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“Next time I get to hold her, asshole. ”
“There’s not going to be a next time,” Jessa said, but even as the words breathed from her mouth, she settled her head on Cole’s chest and nuzzled him. “This was a one-time weakness on my part. Don’t expect it again. ”
Burke froze. After all the intimacies and genuine need they’d shared tonight, she was pulling away again?
Cole huffed, gritting his teeth. “We’ll see about that. ”
A deeply satisfied smile crossed her face. “Yes, we will. ”
Jessa didn’t stand a chance. Cole had thrown down the gauntlet. She could play stubborn all she liked, but they wouldn’t let her go. If they had to sleep on her doorstep, they would. But eventually, they would break down her resistance, and they would win. She’d shown them exactly how to win her back. Jessa craved their touch, but she couldn’t submit just her body. When she gave her body to them, she also gave her heart and her soul. And when they dominated her sexually, she flowered open like a plant reaching for the sunlight. She unfurled, took from them, then gave everything back.
Burke intended to treat her like the precious gift she was. She was the only woman in the world for them, and he and Cole would prove that they were worthy of her. That they wouldn’t let her down again. They couldn’t.
Cursing the cold, he padded across the carpeted floor to the small desk where his laptop had been downloading files from the hard drives Dex had brought them.
He grabbed his phone and laptop, then retreated to the bathroom so Jessa and Cole would have a little peace and quiet while he made the call. They had made a tactical error with Jessa several months before in allowing their shock and misery at the news of her marriage to overcome their good sense. They should have left Colombia immediately, handed Alea over to Rafe and Kade, and flown straight to New York. It was what they’d intended to do. The mission had taken far longer than expected. They’d gone to the office, meaning to have Hilary book tickets to New York, but she’d greeted them with that damn report. Jessa Wade had married. Jessa was happy with her new husband. She had moved from her aunt’s hotel in New York to a fabulous property in Virginia. She had moved on without them.
He and Cole should have camped on her doorstep and demanded an explanation. They should have trusted that she’d keep her promise to wait. They should have been willing to fight.
Too many people in his life had left him, whether through disinterest, discontent, or death. He’d learned to let go, but he hadn’t been able to let go of Jessa emotionally. Even after they had agreed to give Jessa the space to be happy with her husband, Burke had carried her in his heart.
It had known better than his brain. Never again would he let her go.
He winced as he tried to spread his equipment across the miniscule counter. God, he hoped the place they holed up in next had more space. Besides being tiny, the bathroom was cold.
He dialed Dex’s number as he pulled up the files he sought. He wanted to do a bit more digging before they spent hours on the road. Once they got to Louisiana, he would have plenty of time to comb over everything, but he wanted to see the original reports from the PI, see if he could make heads or tails of how long it had taken Marco Delgado to corrupt their investigator.
“This is Dex James. ” Dex’s voice was cautious, as though he didn’t want to give anything away.
“It’s Burke. ”
There was a long breath from the other end of the line. “Thank god. We’ve been worried. We expected you to call hours ago. ”
Hours ago he’d been buried deep inside Jessa. He didn’t feel bad about that in the least. “Something came up. We’re all still fine. We’re heading out in an hour or so. How’s my boy doing?”
It felt good to ask about Caleb. His son. When this was over, he would never be apart from his son again. He would make up for all the lost time. He would convince Jessa to have another baby. A brother or sister for Caleb.
“He’s good, Burke. He’s a great kid. I can tell he’s missing his momma, but he’s enjoying playing with our kiddos. Hannah’s feeding him dinner right now. ”
He remembered what Jessa had said earlier. Though he felt like an idiot, he asked the question. “Uhm, how’s his poop?”
Dex’s laugh made Burke pull the phone from his ear. “His bowels are fine, man. You tell Jessa that he’s still on schedule. And get used to it. You’re going to hear yourself saying things you’ve never before imagined would come out of your mouth. Your kids become your life. Don’t worry. I’m a dad, too. I can tell you, though, that one of the joys in my life has been sharing this family with my brothers. Spread the pain, man. I don’t know how couples do it. Kids are like little monkeys. They’re everywhere and into everything. I swear, one of us has to save Eli at least twice a day, and I’m sure the same will be true of his sister when she starts walking. ”
Burke knew he should be horrified, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to be there for Caleb and any other children he, Cole, and Jessa had in the future.
“Don’t worry about us here,” Dex continued. “We’ve hired extra security for the place. Round the clock. These guys are solid, man. There is no way Marco could get to them. I trust them with my family. ”
Burke breathed a sigh of relief. Marco had already proven he could get inside law enforcement. He’d even managed to pay off their private investigator. Burke was sure Marco knew about their ties to the James family. He had to trust Dex. The man and his brothers were putting their own kids in the line of fire to help Burke and Cole.
“Has anyone talked to the DA?” Burke asked. He didn’t hold out much hope, but if the DA had anything on the younger Delgado, it might slow the fucker down.
“Slade has been on the phone with him for hours. God, Burke, next time this shit happens can you keep it in Texas? We would have this shut down here. We don’t have the same pull in New York. Anyway, they’re willing to offer you witness protection. ”
Fuck, no. “I’ll pass. ”
“I wouldn’t let you go,” Dex admitted. “We know Marco Delgado has feds on the payroll. The DA seems solid, but I’m not going to turn you over to him. Even he didn’t recommend going into witness protection. Off the record, of course. He’s lost a witness in the last six months. She was connected to one of Delgado’s distributors. Look, I think he’s on the up and up, but he’s only one man. The cops are going through what’s left of Jessa’s house. It’s a mess. It’s going to take time. ”
That was what Marco was counting on. “Did they identify the body?”
Maybe the identity of the man Marco had sent to set those bombs would help.
“Not so easy in the charred remains. We’re going to need dental records. He couldn’t have been a higher-up in the organization. I don’t think Marco intended for him to get out of that house alive. He knew when your plane was coming in. He had to. He was waiting there. The cops found what appears to be the trigger device about a quarter of a mile from Jessa’s house. We think he was watching from the woods. With binoculars, he would have been able to see you coming. ”
“Yeah, we got that when he managed to call us just as we were fleeing the scene. ” Burke tried to juggle the phone and his laptop. “Did you manage to copy those files before you brought them to me?”
“Yes. That secretary of yours is a pit bull, by the way. ”
Hilary? She’d always been polite and spoken in soft Southern tones to him. She and Cole, had never gotten along, but he could be an ass, too. “Sorry if she gave you hell. I didn’t think to call her first. ”
“She was pissed off. And damn but she thinks you walk on water. The whole time I was packing up hard drives, she was telling me how you would beat the crap out of me when you found out how I had treated her. You got something going with her?”
“God, no. ” He wouldn’t touch her with a twelve-foot pole and a Hazmat suit. She was deeply competent, but the blonde did nothing for him p
hysically. “I’ve never thought of her as anything but an office manager. Look, I don’t know what’s up with her, but she’s just the woman who does my paperwork and books. ”
“I don’t think she sees it that way. ”
With a grimace, Burke grabbed the CD he’d made earlier of files from Hilary’s computer so he could transfer them to his and compare. He needed to keep searching, see what other weaknesses in their security he and Cole might have that Marco could exploit. He popped open the drive. “Seriously, man. She handles my travel and—”
Fuck. Lying there, small, black, deadly was a little tracking device. He knew what it was the instant he saw it. “Goddamn it. ”
“She knew when your plane was coming in, didn’t she?”
“Yeah,” he said, his mind racing. “We booked the flight from Medellin to Mexico City on our own, but she worked a miracle to get us on the flight to Dulles. It was full. I’m now wondering if Delgado helped her manage that. ” Maybe the PI hadn’t been the only one on Marco’s payroll.
Dex was quiet for a moment. “She was particularly upset that I took her hard drive, but by then she knew I wouldn’t take no for an answer. ”
“You didn’t insert a tracking device in my computer’s DVD drive, did you?” Burke doubted it, but just in case…
“No. Why would I?”
“That’s what I thought. Hang on. ”
He cursed as he raced to retrieve her computer. Quickly, he booted it up and retrieved her e-mails. She was meticulous. She kept everything. Every freaking e-mail. There were thousands. He typed the private investigator’s name into the search function and finally had what he wanted. The original reports from the PI.
He cursed. “Fuck me, Dex. Hilary is our Judas. I gotta talk to my brother. ”
They were in way deeper shit than even he’d imagined.
* * * *
Cole sighed. He didn’t want to get up, but the sun was just about to slip under the horizon for the day. Time to leave soon. Jessa lay on his chest, her soft breaths making a rhythm he found soothing. She was here in his arms. It was a fucking miracle.
“Baby,” he whispered, his hands tracing her curves. Her skin was so damn soft. “We have to get ready to go. We have a long drive ahead of us. ”
She groaned, sounding drowsy and sleep-soft. “Don’t want to. Cold outside. ”
He chuckled. She was so much easier to deal with after ten or so orgasms. He made a mental note. When Jessa got difficult, he would simply tie her down and make her come until she purred like a kitten and wrapped herself around him.
“I would do just about anything if we could stay right here. ” He meant it. He’d give anything for the danger to be over, for his worst problem to be figuring out how to change Caleb’s diapers. He knew their son liked rice cereal, and that Jessa had just started him on mashed banana. She’d also told him that he liked to get both everywhere. The thought of their son made his heart twist.
Caleb was the expression of their love for Jessa. Cole wouldn’t take him back for anything. He would endure every minute of pain and isolation again for a single shot at knowing his boy and loving Jessa.
Jessa sat up in bed, the sheet coming down, and her breasts were on display for a moment. His cock hardened again. He wouldn’t ever stop wanting her. All she had to do was be in the same room and he was hard and ready to mount her. His mate.
She rubbed at her eyes, then finally seemed to realize that she was naked. She pulled the sheet up. “Do you mind?”
She wanted to play modest now? Ain’t happening. “Yeah, I mind that you covered them. ”
She shot him a look that was probably designed to kill, but he didn’t let it affect him. “Cole, I’d like to get dressed. ”
“Then you should, I suppose. Baby, I’m not leaving the room. Nor will I turn away and pretend I didn’t spend the last several hours with my cock inside your pretty ass. ”
“God, that was rude!”
He smiled, the very act lifting his spirits. “No, it was amazing. You have got the tightest little backside I’ve ever fucked. ”
Cool green eyes rolled. “Not exactly a compliment, Cole. ”
He shrugged. He’d thought it was. “Well, I wasn’t going to put it on a bumper sticker or anything. Unless you want. Or a T-shirt. That might be nice. ”
Jessa shook her head, and her laughter was beautiful to Cole’s ears. She hadn’t laughed once since they’d pulled her from her big Victorian house. He could certainly see why she hadn’t, but he wanted her to laugh now. He wanted to fill her life with it.
She turned, her hair covering half her face, making her look like a siren. “Burke would tell me how beautiful my eyes are. But not Cole. No. You discuss the elasticity of my anus. What the hell am I going to do with you?”