break. Someday it will break, and I don’t want to be there to see it.”
“Are you finished?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed. “Yes, I think you should leave now.”
“I don’t.” He smiled. “Because that rant almost ruined the effect of the massage I performed on you. Now I’ll have to go to step two. And it’s not as if I didn’t realize the problem you have with me.” He added softly, “But it doesn’t make any difference, because it can’t. It’s too late. Half measures suck and neither of us will be able to stand it for long. It’s going to happen. We can’t stop it. But I’ll try not to push it.” He got to his feet. “Now let me put you to bed and then get out of here. Do you want to finish your wine?”
“No.” She put her glass on the table. “And I have no intention of letting you put me to bed. You haven’t been listening to me. I’m serious about this, Lynch.”
“I know you are.” He pulled her out of her chair and lifted her in his arms. “And I respect what you’re saying, but there’s no way you’re going to throw me out when we’re getting closer to this Dietrich.” He was carrying her toward the bedroom. “So I still have time to make you forget I blew it for a little while and get back in your good graces.”
“Let me down. This is like some scene from a cheesy soap opera. You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m never second-rate. But if I’d made you walk, you’d be tottering and that would offend your dignity. Your back is hurting and it will have stiffened up again after you sat that long. As soon as I get you to bed, I’ll take a look and see if it’s only a bruise or if it needs an adjustment.”
“Courtesy of your Beijing madam? I don’t need an adjustment.”
“We’ll see. Only she wasn’t really a madam, that was a cover. She was a Russian agent who’d been sent to infiltrate the brothel to gain information from a North Korean colonel about their nuclear program. It was supposed to be a joint international operation with me doing the legwork at the silos to confirm her information.” He sat Kendra down on the bed and was unfastening her shirt. “Needless to say, Nadia got what she wanted from him. As you can see, she was very talented.” He stripped off her shirt and carefully rolled her over on her stomach. He took off her bra and turned on the bedside light. He gave a low whistle. “Nasty bruise. That must have been where you hit the wall.”
“I told you it was just a bruise.”
He was gently probing. “Yes, you did. And everyone knows you’re usually right. Let’s just be sure…”
She screamed as an agonizingly sharp pain shot through her. When she could get her breath, she said, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that. Is something broken?”
“No.” He was still probing, “You knocked your vertebrae out of alignment and pinched a nerve. I could take you to the ER or I could fix it myself. Which do you prefer?”
“You. The last thing I want is to be dragged to the hospital tonight. And I’ve begun to trust Madam Nadia.”
“So did I.” His fingers were moving lower on her back. “Until she tried to kill me.”
“What?”
“It got complicated.” He continued to gently probe as he said, “It seemed she didn’t understand the concept of joint mission. She decided that in order for her mission to succeed, she had to kill me to show her colonel how devoted she was to him. I had to stop her. Pity. I’d learned a lot from her.” He’d found what he was looking for. “There it is…This is going to hurt like hell. Ready?”
“No.” Her hands clenched the pillow. “Do it anyway.”
“I think you should reconsider the—” He made the adjustment with lightning speed in mid-sentence.
This time she managed to bite her lower lip to smother the scream. “Is it done? It still hurts.”
“It’s done. And I’ve seen worse. Though it will hurt for a couple of days. But I’ll get you an ice pack for tonight, and it will feel better by tomorrow morning. Then I’ll give you some of the medication Nadia used as a substitute for narcotics, and you’ll be able to work if you don’t ram yourself into any more walls.” He got up from the bed. “I’ll be right back. Stay where you are.”
“With pain