Chapter 43
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
JUNE
I wake, toasty warm, sun streaming through the cracks in the window. The smells of home hitting me, lemongrass and coconut, the tick of the clock on the wall in the living room a reassuring metronome.
Something prickles across my neck and I stiffen, then relax.
Dean. Dean is in my bed, in my house. The fan makes lazy swirls overhead, the white sheers on the widow billowing in the gentle breeze it creates. A large hand on my waist pulls me closer, and I snuggle into the dip in his arm. A strange moment of déjà vu passes over me, followed by a twinge of regret. The last few mornings have begun nearly the same way, and I was too out of my mind with stress and worry to enjoy them.
Not this time though.
“You awake?” His voice is a deep rasp in my ear.
“Mmm.”
Small circles start across my stomach, and I arch into him.
“I think we need to talk.”
“Oh.” Lead fills my stomach, the happy, floating feeling disappearing. I squeeze my eyes shut, as though it can keep me from hearing whatever Dean is about to say.
“Not like that .”
“Oh!” I gasp, my eyes wide open. Strong hands flip me onto his stomach, and Dean grins up at me.
“You’re beautiful in the morning.” He pushes a wayward lock of hair from my forehead, and I bite my lip. There’s a but coming, I can sense it. And not the butt I want. “You’re beautiful all the time.”
“Dean, if you have something you want to tell me, please say it. I can’t stand this build-up. I’m tired of being tense.” I sag against him, burying my face in his neck, breathing in the delicious scent of him, fighting the thought that it might be the last time I get to be like this with him.
“June, no, it’s not like that.” He strokes the top of my head, the other hand grazing over my ass.
I squeeze my eyes shut even harder, as if that will somehow block the inevitable words from coming out of his mouth.
“It’s about your,” he clears his throat, “your father. I asked a few questions yesterday while I was in the secure area, finishing up the paperwork on what we found.”
My fingers find his biceps, and I pinch a little, opening my eyes. “Get it over with. Tell me whatever it is.”
“Yes, ma’am.” A hoarse laugh follows, his eyes crinkling as he stares up at me. “When we informed them of Pierce’s illegal extracurriculars, the DEA was very interested in what I had to say. In return, my classification was bumped up and I got read-in on the full file on the shipment and the long-term mission down here.”
Anticipation knots my stomach. Sliding off him, I prop my chin up on my hands. Staring into his dark brown eyes, which now track the motion of the fan on the ceiling.
“There was something else I asked for, and Uncle Sam agreed to it.”
“Dean…” Strings attached is the only way the government operates.
“Your dad wasn’t just running drugs.”
Teeth grind against teeth as I clench my jaw, stomach sinking. Dean turns his full attention on me, scooting back against the white headboard, his tan standing out in stark contrast.
God, I don’t know if I can take this.
“He was our source. He was the informant on the whole mission, on the cartel, for years. He was one of the most important assets in South Texas for a decade. That’s why he’s dead, because Pierce knew, and the cartel found out. Your dad must’ve figured out Pierce was dirty and scuttled the drugs. Your father isn’t the bad guy, June. He’s the hero.”
Air. I need air. Taking a huge breath, I expand my lungs, a cross between a laugh and a hiccup erupting from my throat. Relief and love war for attention. I can’t move, paralyzed by the sudden shock of knowledge. Of gratitude.
“You okay?”
I nod, then curl up on Dean’s lap. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“I know how much it would mean to me.” His words rumble against my chest. Fingers stroking down my legs, comforting. “But Pierce is still out there, June, and you saw what was in that sub.”
I nod, and he tugs my chin up to look at him. His lips are a firm slash, his brown eyes steady on mine. Aha. This is where the other shoe drops.
“They’ve asked me and my firm to take the lead on the whole thing, to figure out the reach of the domestic terrorists, what they plan next. Where Pierce is, all of it. I need to get back to DC early next week. We don’t think the cartel is a threat to you, but the domestic terrorists, they very well may be. We’re setting up round-the-clock surveillance on you. It might be best if we find you a new place to live.”
“Next week?” My voice is soft, and I quickly do the math. “So that means you’ll be here for a few more days?”
His throat bobs as he swallows, not taking his eyes from mine. “I don’t have to stay here, I’m sure you’re ready for things to get back to normal. Well, as normal as they can be. We don’t think the terrorists will try anything, but there is a small possibility that they’ll seek to silence your testimony against Pierce and his associates. You may want to think about moving away from this town completely.”
“I’m not giving up my research on the wreck, I’m not just going to walk away from my life here.”
“I had a feeling you’d say that. So… you’re ready for things to go back to normal, after all.” It isn’t a question.
A beat passes, and my fingers finally still against his skin, where I absentmindedly traced a tattoo on his chest.
“Back to normal?” My eyes meet his.
“If that’s what you want, just say the word.”
He isn’t asking about normal… He’s asking about him. About the possibility of an us, for something longer. More serious.
“Stay.” It bursts out of me, full of hope and longing. “Please stay.”
A genuine smile lights up his face, and my heart leaps. “If you’re sure.”
I straddle him, taking his face in my hands, planting a long, slow kiss to his lips. “I’m sure. I wouldn’t want anyone else to watch over me, anyway.”
I found him, I found the Santu Espiritu , and I’m going to hang onto both for dear life.
“What parts do you want me to watch over?” He pulls his lips away, and I reach back for him. A teasing smile playing across his lips before he presses a kiss to my jaw. “Here?” Another kiss, lower, across the top of my breast. “Is this where I need to watch over?”
“All of it,” I breathe, and he brings his lips back to mine for a moment before staring down at me, smiling, that delicious dimple firmly in place.
“Know what the best part of being tasked with this is?”
Dark hair tickles my eyebrows as I furiously shake my head.
“It means I’ll be back here as soon as I can.”
“I like that.”
“I’m glad, because you’re the reason I said yes.”
I stare at him, my mouth dropping open. “Oh?”
“Yep.” There’s a devilish glint in his eyes.
A few days. Dean will be mine, all mine, no boats or guns or henchmen involved, for a few more days.
I grin back at him. I’ll make the most of it.