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“It’s still hard to believe, you know?” she said as she leaned back in her chair.
“Yeah. Cross was a surprise. We’d eliminated him. Figured Manu for being the tech mastermind behind everything.”
“And he was. Ainsley was just too loyal, I guess. He cut Cross in on the deal so that they could both make money.” She grabbed another fry off his plate. “I think Ainsley wanted to be close to the limelight, and the only way that was going to happen for him was if he stuck with Cross. The higher Cross went, the better it was for Ainsley.”
“And then he pulled Cross down with him.” Dane took a swig of his beer. “The whole thing was freaking audacious. Casper found out Owens was smuggling drugs, and telling Ainsley about it was what gave Ainsley the idea. He approached some cousin of his, a guy named, Bob Thornton, because he mentioned at last years’ Thanksgiving how easy it would be to steal the stuff. Apparently Thorton worked in the Naval depot at San Diego. When Sinclair was on to their set up, then Ainsley brought in Manu to reroute the stuff and then remove it from the system. It all worked beautifully until they went for the motherboards.”
“What I don’t understand is how Weston got involved.”
“No one does, and he’s not talking. They suspect that Ainsley or Cross or maybe both approached him, knowing he needed a lot of money for his re-election campaign.”
“Scary though, isn’t it? We’re all at the mercy of the moral compass of those in government.”
He snorted. “That’s enough to keep me up at night.” Dane pushed his fries toward Mac. “I don’t know why you ordered a salad if you wanted fries.”
“Because sometimes I don’t know what I want until it’s in front of my face.” She gazed into his eyes.
“Why do I get the feeling that we’re not talking about French fries anymore?”
Mac’s lips turned down. “I owe you an apology.”
“You saved my life, so I think we’re even.”
She pushed away her plate and leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. “No. I panicked after the last time we were together. I knew I was starting to care about you, and I guess I just couldn’t take anything else going wrong. I was thinking it was better to cut ties before everything blew up in my face. It would hurt less.”
“I get that. I might’ve had a similar thought or two.”
She gave him a half smile. “But I have since realized that if I didn’t have you in my life, I’d be missing out on something pretty special. There’s always going to be a bit of a bumpy road ahead since we work in the same place, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.” There, she’d laid it all out for him. Her pulse ticked up wildly and her stomach rolled as she waited for his response. Would he take her up on her offer, or was it too late?
“When Ainsley held you hostage, I realized that every day I would be terrified watching you go to work. The fact that your job has moments when it’s damn dangerous is a tough one to swallow. I want to always be there to protect you.” He immediately held up his hands. “Not that you need my protection. You’ve shown again and again how tough and resilient you are. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep you safe. It’s just a lot.”
“I see.” So he was opting out. The fries she’d just gobbled soured in her stomach.
“But, not having you in my life would be much harder to take.” He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, pulling her from her chair as he stood up and came around the table. “Mac, I would so much rather see your face every day than live without you. I know you decided to stay on Oahu, and I would love it if you’d give us a chance.”
Fighting tears of relief, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think that can be arranged. How would you like a roommate for a few weeks until I find a new place?”
He paused. “Well, I’ll have to ask my other roommate. He’s quite fussy.”
She grinned. “I already spoke with Beans. He says it’s fine as long as I feed him treats.”
“Then I guess we’re good.” With that, he leaned down and sealed his lips, and his fate, to hers with a searing kiss.
The End
