Chapter 16 #4
Maybe love took time. Maybe it took a broken heart to make way for it. Whatever the reason, he was going to Mexico to get
his girl and bring her home. He could hardly wait.
There was a commotion outside Josie’s room. Heavy footsteps, voices, one deep and slow, one welcoming. At least it didn’t sound like bloodshed. Josie couldn’t decide why she thought of that until the door opened and John Everett strode in.
She knew her mouth was open as the door closed discreetly behind him. “John . . . ?” she exclaimed. “But how did you find
me?”
He moved to the side of the bed and just stared down at her. No makeup, her hair tousled and wild like a red-gold mane, her
pale eyes wide and hungry on his face.
“You look terrible,” he said, his voice taut with feeling as he recalled what he’d been told about her wound and how deadly
it had been. “But at least you’re still alive.”
“Listen, I lied to you,” she managed weakly.
He held up a hand. “None of that matters.” He pulled her ID and her cell phone out of his jacket and handed them to her. “Marlowe
sends his regards.”
Her lips parted. “Oh.” She put the things on her bedside table. “I guess he told you everything, huh?”
“Less a few minor details,” he replied, sitting down in the chair by her bed. “Like the fact that your so-called boss bought
our purebred bulls. Oh, and that one of the senior DEA agents is related to Velasquez, as well as a few high government officials
down here.”
She laughed softly. “You might not believe it, but some of those things came as a surprise to me, too. I thought Senor Velasquez
was just a mid-level manager. I had no idea who he really was.”
“None of us did, except Marlowe. Some really bad blood there.”
She nodded, her eyes hungry on his face. “Why did you come?”
“To take you home, as soon as you’re fit to travel. I brought the plane.”
She blinked. “Home?”
“Not your apartment in Dallas,” he corrected. “You’re not in any shape to take care of yourself. Not yet.”
She grimaced.
He lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll make sure you get a room as far away from Precious as we can manage.”
She grimaced again. “Sorry.”
He shrugged. “Some people are afraid of spiders and stinging bugs, and some are afraid of snakes. That’s life.”
She let out a breath. “Okay. Thanks.”
“No more undercover work. Ever,” he said firmly.
Her eyes widened. She gaped at him.
“My nerves won’t stand it,” he added. He leaned back. “In fact, unless you feel that you have to stay with the agency, I make
more than enough to keep us in Jaguars and fancy dresses and suits.”
She was still gaping.
He ignored that. “You’ll have to get used to ranch work all over again, assuming that you aren’t sick of it from having grown
up on a ranch. But my mother is crazy about you. In fact, they all are. A lot has happened while you were away. Odalie got
kidnapped by Tanner’s nemesis. Tony rescued her and now the DC maniac is in custody and facing serious charges. And Odalie
just got married to Tony and she’s pregnant.” He smiled. “So now I stand to be an uncle twice over.” He cocked his head. “Someday,
I’d like a child of my own. One with red-gold hair would be awesome. We don’t have a single redhead in the family on either
side.”
She caught her breath. Was he really suggesting . . . ?
“You might say a word or two,” he prompted. “You know, a little encouragement never hurt anybody.”
“You don’t even like me,” she began, her voice a little wobbly from the injury and the drugs.
He got up slowly and bent over her. “No, I don’t,” he whispered. “But I love you . . .”
She couldn’t answer him, because he was kissing her. She tried to reach up around his neck, but it hurt too much.
“Stop that or you’ll hurt yourself,” he murmured against her soft mouth.
“You said a little encouragement . . .”
“This is plenty,” he whispered, smiling, and kissed her again.
A few heated minutes later, he sat back down in the chair to catch his breath.
“Was that, sort of, a proposal?” she asked, breathless.
He smiled. “A statement of intent,” he countered. “I’m going to marry you eventually whether you agree right now or years
from now.”
She chuckled. “As if I could say no,” she replied softly.
“Eventually, I’ll apologize for all the snide remarks I made,” he assured her.
“You could start now,” she told him. “I mean, it’s going to take a really long time.”
“We have plenty of time.”
“I’m armed,” she pointed out.
“Oh, yeah?” he said. “Where’s your gun?”
She grimaced. “One of Vega’s goons took it out of my holster and threw it in the dirt. In the ensuing gunfire, I have to assume
it was lost.” She sighed. “I can buy another one . . .”
“You can borrow one of mine, if you think you’ll need it on the Big Spur,” he corrected firmly.
She laughed. “Okay, then. How’s our JJ?”
“Fine, now that he knows you’re okay.” He smiled warmly. “I’m glad you like kids.”
“I’m glad you like kids, too,” she replied.
Velasquez stuck his head in the door. “Get married first,” he advised. “Fewer legal issues afterward.”
“Were you eavesdropping?” Josie asked, exasperated.
“You’re kidding, right?” he teased. “I have every inch of this house wired. You couldn’t sneeze and I wouldn’t know it. I am, after all, a wanted man,” he pointed out.
“Any less likely drug lord,” she began.
“I’ll second that,” John said. “How are the calves, by the way?”
“We lost one,” Velasquez said sadly. “The others will recover. That man Raines, to do such a thing to a helpless animal.”
“He’ll be answering to a higher authority now,” Josie said, and her eyes flashed.
“Where is Raines?” John asked.
“Rotting beside some dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and good riddance,” Josie remarked. “Vega gunned him down in cold
blood. He said you could never trust a traitor. Did they tell you what his genius idea was, to transport the drugs over the
border?”
“Marlowe told me. I couldn’t believe it,” John replied.
“Depravity at its best. But that wasn’t Raines’s idea,” Velasquez told them. “It was Vega’s. It’s the way he does business.”
“I would love to shut him down,” Josie said.
“You have to recuperate,” John pointed out. “We have issues to discuss about your job. And then there’s a wedding to plan.”
“Am I invited?” Velasquez asked.
“Is he?” Josie asked John.
“As long as you don’t try to abscond with my bride,” John assured him.
“I never abscond,” Velasquez huffed. “It causes warts.”
They all laughed.