Then he saw her, sitting at the verge of the grove, leaning forward on a bench with her head in her hands. Guards flanked her and the man who sat beside her, but Alexander saw only Eve. Whole. Safe. Alive.

She heard him, though he’d barely even whispered her name. A shudder of emotion passed over her face, then she was up and running for him.

“Oh, Alex, at first I thought he meant it for you, and then—”

“You’re not hurt.” He had her face in his hands, framing it, exploring it. “Anywhere, anywhere at all?”

“No. Unless you count knees that tend to buckle and a stomach that tends to turn to jelly.”

“I thought you might …” But he couldn’t finish the thought. Instead he pulled her close again and kissed her as if his life depended on it. The guards kept the reporters at a distance, but the picture would hit the Cordinian and international papers.

“I’m all right,” she murmured over and over, because it was finally sinking in that it was true. “You’re shaking as much as I am.”

“They could only tell me that there had been an explosion at the theater—in your office.”

“Oh, Alex.” She held him close, knowing the hell he would have experienced not knowing. “I’m so sorry. We were going out the stage door when it exploded. As it turned out, the bomb squad was sending in men through the main entrance. When it hit we just kept going, and the police didn’t find us until they started spreading out.”

He held her hands so tightly they ached, but she said nothing. “And your troupe? Everyone is safe?”

“I got them out within minutes of the call. All but Russ, that is,” she added, glancing behind her at a very pale and quiet actor. “I was going over the second floor to make certain I hadn’t missed anyone, when he—”

“You? You were going over?” Now she did wince at the pressure of his hands.

“Alex, please.” She flexed her fingers until his loosened.

“Are you mad? Don’t you understand that bomb could have been planted anywhere? There could have been more than one. Searching the building is a job for the police.”

“Alex, my people were in that building. I could hardly waltz out not knowing if they were all safe. As a matter of fact, I had to drag Pete by the shirt, and—”

“You could have been killed.”

There was such bitterness, such fury in the tone, that her back straightened, though her knees had begun to weaken again. “I’m very much aware of that, Alex. So could any one of my people. Every one of them is my responsibility. You understand about responsibility, don’t you?”

“It’s entirely different.”

“No, it’s entirely the same. You ask me to understand, to trust. I’m only asking the same from you.”