Page 53 of The Mouse and the Maestro

He woke with a start and lunged for it. By the ringtone, he knew it was Ridge. He hadn’t called to report the gunshot or the tail. Had his boss somehow caught wind? Was Blue about to be reamed?

With effort, he reached into his pocket, straining his long arms around Jane who ducked low to allow his hand access tohis pocket. “Hello,” Blue said, his voice scratchy from disuse and sickness.

There was a pause and then, “Did I wake you?”

Blue checked the time. It was ten in the morning. In Ridge’s world, that was like sleeping until four in the afternoon and a definite strike against being a responsible employee or human being. “Rough night,” Blue said.

“Anything I should be aware of?” Ridge said.

“Parts of it,” Blue said. He closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath, not an easy task when Jane was pillowed on his chest. Not that he was complaining. His fingers skimmed absently through her hair, and she snuggled into him, still half asleep.

“You can put it in your report,” Ridge said.

Blue gripped the phone tighter. “What?” They did reports at the end of a mission, not in the middle.

“It’s over. Ethan caught the middleman in Iraq. He’s been smuggling the forgeries in and out of the country, shuttling the funds to and from the terror groups.”

“But who’s the forger?” Blue asked.

“We don’t know yet, but with this guy out of the running, it doesn’t matter.”

“Is it safe for Jane?” Blue asked and she wriggled, blinking in confusion at the mention of her name.

“We’ll keep an eye on her, but yes. The entire operation is essentially shutdown; there’s nothing left to authenticate. Bring her home, and we’ll work on a few long term security measures for her.”

“Okay,” Blue said.

Ridge paused. “You doing okay? You sound…not yourself.”

“Food poisoning, but I’m fine,” Blue assured him.

“Definitely leave that out of the report,” Ridge said. They disconnected, and Blue tossed his phone onto the coffee table.

“It’s over?” Jane asked.

“It’s over,” Blue affirmed. His hand was still smoothing the hair away from the back of her neck, and he felt suddenly as if he had known her for years instead of weeks. Had he ever been this comfortable with a woman, with anyone?

“How can it be over?” Jane asked. “Did they catch the forger?”

“They don’t need to; we got the smuggler. He was the one with direct ties to the terror cell we’ve been chasing.”

“But the forger’s still out there,” Jane said. “Still wreaking havoc on my industry.”

“I know, and we’re hopeful the guy we have in custody will point us in his direction. We’ll keep working on it, along with a few other agencies. Either way, your part is finished. You’re free.”

“Yay,” she said, albeit sadly.

They lay in quiet, comfortable silence a few minutes, and then Jane sat up. “I’m going to wash up, if you don’t mind.” Not waiting for an answer, she rolled off the couch and headed for the bathroom.

When she emerged, Blue took his turn in the shower. They ate a quiet, subdued breakfast of Cheerios. Blue’s mother was back at work, his father was sleeping, and that was why they told themselves they were hushed. The truth was both were feeling a bit melancholy at the impending departure. Each thought somehow by the time the end came the other would have given in. Jane thought Blue would have given up his need to know her secrets while Blue believed Jane would have told him everything by now. The reality was neither was willing or ready to give, and so they were at an impasse.

The drive back to DC was equally quiet, awkwardly so. They reached her apartment sooner than either of them wanted, but neither made a move to leave the car.

“I don’t want this to be the end,” Blue said.

“I think it’s for the best,” Jane countered. “Clean break, ending on a high note, no hard feelings, no baggage. That’s so rare it’s kind of a gift, you know?”

Blue blew out a breath. “Please don’t marry the guy.”

---