Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Ian sat in the passenger seat of Jake’s Chevy Suburban as his friend drove Angie and him home to the compound from the airport, and he was less at ease now than he’d been before they left.
It was three months since they’d buried her best friend next to his mother and sister in upstate New York.
Brody’s recording of Agent Jackson’s bragging had ensured James Andrews was put to rest following a full federal government and military ceremony.
A U.S. Marines honor guard had carried his coffin in and out of the Lake George church where he’d been baptized as a baby and made his First Communion and Confirmation.
DEA agents and other members of law enforcement, fellow Marines, high school friends, and the Trident Security extended family had filled the church pews to capacity for the hometown hero’s funeral.
Flower arrangements covered the altar and, later again, the gravesite.
Some of the colorful memorial displays were from Will Anders, Roxy and Kayla London, Tiny and The Covenant staff, Shelby Whitman, several of Angie’s friends from Florida, and one from Red Rose Books.
Kristen must’ve told her editor about their new graphic designer’s loss.
Ian had spotted Carter, with dark sunglasses on, standing at the back of the church and, again, off to the side at the cemetery. The spy never approached them and disappeared after catching his and Angie’s eyes, giving them a single somber nod.
At the gravesite, three volleys of seven rifles were fired in salute, and Ian held a weeping Angie as Taps was played.
A sharply dressed Marine Corps captain knelt and handed her the U.S.
flag, which had been draped over the coffin and then folded with expert precision.
He softly told her the President of the United States, the United States Marines, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration were grateful for her loved one’s honorable and faithful service to his nation.
With Jimmy’s death, what was left of the drug cartel in New Orleans had no reason to come after Angie.
Besides the fact she could no longer be used as leverage for anything, they were too busy trying to keep themselves from getting life-without-parole prison sentences.
The ensuing investigations led to Manny Melendez being killed during a raid and subsequent shoot-out with the feds and local police.
Three of his minions were killed as well.
There had also been a city-wide round-up of suspects, including two DEA agents from the New Orleans office, three local cops, and thirty-seven other people.
For now, the Diaz connections in New Orleans were either in jail, on the run, or dead.
The large incoming shipment of drugs had been seized from the transport cargo ship in a joint operation between the DEA, FBI, and Coast Guard.
Henderson survived the bullet wound to his chest but was out of commission for a few months while he recovered.
Ian and Devon kept their vow and paid for his partner’s funeral, along with Chase Dixon.
The team, Angie, Kristen, and Jenn had also attended that burial before flying to New York for Jimmy’s funeral later in the same week.
Jenn’s bruises had healed, and with the help of her psychologist, who’d counseled her following her parents’ murders, she was getting past the memories of the kidnapping.
Now, she had to convince her uncles to ease up on their over-protectiveness, which had increased ten-fold since the incident.
They were back to arguing with her about running background checks on her prospective boyfriends, among other ridiculous precautions.
Angie still had moments when her grief would hit her.
Ian did everything he could to help her through those rough times and decided to take her away for a while.
It took longer than he’d expected, but they managed to clear their schedules and workloads a little over two weeks ago.
They flew to the Philippines to meet his folks for ten days, followed by four days as guests of King Rajeemh, the ruler of the small North African country of Timasur near Mali.
The king owned a home on Clearwater Beach near Tampa and used Trident Security to offset his protective detail whenever he and his family visited.
He’d been inviting Ian and the team to his country for the past two years, and this was the first time any of them had a chance to take His Highness up on his generous offer.
Introducing Angie to his parents had been a breeze.
As he’d expected, they fell in love with her instantly.
His mother had taken them on a tour of the facility where she’d been performing surgery and even showed Angie first-hand examples of before and after surgery on two of her patients.
His angel had been in complete awe of the work his mother was doing and told her so, much to the older woman’s embarrassment.
His mom was proud of the work she did. However, she didn’t do it for the accolades but for the smiles of the children she helped.
Any reservations Angie may have had about meeting his billionaire father were quickly forgotten after the man had given her one of his big bear hugs.
He’d worked side by side with them as they helped build a new school on one of the many Philippine islands while Marie Sawyer was busy at the local hospital.
Within the first twenty-four hours of their visit, both parents had voiced their approval of Ian and Angie’s relationship.
Ian just wished he felt as certain about it as they did.
He wasn’t worried about the connection he felt with Angie because the woman was one hundred and ten percent perfect for him in every way.
She loved him–he was sure of it–and they were a good fit.
She liked trying all sorts of new things with him—in and out of the bedroom—and she obviously enjoyed the sex as she was very vocal about it.
And, like him, she couldn’t get enough of it.
What worried Ian was, could he continue to make her happy for the rest of their lives?
Was he good enough for her? Because the woman deserved the very best and then some.
Yes, he had plenty of money for them to be financially comfortable, and yes, he made her smile…
laugh… and come, over and over. He would give her the moon if he could, but what if she got tired of him sometime down the road?
What if one day she woke up and decided she didn’t want to be with him anymore, took off his collar, and walked out the door?
Ian knew his heart would never recover from the loss and never love another woman like he loved his angel.
His fear of losing her was why he was so scared to ask her to move in with him and eventually marry him.
When they’d been in Timasur, they’d been the king’s guests at the main palace—a beautiful eighty-room castle on twenty-five acres of manicured lawns and maze-like gardens where they were always getting lost. After the first day, Ian began to joke he needed to save some breadcrumbs from each of their meals to lay down a trail.
That way, they could return to their opulent suite without wandering around for an hour looking for it.
The country was beautiful, and they had spent their days with a guide who took them to many of the tiny nation’s historical and natural sights.
Kael had been full of history and wit, making them laugh often while showing them the wonders of his little corner of the world.
Each night, Ian and Angie had been exhausted, falling asleep in each other’s arms after a round or two of amazing love-making.
He would never tire of this woman, but would she eventually tire of him like Kaliope? Granted, he wasn’t disappearing for months as he had been during his time in the Navy, but still, his thoughts kept nagging at him. He couldn’t get himself past his distrust of “forever” relationships.
Early the morning of their last day in Timasur, Ian took advantage of the complete gym in the palace's east wing while Angie slept in. By seven o’clock, he’d been on the treadmill for over forty minutes, pacing himself at a comfortable ten-minute mile on his way to a seven-mile goal.
His running workouts had been limited while on their trip, so he’d pushed himself a little more that morning.
As he was in the middle of his fifth mile, Princess Tahira walked in and jumped on the treadmill next to him.
The twenty-three-year-old tended to drive the Trident team crazy on her visits to Florida, where they were contracted to be her security detail.
While the king, queen, and Prince Raj were very laid-back people who treated their employees with respect and gratitude, the princess came across as a spoiled brat—plain and simple.
She also had a thing for American men, especially her physically fit bodyguards, whom she always found ways to touch.
While none of them had taken her up on her numerous offers of afternoon delights, it hadn’t stopped her from trying.
And when they still didn’t give in, she would find a way to torture them for denying her what she wanted.
Her usual form of revenge involved a credit card, a mall, and five or six hours of trying on everything in sight, particularly shoes.
Ian had been taken aback by how different Her Highness had acted during their visit to her homeland.
She’d been polite and pleasant toward Angie and him and never once put the moves on him, which was so out of character.
He spent most of his time in her presence waiting for the affable facade to drop and the real princess to emerge.