“There’s nothing to talk about,” Charlie said. “You’re taking the job. End of discussion.”
“Not so fast.” He kissed her head. “If I take the job, we’ve got to talk about how to get you out there, too.”
“Me?” She looked up at him, confused. “They’re not going to make me an instructor and I’m not quitting.”
He crushed his mouth down on hers, his palms sliding up and down her body, his strong arms pulling her against him so tightly she could scarcely breathe, and the worries swimming in her head dissolved.
Drawing his lips back, he smiled at her. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and when we’re together, anything is possible. Have a little faith. In us.”
Epilogue
The sun was setting, taking the natural light with it. Charlie grabbed another box from the back of the portable moving container that had been shipped from San Diego, and strode out into the steamy Louisiana air. The day had been long and hot and muggy, and the air-conditioning in their new house was on the fritz. An HVAC repairman wouldn’t be able to come out for two days, and every time she turned around, it seemed like something else in the place had broken.
She’d be happier once the temperature dropped and Aiden came home from the Special Operations Group Tactical Center at Camp Beauregard.
Her new position there as a full-time SOG member assigned to one of the special teams didn’t start for another two weeks. But she had a month of unused leave.
This was giving them a chance to settle in and find their baseline before his twelve-hour training days started and she deployed on a mission. Thankfully, Aiden hadn’t fed into her worst fears and turned into a Neanderthal, demanding she not go out in the field without him. No, he was the best kind of man, a friend and partner. He trusted her to take care of herself.
Landing her a position so that they could be together had taken some finagling. Aiden told his supervisor that she was his fiancée, and since he didn’t want to be a liar, he had popped the question.
For Charlie, she didn’t need a ring or marriage or a piece of paper making things legal. She just needed Aiden. If going the traditional route kept them together, then she wasn’t going to argue over a piece of jewelry and signing a license.
A car door slammed, and she spun around on the stairs leading up to the wraparound porch.
Aiden climbed out of his SUV with a bright smile on his face, and every single awful thing about the day melted away. As he hustled over to her, she set the box of dishes down on the porch. He reached out for her and she fell into his arms.
She kissed him, hungry and impatient. Ready to take his clothes off and lose herself in the feel of him. In his breath, the taste of him, the smell of him. While unpacking, she’d thought of nothing but undressing him and christening another room in the house.
To her surprise, she heard a motorcycle drawing closer. A single beam of light sliced through the trees lining the driveway, and a motorcycle coasted around the corner. Not one that was fast enough to race a Ducati, but it sure did look cool. And as bikes went, it was quiet on the gravel driveway. The guy parked behind Aiden’s car, eased the kickstand in the down position and killed the engine.
“You didn’t tell me we were having company,” she said.
“It was a last-minute thing. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer.”
Her cell phone was in the kitchen on the counter, with music blasting. She must’ve been in the moving container when he called, and she hadn’t thought to check for any missed messages.
The little things didn’t come naturally, but Aiden cut her a lot of slack and encouraged her to do the same for herself.
They were in this together and would create rules that suited them. No need to talk of a wedding date until they were both ready. There wasn’t even pressure to buy a dog.
But checking her phone for missed calls would have to be added to the list of rules.
The man took off his helmet and raked a hand through close-cropped light brown hair.
Clean-shaven with a streamlined, muscular physique and tattoos running the length of his arms, he had a thuggish vibe that spelled trouble. In Charlie’s previous life, he would’ve been the perfect type for a one-night stand.
“Charlie, this is Horatio Haas. He works on one of the special teams.”
“Please, call me Dutch,” he said with an accent. Maybe from Chicago. He extended his hand.
Charlie shook it. “Why Dutch?” she asked.
“Why not when I’ve been saddled with a name like Horatio?” he said, and Charlie and Aiden both laughed. “In school, all the kids wanted to make fun of it, but once I started working out and calling myself Dutch, nobody tried to kick my butt.”
He had a formidable presence. Not the kind of guy you’d want to mess with unless you wanted a broken jaw.
“I can see why you brought him by,” Charlie said to Aiden.
“It’s not just for my sparkling personality,” Dutch said.
Aiden tightened his arm around her. “Your start date has been bumped up. You’re replacing Dutch on the Fugitive Apprehension Response Team day after tomorrow.”
Charlie was taken aback. Part of her was eager to get back to work, but the other part enjoyed these languid evenings with Aiden, neither of them on call, neither in any danger. “Why so suddenly?”
“I leave tomorrow,” Dutch said. “Special assignment undercover. I’ve read the file on the high-priority asset, but I have some questions that the file can’t answer. I was hoping you two could.”
“What does that have to do with us?” Charlie asked.
“It’s regarding the data breach in San Diego,” Dutch said. “We think we’ve found a way to possibly recover the Department of Justice hard drive that was stolen and prevent the sale of any more sensitive information. They want me to get close to the niece of the Los Chacales cartel leader. But I’ll be working for your old boss, Will Draper. What can you tell me about him?”
Charlie rolled her eyes and blew out a harsh breath. “Nothing good. The only person Draper cares about is Draper. Rely on your own judgment, not his.”
Aiden nodded. “This conversation is best done over drinks.”
Lots and lots of drinks. “And dinner. I’m not much of a cook,” Charlie said, “but I’m an expert at ordering good takeout.”
“Were you told why you have to rush off so quickly?” Aiden asked.
“They said this is high priority and time sensitive. Apparently, there’s a concern that the new identities of all the witnesses and the personal information of the marshals and their families in your region are going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.”