“We’ll deal with her. She’s not going anywhere for a long time.”
“You may think you’re winning, but you’ll never stop it. Someone will replace me and what I do,” Cynthia sneered at them.
Ox didn’t bother answering, he just bent and hauled her to her feet and marched her out the door.
Jag wasn’t sad to see the back of her, and the way Steff sagged against him, it was clear she felt the same way. “Ready to blow this joint?”
“Are you going to blow it up, because I would be totally okay with that?” Steff said with a shudder.
He chuckled. “Nothing that drastic, I think the cops and Feds might like to survey everything.”
“Not sure they’ll find anything.”
“I don’t either, but they need to do it.” He led her toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice.”
How she could have a sense of humor after all she’d been through, only showed Jag how strong his girl was. There might be some setbacks, but he didn’t think so.
Steff was much stronger now than she had been when they first met. He’d loved her then and he loved her even more now.
Epilogue
Steff breathedin the salty scented air and closed her eyes, squeezing Dalton’s hand. She’d asked to go to the beach for a picnic dinner. She was living in the moment after her freedom had almost been taken from her again.
She flicked her eyes open, squinting behind her sunglasses at the setting sun. Another day over, and one further away from her ordeal.
Her meeting with the FBI at Alliez’s office hadn’t been as bad as she thought it was going to be. It could’ve been because of having Dalton at her side the whole time. Or it could’ve been because the agent with Julian, Rowan Harper, had been super friendly and understanding. Although she hadn’t looked happy to see Fox, and neither had he when he saw her.
The man was hurting because of what Cynthia had done, and he hated everything and everyone. Well mostly everyone, he didn’t hate his teammates, but they were giving him a wide berth. Dalton was worried about him, and was going to give him a couple more days before he went and saw him and really talked to him. Everyone had been letting him process what had happened. Looked like that was a bad thing though, as he was getting more and more closed off.
Rowan believed after what had gone down, and how they’d been able to round up a lot of Viktor’s soldiers, the Russian mobster was going to lie low for a bit, and keep himself and his business dealings solely in Russia. Through their sources, they’d heard he’d denied any association with Cynthia, and what she claimed she did for him.
Everyone knew it was bullshit, but if he stayed away from the United States and didn’t take any unsuspecting women off the street, they’d take it.
She and Dalton had talked, and he believed, like she did, the mobster would resurface after enough time had passed. When he did, they would be ready for him.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Dalton slung an arm around her and pulled her tight against him. She loved it when he did that.
She loved him, and both of them told each other numerous times during the day how they felt.
“Life. Love. The past. You.” Not surprisingly, she’d had a couple of bad nights, but Dalton had been there and had helped her through. For the time being, she was going to her therapist twice a week to work through Cynthia’s betrayal.
Dalton nodded. “I don’t care how many times you need to talk about it, I’ll listen. I’ll hold you. If you want to punch something, I’ll take you to the gym and you can take it out on a punching bag.”
She smiled. “I know you will, and I’m getting better. Talking with Donelle is helping a lot. Waking up with you every morning helps too. I love you, Dalton.”
“I love you, too. And waking up with you is the best part of my day.”
“The best, huh? What about the rest?” She plucked at the button of his shirt, a wave of desire crashing into her like the waves on the sand. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be at the beach.She wanted to be at his apartment. In his bed, with Dalton taking possession of her.
“Every part of my day is the best, because I have you.” His voice was husky, and she didn’t miss his hard length jutting against her side. “How about we take this picnic home?”
“I like that idea a lot.” She pressed her lips against his, and Dalton deepened the kiss.
When she’d summoned the strength to go to Teresa’s place for Angelica’s birthday, she’d had no idea it would lead to her finding the love of her life.
Fox drummedhis fingers on the metal table as he waited for the gray door in front of him to open. Anger simmered below the surface, a constant friend now. No matter how much he wanted to let it out, to destroy everything around him, he kept it locked down. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to do it, but he’d find a way to not release it.
