Tommy Gabrini: The Grace Factor Read Online Free PDF Page A

  But
that fact alone, the fact that he rescued Grace over Liz, made him all the more
aware that he and Liz, and their relationship, were in trouble.   And that was even before she decided to
inject herself into this brutal war.
    The cab stopped in front of the
Baroche Hotel and Tommy stepped out.   He
reached back in, grabbed his overnight bag, placing the strap over his
shoulder, and paid the driver.   And then
he walked into the hotel’s lobby.   He had
no intention of being in the Middle East tonight, let alone in some dinky
hotel, but that was where he found himself.   In a war-torn country in the middle of the night.   And with the ten-hour time difference between
Seattle and Damascus, he was barely functional.
    But he wasn’t going to let this
matter linger.   She wanted this life, she
could have it.   But he wasn’t
participating.   He was, in fact, thinking
about just how much he wasn’t having this when he saw her in the hotel’s
lounge.   She was sitting at the bar and
laughing and talking with a middle-eastern man.   And Tommy stood there, watching her.   She seemed so different to him.   She seemed as if this life, this place, was where she was in her element
and whenever she was with him she was out of her element.   It was a reality he’d known for some time
now, and it was a troubling truth.   The
fact that his woman would be more relaxed, more in her element when she was
away from him, was another nail in their coffin.   This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.   He thought he had seen the last of this kind
of life when he broke up with Shanks.   He
thought those days of worrying about his woman, and wondering where in the
world she was, were so far in his past that he would never dream of allowing a
comeback.   But it came back.   It came back in the name of Liz.
    Before Tommy could make a move, the
bartender behind the counter came over to Liz and Raj with a phone in his
hand.   “Liz Logan?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Liz said excitedly.
    “For you,” the bartender said and
handed the phone to Liz.
    “Adabi, hey,” Liz said as soon as she
grabbed the phone and answered it.   “A
few minutes?   Okay, sounds good.   Yes, I’ll be at the curb.   I’ll be there.   I’m bringing Raj, my photojournalist.   He can be an extra hand.”
    Raj looked at her as the man on the
other end of the call responded.   Liz
looked at Raj and began shaking her head.
    “Okay, okay, I get it.   I’ll be alone.   Yes.   Yes.   Alright, bye.”   Liz handed the phone back to the
bartender.   “He’s nervous,” she
said.   “He doesn’t want anybody else
around.   He feels Mamoof will change his
mind and maybe even avenge him if you or anybody else came along.”
    “So what do I do while you’re out
there having all the fun?” Raj asked.
    “Just wait here.   Go to your room and get some needed
rest.   I’ll come see you as soon as I get
back.”   Liz began to sip the last of her
beer, and that was when she saw him through her periphery.   Shocked, she removed her glass from her lips,
and turned his way.   When she turned was
when he began walking toward her.   But
Liz still couldn’t believe it.   Tommy was
here?   Right now?   In Syria ?
    “Tommy?” she asked, as he approached
her, as if she still wasn’t sure if he was real.
    Raj looked too.   And he was stunned by what he saw.   Not by the fact that a man was coming toward
them.   But he was stunned by the beauty
of the man who came.
    So this was Tommy Gabrini?   This was the man who phoned too much?   As he walked toward them, Raj was staring as
hard as Liz.   And what he saw was impressive
even to him.   He saw a tall, muscular
man, a man with a thick head of light-brownish, nearly blondish hair, and big
odd eyes that looked as blue as they looked green.   He wore a gray, pullover sweater that
crisscrossed at the chest, and a pair of dress pants and shoes that rounded out
a nicely wrapped package.