Free Undercover by Maria Hammarblad

cool, “Well, I’m impressed.”
    His eyes smiled. “I also made you dinner.”
    She wanted to tell him he was a superman, but her mouth said, “I thought you were dinner.”
    In the next moment, she found herself scooped up in his strong arms, heading for the living room sofa.
     
    *****
     
    The days rolled by, and when Jenny came home from work that Friday, John’s car stood parked askew outside the house. “Shit. I don’t need this.”
    These two men should be kept as far away from each other as possible. On the bright side, maybe he’d leave her alone now when he saw her with someone new.
    John stood in the middle of the yard, yelling something she couldn’t make out through the car windows. Alex appeared to have been working on the porch; it threatened to fall apart for years and looked much more stable now than it had this morning.
    Getting out of the car, she heard her lover saying something in Russian. She could see her ex stagger even from a distance and wondered how drunk he was. He took a swing at Alex, who ducked quite easily and pushed the other man backwards, almost gently.
    “Guys! Hey, guys, no fighting.”
    Her lover glanced over at her. “I am not fighting, I am trying not to hurt him,” and she answered with a sigh, “I know.”
    Her Russian lover could probably kill the pudgy American in the time it took her to blink. Turning to her ex, she yelled, “What are you doing here drunk in the middle of the day? And you took the car here, didn’t you? And you’re wondering why you’re divorced?”
    John sprawled on the ground, trying to get to his feet. “I miss you, babe. I love you. And I come home and see this… foreigner… outside the house. Can you blame me for being upset? Can I come home now?”
    Jenny stared, and her voice was as icy as the fingers clutching her heart. Wasn’t it difficult enough to constantly fight with him, to constantly be reminded of all the wasted years? Alex shouldn’t have to see it. It wasn’t fair. “No. No, you cannot. I live here now, Alex is my boyfriend, and you have no right to come here and attack him. You will leave this very minute, and if I ever, ever, see you driving drunk again I’ll call the police.”
    Alex’s mouth twitched and she crossed her arms over her chest, struggling to appear sane and calm. “It doesn’t seem like you wanted anything, so off you go. Bye, bye.”
    Alex stepped forward, offering to pull the other man off the ground. Her used-to-be husband didn’t take the hand; he crawled backwards in the dirty snow. How could she have spent so much time with him?
    “It was him, wasn’t it?”
    She shook her head. It would be nice if Alex’s calm could rub off on her. “No. It was you. You need to leave now, and go… I don’t know, go find a life. I can’t help you with that.”
    The man on the ground slumped, allowed Alex to pull him up, and got into the car. Jenny rubbed her temples. What might the odds be of him killing someone on the way home? It would probably take the police longer to get there than for him to get back to the village. Calling for them would be useless.
    Alex put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
    She forced herself to smile, and once she started, it was easier than she expected. “It’s not your fault. And you have no idea how happy I am you’re here. Come on, let’s go inside and have a nice Friday evening, and forget about the locals.”

Chapter Ten
     
     
    As days went by, Jenny was less interested in going to work than ever before. Alex was kind, romantic, and funny. She was very much in love, and completely content with life. They were finding routines, and simple things like grocery shopping turned into a pleasure.
    They sat on the sofa watching a movie, and she enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. He rested his head lightly against hers, and caught her off guard when he asked, “Do you still want me to stay?”
    As much as she tried not to think about it, the day when he