Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
After what had been a very stressful experience, the flight back to the United States was ridiculously mundane.
The private plane was waiting for them at the airport in Guayaquil, and after meeting with a mysterious contact in the parking lot to return the vehicle and borrowed weapons, Smiley carried Bree into a hangar and onto the plane.
He and his teammates had remained quiet and on alert. The atmosphere was tense, since the bands of roving militants were still causing havoc in the city.
It wasn’t until they were wheels up that Smiley relaxed. The trip home was spent hovering over Bree, who’d been given an IV by MacGyver, and as much protein and other food as Smiley could get her to eat.
They landed at a private regional airport in Southern California, and it shouldn’t have surprised him to find his Ford Ranger waiting for him in the parking lot, as well as Kevlar’s Crosstrek and MacGyver’s Explorer…
and yet he was still surprised. He wasn’t sure who had arranged to deliver their vehicles—probably Tex, working with Wolf’s team—but he was grateful.
That was two days ago. After a visit to the doctor, he and Bree had holed up in his apartment. Truthfully, Smiley had needed the one-on-one time. They’d talked a lot. About what she’d been through, how Smiley had found her, and about what had happened there at the end.
Smiley had been afraid Bree would be emotionally damaged because of the violence, but she admitted she was a little worried about how okay she was with the way everything went down.
That led to a discussion of how he coped with some of the things he did on missions, and he’d arranged for a Zoom call for her with the psychologist he sometimes used after especially difficult deployments.
He’d spent the last two days pampering her, making sure she was eating healthy and drinking water constantly. Their phones had been exploding with voicemails, emails, and texts, but neither had been eager to do anything but soak in the other’s presence.
But it was time. Smiley noticed that Bree was already getting restless.
He wanted nothing more than to keep her to himself, to continue to hole up here in his apartment, hidden from the rest of the world, spoiling her, making sure she healed completely with no complications.
But his Bree was an extrovert. She needed to see Fiona and Julie, see for herself that they were okay.
Thank his teammates and Wolf’s team, who’d had a hand in finding her. And she desperately wanted to meet Tex.
Smiley knew the man was still in Southern California. He was giving Bree the time she needed to regain her equilibrium. Everyone was. They might be texting and emailing, but they were respecting their need for space by not knocking down his door.
“I thought we could go down to Aces this afternoon,” Smiley suggested.
The smile on her face when she whipped around to look at him was all the reassurance he needed that he was doing the right thing.
“Yes! I’d love that!” Bree said happily.
“You sure you feel up to it? You had that headache yesterday.” Even though he’d suggested the outing, all of a sudden, Smiley worried that it would be too much, too fast.
“Yes. But…are you okay with it?” Bree asked with a small frown.
They were sitting on the couch next to each other, and Smiley turned so he could see her more easily. He put a hand on her cheek. “I want what you want,” he told her.
“That’s not fair,” she protested.
“I love you, Bree Haynes. I made myself a promise while searching for you that if I found you, I’d spend the rest of my days bending over backward to give you the life you deserved. And you deserve to be surrounded by friends. Laughing. Living in the moment with joy.”
But Bree stubbornly shook her head. “Don’t you get it? I can’t live in any moment with joy if I’m worried about you. If you’re hating what we’re doing. If you’re miserable.”
“I will never, ever be miserable with you by my side. That sounds like a line, but it isn’t.
Seeing you happy, your smile, that makes me happy.
Makes me want to do everything in my power to keep putting that smile on your face.
If you want to eat out, we’ll eat out. If you want to go to a movie, we’ll go to a movie.
If you need some girl time, I’ll give you space to do what you need to do.
“We haven’t talked about our long-term future much, but I want to marry you, Bree. I want to grow old with you by my side. I want to go on vacations with you, babysit our friends’ kids, and laugh because they’re hyper when we send them home. And I want to spoil you.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she was smiling, so he didn’t panic.
“I want all that too. But only if I get to spoil you right back.”
“Deal. And you should know…” He paused.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Everyone’s gonna be there. At Aces.”
She giggled. “I assumed.”
“You still want to go?”
“Yes. Absolutely. We’ve holed up long enough. It’s time to get back to living. He’s not an issue anymore, right?”
Smiley knew exactly which he she was referring to.
“I’m sure. You know that I spoke to Tex when we got home and told him everything that went down.
He sent me a message this morning, after looking into the situation in Ecuador.
Castillo’s compound was raided. All the women found there were rescued.
They’re getting assistance from private women’s rights groups so they can get back on their feet.
Those who aren’t from Ecuador are being flown back to their countries, their families.
Castillo’s organization is done. You’re safe. I give you my promise on that.”
“It’s going to feel a little strange to not have to look over my shoulder all the time.”
“You’ll get used to it,” he told her firmly.
She gave him a small smile. “Have I told you today that I love you?”
“No,” Smiley said, giving her an exaggerated pout.
She giggled. “Whatever. I did too. After you made me that Tater Tot bacon cheesy casserole this morning. And when you helped me trim my hair so it wasn’t so uneven.”
“Hmmm, I don’t remember,” he teased.
Bree beamed. “This,” she said, the one word filled with emotion. “This is what I thought about when I was locked in those cages. Sitting here with you, teasing each other, feeling safe and loved.”
The reminder of what she’d been through, even the damn word “cage” brought so many visceral emotions to the surface. But Smiley tamped them down and concentrated instead on the feelings of love her words evoked. “I love you,” he whispered.
“It’s a good thing, because I think you’re stuck with me now,” she told him with another smile.
He leaned forward and kissed her. It was meant to be a short kiss to let her know how much he adored her, but it turned into something more. Deeper. Longer. Almost desperate.
Pulling back reluctantly, he ignored the whine of complaint from Bree. “When your ribs are completely healed, I’ll show you exactly how stuck with me you are,” he told her.
Bree pouted. “This sucks.”
It was Smiley’s turn to chuckle. “At least you don’t have to deal with this,” he said, nodding at his erection.
Bree reached for him as she said, “I can do something about that.”
But he caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “I can wait for you,” he told her. “I waited my whole life for you, I can wait a little longer.”
Her eyes widened. “That was so sweet. Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”
He huffed out a laugh.
Then Bree leaned closer and wrapped her arms around him. Smiley immediately shifted her until she was sitting across his lap. The position was much more comfortable for them both, and he could feel her warmth all along his body.
They sat like that for a few long minutes, both enjoying the closeness and comfort of being in each other’s arms. Then Bree lifted her head. “So…when are we going to Aces?”
Smiley chuckled again, realizing he’d laughed more in the last two days than he had in probably the last ten years. Bree had brought light into his otherwise dim life. It was a huge change, and one he didn’t hate.
Looking at his watch, he said nonchalantly, “Everyone will be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes!” Bree exclaimed, trying to leap off his lap.
But Smiley held on to her.
“Smiley! Let me go. I need to get ready!”
“You’re ready enough,” he told her.
But Bree rolled her eyes. “I need to change, figure out what to do with my crazy hair, put on some makeup to hide some of these bruises a little better. I’m not ready!”
He put a finger on her cheek and turned her head until he could rest his forehead against hers. “You’re perfect exactly how you are. And your friends will tell you the same thing.”
She stilled. “I don’t want them to look at me and feel sorry for me. Or remember all the bad things that happened. I want them to be happy for me. For us. That we’re together now without Mateo hanging over our heads.”
When she put it that way, Smiley understood. He nodded and straightened as he loosened his grip around her waist.
“I love that you think I’m fine exactly how I am though.”
“You’re more than fine,” Smiley said with conviction. “Go do what you need to do. I’ll let Wolf and Kevlar know we’ll be late. They can let everyone else know.”
“We aren’t going to be late,” Bree protested.
He simply smiled and nodded. They were totally going to be late.
But he didn’t care. And neither would their friends.
They were extremely anxious to see her. To see for themselves that she was all right after her ordeal.
And Fiona and Julie were apparently chomping at the bit to talk to her.
Smiley had managed to keep them from showing up on his doorstep, but it was time. All the women needed to be reunited.