“Save it, Mac. I’m sick to death of hearing that. I understand you needed me to not go alone to investigate, but with all of you around, I should’ve been involved.”
“Not this time. Like I said, it would depend on the case. This one got bigger fast. I’m sorry. We were going to tell you everything when we got back from these security jobs. And give Dex a break. He loves you. He has for a long time now.”
Her gaze shot to the man standing quietly by the bed.
“It’s true,” he admitted, lifting a hand to touch her face, but she shifted out of his reach.
She was too angry, too hurt to feel his touch, or deal with that admission. “That’s not the point.”
“It’s exactly the point.” Dex frowned down at her, gaze determined, jaw tight. “There’s no way I’m going to let anything happen to you. I was torn. I wanted to tell you, but the thought that you could get caught in gunfire made up my mind. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
Her stomach pitched as she jumped to her feet, dropping the phone on the bed. “No. Don’t bother. That’s exactly what I was afraid of. Exactly what I don’t want. You knew that, Dex.”
“Look, Rylee, I’m sorry,” Mac said again. “I had to make an executive decision, and I chose to keep my rookie investigator safe. I’m sorry. I’ve got to go. We’ll all sit down and discuss this when we get back from Houston and Dallas.”
“Fine.” It was making her nauseous anyway. She blew out a breath and talked herself out of throwing up.
Dex grabbed his phone off the bed and ended the call. “Rylee…”
She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I can’t talk right now.” Too hurt and betrayed, she would have no censor on what came out of her mouth. She needed time to process things. Figure out if she was overreacting or underreacting. She opened her eyes and held his gaze. “I think you should leave.”
And without waiting for his reply, she walked to her bathroom and shut herself inside. Rylee knew she was about to have a wicked cry, and she wasn’t about to let anyone talk her out of it.
Chapter Twelve
As Dex sat in the ESI conference room with Carter and Cooper on Thursday evening waiting for Mac to show up with Rylee, he could hardly believe how quickly his road in heaven had taken a turn to hell.
That lead he’d stumbled upon had happened after she’d gone home on Monday to hash things out with Gabe. He knew how important that talk was to her, so he’d never even considered interrupting it, because he’d had an epiphany about the damn app Ross kept pushing at the retreat.
And even though he never expected for her to be kept out of the loop, he never thought things would’ve gotten so out of hand that he would inadvertently hurt her again.
He clenched his jaw and rode out the wave of anger directed at himself. He wasn’t good at this. She deserved someone who knew what the hell he was doing. Knew how a relationship was supposed to work. He didn’t remember his parents together. His dad had died when Dex was four. So, there had been no relationship role model while he was growing up. And he’d had nothing in his adult life that even closely resembled a relationship with a woman.
“Hang in there,” Cooper said, with a slap to his back.
“Yeah.” Carter nodded next to him. “You two are meant to be. It’ll work out. If I was able to salvage my screw-up with Mel, you’re more than a shoo-in with Rylee.”
He shrugged. The guy had been secretly surveilling Mel, who’d had trust issues. Hope flickered in his dormant heart. It was true, those two did manage to fix things. But, he wasn’t sure he wanted to, given his cluelessness. Who’s to say he wouldn’t screw up again and again, thinking he was doing the right thing, when it actually hurt Rylee? Hell, her family was guilty of it her whole life and he didn’t want to be in that category.
“Okay,” Mac said, walking into the room behind a pale, quiet Rylee. “Let’s get everything out in the open.”
Dex’s heart lurched. Shit. What had he done to her?
“How about I tell you everything I know?” Mac asked Rylee, who had taken the seat across the table from Dex.
She nodded, but remained quiet.
Mac told her about the app and how Carter had discovered some dark web activity.
Her brows rose on that one.
“That was when I knew I couldn’t let you proceed any further, Rylee,” Mac said. “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t expose you to that, especially on your first case. Your research was invaluable.”
“And your hunch about the retreat,” Dex said, wanting her to know she had good instincts. “Ross was meeting with a contact who moonlighted at the bar. Every time he disappeared to book excursions for the retreat clients, he would meet his contact and pass along information from an organization that paid good money for people’s identities.
“So he was matching buyers with sellers?” she asked, her gaze thoughtful.
Dex nodded. “Yes.”
“And Julian? Is he involved?”
“No. Ross was using the business as a front.”
“He’d book locations that he needed to visit, and Julian had no clue,” Mac said, then went on to tell her about the takedown the guys had assisted in.
Not Dex. He’d been with Rylee that night. Not to keep her safe. But because that’s where he’d wanted to be.
“Did you know?” she asked him. “Did you know they were going after Ross the night you were at my house?”
He shook his head. “No. I knew it was this week, but not when.”
“We were all just waiting for the call from the Feds,” Mac said. “Dex didn’t deliberately deceive you, Rylee.”
She swallowed but didn’t say anything. Not even a nod.
He hadn’t known about the takedown until she’d found the texts. He’d already made that clear. He wasn’t sure what else he could say to remove the hurt from her eyes.
“Where does this leave me as far as investigating for ESI?” Rylee asked.
Mac frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Are you going to randomly let me investigate, then decide to keep me in the dark if it turns out that investigation leads to dangerous people?”
Dex’s heart beat hard against his ribs at the thought of her following a case through from start to finish where there were criminals shooting at her.
“No.” Mac straightened in his chair. “I realize now that was wrong. I should never have let you start in the first place without the proper training.”
“So…?”
“So, if you’d like to investigate, I’d love to have you on our team. But you will be sent to a training school a military buddy of ours runs up in central Texas.” Mac smiled. “You interested?”
For the first time since she’d found that stupid text, Rylee smiled and it reached her eyes, turning them a vivid green. “Yes. I definitely am. Thank you, Mac, for believing in me.”
“Thank you for not kicking my sorry ass for not doing this the right way in the first place,” Mac said. “I should’ve listened to Dex.”
Her gaze shot to him and she blinked. He had no idea where Mac was going with this, so all he could do was sit there and stare back at her.
“Dex wanted you to know everything from the beginning. He did not want to follow my orders to investigate the hard stuff without you. So, it’s like I told you on the phone Monday night, don’t be mad at him. It was all me.”
Her gaze returned to him again, and this time it was a little more thoughtful than pain-filled. That shaft of hope skittered through his chest again.
She stood up and nodded at everyone. “Thank you for filling me in. And for promising to never keep me in the dark again. I uh, have something I need to do.” Her gaze flicked to him before settling on Mac. “Is it okay if I go? You were done, right?”
Mac nodded and rose to his feet. “Yes. We’re done. Go ahead. We’re pretty beat anyway. Been a long week away.”
“Thanks.” She smiled. “See you in the morning.”
Befo
re he even had the chance to nod, she was out the door.
“I think that went well,” Carter said, once again slapping his shoulder.
He wasn’t so sure.
“I agree.” Cooper nodded.
“Yeah.” Mac smiled. “She didn’t quit.”
True. He’d stressed over that possibility the whole week. Wondering if she’d hand in her resignation and move back to California. His stomach had been a tight knot for the past three days.
“Give her time,” Mac said. “She has a lot to process, but if she had already made up her mind to leave, she would’ve. I’m betting you’re golden.”
Cooper nodded. “The real question is, how would you bet, Carter?”
Carter grinned. “I’d bet on Dex.”
God, he hoped the guy didn’t pick this time to be wrong.
***
It had taken Rylee two days of research, dead ends, more leads, more dead ends, until she’d hit pay dirt. During that time, she’d done some soul-searching. Turned out, she may have overreacted a little bit on Monday night. But in her defense, she hadn’t had all the facts to form a water-tight conclusion about Dex.
But after all she’d discovered this week, she knew he only ever had her back. Even if it meant he wanted her safe.
It felt good to know she hadn’t been wrong about the retreat, but God, it felt amazing to know she hadn’t been wrong about Dex. He truly cared about her and wanted her to be happy. Guilt clawed her insides at making him suffer this week. But until last night at the meeting, she honestly hadn’t been a hundred percent certain she could trust her instincts, especially about him.
But she was now.
And he had only ever had her back. So she needed to make a big gesture to show him how much she cared about him and appreciated him.
She’d called in a few favors, and today was the day she got to pay Dex back for all his support.
“You ready?” Mel grinned at her as they returned from Shadow Rock Animal Shelter and parked in the alley between the strip mall and ESI headquarters. “They said Dex is still here. He’s going to love this surprise. Text me when you’re ready for us to come in.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and got out of the car, her mind already on the man inside the building in front of her. With another deep breath, she entered the garage and walked over to Dex, who was tinkering with something on the workbench. “Hi.”
Not brilliant, but it got his attention. He turned around, and the hope that flickered through his eyes gave her the courage to put her plan in motion.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.” He set down the part and walked over, wiping his palms on his jeans as he neared. “Is everything okay?”
She swallowed as a rush of emotion hit like a fist to the face. “Not really. It depends.”
His frown deepened. “On what?”
“On whether you can forgive me for not trusting you.”
“God, Rylee, of course,” he said, his voice full of the emotion, deepening the brown of his eyes.
“I don’t deserve it, but thank you.”
He stepped close to lightly run his thumb over her cheek. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was me. I knew keeping things from you wasn’t good, but I kept telling myself I was just doing what I was told. And we all just want you safe.”
“I know.” She nodded, reaching up to touch his face too. “I’m sorry.”
He cupped her face and set his forehead to hers. “Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re actually going to keep me in your life and not boot me to the curb.”
She sighed. “Never.” Then drew back to hold his gaze. “You are my life. You make me happy. Make me whole. I don’t want to be without you, either.”
He sucked in a breath. “You are everything good that was missing in my life.”
Her heart squeezed. “You are everything to me, too.”
“You own my heart.” He lowered his face to hers until they shared a breath. “You are my heart.”
Then he was kissing her, long and sweet, with the same intense feelings rushing through her. With everything he had. Everything she’d ever wanted. And now it was time to give him something above and beyond, too.
She broke the kiss, then pulled out her phone to text Mel. “It’s time you realize how much you mean to me. How much your support means to me. I don’t think I could ever give you what you’ve given me. Breaking that bubble my family erected.”
After her heart-to-heart with her brother, Rylee’d had some long Facetime phone calls with her family, and she was very happy that they were all actually on the same page for once.
“I could never make that up to you. But…” She left him to meet Mel at the door, then took the large cage from her friend and carefully carried it over to set it in front of a wide-eyed Dex. “I hope this will make up for some of it.”
“I…how?” He blinked again, moving closer to peer at the cockatoo ruffling her feathers. “Marilyn? No way? How’d you find her?”
“That’s Monroe to you,” the bird said. “Want water. Who’s on first?”
Rylee grinned. “I did some research and Mel helped with her network of rehoming shelters. It took surprisingly little time to discover this sweetheart had been living in a pet shop in Phoenix.”
“Unbelievable.” He blinked. “Remember me? MM. You won’t have to worry about rehoming anymore. No more upheaval. You’re done moving. You’re with me for life.” He straightened and strode right to her. “I hope that goes for you, too, Rylee. God, I love you. Do you have any idea how much?”
Tears blurred her eyes as she worked past the lump forming in her throat. “Yes, I see it whenever you look at me. Like now. And I love you, too.”
Then Dex was kissing her again, long and sweet, with his whole heart, and as Rylee kissed him with her whole heart in return, Marilyn started to make kissy, kissy sounds behind them.
If you enjoyed Dex, please consider leaving a review. Thank you.
Get ready for the next HC Hero to find his match!
Gabe
You can Pre-Order HERE
Visit www.DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com to check out all her books.
Sign up HERE for her Newsletter and enjoy a FREE book, exclusive reads, enter subscriber only contests, and be the first to know about upcoming books!
Also by Donna Michaels
~HC Heroes Series~
(Harland County Spinoff Series)
Mac
Carter
Dex
Gabe (coming soon)
~Harland County Series~
Harland County Christmas (Prequel)
Her Fated Cowboy
Her Unbridled Cowboy
Her Uniform Cowboy
Her Forever Cowboy
Her Healing Cowboy
Her Volunteer Cowboy
Her Indulgent Cowboy
Her Hell Yeah Cowboy
Her Troubled Cowboy (Citizen Soldier Crossover)
Her Hell No Cowboy
Her Doggone Cowboy
Harland County Epilogue
~The Citizen Soldier Series~
(Harland County Spinoff Series)
Wyne and Dine
Wyne and Chocolate
Wyne and Song
Wine and Her New Year Cowboy
Whine and Rescue
Wine and Hot Shoes
Wine and Scenery
~The Men of At Ease Ranch Series~
~Entangled Publications~
In An Army Ranger’s Arms
Her Secret Army Ranger
The Right Army Ranger
Army Ranger with Benefits
The Army Ranger’s Surprise
~Dangerous Curves Series~
Knight’s SEAL
Locke and Load
A DAYE with a SEAL
Cowboy LAWE
Connected to Dangerous Curves:
Elite Protector (Elle James’ Brotherhood Protectors)
Grinch Reaper (Sleeper SEALs Series)
/> SEAL in Charge (Silver SEALs Series)
~Time-shift Heroes Series~
Captive Hero
Future Cowboy Hero (tba)
~Novels~
She Does Know Jack
Royally Unleashed
The Spy Who Fanged Me
DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com
***
Connect with Donna Online
Donna’s Facebook Profile:
https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMichaelsAuthor
Follow Donna on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Donna_Michaels
Find Donna’s Books on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/Donna_Michaels
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com
To sign up for Donna’s Newsletter go to:
http://tinyurl.com/zaxbqe6
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-michaels
About the Author
Donna Michaels is an award winning, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of Romaginative fiction. Her hot, humorous, and heartwarming stories include cowboys, men in uniform, and some sexy primal alphas who are equally matched by their heroines. With a husband recently retired from the military, a household of seven and several rescued cats, she never runs out of material. From short to epic, her books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, one was even hand-drawn into a Japanese translation…if only she could read it…
Bringing you HEAs-One Hot Alpha Hero at a Time
Thanks for reading,
~Donna
www.DonnaMichaelsAuthor.com
Dex (HC Heroes Book 3) Page 15