Chapter 14 #3
The sparkle of humor in her eyes did funny things to his heart. He loved that he could make her laugh on a whim and made it his goal to do it as often as possible.
She feathered her lips against his, her tone changing to a sultry whisper. “You want to know what I’d really love?”
Boy, do I.
Coulter nodded, letting his mouth curve at the corners as he prepared himself for whatever the sexy vixen had going on inside her dirty mind.”
But then her voice shifted, becoming as serious as the sudden change in her breathtaking stare.
“I’d love for you to quit stalling and fill me in on what you and Gordan talked about in the hall.”
Damn, the woman was good.
He sat back with a sigh and told her the truth. “We were discussing an online auction he thinks I’m putting together but is really a sting operation to finally nail his ass to the wall.”
“How is a pretend auction going to do that?”
“Once the money has exchanged hands, so to speak, we’ll finally have him.”
“But no one’s actually up for auction, right? There aren’t any real people being put at risk?”
“The only ones at risk are Crawford and the sickos we’re setting up.
They’ll all go down for trafficking, but Crawford will also have added charges of attempted kidnapping, unlawful detainment, wire fraud, and a slew of other crap that will only add to the life sentence he’s already going to receive. ”
“But why come to my place? He obviously wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight.”
This was the part he didn’t want to share.
“He came here looking for you. The guy’s interested, Al. Enough so, he flew all the way here on his private jet just to see you.”
Her expression dropped flat. “I thought he said he was in Charlotte on business.”
“He lied.” Coulter pulled in a deep breath. “That’s what men like him do.”
“You were right.” Alex frowned. “I never should have flirted with him that night at dinner. I thought . . . but now he thinks—”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks, and this is not on you. The guy’s a freak. But don’t worry. He’s already headed back to California. Or he will be in a couple hours.”
“He’s going back tonight?”
“I convinced him it was the best if he couldn’t be placed near the ‘scene of the crime’.” Coulter air quotes to ensure her nothing nefarious was actually planned.
He had to admit it was rather freeing, being able to open up to someone the way he was with her.
Classified was one thing, but he hadn’t given her specifics.
Plus, after their unexpected meet-up in L.A.
two weeks earlier, his boss was aware he’d shared certain intel with Alex as a means of keeping her safe.
“So it’ll be over soon, then?” She sounded as hopeful as he felt.
“Two more days, and Gordan Crawford will be behind bars, where he belongs.”
He’d already be there, but the guy hadn’t made it this far by being stupid. Crawford never crossed a line without making sure there wasn’t a direct trail leading back to him.
He was smart, but Coulter was smarter. Two days was all he needed, and after that—
I’ll finally be done.
No more lies or sneaking around. No more cover stories or aliases to keep straight. He’d be himself again. Just Coulter Morgan. A man who lived in Charlotte, along with his brother and all of his friends.
And Alex.
He couldn’t forget the sexy artist if he tried. And Coulter had tried. Countless times, actually, but it never seemed to work. Now he understood why.
She’s mine.
Alex belonged to him, whether she realized it yet or not. And once this final job with the CIA was behind him, Coulter was going to make his intentions known.
He wanted a future with her. The forever kind, like the one his brother and Avery had found. Just like Bones and Evie, Apollo and Nicki, and, as shocking as it still was, Digger and Shadow.
Apart from their fearless leader, Rafe, the entire Tac-Ops team was living out their own happily ever after. And while he’d spent years fighting it, Coulter had finally accepted his fate.
Alexandria Webb was his future. He wouldn’t settle for anything less. But right now, she was also his present.
Coulter pushed himself up from the couch with a slight groan.
“Where are you going?” Alex also stood.
He gave his body a dramatic shake. “Just being near that guy makes me feel super gross. I’m thinking a nice, long shower might help.”
“Oh, yeah?” She sent him a knowing smirk.
“For sure. And you should probably take one, too. I mean, we wouldn’t want you walking around with any of his cooties.”
Alex chuckled, clearly picking up on his not-so-subtle hint for her to join him. “We definitely wouldn’t want that.”
“And we should probably shower together.”
“To conserve water?”
“Exactly.” His lips spread into a wide smile. “It’s like you can read my mind.”
“Hmm . . .” Alex tilted her head as she started to walk away. Pulling her shirt off and letting it fall to the floor, she said, “I wonder if you can read mine.”
Coulter followed the trail of clothes down the hall, removing his own as he went. An hour later, as they lay beneath the covers of her bed, they both agreed.
The long shower definitely helped.