Hatch, page 19
“Good,” Hatch noted, pointing at Jonas, on his phone, hanging nearby. “It sounds like Jonas just found out that the person who’s been seen here last has just died of cancer a week ago.”
“In a way, that’s nice,” she noted. “At least he didn’t find out what happened to my father.”
“Right.”
She murmured, “He says he left detailed records.”
“Good.” Hatch nodded. “Maybe with that, we’ll decide what to do with everything.”
She winced. “Chances are, the pieces will all need to be returned to the countries from which they came. My father had this love-hate relationship with governments, and the heart of a preservationist allowed him to justify taking everything,” she whispered. “God, it’s not exactly the legacy I think he thought he was leaving behind.”
“When we start dabbling in illegal markets, this kind of legacy is what we leave behind,” he muttered.
“He never sold anything, never gave anything away,” she corrected him quickly. “He just stored it all, hoping that, at some point in time, somebody in the world would care a little more than the current governments.”
Hatch stared at her. “So he was that naïve?”
“He does mention that all he saw was the world getting worse. While he had hoped it would get better, it just got uglier.”
He nodded. “And I can’t see that it’ll change anytime soon.”
“I know,” she whispered. She slowly folded the letter. “Do you think it’s a problem if I keep this?”
“No, I don’t think so, but you’ll have to let Jonas see it—or at least make a copy of it. I know that Jonas will try and confiscate everything here.”
“Only if he wants the job and the expense of sorting out what goes to which country,” she noted quietly. “Otherwise that would be the job I would take on for the next however long it takes.”
“Well, in that case, I suggest you work alongside him, so you can undo or redo or however you want to refer to fixing your father’s legacy.”
At that, Jonas spoke up. “I’d like to see the letter and get a copy of it.”
She looked up, tears still in her eyes, and nodded slowly. “I don’t see that as a problem, but I want to make sure that all this inventory goes back where it belongs.”
Jonas nodded. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement over that.”
“I hope so.” She nodded. “I’d like to think that my father left behind more than just this mess as his life’s work. He wasn’t always like this,” she explained.
“I know that.” Jonas nodded. “He has always been very respected within his field.”
“He didn’t steal it in order to sell it for personal gain,” she added. “He honestly didn’t believe the governments were doing justice by these beautiful pieces left behind by the generations before. In his own misguided way, he was just trying to safeguard it all.”
At that, Jonas winced. “You know it’ll be hard to convince everybody of that truth.”
“Well, in that case”—she looked down at the letter—“maybe the letter needs to stay with the archives. You can have a copy, but we’ll share a copy of the letter with each government, so everybody can thoroughly understand how my father felt about the way these bureaucrats treated these artifacts that he cared so much about. It will help people to understand the mind-set that drove him to hoard what he thought would become something the world would only exploit and would not cherish and protect.”
Jonas nodded slowly. “But you do realize it will also show people what happened to him.”
She nodded. “I know, and history won’t be kind, but I think it’s important that the truth be told.”
“I agree,” Hatch said. “I’m really proud of you for going that route.”
She sniffled slightly. “But I do want to be a part of sending these things wherever they need to go.”
Jonas nodded. “I think we can make that happen.”
She looked over at Hatch. “Do we need to stay here right now?”
“Not only do we not need to stay here,” he said, eyeing Jonas, “but they probably don’t want us here while they deal with the forensics.”
She nodded and slowly stood, keeping the letter clutched to her. When Hatch reached out a hand for it, she looked at him in surprise.
“Let me take a photo of it.”
She nodded. They flattened the letter so Hatch could take a photo to send to Jonas. “Just as a point of good faith,” he explained.
Jonas nodded and turned toward her. “I’m sorry.”
Her hand went to her heart, then she nodded. “Thank you for that.” And she let Hatch lead her outside. Once in the bright sun, she whispered, “Where do we go from here?”
“To a hotel,” he replied. “There we can get a shower and a chance to clean up, after a very rough few days.”
“You think?” she asked. “I mean, I get it in the sense that we finally have some answers, but it’s devastating to know that those answers are the ones that I was desperately hoping not to get.”
“I know,” he whispered.
She noted a vehicle driving toward them. “Who’s that?”
“Corbin,” Hatch replied.
She snorted. “You two are always together, aren’t you?”
“No, not always,” he said, “but we’ve been friends for a very long time.”
“Then you are blessed,” she noted. “Living the lifestyle that I’ve chosen, I haven’t had much chance to make friendships like that.”
“I think that’s why Corbin and I are as close as we are because we both live that lifestyle. We connected, and, through our work, we stay connected.” He smiled.
They got into the vehicle with Corbin, and he looked over at them both. “You guys okay?”
“Well, I will be,” she replied, “but I don’t expect that to be today.” She pointed at his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“One of Jonas’s guys patched me up.” He gave a somber nod. “Let’s get to a hotel.”
It wasn’t very long before they pulled up to the front entrance, and they got out. She looked at Corbin expectantly. “Are you coming in?”
“Yeah, we’ve all got rooms up there,” he replied. “I’ll go park around back.” And, as soon as Hatch and Millie exited the vehicle, he drove off.
She headed to the reception desk, but then she stopped and looked at Hatch. “Do we need to check in?”
He shook his head. “No, we don’t.”
At the elevator, he hit the call button and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “We have our rooms reserved already.”
She nodded, then stepped inside the elevator, thankful that it was empty. She stayed within the circle of his arms. “Is it over?” she asked in a small voice.
“Absolutely, it’s over,” he said. The elevator stopped on the third floor. He stepped out and led her to a room, then pulled a key from his pocket.
“Did Corbin give that to you?”
“Yep.” Hatch then unlocked the door and stepped inside.
She looked around. “Is Corbin staying with us?”
“Nope, he’s got the room next door.” Hatch pointed to the connecting door.
“Oh, good.” She then stopped at the single king-size bed in the room and turned to look at him.
He smiled. “I wasn’t sure if you’d sleep well on your own.”
She rolled her eyes at that. “God, I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”
“Not at all.” Hatch walked forward, then gently pulled her into his arms and held her.
She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s so foolish, but I’ll certainly have to get used to it sometime.”
“Nobody said you had to do it today though. It’s easier to face something like that when you’re feeling a whole lot more balanced than you are right now.”
“Maybe,” she murmured, “but it also feels foolish.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think so. Now, do you want to rest or do you want to go out for a meal? It’s your choice. So what would you like to do?”
She lifted her head. “Oh my, … can we go out for a nice meal?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “Do you want to shower first?”
She nodded immediately. “Definitely. Is Corbin joining us for dinner?”
“I can ask him.” At the look on her face, he added, “Unless you don’t want him to come.”
She smiled at him, as she suggested, “Well, we could call it a date, but only if we go together without him.”
Hatch laughed. “You know what? I don’t think he’d have a problem with that.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Believe me. Corbin understands.”
“I’m not even sure I understand.” Millie shook her head. “So I don’t know how he could.”
“You’d be surprised. He’s pretty astute.”
“Maybe,” she muttered. “Still, it feels strange, and I probably shouldn’t even have said anything about it.”
“Too late now,” Hatch stated. “Go have a shower and get changed. Meanwhile I’ll talk to him when he comes up.”
She nodded and dashed into the bathroom, more embarrassed than she expected to be. After she had a shower and soaked her head several times with shampoo and conditioner, she stepped out and dried off. Going through her clothing, she didn’t have a whole lot of choices, but she did have a couple nice pieces. No dresses by any means, but she chose a nice top and some decent slacks. With that on, she stepped out into the room to find Hatch sitting there, waiting for her. “Hey, are you ready?” she asked.
He nodded. “As long as I can go like I am.”
“Right. Sorry, just because I changed doesn’t mean you have to.”
He smiled, looked at her. “You look absolutely lovely.”
She laughed. “Believe me. I don’t feel that way. I feel a bit more like overdone toast with a thin bit of butter on top.”
“So, just on the edge of crumbling?”
“Something like that,” she muttered, walking over to stand in front of him. “What about Corbin?”
“He’s not even free,” he explained. “He’s meeting up with Jonas again.”
“Good. So where are we going?”
“A nice restaurant is just around the corner,” he suggested, “as long as you’re okay with Indian food.”
“Totally okay with it,” she said. “In fact, I love Indian food.” And that’s what they did. For the first time she remembered what it was to laugh and to smile and to relax.
Halfway through dinner, he noted, “I’m seeing a completely different side of you tonight.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s a good sign or not.” She smiled at him. “But it feels great to unwind.”
He nodded. “There is a certain amount of relief in just having made it this far, isn’t there?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed, “and I keep hoping that this will be the end of it.”
“It is. Absolutely it is.” Then he hesitated.
“What?” she asked, sensing a change in him.
“While you were in the shower, I got a message, saying that a body was found out in the desert.”
She immediately froze. “Is it my father?”
“I don’t know yet,” he stated, “but there is a chance. For now, let’s just say it’s in rough shape but a tentative match.”
She stopped for a moment, thought about it. “Can you, … can we know for sure? It would be good to get him home.”
“I would hope so,” he said. “Let’s see if we can get a positive ID, and then, if it’s him, we’ll make arrangements.”
She smiled. “Are you heading back to the US right away?” she asked, squinting at him from under her lashes.
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I’m just not quite ready to say … goodbye.”
“Good, because I’m not ready to say goodbye at all, even if I do have to go back.”
She stopped, considering his words. “I guess that’s the thing, isn’t it? We’re in a global world now.”
“Absolutely. I can stay in England for a while. Considering we still potentially have your father’s body to deal with, plus all this mess going on here with the inventory,” he said, “that might not be a bad idea. I’ll have to talk to my team and see just what I’m supposed to do at this point.”
“Good. I like the idea of you staying around.”
“I’ll see if I can make it happen, without causing too much stress for anybody,” he explained. “For all I know, it’s a non-issue.”
“I like the sound of that too.” She laughed. “It seems like we haven’t really had a chance to get to know each other, outside of all the drama.”
“No, we haven’t, but this evening is going a long way to reinforce what I already knew.”
“And what’s that?” She put down her fork and pushed away her empty plate.
“That I really like who you are,” he admitted, “and I really respect what you’ve been through and how you held up and, … I really like the person, that lovely little imp, who’s inside.”
She laughed. “That imp hasn’t had a chance to show up in a very long time.”
“Well, we’ll work on that,” he said. “I’ve seen bits and pieces of it, just little tiny peeks of it coming through sometimes.” He smiled. “I’m hoping we can coax it out more often.”
“Maybe.” She paused, looked at him. “It seems like it’s been a long time.”
“And that will ease up now,” he noted.
Such assurance was in his voice that she was surprised. “Are you sure about that?”
“I’m absolutely positive.” He looked at her empty dinner plate. “Do you want some dessert?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Do you know what I want?”
“What’s that?” he asked.
She leaned forward. “I want to go home and screw your brains out.”
He stared, and she flashed him a bright smile. “I guess it wasn’t the appropriate thing to say, huh?”
“Oh, it was the right thing to say,” he replied in a strangled voice. “But your timing sucks because we still have to get all the way back to the hotel.”
She burst out laughing. “But it’s not that far away.”
“And we’ll get there in double-time.” He stood and asked for the bill. He swiftly paid and hustled her outside. “Talking like that can get you in a lot of trouble, you know that?”
“Good.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “Because, for the first time in a very long time, I’m really looking forward to a lot of trouble.”
He looked at her and asked, “Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure,” she replied, with a wave of her hand. “I’m an adult. Don’t you dare insult me by making it sound like I don’t know my own mind.”
“I would never do that,” he teased, “but I wasn’t even planning on bringing it up this soon.”
“No, I figured you’d go all noble and give me time. But you don’t mind, do you?”
“God no, not at all,” he said. “I just really hope that you don’t change your mind before we get back to the hotel.”
“Well, assuming we get back to the hotel without any trouble, without anybody else attacking us or preying on us or otherwise making it impossible for me to enjoy my future,” she stated, “I have no intention of changing my mind.”
And, with that, before she even realized it, they were already back at the hotel.
“How did you make that happen so fast?”
“Incentive,” he said immediately.
She burst out laughing and soon found herself inside the room with him, slamming the door shut behind them.
He walked closer with a look in his eye that said she was in for a ride that would change her life.
She opened up her arms. “You know what? I’ve seen that dangerous look in your eyes so many times but never directed at me.”
“The only way it’ll ever be directed at you”—he lowered his voice into a deep dark growl—“is if you say things like you just did at the restaurant.” Stepping forward, he opened his arms and wrapped her up in them.
“Good,” she replied. “I hope to do that more than a few times in the next few weeks.”
“How about a lifetime?” he muttered, as he lowered his head.
“Works for me,” she whispered. “God, yes, it works for me.”
He lowered his head and took her lips in a searing kiss that had her heart slamming against her chest and made her knees weak. When he finally lifted his head, she stared at him in shock.
“My God,” she whispered, “that lethal look is only part of your charm.”
He burst out laughing, lifted her up, and carried her to the bed. “Enough talking. We have some serious time to make up for.”
And, with that, he lowered his head and kissed her again. When he lifted his head the second time, her pants were being stripped from her legs and her blouse was open and her bra unclipped in the front.
She stared down at her body, now open to his gaze, and whispered, “You’re more than lethal. I’ve never felt like this before.” Sitting up, she quickly stripped off her bra and blouse, then stretched back out again with just her panties on. He looked down at them and swallowed hard. She waved her hand. “Oh no, you don’t,” she said. “You are wearing way too much.”
He laughed, and, while she watched, he quickly divested himself of every stitch of clothing on his body. When he stood before her, proudly muscled and fully erect, she immediately bounded to her knees and stared. “Good God.” Her gaze went to the scars on his chest and his abdomen.
He shrugged. “Do they bother you?”
“Only that you were hurt”—her gaze rose to his—“obviously badly hurt.”
“I recovered.” He smiled. “It’s all good.” And then he wouldn’t let her talk because she was flat on her back with his heated skin pressing her down.
And every inch of her came alive.
“Hatch,” she whispered, and then she couldn’t whisper at all, as his tongue trailed across her skin, over her ribs, down to her hip bones and her belly, then farther down to her knees. She laughed. She giggled. She cried, all while twisting under his ministrations, until she finally couldn’t stand it anymore. “Dear God, don’t torment me another second.”
