“Okay, baby, time for your massage.”
She glanced down at his erection. “Your not-so-little buddy has something else in mind.”
“My buddy didn’t take out three terrorists tonight, so he’s gonna have to stand down.”
“He’s standing alright,” she said with a laugh.
There was something magical about being with him. Something so special that her heart felt complete.
“Turn around,” he said. “I’ll start with your shoulders.”
He placed a pillow between them, and she leaned back. Strong hands stripped away the tension as she tried releasing the day’s events.
But the kills stayed with her. They clung like a virus until the next one… and the one after that.
“You’re super tight,” he said. “Talk to me.”
“I’m always like this after a mission. My professional self is a total baddie. But the ten-year-old in me is still traumatized by the death of Bree and her dad. I still see their bloody bodies. Her terrified expression haunts my dreams.”
He continued rubbing, staying quiet for a long moment.
When he broke the silence, he said, “Life is a gift from God. That’s what Elsa would say. My grandfather told me about his eighty-twenty rule. Eighty-percent of humans are good. They might tell white lies, they might fudge the truth to make themselves appear smarter or more important, but they’re basically good. My grandfather told me it’s like opening a carton of eggs. If one is damaged, we focus on that one, rather than the eleven good ones. He said twenty-percent of people are evil. He said that Satan’s helpers are an army of many.”
That’s intense.
“How old were you when he told you that?”
He continued massaging her shoulders, and she released a sigh. “There you go. My girl is starting to relax.” After a second, he said, “I was thirteen. He sat me down and talked to me after Greystone ran away. I was pretty wrecked. We all were.”
“Did your grandfather think Greystone was one of the eighty or the twenty?”
“He never said,” Tank replied. “He was angry Greystone left, but I saw him crying once. I think beneath that anger was great sadness. He’d be proud of what Greystone and all my brothers have accomplished.”
“He’d be proud of you too, you know.”
“Maybe,” Tank said. “Okay, angel, roll onto your stomach so I can massage your back.”
She moved beside him, slid her arms beneath the pillow, and peered up at him. “I’m getting spoiled so good.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, leaned down and dropped several worshipful kisses on her shoulder. “I will always put you first.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I want to be there for you and always take care of my man.”
He pumped lotion into his hand, started rubbing her back. “You already are, Sydney.”
She melted as he massaged away her aches. When he finished, she rolled toward him. “I love your big man hands, especially when they’re onme.”
“I want to do something for you,” he said. “Something that only I can do.”
She pushed onto her elbow. “What?”
“I want to give you a happy ending.”
She smiled at him. “What about yours?”
