Chapter 42
The last three days have felt like three fucking months.
Everything fucking hurts.
My ribs ache from bruises that are still in the process of healing properly.
But they are nothing compared to the exhaustion sitting heavy behind my eyes from sleeping in scattered thirty-minute stretches on uncomfortable chairs inside DEA offices while Richard Bradenburg emptied ten years of cartel operations onto conference room tables.
The DEA satellite office in Bogotá became our entire world the second we dragged the ambassador out of that basement alive. In an instant, my life went from warm bed with Mackenzi curled against me to gray walls, fluorescent lighting, horrible fucking coffee, and endless interrogations.
The ambassador sat at the center of it all, looking ten years older than when I first met him, bruised hands folded tightly together while federal agents and Colombian officials dismantled his entire life, piece by piece, around him.
He has a wealth of knowledge about the Cartagena Cartel—names, routes, politicians, money laundering channels, shipping manifests, corrupt customs agents—that hasn’t even been tapped into yet.
There was no hesitation or bargaining for immunity. He promised to give them everything, letting the cards fall as they may.
For publicity’s sake, he officially resigned his position yesterday morning, under the guise of “medical complications following a recent security incident.” The press release is vague enough to explain his disappearance from public view without triggering a media frenzy or political fallout.
The real truth will stay buried where it belongs, at least publicly.
Privately, though, the price for avoiding prison time is steep enough to make most men break.
Protective custody, indefinitely. His cooperation agreement means he’ll spend the foreseeable future helping the DEA and Colombian authorities dismantle what remains of the Cartagena Cartel, using the decade of intelligence he spent building from the inside.
He might not be looking at cell bars, but he’s still giving up his freedom, public life, and the opportunity to ever return to who he used to be for rooms of agents and classified files until the government decides he’s no longer useful—or no longer a target.
And through it all, his daughter remained the center of every decision.
Because, once the truth came out—once the cartel understood he was cooperating—there were only two options left for Mackenzi: The government could bury her in witness protection alongside him, stripping away her name, her future, her education, and her entire life before it had truly begun.
Or he could trust me with her. Trust that I would keep her safe.
Trust me to love her enough that she’d never again have to carry the weight of his mistakes.
And somehow, despite every reason not to, he did.
He gave me the most important thing in his world and walked away. Maybe because he saw the truth long before either of us wanted to admit it—she was already mine.
Mine to protect.
Mine to love.
Mine to stand beside as she builds the beautiful life she was always destined for.
Next to me in the SUV, Hawk finally breaks the silence. “You look like shit.”
I glance sideways at him from the passenger seat. “You say the sweetest things.”
“You should hear what Jagger said.”
From the backseat, Jagger snorts tiredly. “Hey. That was in confidence.”
I shake my head, a smile pulling at my lips. “I hate you assholes.”
Cartagena slides past outside in blurred stretches of headlights and wet pavement for the brief storm that rolled through a few hours ago. I lean my head briefly against the seat and close my eyes for half a second.
The moment they shut, I see Mackenzi. Her dark brown eyes holding back tears as I kissed her goodbye. My heart thumps painfully at the thought of finally seeing her again.
Three days isn’t long. It’s barely a blip of a lifetime. But it felt like an eternity while every single instinct in me spent that time trying to get back to her.
The SUV slows as we approach the embassy gates. Marine guards step forward immediately before recognizing the vehicle and waving us through. The compound appears moments later, warm lights glowing softly through the darkness.
The SUV curves through the circular drive.
The second the tires stop rolling, the front doors fly open, and Mackenzi races down the steps, fast enough that my pulse spikes.
Her hair whips behind her in the wind as she practically launches herself at the vehicle before I’ve even fully opened the door.
“Whoa—” She throws herself at me so hard, I nearly slam into the SUV. Her arms wrap tightly around my neck while mine lock around her waist to keep us both upright.
“Trouble,” I breathe against her hair. I pull back enough to see her face before kissing her.
When our lips meet, every exhausted thought in my head disappears.
It feels like we’re making up for months instead of days.
Her hands slide into my hair while I kiss her deeper, one hand gripping her waist hard enough to pull her flush against me.
“I missed you,” she whispers against my lips
“I missed you, too.” I cup her face to take in the stunning sight of her. My thumb brushes slowly beneath her cheekbone. “You okay?”
Her expression softens. “Better now.”
I kiss her forehead gently and rest mine against hers for a second.
Mackenzi’s fingers curl lightly into the front of my shirt. “How is he?”
We’ve talked at length while I have been gone. There isn’t a moment that transpired in those offices I haven’t shared with her. Yet, the question sobers us both instantly, and I exhale slowly. “He’s cooperating fully.”
“But?”
I hesitate briefly before answering honestly, “It’s going to be a long road.”
Pain flickers quietly across her face, but she nods, like she already expected that answer. “He asked about you constantly,” I add softly. Her eyes glisten faintly before she looks away for half a second. I tilt her chin gently toward me. “He did this to protect you. He loves you, Mackenzi.”
“I know.” And for the first time since he spilled his secrets in the foyer, I think she truly believes it again.
Rain begins misting lightly across the courtyard again. Tiny droplets catch in her hair and along her lashes while she stays tucked against me like she has no intention of letting go anytime soon. Not that I’m complaining.
The sky opens above us without warning, rain drumming against the stone courtyard and soaking through our clothes.
Mackenzi laughs in surprise, the sound warm and breathless as water streaks down her cheeks and darkens her hair.
I brush a wet tendril from her face and tuck it behind her ear before kissing her again.
Her hands fist tightly in the front of my sodden shirt as she melts into me beneath the downpour, kissing me back like she doesn’t want to stop, either.
The rain runs between us in cold sheets as I pull her impossibly closer, my mouth moving slowly against hers until the rest of the world disappears completely.
At least not until Jagger’s loud-ass voice cuts through the night. “Are the two of you going to get a room?” he calls while climbing the front steps. “Or do we all get to watch?”
Mackenzi laughs softly as Gunnar slugs Jagger hard across the shoulder when he reaches the top of the stairs.
“What?” Jagger recoils dramatically, throwing both arms into the air while continuing toward the doorway. “Some of us have been living off phone sex since we got here and would very much like to go home and knock up the love of their life.”
Mackenzi chokes on a startled laugh in my embrace.
Hawk groans behind us. “Jesus Christ.”
“What?” Jagger asks defensively while rubbing his shoulder. “I’m very committed.”
“You should be committed,” Gunnar mutters.
I look back down at Mackenzi.
The security lights catch softly in her eyes as she stares up at me, and suddenly every brutal second from the last three days feels worth it, just for this moment of having her in my arms.
“What do you say, trouble? Do you want to go home?”