From the Heart

she was dependent on him. But was that love?
    Was it love when a man kept drifting into your mind? When you began to associate the tiny details of your day with thoughts of him? When you stored up the little pieces to share with him?
    Liv could remember what it was like to lie beside him in the morning—the quiet, the warmth, the easy unity. She could remember how a look in his eyes could make her tremble with need even in a crowded room.
    Was she in love with him? Why was she searching for another name for what she felt? The truth had been locked inside her for days. Now it was time to accept it. If she was going to ask Thorpe to take a risk, she had to be willing to take one herself. Love equaled vulnerability. He could hurther, undoubtedly would from time to time. The shield was gone now. She would never be able to hide behind it again. Abruptly, she realized she didn’t want to. What she wanted could be said in one word: Thorpe.
    “Liv!”
    She turned to the frantic assignment editor with a brilliant smile. “Yes, Chester.” It was going to be a beautiful day.
    “Take a crew. On the double. New Senate Office Building. Some guy, unidentified, is holding three hostages, including Senator Wyatt, in the senator’s office.”
    “Good God.” She was up, grabbing a pad and her purse. “Anybody hurt?”
    “Not yet. As far as we know,” he added, streaking toward Carl’s office. “There’s been some gunfire. Be careful. We want a bulletin fast.”
    “Twenty minutes.” She was already out the door.
    The Capitol Police had the building surrounded when Liv arrived. She glanced around for telltale signs of Secret Service men and FBI. When you knew what to look for, they stood out clearly. On the rooftops of neighboring buildings, she caught glimpses of sharpshooters taking position. Men armed with ugly-looking guns were going over strategy and positions on two-ways. The press area was already partitioned off and jammed with reporters and technicians. Everyone was talking at once, demanding answers, trying to sneak their way through the barricade to secure a closer position.
    Liv pushed her way through and managed to get a mike out to a nearby uniformed officer. “Olivia Carmichael, WWBW. Can you give us a rundown on what’s happened? Do you have an identification on the man who’s holding Senator Wyatt? What are his demands?”
    “He’s a former aide; that’s all I can tell you.” That’s all you will tell me, Liv corrected, noting the flicker in his eye. “He hasn’t made any demands yet.”
    “How many weapons does he have? How did he get inside the building?”
    “We don’t know. We’re only sure about the handgun. He isn’t even answering the phone yet.”
    Liv was left with little more than nothing in the midst of a pack of hungry reporters. She had to find someone else—with a looser tongue. She could manage a quick bulletin, but she was going to have to do a lot of digging to put anything solid on the air.
    Senator Wyatt. Liv remembered him very well from the embassy party. Jovial, pink-cheeked Senator Wyatt who had joked with her and told her to dance with Thorpe. She glanced across the street and studied the dozens of windows. It didn’t seem possible he was in one of those rooms with a gun held to his head.
    On the edge of the crowd, Liv spotted a familiar face. It was the receptionist who had kept her cooling her heels for two hours in an office two floors below Senator Wyatt’s only a few days before.
    “Ms. Bingham.” Liv blessed the two hours and the innumerable cups of coffee she had consumed in the woman’s office. “Olivia Carmichael. WWBW.”
    “Oh, Ms. Carmichael, isn’t it dreadful!” She stared up at the windows with her eyes wide and stunned. “They’ve cleared the whole building. I just can’t believe it! Poor Senator Wyatt.”
    “Do you know who’s holding him?”
    “It’s Ed. Ed Morrow. Who would have thought it? Why, I’ve ridden in the elevator with him just dozens of times.” She lifted her hand to her throat at the memory. “I heard the senator had to let him go last week, but . . .”
    “Why?” Liv had the mike under her arm and was scribbling quickly on her pad. The woman never seemed to notice.
    “I’m not sure. Rumor is Ed got himself tangled up in gambling—something illegal. He’s always so polite. Who would have thought it?”
    “The senator fired him?”
    “Just last week.” She nodded quickly three times, and her eyes were