25. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
T hree Weeks Later
“You got the Cortes files?” Jack Halligan, one of the newer Rangers, approached.
“Yeah.” Steve glanced up from behind the pile of folders precariously balanced on his overloaded desk. “Top of that stack there.”
Jack carefully picked up the bloated file, cupping the edge to keep papers from sliding out onto the floor. “Thanks.”
“I’ve updated the digital file as well and catalogued all the new evidence that came in last week.” Steve reached for his lukewarm coffee, eyeing the travel mug with distaste. What he wouldn’t give for another sip of Jovita’s wickedly strong brew!
“Guess they’re using you as the cautionary tale, huh?” Jack scanned the mountain of paperwork on the desk. “One bump and you’ll be buried in an avalanche of paper.”
“Stuck on a desk, handling paperwork backlog and cold cases is better than losing my badge.” Steve still couldn’t believe he hadn’t been fired or demoted. A two-week suspension without pay and being benched from field work for two months wasn’t the worst punishment. “I’m damn lucky, all things considered. Anyway—I don’t mind the grunt work. It needs to be done. Families are counting on us to give them justice.”
"Like yours?” Jack dared to ask.
Steve nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
Justice. Vengeance. Closure. He’d realized in the days and weeks following Diego’s death that crime victims never really got the clean ending they desperately wanted. There were always going to be rough edges, little disappointments, unquestioned answers.
“You see the postings list?” Jack asked, gesturing to Steve’s monitor with the file. “It came through a bit ago. Lots of new openings down in south Texas.”
“No. You thinking about leaving? You just got here.”
“No, not me. I just thought—”
“You thought I might want to tuck tail and run?” Steve enjoyed the way Jack squirmed after that awkward question. “Maybe run back to where my family lives?”
“No. I didn’t—I mean—I just thought—”
“Morgan!” Ninfa, the front desk clerk, called out from a nearby doorway. “You’ve got a visitor.”
Steve checked his watch and realized he was more than an hour over his scheduled time. “I’m wrapping this up. I’ll be right out to talk to them.”
Ninfa nodded and left. Jack had skedaddled as soon as Steve’s attention was elsewhere. It took him less than a minute to log out of his computer, lock away the sensitive files that needed to be secured, grab his jacket and hat and sidearm. When he stepped into the lobby, he scanned the area, searching for a familiar face.
He jolted at the sight of her.
Her.
Dina.
Here.
Chic and sexy and elegant as always. A tailored camel-colored coat. Dark jeans. A red blouse. Boots with heels. Gold and diamonds adoring her neck and dripping from her ears. Her dark hair loose and wavy around her shoulders. And those lips. Red knockout lipstick that made him want to beg her for a kiss.
Dina finally noticed him. Her expression faltered. She looked so hopeful and happy to see him, but then, there was the briefest flicker of fear.
She’s afraid I’ve moved on.
She’s afraid I got tired of waiting.
Dina took an apprehensive step toward him. Only one.
His heart ached at seeing her so vulnerable. She was always so strong, always standing tall. Now, here she was, afraid he’d turn her away.
Not needing her to take another step, he strode toward her with purpose. She’d come all this way. The least he could do was close the distance between them.
“Steve,” she said, her voice tremulous.
“Dina.” Unable to stomach her being so nervous and uncertain for even a moment longer, he gently took her trembling hand. He started to speak, but she beat him to it.
“I’m sorry, Steve. I should have called. I should have messaged you. I should have reached out sooner,” she said in a rush. “I wanted to, but I was afraid that you—.”
Throwing caution to the wind, Steve swooped down and claimed her soft lips. Her hands flew to his chest, and she gripped his shirt as if holding on for dear life. She mewled as he deepened the kiss, and only the knowledge that half of Company B was milling around the station made him break away. He’d already been the subject of rumors and gossip. Wildly kissing a beautiful woman in the lobby would only add to that.
Dina blinked rapidly, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I missed you, Steve.”
“I missed you even more.” He stroked her cheek. “But I kept up with you through Camila’s Instagram and some texts.”
“With fewer pig emojis this time, I hope!”
“I think I got a clown a few days ago,” Steve admitted with a laugh.
Dina winced. “Do I even want to know the context?”
“Something to do with me not wanting to make a phone call.” As much as he enjoyed Camila’s messages, he tried to maintain boundaries. There were things he wasn’t going to discuss with her, including why he wasn’t calling her mother.
Dina shook her head and smiled. “I’m sure she wanted to send me the same message. She was rather irritated that I waited so long.” She hesitated before confessing, “She trusts you, Steve. She respects you. She thinks we could be—.”
“A family?” he asked hopefully.
Dina swallowed nervously. “Is that...? I mean...? Would you...?”
“I would,” he confirmed. “When you’re ready,” he added hurriedly. “There’s no rush. I can wait.” He trailed his thumb along her jaw. “You’re worth it.”
Dina trapped his hand between both of hers. “It won’t be easy, Steve. You’re here in Texas. I’m in Mexico. Your family is here. Mine is there. I’m a single mom to a teenager. I don’t know if you want kids or not? I mean is that what you mean when you say family?”
“Dina.” He tried to hide his amusement at her rambling but failed. “We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”
She huffed. “Just like that, huh?”
“Just like that.”
“But, Steve, surely—.”
He pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss, silencing her protest. “You Farias women have to be the most stubborn in the world.”
Dina sniffed indelicately. “Lola is more stubborn than me.”
“I think she’d disagree.”
“Of course she would.” Dina stepped aside as a pair of DPS troopers walked their way. “Can we get dinner? Have a drink and talk?”
Steve slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Come home with me. I’ll cook dinner. We can talk about anything you want, darlin’.”
“Well, I did promise Camila I would ask you to be one of the padrinos for her quinceanera.”
Steve flushed with surprise. “I’m honored that she’d ask. When is it?”
“A few months,” Dina said with a careless wave of her hand. “She wasn’t sure if she wanted one after everything that happened with Diego and at school. She changed her mind before we left for Paris. She and Mama talked about it nonstop on the trip back home.” She snuggled in a little closer to his side. “Gave me some privacy and time to think about us.”
“Yeah? And what were you thinking about?” He lowered his head until his mouth was level with her ear. “Something dirty, I hope.”
“Steve!” She blushed and swatted at his chest, but didn’t deny it. “Well, maybe some of my ideas were a little dirty.” She gave him a little tug toward the doors. “Show me to your truck, and I’ll tell you all about them.”
“I’d rather you show me,” he teased.
Dina laughed, and he didn’t think he would ever get tired of that sound. He couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her as he walked her to his truck and made sure to steal at four kisses as he helped her into the passenger seat. Her face was flushed, probably a mix of the cold and his kisses, and her eyes sparkled with excitement as she watched him get behind the wheel.
“What?” he asked, wanting to know what she was thinking.
She reached across the console and interlaced their fingers. “I’m so happy, Steve, and I love you so much.”
His heart thumped wildly. “I love you, Dina.”
She leaned over and initiated a sweet kiss filled with hope and anticipation. Then, with a wry shake of her head, she admitted, “I can’t believe I thought you were a mistake.”
“How so?”
“A hotel hookup with a cop? Me? With all my baggage?” She cringed. “It could have been a disaster.”
She wasn’t wrong. This could have gone sideways a million different ways.
“I’m glad I took that chance with you.” She kissed him again. “So glad.”
“Does that make me your favorite mistake?”
She laughed. “As a matter of fact, it does.”