The Ties That Bind: A Scarecrow and Mrs. King Continuing Story Book 1

Chapter 2

Lee and Amanda's Apartment – Day 1

Gun in hand, Lee opened the bedroom door as quietly as possible. He'd already cleared the rest of the apartment, and though he assumed Amanda was still sleeping peacefully in their bed, he wasn't taking any chances. The fact that the doors had still been locked when he returned home didn't mean much; whoever had placed the bug obviously knew how to get past a locked door. He'd need to talk to Leatherneck about a specialized update on his security system.

He glanced at the bed as he came into the semi-dark room; her form was there under the blankets. Slowly, he closed his eyes and released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Thank God!

Lee crept around the room with the device he'd grabbed on his way out of the office and swept every nook and cranny for the offending bug. Reaching up, he ran his fingers along the top edge of the window casing. Aha! There you are. After gently dropping the bug into a glass of water sitting on the bedside table, he resumed his search. It took ten minutes to conclude that the rest of the room was clean. They were alone. Sort of.

With his weapon holstered back in his shoulder harness, he returned to the bug. Putting it in water wasn't SOP, but it worked in a pinch. He picked up the glass and tried to get a good look at it. It looked like it might be Agency issue, but in the dark of the room he couldn't be sure. He glanced back at Amanda sleeping peacefully in their bed. He hated to disturb her rest, but...

Gently, he sat on his side of the bed and gazed at her; she was laying mostly on her stomach with her face turned away from him. Unable to resist, he reached out and smoothed her hair back from her face. After only a few months of marriage, he sometimes still needed to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

She stirred and stretched, turning toward him onto her back. "Lee?" Her eyes fluttered but remained closed.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he whispered as he continued stroking her hair. Eyes still closed, she smiled dreamily. He'd been up before the crack of dawn, and she made the bed too inviting to resist, so he slipped off his shoulder harness and climbed under the covers. She was still half asleep, and they had pressing matters to discuss. Still...he glanced at his watch...

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"What a lovely wake-up-call," Amanda sighed forty-five minutes later as she lay in his arms with her head propped on his shoulder and her face tucked into his neck. "I don't even know what time it is."

Lee stopped stroking her hair to turn his arm and check his watch. "It's 8:30."

"8:30?" Her eyes popped wide open. "Oh my gosh! What time did you leave this morning?"

His eyes, on the other hand, were closed again in complete contentment. "How did you know I left? You were sound asleep."

"Lee..." Amanda snickered huskily, "...you're dressed for work. Well...you were dressed for work."

He chuckled and turned his head to kiss her temple "Very observant, Mrs. Stetson."

"I try, Mr. Stetson." She sighed and closed her eyes again.

Lee gently pulled his arm out from under her and raised himself up on an elbow. He looked down into her sleepy face and smiled simply because he couldn't help it.

Amanda opened her eyes and gazed up at him. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on, or is it on a need-to-know basis, and I don't need to know?"

Reality slammed back into him like a punch in the gut. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Yes, it's need-to-know, but you really need to know."