Sarah held him tighter. “Nothing,” she breathed into his neck. “Nothing, now.”

Hours later, the call to late-night prayer echoed through the streets, and Sarah turned her head. She had no idea that so much time had passed.

Rakkim smiled down at her. “Yes, it’s late. Good thing you’re already in bed.”

She clamped herself around his cock, made him laugh, and the vibration ran through both of them. He eased himself deeper inside her, and she locked her legs around his waist. “Now I’ve got you,” she whispered. “You’re trapped.”

“Just where I want to be too.” He kissed her, and she held the kiss as he rocked deeper and deeper, the two of them working back and forth against each other, grinding away the time lost and the miles between them, the differences and the doubts, until their cries echoed louder than the call to prayer.

Sarah buried her face in his chest for a moment, then lay back on the sheets, the two of them still holding hands. He had cooled the bruises on her back with kisses, the Black Robe’s fury a fading memory. For her, anyway. She had heard the change in his voice when he saw the marks, gently asking her for details about the man’s appearance. There was a time when she would have demurred, said the Black Robe had paid enough, that there was already too much violence in the world and no need to add to the tally. Not now. She remembered every detail of the man’s face, his crooked teeth, the shape of his beard, the red dots on his earlobes, signifying his high rank…the scar on his right wrist wielding the flail. Rakkim would see to the rest of it.

Rakkim kissed the sides of her mouth.

She inhaled him, eyes half-closed. “Your sweat smells different. Steamy…ripe. You smell like the Belt. It’s not bad…just different.” She slid a hand along his thigh. “Not bad at all.”

A light knock on the door. “Am I interrupting?”

Sarah pulled the sheet over them. “Come on in, Mother.”

Katherine opened the door, walked in with a tray of sliced fruits and cheese, a pot of tea. “I thought you might need some nourishment after your…exertions.”

“Thanks for interrupting,” said Rakkim. “I think your daughter’s trying to kill me.”

Katherine allowed herself a small smile. “Runs in the family.” She set the tray down at the foot of their bed.

“How’s Michael?” said Rakkim.

“Sleeping peacefully. He has bad dreams when you’re away.” Katherine pushed back her long, reddish brown hair. More gray in it every day now, the lines deepening around her mouth.

“Are you all right, Mom?” asked Sarah.

Katherine waved away the question. “It was easier when I lived in the nunnery. I liked it better when I was insulated from the constant barrage of news, the endless threats and counterthreats.”

Rakkim sat up. “Did something happen?”

“Something is always happening, that’s why it’s a burden. Go on, enjoy your picnic, I’m going to sleep.”

Rakkim waited until the door closed behind Katherine. Reached down and poured them tea. “Katherine looks tired.”

“She’s worried about President Kingsley.” Sarah added a spoonful of honey to her tea. “We all are. His trip tomorrow is billed as a goodwill visit, but El Presidente Arbusto is interpreting it as a sign of weakness, a prelude to surrendering the Southwest.”

“It is a prelude to surrender.”

“When you’re in a weak position, getting the best deal possible is a victory.” She sipped her tea, enjoying the sweetness. “Kingsley has been playing the game for almost forty years. We have to trust his judgment.”

“I wish I could have brought the weapon back. It might have made a difference-”

“It’s done. The president still has faith in you. He recognizes how difficult the mission was. At least after what Leo did, no one can use the isotope.” Sarah tapped the edge of her teacup with a fingernail. “Perhaps after the president returns from Aztlán we could make some back-channel overtures to the Chinese-”

“You’re good at that sort of thing, aren’t you?” said Rakkim.

“Are you referring to Getty Andalou?”

“I don’t like him. And I like it even less that you had dealings with him without telling me…or the president.”

“Getty doesn’t like you either, but he’s willing to work with you again. That’s why it’s called diplomacy.” Sarah’s mouth formed a thin line. “And I’ll tell the president when I think the time is right.”

“When you think it’s right?”

Sarah set her teacup into the saucer so hard it almost broke. “For a man who gets indignant about my failure to disclose information, you’re keeping a secret of your own.”

“What’s that supposed to-?”

“Your doctor called while you were gone. Why did you want him to test your DNA?”

Rakkim reached for an apple slice. “What did he say?”

“He said you were fine…better than fine. He said your reaction time is faster-”

“What about my DNA?”

She shook her head. “Perfectly normal. No change. Were you worried about your genetic boosters? Have you had some kind of…problem?”

“No problems.”

“Talk to me, damnit. You’re worried about something or you wouldn’t have gone to the doctor. I’m your wife, Rikki. What’s going on?”

Rakkim stared at the ceiling. Started to speak. Stopped. When he finally spoke, his words were a whisper and his eyes stayed on the ceiling. “Ever since I killed Darwin, I’ve had some…strange thoughts. I know things I shouldn’t know. Assassin craft. I am faster, Sarah, faster than I’ve ever been-”

“You think Darwin…” She bent over him, cupped his face. “Even if his blood infected you or something, DNA isn’t transferable like that. Even if there was cross-contamination, you wouldn’t suddenly develop his skills or his-”

“I saw him.”

“Darwin’s dead.”

“Tell him that.” Rakkim felt his face flush. “He’s…in my head. I think he gets lost sometimes, or pushed to the edges, but he said he can-”

“Is he here now?” She looked around the room. “Can you see him?”

Rakkim shook his head.

She lay down beside him, drew him to her. She felt his heart beating.

“There are times…Sarah, there’re times that I’m not sure who I really am.”

“I know who you are.” She stroked his hair. “I’ve loved you since you were nine years old. You’re the same person now that you were then. Strong and brave and kind…scared too, sometimes, but it didn’t stop you. No matter what the cost, you never backed away.” She laughed. “It used to drive Redbeard crazy. He said you always picked the hardest path, the most difficult route.”

“I love you. I want you to always remember that.”

“I won’t have to remember it.” She kissed him. “You should have told me.”

“I didn’t want to admit it to myself.”

She kissed him again. “No more secrets. Deal?”

Rakkim kissed her back. “What kind of marriage would that be?” He stroked her belly, serious now. “We should move.”

“Shhh.”

“You said you’d been spotted at the street fair.”

“I said I might have been spotted, but here we are, safe and sound.” She kissed him. “Besides, I like it here.”

“So do I. That’s why we should move. We’re too comfortable. Sooner or later, we’re going to make a mistake. I’ll ask Spider tomorrow if he knows of a place. He’s already got Leo stashed away-”

“I think that’s an overreaction.”

“Spider didn’t think so.”

“What did Leo think?” said Sarah.

“He thinks Spider and I are treating him like a two-year-old, which we’re not. We’re treating him like someone with information in his head that a lot of people would kill for.”

“What about you?” Sarah tapped his forehead. “What have you got in there?”

Rakkim grinned. “Not a thing.”

Sarah kissed his ears, his cheeks, his nose, kept on kissing him, afraid to stop and not knowing why. “That’s…the way…I like my men. Strong and stupid.” She kissed his eyes shut. “Go to sleep. You’re home. You’re with your family. No one can hurt you now.”