Page 66 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

“Maybe you need some actual physical space,” Fletcher suggested.

Sam sighed and rested his fist in his hand. He didn’t want to leave Celeste, not even for a moment. The thought of being apart hurt so deeply it erased all doubt about his feelings for her. Also, “I have nowhere else to go.”

Fletcher leaned forward with a calculating smile. “I can fix that.”

Celeste felt like she hadn’t made any headway whatsoever. By the time Sam returned several hours later, she still sat on the floor clutching her journal. And she still didn’t know how to be what he wanted her to be, to do what he wanted her to do.

He entered quietly and sat silently beside her, reaching out a hand to touch her temple. “Hi.”

“Hello,” she said.

“I was thinking maybe I would go away for a while,” he said.

“Oh. Where?”

“Fletcher invited me to stay at his guest house for a while.”

“Fletcher has a guest house?” she asked.

“Apparently.”

“You’re not afraid it might be a secret lair or dungeon where he’s going to make crazy person paraphernalia from your hair and teeth?” she said.

He laughed and shook his head. “No. Whatever he is, I think he’s harmless.”

“Oh.”

They sat in heavy silence a while. Celeste’s nose felt hot. At first she thought maybe she was getting sick, and then she realized the truth was worse: she was about to cry. She hadn’t cried since…she couldn’t remember the last time she cried. She sucked a shaky breath, trying to press back the pain, press back everything.

“Celeste,” Sam said, making her name a question.

She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to block him out, trying to block out everything.

“Your phone is ringing,” Sam said gently, breaching her apparent breakdown.

Her eyes flapped open. She reached for her phone and held it to her ear. “We have a problem,” The Colonel said, and then a gunshot rang out

Chapter 30

Celeste dove for Sam at the same time he scrambled to cover her. They ended up rolling a couple of times, landing flat on their backs, side by side. Miraculously Celeste maintained her hold on the phone, probably because it was The Colonel and she was certain he’d have answers.

“You were saying there’s a problem,” she said and tossed Sam a smile when he snickered.

“Komeni is on the move. We think he might have caught wind of Sam’s location and could be planning to take him out in person.”

“I think he’s already here,” Celeste said.

There was a pause, then, “That’s not possible.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but we’re under fire from someone.”

“I can have a team there in less than five hours. You’ll have to hold them until then.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

They disconnected and Celeste tossed her phone aside.

“Was that The Colonel?” Sam asked.

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