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across the room and threw myself in his arms, almost knocking him over. His arms went around me.
    “Are you alright? Are you bleeding?” I asked.
    He held me for a moment before stepping back and studying my face. “I’m fine. Are you okay? Is everyone okay?”
    I nodded. “We’re good. No one is injured. What happened?”
    “He got away. I hit him with return fire. How badly, I’m not sure. I tracked him, but he was good. Highly experienced, whoever he was. I didn’t want to spend more time on finding him in case he was circling back here or serving as a distraction to whatever was going on here.”
    The officer who had been questioning me stepped forward. “You’re Slash?”
    “I am.”
    “What happened here?”
    Before he could reply, another uniformed cop ran into the room. “I’m sorry, sir, but we’ve discovered the bodies of two federal agents in a car parked a little way down the street. Got the CSI unit on the way.”
    The officer looked at Slash, who closed his eyes. “My tail.”
    My stomach lurched.
    “We’ve been instructed to bring this man to headquarters immediately.” He pointed at Slash. “Apparently the chief is coming in to handle this one personally.”
    The officer looked between Slash and me for a long moment, then nodded. “That’s highly unusual, but what the chief says is gold. Do it.”
    * * *
    Apparently the Chief wanted only Slash at that time, so my parents, Beau and I were released from further questioning and permitted to check into a local hotel. The house was a crime scene and we would have people coming and going all night long. I wanted to go home, but Slash had warned me against going anywhere alone until they figured out the purpose of the attack. To make matters worse, reporters arrived just as we were heading out. The police cleared them out so we could get out of the driveway, then escorted us to the hotel, but it wasn’t pretty.
    We were all exhausted by the time we got to our rooms. After borrowing a toothbrush from the front desk, I showered, put my T-shirt and undies back on, and immediately climbed in bed. I thought I’d never fall asleep, but I must have been out the second my head hit the pillow.
    I didn’t remember anything until I rolled over and realized Slash was passed out next to me, lying on top of the covers fully clothed. His gun lay on the nightstand and his sports coat and shoulder holster had been draped over a chair. Light was peeking in through the curtains. I squinted at the clock. Seven forty-two in the morning. I had no idea when he’d come in, how he’d found me or how he’d got into my room—that was just who Slash was. Master hacker, master of disguise and all-around talented guy.
    He made a little noise in his sleep and twitched. I wondered if he was still chasing the bad guy. His face was smashed in the pillow and his mouth was slightly open. He needed a shave.
    I reached out and gently pushed back a strand of black hair that had fallen across his forehead. A tenderness, an affection for him, swept through me.
    His eyes opened, and he looked at me and smiled. He rolled over on his back, one hand resting on his forehead.
    “Hey.” His voice still sounded sleepy.
    “Hey back.”
    His hand snaked out, catching my wrist and pulling me down on top of him. He rolled me over, kissing me with a warm, lazy heat as if he were still dreaming and wanted to wake slowly.
    After a bit, he lifted his head. “Now that’s what I call a good morning.”
    I smiled. “Where were you?”
    He started nibbling the sensitive skin along my chin, moving toward my ear. “Police station. There was a little party with the DHS, NSA and FBI. Might have had a CIA agent there, too. It was a busy night.”
    I struggled to sit up. “What happened?”
    He sighed and pushed himself up on his elbows. “The two federal agents who were following me are dead. Executed. As I was directly involved in the incident, I was questioned repeatedly by all the different