Feeling the boldness of a man who has stumbled too closely to his last day on earth, Harry reached down and pulled Diane�s chin up so he could look at her face. He hesitated for a second, gazing into her eyes to make sure he was welcome there. Harry kissed her eyes, and noticing the droplets that had gathered below, kissed the tears on her cheeks. Then Harry kissed Diane on her lips, softly and gently. He kept kissing her, feeling as if this was his last night on earth, and not willing to give up the gift of one more moment with this vibrant, sensual woman. Real kisses, where she did not pull away with a look of disgust on her face. Warm kisses, where her cheeks were flushed and her arms held him urgently, and the warmth and excitement spread to all points in his body. Electric kisses.

They held each other all night, snuggling close to ward off the evil forces that sought to destroy them.

Harry couldn�t sleep. He looked protectively at Diane, sleeping with her head on his chest and her arm wrapped around him. �When will the nightmare end?� Harry asked the sky. �How long can we live on the edge of danger like this and not tumble down into that pit?�

Harry kissed Diane on the forehead, took several deep breaths, and finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Diane�s eyes popped open a few minutes later. Oh my God. Bob was at the airport with us, she thought. Did Jill and the boys actually get on a plane?

Harry stirred and felt Diane�s tense body. He rubbed her back gently until he felt her relax. Diane couldn�t fall asleep for a while, but finally, with the help of Harry�s hypnotic breathing, she drifted back into her own miserable sleep.

After two tense weeks of looking over her shoulder and sleeping at a different location each night, Diane was getting really tired of wondering whether Bob Martinez or one of his associates would seek her out. In spite of years of training and a genuinely non-prejudiced nature, she found herself tensing up at the site of Hispanic males, wondering if the next one would suddenly whip out a gun and assassinate her. She had become a nervous wreck. She came in late for a third time that week, and Fancy poked his head out his office door.

�Diane, you got a minute?� Fancy asked with a stern look on his face.

�Yeah, sure.�

As Diane entered Fancy�s office, he closed the door behind her. The rest of the squad looked up, fearing the worst.

�Diane, I am thinking of taking you off the chart.�

�What? I�ve only been late three times!�