His Reluctant Savior (The District #3)

19. Chapter 19

The next morning, we packed, cleaned the hotel room, took out the trash, and wiped down our fingerprints where we could. This was probably unnecessary since other people would stay here and had stayed here, but I didn’t want to risk it.

Dalton and I headed out to the new car to load up.

“What car did you buy?” he asked.

“2018 Dodge Durango SRT. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s used. It’s also fast if we need an escape.”

I popped the back hatch, and we loaded up our bags and remaining food. I hated losing my secret compartment for my guns and money, but this would have to do. We would just need to make sure not to get pulled over.

After we loaded up and checked out, we headed north to Charles Town, which was thirty minutes away.

“Will they be able to track us if they find your Bronco?” he asked.

I shrugged. “There’s always a chance. You know this. We can cover all our bases as much as possible. Still, with this day and age of technology and cameras fucking everywhere, along with the NSA watching Americans’ every damn move, we won’t be able to hide forever.”

Dalton stared out the window and nodded. “Yeah, technology has been great in helping me trace paper trails, leads, and evidence, but now that it’s turning on me, not so much.”

When I reached for his hand, he looked down and threaded our fingers together before looking back out the window.

“We’ll get them, Boy Scout.”

“You always say those things with so much confidence.” Dalton glanced over at me with a sad smile on his face. “We still haven’t decided what to do yet.”

“One way or another, this is going to end. We need to make sure we find everyone we can, so you and Owen are safe. That there won’t be others who will try to hurt you.”

Dalton huffed a laugh and kissed the back of my hand. “I should run from you. I should be afraid of you. But…”

“But?” I hedged when he didn’t finish .

“But I just adore and appreciate you for all this. You really have changed.”

My stomach did one of those weird flips I hadn’t felt in years as I quickly glanced at him to find he was staring out the window again.

He adored me?

I hadn’t expected him to reciprocate my feelings so quickly. I thought I would have to work harder to convince him we belonged together. It was better than I had ever expected or hoped.

“I need to call Owen,” he said. “I miss him so much already, and I worry about him.”

“Call him now while we’re driving.”

We untangled our fingers so Dalton could pull his phone from his back pocket. He dialed the number of the burner we gave Savannah, and for some reason, he put it on speakerphones for me to hear, too.

“Hello? Dalton?” she answered.

“Hey, Savvy. Yeah, it’s me.”

“Is everything okay? Are things getting settled?”

He sighed. “It’s been slow, but… we have to be careful. There’s a lot for me to do still.”

“We’ll get there,” I said.

“Hey, Savvy, is Owen around? I just…”

“Want to hear his voice?” she asked with understanding and tenderness in her tone.

“Yeah. Is he… doing okay?”

“He’s fine, Dalt. He missed you for a bit, but the kids have kept him on his toes and distracted. When they’re at school, either Mason or I have been teaching him to keep up with his numbers and reading. Usually, it’s Mason, since he mostly works from home.”

“God, you and Mason are amazing,” he said as we looked at each other.

“Give me a second to grab him. He’s playing in the backyard with the kids.”

A couple of minutes later, a breathy Owen answered the phone. “Daddy?!”

“Hey, Little Man. How are you?”

“Good! We’re playing T-ball. I hit the ball with the bat, Daddy! Can I play T-ball when we go home? I wanna learn.”

“How exciting! Yeah, we can do that if you want.”

Dalton’s voice sounded sad and doubtful, but he tried to be upbeat for his son.

“When are you coming to get me?”

Dalton glanced at me again. “In a few days, I hope. Daddy is really busy with work. This job is super important, but I’ll make sure to bring you a present, okay?”

“Yay! Okay. Can we get Danny a brother?”

He chuckled. “Sure, Little Man.”

“Bye, Daddy!” he said, and it all went silent.

“Did Owen just leave the phone?” I asked.

Dalton laughed. “Yeah, little kids get easily sidetracked.”

Savannah soon picked the phone up again. “Sorry, Owen just took off, since it’s his turn to hit the ball.”

“It’s fine. I just needed to hear him for a bit.”

They talked for a couple of minutes longer before hanging up.

“You okay?” I asked him .

“Yeah, as long as he’s safe. That’s all that matters at the end of this.”

“That’s not all that matters. Owen needs his dad, too. I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen.” I kept telling him that, but I wondered if it was more for my benefit than his.

Dalton smiled softly and took my hand in his again. “I almost believe it when you tell me that.”

He was right. The truth was, we didn’t know how all this would end.

I wiped the cum off Dalton’s stomach with my T-shirt and fell onto my back, pulling him against me as we both gasped in heavy breaths. It was like I couldn’t stop touching him. I was obsessed with his skin, his scent, his noises when we fucked… Everything.

“My poor hole needs a break,” he groaned, wiggling next to me.

“I’ll kiss it and make it better.”

He chuckled tiredly. “I’ll take it. Still, give my ass a couple of days to recoup.”

Dalton sat up and straddled my stomach. He was so sexy with his lean muscles and his chest lightly sprinkled with dark hair. Gorgeous sun freckles dusted on his shoulders, which I loved kissing.

He pinned my hands behind my head and kissed me, then he sat up, let go of my hands, and dragged his fingers across the expanse of my chest.

“What are we going to do when this is over?” he asked .

“You and me?”

He nodded.

“You’re mine. I’m keeping you.”

He rolled his eyes and snorted a laugh. “I’m not a pet, Sid.”

“You’re definitely my pet. My pet Boy Scout.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Weirdo. Seriously. I’ll admit, I’m still having a bit of a crisis.”

I rubbed his thighs on either side of me. “I figured you would. Falling for a killer must be hard.”

“Falling? I wouldn’t go that far.”

I smiled broadly at his pinking face. “You’re so falling for me.”

“It’s Stockholm Syndrome.”

It was my turn to laugh. “I’d have to kidnap you first for that to happen. I believe you’re here quite willingly.”

He didn’t look at me as his fingers gently combed through my chest hair. “I’m worried about what all this means. If…”

“Don’t be afraid to talk and be honest. If you’re going to shove me away, I’ll just have to convince you to stay.”

His brown eyes were so dark as they stared into me. “If I go back to being an agent, we can’t be possible, Sid. You must know this.”

“You won’t go back, though.”

Dalton raised a brow and blew an irritated breath. “This is serious, dammit.”

“I am being serious. You were betrayed by the very people who are supposed to be the good guys. And here is a bad guy doing a good thing. Morals are gray, Boy Scout. There is no cut-and-dry or black-and-white. You’ll never be able to trust them again, always wondering if the next evidence you find will finally lead to your death.”

He sighed and lay down on top of me. I ran my fingers along his back as he settled in. “Maybe you’re right. But I still have Owen to think about.”

I knew his son would come into the picture, but Owen didn’t have to know what I did for a living. “We’ll find a way to make this work because you are mine. You belong to me. I lost my chance with you once. I’m not going to let that happen again.”

“What if… what if you quit? Go clean?”

I’d thought about it, but only briefly. “And do what? Become a kindergarten teacher just like your husband? Be a lawyer and fight useless injustices against a system that oppresses the poor and rewards the wealthy and powerful?”

Dalton groaned irritably. “No need to be sarcastic, Sid.”

“I’m being dead serious. It’s impossible to ‘go clean’ after all I’ve done. There is no cleansing after that, no matter what I do.”

He tried to pull away, but I held him tighter. “I get it, Dalt. I understand. The thought did cross my mind, but I’ve betrayed my family enough, and they are my family. I care about all of them. Well… maybe not Sully so much. He doesn’t make it easy.”

“Who’s Sully?”

I hadn’t meant to slip his name, but there was no taking it back. “He’s a true psychopath—a murderous one. But it’s not all his doing. He’s had a lot of trauma in his life, almost as much as me, although psychopathy is more genetic, which is why someone like me didn’t turn out to be someone like him despite all I’d gone through. He’s very complicated. It’s interesting how trauma shapes each person so differently.”

Dalton relaxed against me again, dragging his blunt nails along my scalp, relaxing me.

“I’m just trying to…”

“I understand. You want us to find a way. Look, they aren’t just family. My partner saved my life—literally. I would’ve bled out after I was beaten, stabbed, and left to die by a dumpster. My old organization gave me a chance to live, but I wouldn’t have had he not come to get me. I stayed with him for a couple of months until I got back on my feet. During that time, we made plans to create our organization from the ground up. It is as much a part of me as my limbs. It’s in my soul. I love it… the killing doesn’t excite me as it does others. I simply see it as a job. But the intrigue… fucking around with some politician because he lied and cheated to get where he was, and he gets caught. Or digging up dirt on a candidate, making sure the news gets spread like wildfire. That’s bliss right there.”

He said nothing, still lying on top of me, but his warmth and weight were pure comfort. Dalton belonged right there… forever. We definitely had to make things work and get to where we were both happy with our choices.

“What if you come in with me?” I asked tentatively. I braced myself for impact, knowing Dalton was about to lose it, but I needed to try. He’d be a great asset to The District.

As expected, he shoved me away, climbed out of the bed, and paced. “Are you insane? I’m not going to fucking murder people!”

I smirked because he was sexy, being agitated while still naked.

“And stop smirking at me! ”

I pretended to frown. “Do you really believe I’d ask you to murder people?”

That stopped him. “Well, what the fuck else would I do?”

“So, you’re considering my offer,” I said.

“No!”

“You would be invaluable, Dalt. You have a different insight than we do, along with other resources. I’m sure you could find yourself a position you would find rewarding. Wouldn’t you like to stick it to the government, which has turned its back on you? Who’s treating you like you’re the fucking criminal? Look at all the good you’ve done, only to have that shit turn on you. This way, you could still do good without the government’s noose around your neck.”

“Noose? They’re called laws , Sid. Laws. We have them for a reason.”

“Yes, and those laws can also harm. We’ve seen it time and again. Those laws hurt people not like us. Unless you’re a wealthy white man, most others are screwed by our laws because they only apply to them. Laws were made by people like us, not for people like us.”

Dalton didn’t stop pacing, but he slowed as he wrapped his arms around himself and gnawed on his thumbnail. No doubt he was thinking about it because he should. He should take a deep dive into what it means to go back to his old job and still be able to trust them. Who knew how many other men out there were like Rush? He would stand a better chance at stopping them if he were at The District.

I sat up and rested my elbows on my thighs, watching him process everything. “Let’s be really honest right now. Do you really believe you’ll go back to how things were before all this happened?”

“You’re an asshole,” he growled, but he didn’t mean it. He was just angry, and I didn’t blame him.

I chuckled as I stood and pulled him into me. He didn’t resist, instead wrapping his arms around me. “This is all so fucked up, Sid. I tried so hard to do the right thing.”

“I know, Boy Scout. This is just another reminder that the world isn’t black and white. Sometimes, evil triumphs. Sometimes good does. Most of the time, it’s a compromise between the two, and how most people survive.”

I cupped his face with both hands and lifted his head to look at me. “And if we’re still being honest, I would feel a hell of a lot better if I had you close to me, where I can protect you and Owen better. No matter what you believe or what moral road you take, at the end of the day, you’re mine, and I’m yours. We were meant to be together. We just took a very roundabout way to get here, and I wish it happened differently. Just think about what I said, okay?”

He sighed and rested his head against my shoulder. “I’ll… try.”

I didn’t know whether he meant it, but I’d take it.