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“Nice try, Ace. As soon as we have a few hours to ourselves, that sweet little ass is all mine. In every possible way.”
A shiver wracked her body but didn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. “Yes, Daddy. I’m yours. Always.”
Epilogue
TWO WEEKS LATER
They really needed a new spot.
Sitting in the coffee shop where he’d first met up with Cole to discuss Mina’s security needs, Cyrus would swear to all the gods that he couldfeelthe weight of everyone staring at him. Maybe they were and maybe they weren’t but considering his face had been plastered all over every tv and computer screen across the country nonstop for the past two weeks, it didn’t seem paranoid to think people might have recognized him.
Some of the unease lifted when Cole walked through the door and joined him at his table. Perhaps it was selfish, but having the other man there gave him something of a buffer between himself and curious onlookers.
It didn’t hurt that Cole had a presence about him that seemed to discourage people from approaching them, something Cyrus himself lacked. Though he knew Cole would scoff at it, Cyrus couldn’t help but think it was the Scorpio in him that gave him that aura of “Don’t fuck with me”, where Cyrus was cursed with the open, friendly charm of a Libra. And since they were both Supremes of their respective signs, those traits were amplified times a hundred it seemed.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Cole quipped as he dropped onto a chair opposite Cyrus. “You look like you’re trying to figure out the meaning of life.”
“Nothing quite so deep, I’m afraid. Just making plans for when I get back home to Mina.”
Cole smiled, sly and knowing. “Yeah? So…things are good, then?”
“Excellent. I can’t imagine life without her.”
“You always were the romantic one,” Cole said, and though his voice was light, there was a tightness to it that hinted at something rippling beneath the surface.
Curious now, Cyrus tilted his head, studying his friend. “What about you? Anyone special in your life?”
“Well, I infiltrated an underground sex ring and bought my ex-wife at an auction, so she’s back in the picture.”
Rolling his eyes, Cyrus sipped at his coffee. “If you don’t want to talk about your love life, you can just say that, you know.”
“Hmmm. How are things with the Guild?”
“Good, I suppose. I met with some of the heads from the other countries last week. It’s different, but interesting. Honestly, I think it’ll be a nice change from being ADA.”
Leaning back in his chair, Cole raised an eyebrow. “You trying to convince me or yourself?”
“A bit of both, I suppose.”
He missed being a prosecutor like he might miss his own limbs. It was all he’d ever wanted and stepping down had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. Harder even than going on live television and outing his own family as career criminals, harder than working with the FBI to put them behind bars. They were out, for now, on their own recognizance and as much as it pissed him off, he had to have faith that the feds had a rock-solid case. Thank the gods for Mina and the Guild. Both had given him purpose, in their own way, after he’d handed in his resignation over Maggie’s rather vociferous objections.
“For what it’s worth, I admire the fuck out of you. Not many would put the needs of everyone else ahead of their own ambitions. You’re a good man, Cy.”
“Am I?” Meeting Cole’s questioning gaze head on, Cyrus shrugged. “I know I did the right thing by turning my family in, but… it feels like too little, too late. Look at what they did to you. Maybe if I’d stood up to them then, if I’d gone to the cops—”
Cole raised a hand, cutting him off. “First of all, that’s ancient history. And as shitty as it was, the military was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“That doesn’t excuse—”
“Let me finish. Second of all, you were seventeen fucking years old, Cy. If you’d gone to the cops, you would have ended up dead. Hell, you still could, which is why you’ve still got my men hanging around. Third of all, instead of just going along with what they wanted, you gave them the ultimate middle finger by becoming a prosecutor.” Cole snorted and shook his head. “Should have stood up to them. You dumbass, you’ve been standing up to them for years. And if you think for one second I hold anything that happened when we were kids against you, then you’re even dumber than I remember.”
“I…thank you?”
“Don’t mention it.” Slapping a hand on the table, Cole pushed to his feet. “I gotta get going, but we should do dinner. Or something. I dunno, whatever friends do that doesn’t involve getting shot at and running for your life from psycho family members.”
“Dinner it is. You can bring the wife,” Cyrus teased.
“Ex-wife. Maybe.” Cole’s grin flashed, sharp and wicked. “If she’s a good girl.”
