Chapter Ten #3
He chuckled. “Yes, but that’s not the point.”
“Still, it’s interesting information.” She cleared her throat. “Go on.”
“We gathered information and sent it back home. It was a dangerous lifestyle.”
She thought of the scars on his torso. “I’ve, ah, seen you mowing the lawn without a shirt.” She made a vague motion with her hands.
His humor faded. “The guys in the cartel liked to prove themselves with knife fights. I trained before I went on assignment, but it took me a while to get good.”
She winced. “They could have killed you.”
He nodded. “But they didn’t. Once they trusted me, we started to set up the distribution chain. We were about to put it all in play when someone told them who I was, and Raine and I were taken prisoner.”
“That must have been hard.”
He didn’t meet her gaze. “It was. Harder on Raine, in some ways. We both knew we were on assignment and that our being married was just an act, but there were things we had to do and eventually it got real for her.” He looked at her. “She fell in love with me.”
The knot in her stomach tightened. “You didn’t share her feelings?”
He shook his head. “I knew it was a problem, but there was nothing I could do about it. Breaking up with her wasn’t an option, and neither of us wanted to end the assignment because her feelings had changed. We agreed to move forward and deal with it when we got back to the States.”
“She was hoping you would fall in love with her,” Wynn said.
“Yeah. That was the plan. I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but like I said, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Then we were ratted out and stuck in a cage.
” He drew in a breath. “Some of the scars I have are from that time. Like I said, they enjoyed playing with knives. I could handle it, but when they went after Raine, I nearly lost it.”
Wynn knew he wouldn’t tell her any details, which was fine with her. She could make up her own, and they were awful enough without her knowing the truth.
“How did she die?”
“I didn’t say she was dead.”
“But she is.”
He nodded. “Yes.” Darkness filled his eyes. “We came up with an escape plan. It was risky, but we knew it was just a matter of time until we were killed. The cartel wanted ransom, but even if the DEA paid it, there was no guarantee we would be released.”
He leaned back his head and closed his eyes. “During the escape, someone came after us with a gun. Raine threw herself in front of me, taking the bullets. She died and I got away.”
Wynn couldn’t process all her feelings, and she hadn’t even been there. What must Garrick be going through?
Instinctively she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. He shifted, pulling her close and hanging on so tightly, she could barely breathe.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Me, too. Everything happened so fast. One second we were running and the next that guy was there.”
She felt the tension in his body. Even as she tried not to imagine the scene, she could see it clearly in her head. He didn’t say what had happened to the man who tried to stop them, and she didn’t ask. She didn’t have to—she already knew. Garrick would have killed him, then escaped.
“I carried her out,” he said quietly. “I wanted to get her body back to her family. It was the least I could do.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask her to do it.”
“She loved me and I didn’t love her back. She died knowing that.”
“She died saving the man she loved. She would do it again.”
“You don’t know that.”
She drew back enough to stare into his eyes. “Yes, I do. I’ve been in love. I know what it feels like. A woman in love will do almost anything for her man.”
Wynn had. She’d made incredibly stupid decisions in the name of love and had lived with the consequences. Fourteen years later, she was only just beginning to forgive herself.
“I didn’t put it in the report,” Garrick said. “Or mention it in the debrief. I figured no one had to know how she felt. It wasn’t their business.”
“You were right to do that.”
He loosened his hold on her but kept his arms around her. She felt him relax, as if in the telling, he was able to let the past go a little.
They sat in silence for a minute or so, then he said, “When I got home, I went to see Joylyn. I needed to see her and know that she was okay, but she refused to have anything to do with me. She was close to heading off to college. I was restless and didn’t know what to do next.”
“Did you go back to the Phoenix Police Department?”
“Sure, but my heart wasn’t in it. Then I got offered a job here.”
“So you moved back.”
“I went to see Joylyn, to tell her what was happening. She said she didn’t care and shut the door in my face.”
She put her head on his shoulder. “Does knowing why she acted like that help?”
“Some, but it doesn’t make up for everything we missed together.”
“The road ahead is going to be a little bumpy at times, but you two have made progress. Give her some time to let it all sink in. You’re going to be a grandpa. You can start new rituals together.”
He stared at her. “Holy crap. I’m going to be a grandfather. That makes me feel old.”
“If it helps, you still look good.”
“I’m thirty-eight and I’m going to be a grandfather. How could I not have figured that out before?”
“It is surprising. The big belly bump should have been a clue.”
“Smart-ass.”
She grinned. “Uh-huh. Pretty much all the time.”
“I’m not complaining. I like it. I have a list of things I like about you.”
Before she could do much more than get all tingly from the compliment, he leaned in and kissed her.
The feel of his mouth—warm and just the tiniest bit demanding—made her melt into him.
He put his hands on her hips and shifted her so she was straddling his lap.
He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes.
“I’m very clear on the fact that your son is just down the hall and that he could walk in on us at any moment.”
He pushed down on her hips, settling the very center of her against his crotch. She was pleased to feel the hard ridge of an erection through his jeans.
“But,” he added, “a few minutes of making out might be nice.”
“I agree,” she said, rocking slightly against him.
Instantly his eyes dilated and his breath caught. “That could be dangerous.”
“It could.”
She bent her head and brushed her mouth against his. At the same time, she pulled his hands to her breasts. His fingers immediately found her tight nipples and rubbed them.
Heat flared everywhere before settling between her legs. She couldn’t help rubbing against him again, a little more frantically this time. He inhaled sharply and claimed her with a hot, deep kiss that stole her breath.
She wanted to strip off her clothes and have him touch her everywhere. She wanted him parting her legs and filling her until she had no option but to lose herself in a powerful orgasm that made her scream. She wanted touching and kissing and claiming and—
He drew back and swore. “We have to stop.”
He was right, of course, but still she wanted to protest.
“I want you,” she whispered.
His jaw clenched. “Tell me about it. I want you, too.”
“I’ll talk to Hunter about spending the night with a friend. Maybe this weekend.”
“That would be great. Better than great.”
She smiled and shifted off him. He rose.
“I should be going.”
She stood as well, then glanced at his crotch.
“You’re, um, going to want to walk around a while before going home.”
He looked down at himself, then back at her. “Technically that’s your fault. At least it’s dark out. I wouldn’t want to scare the neighbors.”
“I don’t think they’d be scared. I think they’d be impressed.”
He chuckled, kissed her briefly and walked to the door. “Thanks, Wynn. For all of it.”
“Anytime.”
He left. She locked the front door, then leaned against it and smiled, thinking she felt like a teenager—counting the minutes until the weekend.