18. Mandy
18
MANDY
I was pacing again, back and forth in front of Chance. He’d parked himself on a weight bench at the back of the gym, holding an ice pack to his cheek to soothe the bruise he’d gotten from Travis. My flip-flops snapped loudly on the cement floor, and I longed to take them off to kill the annoying sound, but…this place stunk like a rancid old shoe. I didn’t trust the floor had been mopped with any type of disinfectant in the last month.
The FBI agents that had been cooped up with me in the van were now spread out across the gym. Mark had Travis cornered near the punching bags. One of his colleagues watched over Brick, who was still lying in a heap on the floor. Two agents had a briefcase open at the edge of the boxing ring, preparing some type of spy equipment.
“You don’t have to go back to Nolan’s,” I pleaded for the second time. “We’ve got enough to arrest him.”
Chance captured my hand and pulled me between his legs. “I didn’t go through all this just to stop now. We have to be sure we have enough evidence that he can’t escape prosecution.” He tossed the ice pack on the bench beside him and squeezed my hand. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing he could come after you. And he would, if we left him any opening at all.”
I cupped his cheek. His bruised cheek was already turning purple beneath the angry red. “We’re supposed to be partners, Chance. You’re doing all this without me.”
“And you survived two years of this without me .” His arm encircled my waist. Resting his uninjured cheek against my belly, he shuddered. “Just thinking about what might have happened makes me want to scream.” He squeezed. “Please. Let me finish this. Let me do this for you. I wasn’t there before, but I’m here now and I’ve got the skills. Let me use them.”
“It’s hard.” I stroked a hand through his messy hair. “You shouldn’t have erased that text.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He pulled back. “I won’t make excuses. You deserved the whole truth. But if you’ll give me the chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life earning your trust.”
I leaned down to press my forehead to his. “Honestly. What am I going to do with you?”
“I could make a few suggestions.” Chance’s voice dropped to a suggestive pitch. I shivered against him.
“So could I.” I glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then bent to murmur in Chance’s ear. “If Nolan’s thugs hadn’t grabbed me, Pepper and I were going lingerie shopping.” I’d never owned anything sexy or frivolous before. I wasn’t sure it would suit me, but for Chance, I’d have tried.
He growled and his eyes darkened. “Cruel woman. Now I’m going to be picturing you in all kinds of silk and lace. Sending me back to Nolan’s with a hard-on is just mean.”
I licked the top edge of his ear and whispered, “If you want that taken care of, you’d best come back safe.”
Chance buried his fingers in my hair and gently pushed my head back so he could look me in the eye. “You trust me, right?”
“Of course.” I caressed his uninjured cheek.
“We need to record Nolan confessing.” Chance fingered my scalp lightly. “If we get him to incriminate himself, we’re free. You’re free.”
A thrill stole over me at the hope soaring in my chest.
Chance nodded toward the boxer. “Travis knocked Brick out in a way that looked accidental, so even if he comes to and gets in touch with Nolan, neither one of them will have any reason to believe that I’m working on the other side. My cover is intact.”
“I know.” I bit my lip. “But I’m terrified Nolan will sense you’re wired and pumping him for information. He could do a lot of damage before the agents rush in.”
“So can I.”
I knew that was true. If I’d had any doubts, they’d evaporated this morning, watching Chance take out Walter’s goons without taking so much as a scratch.
Chance pressed a kiss to my temple. “I can handle most anything but you walking away from me again. Please tell me I’m forgiven before I go. Tell me you’ll be waiting when I get back.”
“I’m still pissed,” I said. “But I’m grateful, as well. You did this for us, and that counts for a lot. So does the fact that you’re genuinely sorry, and I believe you won’t do anything like that again. So, yes, I forgive you, and yes, I’ll be waiting.” I poked his chest. “But that’s two strikes, mister. Three strikes, and you’re out.”
“No more strikes. And no more secrets.” Chance’s eyes brightened. “Unless I’m planning a surprise for you.”
“I can live with that.” I laughed and reached inside my pocket, pulling out the photo. I eased back enough for him to see me holding it up. “I can’t believe you kept this.”
“Some days, it was the only thing that kept me going.” A haunted depth I never wanted to see again flickered in his eyes.
“I hate that your last memory of me for so many years was our breakup.” I tucked the photo in his inside suit coat pocket. “If I could go back and handle it better, I would.”
“I would do a few things over, but I don’t know if I would change entering the Navy.” He worked his fingers deeper into my hair. “I would have made you miserable if I’d stayed, but I should have talked to you about it first. We might have worked something out.”
“Maybe.” I traced a finger over his temple and down his cheek. “But I do know one thing for sure. I never stopped loving you.”
He stilled.
“I tried to forget you, but I never could. My heart was yours from the day I met you. These last few weeks just made me fall in love with you all over again.”
“You don’t know how much it means to hear you say that,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ve been in love with you for just as long, and I’m probably even deeper in love now.”
I captured his lips in a deep, scorching kiss.
Chance tilted his head and nibbled on my bottom lip until I opened my mouth and then he dove his tongue in. I kissed him with every ounce of love I had in my body, showing him I meant every word.
He grabbed my hips and twisted, making me fall into his lap.
Laughing, I smothered his scruffy jaw and neck with kisses. “Are you ever going to learn what a razor is?”
He scraped his jaw against my cheek, the hair rasping against my skin. “I kinda like seeing you scuffed red. You’re bearing my mark.”
“Okay,” Agent Butler boomed, materializing right beside us. “As enjoyable as this Hallmark moment is, we need to either execute the rest of the plan or hightail it out of here.”
I sobered.
“I’ve got local police in plain clothes waiting at the hospital to babysit him.” Mark thumbed toward Brick. “With no phone or weapons and the police keeping him in custody, there should be no risk of him blowing your cover, but I don’t want anything jeopardizing your safety. It’s getting late. Nolan will be starting to wonder where you two are.”
The two FBI techs at the boxing ring rushed forward. One carried a small object in his hand, the other a tablet.
Mark motioned to the device. “This camera has audio.”
The tech cut a button off Chance’s suit coat. He replaced it with the camera hidden inside a button.
“It’s got enough battery to record you dropping off Brick at the hospital and talking to Nolan,” Mark continued, “but don’t expect it to last all night. We’ll be watching in the van, so we’ll know when we should move in.”
I swallowed at reality smashing my euphoria to bits. This was it—the last hurdle. By sundown tonight, I’d be deliriously happy, or my heart would be broken beyond repair.
Mark pulled a folded white paper out of his inner coat pocket and thrust it toward Chance. “While I can’t comment on an active investigations, this is a high-level list of suspected crimes we believe Nolan’s had a hand in. Either he ordered these deaths or he killed the victims himself. If you can get him to admit to even one, we’ll be beyond golden.”
Chance opened the document. A bullet-pointed list filled the entire page with the cause of death listed after each name.
My stomach lurched, and my hold on Chance’s shoulder tightened. How could I let him go through with this, go back into that monster’s home and face him alone?
“I’ll be fine,” Chance murmured, obviously sensing my spiraling panic.
“Get in, get the confession, get out.” Mark pointed at Chance. “If you don’t think you can make him say anything, don’t push. Your safety comes first.”
“Yes.” I pinched Chance’s bicep. “Please. Don’t be a hero.”
“But I am.” He grinned and winked.
I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously,” he murmured, rubbing my thigh. “I’ll be fine.”
“Chance.” I lightly ground my forehead against his. “Don’t take any risks. I’ve got big plans for us. You hear me? The house, the tire swing, and don’t forget…” I ran my fingers up his thigh, barely grazing his cock. “ This .”
“Yes, ma’am.” Chance grinned so wide, he showed most of his teeth. “I’ve got a few ideas of my own, but we’ll talk about them when I get back.”
I forced myself to slide off his lap. It took everything I had to stand back and watch Chance drive away in Nolan’s SUV with Brick.