Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Bree was cautiously optimistic. She and the rest of Smiley’s team had a phone call with the mysterious Tex yesterday afternoon, and he’d confirmed again that he and his crew of computer geniuses not only had proof that Mateo Castillo was in Riverton, but now, they also knew where he was staying—and had relayed that information to the FBI, the Riverton PD, and the sheriff’s office.
Today, the Fugitive Apprehension Tactical Enforcement Unit, part of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, had been preparing to apprehend him, and that was supposed to go down any moment now.
Castillo was apparently wanted in several countries for kidnapping and for his involvement in the sex trade.
The various police forces were surprised he was in the United States, but they weren’t going to waste time wondering why.
Hopefully by tonight, Bree’s nightmare would be over and she could get her life back on track.
Of course, that was kind of scary too…because she’d been enjoying living with Smiley here in Riverton.
She was becoming closer to Kelli, Remi, and all the women, and honestly, she didn’t want to go back to Las Vegas.
But while things with Smiley were going well, or at least she thought so, she wasn’t sure either of them were at the point where they wanted to move in with each other permanently.
Well…Bree was pretty sure that’s what she wanted, but she wasn’t going to assume anything when it came to Smiley.
He’d taken her in out of necessity. Her necessity.
And from what she understood, he’d been somewhat obsessed with finding her ever since she’d snuck away from his truck that awful night when he, Preacher, and Blink had come to rescue Josie from her ex-boyfriend’s mother and sister.
The truth was, Bree was a little torn. A small part of her missed her old life, the one that was predictable and boring…
but safe. A bigger part was loving this life.
Being with Smiley every minute of every day.
Cooking with him. Watching TV. Laughing.
Making love. She didn’t like that she had no money of her own coming in, but she was confident she could find a job here in Southern California.
Shaking her head, she reined in her wayward thoughts.
She had no business planning a life here in Riverton until her current shitshow of a life was figured out.
With luck, Tex and the law enforcement officers would get in touch in a few hours and let them know Mateo had been apprehended and her life on the run and in hiding was done.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Bree blurted.
Smiley looked over at her from behind the wheel of his truck and frowned. “Sure what is okay?”
“You bringing me to My Sister’s Closet to meet up with Fiona and Julie. It has to be old, shuttling me around everywhere.”
“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Smiley asked, instead of directly answering her question.
She shrugged. “Because I can’t imagine hanging out at a woman’s boutique is your idea of a good time.
And again, because you’re a badass Navy SEAL who should probably be making plans with your teammates to go off and save the world or something.
And instead of doing that, you’re driving me around like you’re my chauffeur or something. ”
To her surprise, Smiley pulled over and stopped his truck.
He reached out and put his palm on the side of her neck as he spoke.
“I told you when this all started that I wasn’t letting you out of my sight, and I meant that.
You want to go visit with Julie and Fiona and find some more clothes, that’s what we’ll do.
I’ve been trying to get more clothes in my closet for you since you got there.
As far as work…I have so much leave time saved up it isn’t funny.
Which doesn’t even matter in this case, because we only left thirty minutes early.
And the commander and the team know that at the moment, you’re my priority. ”
“Not sure taking me shopping counts as a priority,” Bree mumbled, dropping her gaze from his. “Especially now that Mateo is about to be caught. I can go access my storage unit in Vegas again.”
“Look at me,” Smiley ordered.
Bree lifted her eyes.
“This isn’t about clothes,” he said, in a tone that was in direct contrast to the grumpy exterior he always showed the world.
“It’s about you needing to do something while we wait to hear from Tex.
It’s about you connecting with two women who lived through an experience like the one you’ve been running from for months.
It’s about me proving that you come first, that I support you unequivocally. All right?”
Bree’s belly churned, her breathing sped up, and all she wanted to do was throw herself at the man next to her. He made her feel seen. Important. Wanted. It was a heady feeling. And she so wanted to show Smiley her appreciation.
“Later,” he said with a twitch of his lips, proving that he really was a mind reader.
“Thank you, Smiley. Seriously. I’m really anxious about Mateo. About finding out what happens. I don’t want anyone to be hurt, but I definitely want to hear he’s in custody. Do you really think I’ll be safe if he’s caught? Won’t there be others on my trail? Like, people he works with?”
Smiley’s fingers caressed her cheek for a moment before he dropped his hand and turned back to face forward. Checking for vehicles coming up behind them, and seeing it was clear, he pulled back onto the road and continued toward downtown Riverton and Julie’s secondhand clothing shop.
“Tex went over this. He doesn’t think so. For some reason, it’s Castillo himself who seems determined to complete the sale your asshole ex made. I’m guessing the rest of his crew sees you as a liability. They could get their hands on other women much more easily.”
Bree frowned. She hated the sound of that, even if it was true.
“How about we worry over what comes next after we hear back from Tex.”
“Okay,” Bree agreed.
Smiley deftly pulled into a parking spot in the public lot down the street from Julie’s store. He took Bree’s hand as they walked toward My Sister’s Closet.
“I’ll try not to be too long,” she told him, still thinking about how he couldn’t possibly want to spend time at a women’s boutique.
“Take as long as you want. I know Julie usually has snacks and stuff, and coffee. You guys can shop and chat. I’m not going to leave you alone, sorry, but I’ll try to be as nonintrusive as possible.”
Bree smiled at him while they walked. “I don’t mind you being there, Smiley. I have nothing to hide from you.”
“Still, you might want to talk about girl shit.”
She laughed. “Girl shit? Like what?”
“I don’t know. Periods, giving birth, hemorrhoids…”
Bree stopped in her tracks and stared at him for a beat, before bursting into laughter.
Smiley simply smiled at her in return. She realized he was messing with her but couldn’t stop giggling.
She was still chuckling when they reached My Sister’s Closet.
The bell over the door tinkled as they entered.
Almost immediately, Julie and Fiona appeared from a room at the back of the store.
“Hi!”
“It’s so good to see you again!”
Both women came forward and hugged Bree warmly. She was well aware of Smiley still standing at her back.
“What’s so funny?” Fiona asked, after she’d greeted both Bree and Smiley.
“Smiley’s idea of girl talk.”
Julie hooked an arm around Bree’s and led her toward the coffee bar set up against one of the walls of the store, near the cash register. “Let me guess. That time of the month, which tampons are the best, and boobs.”
Bree giggled again. “Close enough.”
Smiley didn’t seem perturbed that he was the butt of the joke.
He simply shrugged, then turned and went to sit in one of the comfortable high-back chairs scattered around the store.
Julie had likely bought them for situations just like this, when a guy accompanied his girlfriend or wife and needed a place to get off his feet for a while.
“Smiley, you want a coffee?” Julie asked.
“I’m good. Thanks.”
“How much time do we have?” Fiona asked Bree.
“As much as we need,” she said. “Smiley’s done working for the day, so we’re just heading home after this.”
“Awesome. I received a pile of donations that I haven’t had time to sort through yet. You guys want to help? Or, Bree, do you want to check out the things I put aside for you to try?” Julie asked.
“Ooooh, tough choice. Can we do both?” she asked.
“Both for sure. How about we start with the new stuff?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“They’re in the back room. But a warning, they’ll probably be wrinkled and stuff, so sometimes something might look like a mess right out of the plastic bags they’re usually dropped off in, but it’s a gem once cleaned and ironed.”
“I can’t wait to dig in,” Bree said with a smile.
“You want to come to the back with us?” Julie asked Smiley.
“I’m good out here. I’ll move the chair so I can see you guys back there, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is.”
Bree couldn’t stop herself from walking over to where Smiley was sitting.
She literally couldn’t think of any previous boyfriends who would’ve done what this man was doing.
Spending time babysitting her, keeping her safe, while she did something frivolous like look for clothes.
Especially when she literally had a storage unit full of them back in Vegas.
She put her hands on the arms of the chair and leaned over him. “Thank you,” she whispered before kissing him lightly.
His hand came up and clamped around the back of her neck when she went to stand up. “This isn’t a hardship,” he told her sternly. “Seeing you laughing and happy…it’s my pleasure, Bree.”
He was killing her.
“I’ll show you tonight how much I appreciate you,” she told him.
“Tonight? I’m thinking maybe we can get started as soon as we’re home…”
She chuckled. “You’re such a guy,” she told him.