Chapter 38
38
T heresa added links to some of the documents Keely had shared with her, kept some of them back, and encrypted them with her dead man's switch. She finished her story by explaining what the dead man's switch was and that if she were killed, even if it looked like an accident, the final incriminating documents would be released for the world to see. She only listed some of the foreign governments involved in the duplicity. Keeping the bigger countries, Russia, China, Ukraine, and others encrypted behind her dead man's switch. She also mentioned there were countries still to be named.
She scheduled her final exposé to release in the next hour and she stood and stretched. Marco had moved to the kitchen and was baking up something that smelled phenomenal. She sauntered toward the aroma of sweets and the lure of Marco. She moved around the counter and hugged him from behind as he stirred something delicious smelling on the stove.
She sighed. "It's finished."
He turned in her arms and kissed her lips. His was still split, so he couldn't kiss her like she preferred. Like he wanted to. Soon.
"Nice work babe. How do you feel about it?"
"I'm happy. It feels good."
"Wonderful."
He turned to stir his sauce on the stove. "Jace, Margo, and Mitch will be here in about an hour. I wanted you to have the time you needed to write. Tonight, we'll celebrate."
She stood back and watched her man cook for a moment. "What are you making?"
He chuckled. "Steak and asparagus. I'm also baking a triple chocolate lava cake for dessert. This is the chocolate sauce to drizzle over the top of the cake."
Her hand flew to her stomach. "I'm going to have to start working out again. The way you feed me is certainly going to show soon and I'll get a huge belly." She held her hands out in front of her.
His eyes stared at her hands. She saw his jaw tighten and his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. He set his spoon down, turned the flame off under the pan of simmering chocolate, and pulled her into his body. "I love the way you look. I also love feeding you. And, I love you."
She chuckled as she stared into his gorgeous brown eyes. "I don't bring much to the table here. I don't cook for you. I do love looking at you. I also love who you are as a human."
"That's a ton right there." He bent his knees and kissed her lips.
She wrapped her arms around his waist gently, splaying her fingers open on his back. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nothing felt better than a Marco hug.
He stepped back once more. "Sorry, gotta take care of dinner."
She nodded. "I'll set the table."
She proceeded to set the table in the dining room. She found beautiful woodland placemats with tiny pinecones at the corners. The plates were brown with red rims. The silverware was of high quality. The cloth napkins in the buffet were laid on the plates and she found candles in tall candle sticks that she set in the middle of the table. It was the most elegant table she'd ever set in her life, and she was proud of it.
Marco entered the dining room and whistled. "This is beautiful."
"I can't take credit for buying the dishes, placemats, and candles, but I love how they look together."
The security system chimed, and Marco hurried to the computer on the desk to check the cameras.
"They're here."
She nodded and glanced once more at her pitiful dress still sadly draped across the back of the sofa, before she sauntered toward the front door to greet their guests. She waited until Marco gave the all clear and joined her at the door.
He opened it and stepped onto the front porch as Mitch exited his vehicle. Jace and Margo were pulling items from their SUV to bring inside. She couldn't imagine what they brought.
Mitch shook Marco's hand. His eyes examined the shiner Marco sported then he nodded. "It could be worse."
Marco chuckled. "It could."
When Mitch's eyes turned to her, though, his lips turned down in a frown. "I'm sorry to see you bruised up, Theresa. I feel as though I should have protected you more."
She smiled at Mitch. "It could be worse."
He chuckled as his own words were tossed back at him, then she took a breath. "I'm sorrier for the dress. I apologize for the damage. It is so beautiful."
Mitch held his hand up for her to stop. "Don't worry about it. We'll see if the dry cleaners can clean it up."
Jace and Margo came to the porch with arms full of goodies. Marco chuckled. "What on earth do you have here?"
Jace chuckled and Margo responded. "We brought food in case you're running out of things."
Theresa moved to the side to let Margo pass through the door. "Here let me help you with these."
She took a bag from Margo's arms and carried it to the kitchen. Margo set her bag on the counter next to Theresa's then turned to her and hugged her.
Margo's hug was warm and friendly, and it felt so good. Not as good as Marco's, but close.
When Margo pulled back, she looked at Theresa's face. "Oh, honey. Are you alright?"
Theresa nodded. "I am. It actually looks worse than it is. It only hurts when I touch it."
Margo's lips turned down. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Margo."
Jace entered behind them with bags and set them on the counter. When his eyes landed on her face, he frowned. "How are you, Theresa?"
She chuckled. "I'm good. As I mentioned to Margo, it looks worse than it is. I think Marco took the brunt of the beatings though."
Marco stepped around the counter and shook his head. "It's all in a day."
Mitch laughed. "It used to be. These days you wrestle more with meat than people."
Marco laughed. "Truth."
Theresa remembered her manners. "What can I get everyone to drink?"
Margo pulled two bottles of wine from one of the grocery bags. "I brought wine so we can celebrate."
Theresa chuckled. "I'm all for that." She looked at her watch. "The report will publish in twenty minutes."
Margo chuckled. "We could be into our second bottle by then."