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“I don’t think so. I’d tried for over a year. And got nowhere. So, thank you for forcing me to accept help. For making me trust you. You could have walked away.” She cupped my jaw.
“Lee, from the moment I saw you at that cursed gala, I’ve been chasing you. And I’m not the kind of man that gives up.” And before her, I wasn’t the kind of man that chased a woman. My prior relationships had been easy and convenient. I never fought for them. I think that was why they ended. I took them for granted. With Lee, it was the opposite. I was grateful for every moment.
“Thank you for not giving up.”
“Anything for you.” I turned my head and kissed the center of her palm. The engines roared, and the plane thundered down the runway.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, breathing meditation style, even and deep. Small, worried wrinkles marred her normally unlined forehead. I wanted to smooth them.
The jet lifted into the air, and Onyx pushed his head under Lee’s hand, yawning nervously. He wedged himself right next to her legs; she stroked his head. I laid my hand on the small strip of bare skin above her knee and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
I examined my split knuckles. I’d cut them open on Tony’s face; the scabs were healing nicely. Steel and I had enjoyed scooping him up. We’d waited for him by his Camaro in the parking lot of the shitty old casino where they played jai alai. After the debate about stun guns, we went old school. I walked up and punched him in the jaw. He’d gone down like a sack of bricks. We tossed a black bag over his head, zip-tied his hands and ankles, then chucked him on the floor of the surveillance van. Three minutes in and out. He had woken up screaming about how important he was. Steel kicked him in the ribs to shut him up. Good times.
We’d left him in the cell next to the firing range at the office. Everyone made time to take unnecessary target practice over the last two days. The echoing gunfire added to theambianceof the stark prison-like cell.
Sydney had been working on Tony, too. She might call herself a negotiator, but interrogator would have been a fitting title as well. She’d squeezed every drop of information out of him that we needed.
Lee’s eyes fluttered open as the plane evened out. “You really mean it. You’d do anything for me, wouldn’t you?”
“I’ve put my job on the line. Kidnapped your ex-husband. And intervened on your behalf in a police murder investigation. That was all in the last week.” I shrugged. “So yeah, pretty much anything.”
“Why?” Her dark eyes were ready to overflow with tears. It gutted me down to my soul. Did she not see how much I wanted her, needed her? How incredible she was?
“Because.” I paused. There were other things I should say first. Things about Ray’s death. But not now. She had to understand I was all in. I was on her side one hundred percent. We were flying toward what could be a very dangerous situation. This might be my last chance. Waiting for the perfect moment was ridiculous. Waiting was for men who weren’t sure. I was sure.
“I love you, Lee.”
Her eyes closed, and when they opened, a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She leaned closer until our foreheads touched. The engine noise shrouded us in our own world, even on a plane with four other people. Her hands closed around my face, and she pulled back enough that I could see her wide, beautiful smile.
“I don’t understand why you want me.” Her words tumbled out at the end of a watery chuckle. “But I’m not letting you go. I love you too.” She cocked her head as our lips touched. The kiss was a tender thing. No tongue. No ravishing or biting or thrusting. Only small savoring sips and delicate touches. Her hand cradled my jaw, and I smoothed her silky black hair down her back.
When we broke apart, I pressed her head to me. She murmured my name and pressed a kiss to the center of my chest. My heart crashed against my ribs as the reality of my confession settled around me. This had been the right time. I loved her and she needed to know. Her telling me the same eased the anxiety that had been brewing since I’d first realized how essential Lee was to my happiness.
I would do anything for this woman. Anything. And depending on how our appointment with Uncle Jimmy went, I might have to prove it sooner than later.
“Poker?” Noah asked, leaning over from the next row of seats, breaking our bubble.
Lee looked up at him, blinking like she had just woken up. “I think a distraction would be good. Yeah, I could play some poker.” She tangled her hand in mine and started dragging me over to where Noah was getting ready to deal in John, Steel, and Damon.
As we moved down the aisle, she shot a glance over her shoulder at me that brimmed with a hundred emotions: lust, love, excitement, fear. I’d have killed to have time alone with her. After the conversation we’d had, I wanted more. I wished we were on one of those fancy billionaire-style planes with an enormous bed where I could show her just how much I loved every inch of her. And then hold her in my arms, our naked bodies sealed together while we relaxed under silk sheets.
I ran a hand over my short, cropped hair and reminded myself of the situation. My primitive desire to claim her body would have to wait.
“I’m in. What are we playing for? None of that bragging rights bullshit like last time,” I said as we joined the rest of the crew around the table at the rear of the jet.
“I got this.” Noah reached into a black bag under his seat and pulled out a gallon plastic bag of loose change. He held the bag out to Lee. “Everyone gets two handfuls. Ladies first.”
Lee half stood and leaned across the table, giving me a delicious view of her round ass as she dug for her stake with both hands.
I smothered a groan. The only handfuls I was interested in were handfuls of Lee’s ass. It was going to be a long, frustrating flight. And at the end, we had to deal with Jimmy Delgatto. None of this was romantic. She deserved flowers and champagne along with her I love you’s.
Chapter 42
Lee
Thesmallplanetoucheddown in the middle of the woods at a private airstrip. This trip felt like the kind where no flight plan existed and there wouldn’t be an official record. Smith chose not to elaborate when I asked if Homeland was paying for our flight.
The nerves I’d been able to ignore while playing poker reappeared as soon as Derek, Steel, Noah, and Damon had started getting ready for landing. The men were in full combat gear with an impressive arsenal strapped to their bodies. In addition, there was more firepower waiting to be unearthed from the hold. Derek had been meticulously planning for every eventuality. I wasn’t sure if it made me feel better or freaked me out.
