Chapter 39 Aerin #2
“You really should be more careful who you make a deal with,” he says, and the warm gravel in his voice sends a thrill shooting through me from head to toe.
“Falco?” His name chokes out of me, and I step away from Mom after kissing her cheek. “You…you’re here.”
“I’m here.”
“How? I…I don’t understand.” I briefly glance back at Mom as she snatches up my undrunk Scotch and downs it. “What’s happening?”
“The Cartel? Hernandez, I think his name was?”
My eyes widen. “That was you?”
“Of course it was.”
“I… Explain.” Emotion claws up my throat and chokes me slightly. “Right now.”
He smiles and my heart lifts. “When I left, I asked Rex and Bullet to keep an eye on you. They both work for me now, technically. They take turns and shift around depending on what I need. I’m…sorry about your father.”
Tears build in my eyes and I press my lips together, fighting to remain composed.
“I would have been here sooner, but I didn’t want to interfere, then I was stuck in the Middle East on a job so Rex was watching you. He called the second your Mom got taken and Bullet flew back first. I came in after on a cargo plane.”
“How did you find her?”
“It was like something out of an action movie,” Mom says as she pours herself another drink.
“Rex has tracking on everyone you deal with. I check them out when I can and we were suspicious of Hernandez because we couldn’t verify his claims about this new drug.
Turns out it was just a ruse to get close to your men without raising suspicion.
When your mom vanished, we looked there as soon as I landed and found her.
They were trying to sell her to some new general in the Irish. ”
Anger warms my gut at the thought of the Irish trying to fuck me over again. This time, I won’t leave enough of them left to attempt a third betrayal.
“You saved her,” I say hoarsely. “And then you came…”
He nods and rubs a hand down his chin, a glint of nervousness entering his gaze. “I…didn’t know if you’d want to see me.”
I step forward. “Why on earth wouldn’t you?”
“I hid. I stayed away. And then your father died and I feared you’d blame me. Or that time would make you resent me for leaving you behind.” His eyes dart down to the locket resting against my breastbone and his lips twitch.
I step forward again and breathe in, instantly dragged back to the night in the cabin with how familiar his woody scent is. “Your actions saved me. Saved both of us. I looked for you.”
“Half thought you wanted to kill me.”
“No! No, I wanted to find you. I wanted you to come home.”
“Home?” Falco’s head tilts slightly. “You still…?”
Before he can finish, I reach out and take his hand, and it’s impossible to keep the smile off my face as I pull him toward the crib tucked in the corner. “If you’re about to ask me if I still love you, then shut the hell up and look.”
There’s a single, beautiful moment when Falco looks over the edge of the crib and locks eyes with his daughter, who somehow remains asleep despite the commotion. A peaceful, warm look sweeps across his face and his lips part, then his eyes dart to me and his lower lip quivers. “This is…?”
“Your daughter. Keira.”
“I…” His smile widens suddenly and he points to the stuffed toy resting at the bottom of her crib. “A sugar glider?”
My smile widens. “I had to make sure she was close to her daddy.”
A strange, wounded sound escapes Falco, then suddenly I’m in his arms with his strong arms around me. He cups my face with one hand and I cradle both sides of his neck just in time for his lips to crash down against mine.
“I’m here,” he growls softly. “I’m right here for you and I missed you and I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper into the kiss, sliding one hand into his thick hair. Warm tears slowly roll down my cheeks. “Oh my god I can’t believe you’re here. You’re really here.”
Our kiss deepens and Falco thrusts his tongue into my mouth while drawing me firmly against his body.
My worries melt away. My heart soothes, and a weight that’s been on my shoulders since the day he left just vanishes.
“Stay,” I gasp when the kiss breaks. “Stay with me. Please. Promise me.”
Falco’s head tilts and he gazes down with such love in his eyes.
One swipe of his tongue across my cheeks and my tears are gone.
“I’m here and I’ll never leave you again.
Never. I promise. I was your guardian once.
Now I’m the man who will burn the world for you.
No one—and nothing—will ever drag me away from you ever again. ”
If Aerin and Falco’s forbidden love set your heart on fire, the next battle is about to begin. Read Hostile Husband now.
I marry my enemy to stop a war.
Dimitri Volkov marries me to punish one.
He’s the ruthless mafia king who believes my family murdered his brother.
I’m the bargaining chip he locks inside his fortress -
and his bed.
What he doesn’t know could get me killed.
I’m pregnant.
And the baby isn’t his.
It belongs to the brother he buried.