smiling, but told him quietly yet firmly, “No.”
Busted, he hung his head, and Portia didn’t bother hiding her amusement. Adam gave the now sleeping Max one last parting look, then he and the others slipped out, so that the medical team could continue her care.
Later, as Adam lay in bed in the dark, he glanced over at the luminous face of the digital clock on the night table. Midnight. Although he’d had a hellacious day and was very tired, he was still too wound up to sleep. Unable to conquer the problem, he got up. Hoping it might help him to relax, he walked out onto the balcony attached to the bedroom. Above him was a velvet black sky studded with stars. Back home in Michigan the night had always been accompanied by the sound of the waves, but here he heard a symphony of insect songs and the wind blowing through the chimes hanging on the balcony’s edge. Thinking about the house in Michigan made him realize what an amazing two and a half days it had been. The day before yesterday he’d awakened in his own bed to the sounds of surf and the cries of gulls, and now he was in the remarkable home of a remarkable woman named Portia in the farmlands of central Ohio. It was one more entry on an increasingly long list of amazing events.
Casting his mind back on the chaotic last twenty-four hours, all he could see was Max and that big gun. He had to admit that when she walked into the room, the gun still smoking and her eyes full of death, she’d scared the hell out of him, too. He’d never seen anyone, much less a woman, handle a weapon with such ferocity and confidence. If the men with Pearl or Kruger or whatever his damn name had been had any sense, they’d be at the airport right now trying to fly home, because if they ran into Max again, injured or not, he knew they would see hell. She had not been playing.
That same ferocious confidence had gotten answers, too. Portia had already wired her contacts about Pe
arl and the renegade generals. The South African ambassador had also been alerted and vowed to start an investigation into the people wanting to replunge her country into death and anarchy. Adam hoped everyone involved would be caught, tried, and jailed for a long time. As far as Adam knew, Sly Kent’s murder was still unsolved, but he was sure that would be figured out eventually, too. He made a mental note to call Kaitlin, then remembered he no longer had a phone. He’d deal with that later.
For now, though, thoughts of Max filled his mind. Truthfully, he couldn’t imagine a day that didn’t include her swaggering bossiness. He knew that they lived totally opposite lives and that when this adventure ended he’d go back to his life and she to hers, but he wanted to put that off until he learned everything there was to know about her remarkable self. What was her favorite color? Who were her sheroes? Did she like spinach? Adam didn’t know the answers to any of those inconsequential questions, but relationships were built on the inconsequential, too, and a relationship is what he wanted to have with her. It was the first time he’d allowed himself to admit that fact. There was more to her than mayhem and guns, and it was those parts buried beneath the Iron Maiden exterior that he wanted to explore, connect with, play with and make smile.
Would she have him, and could she be convinced to give up her dangerous lifestyle? Those were two more questions he didn’t have the answers to, so for now he chose to be content and glad that she was alive and well.
Adam sat outside awhile longer. He thought about his mother and how she was doing, and that he should go and see her as soon as he could. He wondered if he was still going to get to meet the President, and how cool that would be if he did. He thought about the prototype and how he owed Myk Chandler the most expensive bottle of aged cognac he could find for all of his help. And again, Adam thought of Max. Beautiful, sexy, dangerous Max. Lord have mercy! As she’d said, no other woman like her in the world.
The next morning he awoke at six to the sound of the alarm on his watch. He’d set it so he could get up and take his morning run, but he was so whipped, he’d already decided to skip it and go back to sleep when he saw the dogs. Ruby and Ossie were standing by the bed looking at him. They’d become accustomed to going with him, and he supposed to them every day meant every day. “Okay, okay,” he grumbled, throwing back the sheet. “Let me hit the bathroom first, then we’ll go.”
Ten minutes later, after leaving a note for Portia on the kitchen table, he and the dogs were outside. Because Adam had no idea where to go, he said to the dogs, “Lead the way.”
They took off across an open field and Adam set himself a steady pace and tried to keep them in sight. When they got back to the house, Portia was seated at the table enjoying a cup of coffee. “Morning,” she said. “Coffee.”
“Let me shower first.”
“The President called just a while ago wanting to speak to you.”
Adam went still.
“He’s going to give you and Storm a medal at a state dinner in the fall.”
“Who’s Storm?”
“Max. He calls her Storm after the X-Man super heroine. You know. Halle Berry played her in the movie.”
Adam was amazed. “That woman has more names than the Book of Genesis.”
Portia smiled around her raised cup. “That she does.”
“Why’s he want to give me a medal? Max, I can understand, but I didn’t do anything.”
“Your lie helped keep the prototype out of enemy hands. No telling what we’d be facing if they’d gotten hold of it, and you brought Max home safe. She’s one of Hannibal’s favorite people, you know. He just wants to say thanks.”
“But—”
“Go get your shower. I’ll feed the dogs.”
She stood, called to Ruby and Ossie, and they left the amazed Adam standing alone in the kitchen.
Max was dreaming, or at least she hoped so because she and Adam were getting married. They were standing at an altar. She had on a hot red dress, Adam had on a tux and the preacher in the robe was Myk Chandler. Ruby was walking on her hind legs. She was six feet tall, had a bouquet of flowers in her front paws, and was wearing a dress that matched hers. Chandler told Adam to kiss the bride, but she was looking at the choir. Pearl was there with a gun. He began shooting. Her bouquet morphed into a gun and she fired back. People starting running and then she and Adam were in a red canoe out on the lake drifting in the sunshine. The water was calm and shining. She felt at peace.
After finishing his breakfast, Adam was allowed in to see Max. She was asleep, so, with Dr. Lorenz’s permission, he pulled up a chair and sat. A few moments later, as if Max sensed his presence, her eyes opened.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” he responded softly. “How you doing?”
“I dreamed about you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” She paused for a moment as if trying to remember. “We were in a canoe. Ruby was at some kind of wedding. She had on a red dress and was walking on her hind legs. She was as tall as you.”
Adam laughed quietly. “Maybe Dr. Lorenz needs to cut back on your drugs.”
“Maybe. Myk was in the dream, too. I don’t remember the rest.”
“Sounds like that might be a good thing.”
Her eyes drifted closed for a few moments, then opened again. “How are the dogs?”
“Fine. Having a good time playing outside.”
She smiled. “Good. They like you.”
“I’m liking them better, too.”
“Knew you would. Once you got to know them.”
He nodded.
“I think I’m going back to sleep. Will you stay a little while?”
“Rottweilers couldn’t tear me away.”
She chuckled faintly. “He’s got dog jokes now, folks.” She reached for his hand and he gently closed his around hers. “See you in a bit,” she whispered, and she slept.
That evening, a light-skinned brother wearing sunglasses and a long army-looking trench coat sailed into Portia’s kitchen while she and Adam were going over the schematics of some of Portia’s electronic prototypes.
“Saint!” Portia exclaimed in a happy and surprised voice.
“Evening.”
Portia made the introductions. “Saint, this is Dr. Adam Gary.”
“Hello,” Saint said.
Adam nodded a greeting.
Saint asked, “How’s our girl?”
“Okay considering she got back-shot.”
“Damn. Can I see her?”
Portia tossed back, “Probably not in that coat.”
“What is it with everybody and my coat?”
“If you washed it even occasionally maybe it wouldn’t need a toxic warning sticker on it.”
Saint looked to Adam and said, “Women.”
Adam grinned.
Portia said, “Go on back, but I’m telling you now, Dr. Lorenz isn’t going to let you in wearing that thing.”
Sighing, Saint shook off the coat and tossed it over one of the empty kitchen chairs. “Better?”
Portia grinned and waved him on.
Saint said to Adam, “Don’t let her touch my coat while I’m gone.”
Adam said, “I got your back.”
“Thanks, man.” Then he walked off in the direction of the sickroom.
Saint returned a few minutes later. “I need to get going.” He put his coat back on.
Adam had to admit the coat was not the cleanest article of clothing he’d seen lately.
Saint said, “Doc, I’m here for the prototype.”
“Sure, let me get it.”
Once the shades-wearing Saint had the device in his hand, he studied the swirling black liquid encased inside. “Looks like a liquid black mood ring.”
Adam nodded. He’d never thought about it that way, but the man was right.
“It’s not going to blow up on me or anything?”
“Nope,” Adam assured him. “Even if you hit with a hammer it won’t break.
”
“Cool.” And he dropped the cylinder into one of the inside pockets of his coat. “Doc. Nice meeting. Portia, see you later.”
“’Bye, Saint.”
He strode out, the hem of his coat moving with his steps.
Adam looked at Portia, and she, smiling, shook her head. “He’s one of a kind.”
And Adam thought, Just like Max.
Nineteen
By the fourth day of her confinement Max had recovered enough for the doctor’s restrictions to start giving her the blues. She knew she wasn’t able to leap tall buildings with a single bound yet, but she could at least sit in a chair outside in the sunshine. When she asked Dr. Lorenz, the doctor said, “No, Max. Maybe in a couple days.”
So later that day, when Adam walked into the room with her lunch on a tray, she was sulking even though she was thrilled to see him. “Is there a file hidden in that soup somewhere so I can break out of here?” she asked.
He laughed. “Sorry. Just noodles and chicken.”
She sighed. “If I have to stay in this bed much longer I’m going to go insane.”
“Lighten up. The bed rest is for your own good.”
“So you say.”
He placed the tray on the small bed table she used when eating. After positioning it over her sheet-covered middle, he took a seat in the chair beside the bed. “Eat and stop bitching,” he said affectionately.
“Only for you.”
His amusement was plain. “What’s Dr. Lorenz say about commuting your sentence?”
“A couple more days.”
“That’s because everybody knows you aren’t going to take it easy if she lets you out, so she’s going to sit on you for as long as she can.”
“I suppose,” Max said, trying to spoon out soup with her left hand. She was normally right-handed but her wounds were on that side so she was forced to be left-handed until times got better. The liquid sloshed down the front of her T-shirt.
“You want some help?”
“No.”
He watched the next spoonful of soup miss the mark, then he sat back and shook his head. “Nothing wrong with needing a little assistance, Miss You.”