Guarding Antonia

by Nicole Flockton

  Shit, that felt so weird to say out loud. And oddly…right.

  The detective turned her attention back to Robot and the two stared each other down until Detective Correa finally nodded her head. “Fine, we’ve only got a couple more questions anyway.” She directed her attention back to her. “If you saw some mugshots do you think you may be able to recognize the man you saw?”

  And just like that, she was transported back to the reason why there was a SEAL team and two cops in her apartment. Her breathing became erratic again. Her stomach churned and a sick and sudden feverish feeling came over her. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, Robot had provided a few minutes reprieve from the nightmare her world had sunk into.

  A warm hand slid around her waist as if he could sense her distress. Her breathing returned to normal and her churching stomach settled down. Unconsciously, her body melted into the side of his, drawing on the quiet strength he was gifting her. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “You said you got a look at him earlier,” the detective responded.

  “Yes, and I know I did. I just can’t recall anything of what I’ve seen. My mind appears to have blanked it out.”

  Robot’s hand started moving up and down her back and it was as distracting as it was comforting. “It’s not unusual for this happen, Detective,” Robot said, his voice deep and commanding. “It’s happened to me before, but after a few hours everything seems to filter back in. I’m sure, in Antonia’s case, things will come back to her.”

  God, she actually didn’t want to remember. She was glad her mind had forgotten all she’d seen. But a woman was dead and for all intents and purposes, she was the only one who could help the police.

  What she didn’t need, though, was for Robot to come in and take over everything. A botched filing by a lawyer doesn’t give him the right to believe he could think and speak for her.

  Pulling away from his hold, she straightened her spine and faced the police. “Maybe coming down and looking at photos will jog my memory.”

  The officers looked between her and Robot, she could imagine the millions of questions they had running through their minds. As Detective Correa commented, there was no indication anywhere she was a married woman, and yet, there was an immovable rock standing beside her claiming to be her husband and a living room full of Navy SEALs.

  “Right. Well, we’ll need you to come down to the station to make a statement anyway. When you do that, you can look at some photos then.” Detective Correa reached into her pocket and held out a business card. “Here are my details. Call me today and set up a time, sooner rather than later.”

  Before she could take the card from her, Robot took possession of the white rectangle. “I’ll make sure she comes down today.”

  Antonia clenched her fists by her side and grabbed onto her temper to stop it from exploding out of her. No way was she going to lose it in front of the police.

  Once again, the cops looked between them and took a couple of steps back. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again. Good morning, ma’am, sir.” They nodded at Robot and her and headed to her front door.

  Good manners pulled her from her internal struggle and she followed them down to the door, determined to have the last word and to let them know that she beat to her own drum, no one else’s. “Thanks for coming so promptly, officers, and I apologize for the intrusion.”

  Detective Correa half smiled at her. “As I said, looks like you have your own protection detail, which, under the circumstances, could be a good thing.”

  “Yes, I’m a lucky girl, aren’t I?” She responded, sarcasm dripping from every word. Typical attitude, believing that because she was alone, she needed protecting. Well, she knew how to fire gun. Had her license and her own weapon hidden away in a safe in her closet.

  They both nodded and walked out the open door. Antonia shut it and leaned back against it, closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath.

  Her ordeal was far from over but having the police leave gave her a few seconds reprieve where she could believe that her life wasn’t up shit creek.

  Knowing she couldn’t stand against the door all day, she opened her eyes and locked on the figure looming in the hallway. In a flash her anger and indignation returned.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing barging in here and telling the police you’re my husband.”

  The jerk had the arrogance to just lift one shoulder nonchalantly. “It’s the truth—you’re my wife.”

  “What the fuck? You guys are married? When did this happen?”

  Antonia glanced over Robot’s shoulder and saw Cowboy standing behind him. Great, just fucking great, now their secret was out.

  Having heard Cowboy’s exclamation, one by one the remaining members of Robot’s team crowded into the small hallway.

  “Is this true?”

  “You, sly old dog.”

  “Suzie, is not going to believe this.”

  “Erin is going to part pissed and part happy.”

  Antonia had had enough. “Shut up, the lot of you,” she shouted. “I want you all to leave, now.”

  The last thing she needed, or wanted, today was a discussion about her Vegas mistake with Robot’s team.

  Unfortunately, they were a stubborn bunch and didn’t look like they were planning on going anywhere.

  She planted her hands on her hips. “Seriously, I want you to leave now. Get. Out. Of. My. Home.”

  A whole range of emotions began to seep into her: anger, annoyance, fear. Her body began to shake and she had to lock her knees to prevent herself from collapsing to the ground. Tears began to well up and she bit down on her lip to hold back the sob that was about to erupt out of her. Crying in front of these guys wasn’t an option. They’d never leave. She had to squash all these unwanted, but necessary, emotions down and wait until they’d left before letting them fall.

  As if they could sense that she was at breaking point, one by one, the men began to file out of her apartment. Each one touching her lightly on the shoulder. She found comfort in their support, but it didn’t mean she wanted to explain everything to them.

  Only one person remained, and Antonia didn’t need a flashing billboard to tell her who. She sensed him with every fiber of her being. The connection that had been forged that night in Vegas and reinforced every time they were close to each other, tugged at her.

  “I’m not going to leave you alone, T.” The words were spoken on a whisper, but they may have well been yelled out loud.

  The fight flowed out of her like water over a waterfall. What was the point? Deep down she wanted him here. Had been relieved when he’d shown up on her doorstep.

  She nodded and then let the threatening tears, she’d been trying hard to keep at bay, tumble down her cheeks.

  Chapter 3

  Nothing pained Robot more than the sight of a woman crying. When that woman happened to be the one woman he’d fought feelings for the past two years, it was worse than when a bullet had ripped through his arm.

  Robot closed the distance between him and Antonia and pulled her into his arms. Having her warm and soft body tucked into his felt so incredible after all this time, although, he’d have preferred this moment under different circumstances.

  His heart had dropped to his feet when Italy had told him about Erin’s phone call and what Antonia had seen. They’d been in the middle of running through an extraction exercise and Italy shouldn’t have answered his phone, but ever since Erin had the baby, he always answered her calls. Joker was the same with Suzie. He’d never been more grateful for their bucking of the rules. Just the thought of Antonia being in danger turned his blood cold.

  He hadn’t thought; he’d only acted, and his team followed.

  How far had the team come in a year—one married, two engaged and two kids born. Well, two married members if you counted him and Antonia.

  Her sobs were slowing down and, if he knew Antonia, and he did, she’d be pulling away from him at the firs
t chance. He had no plans on letting that happen. She may fight him, but she wasn’t going to go through this alone. Now, whether she’d let him help her was another thing.

  “You’re safe, T. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let it.” He kissed the top of her head, the fine strands of her dark hair tickling his nose. He inhaled and welcomed the scents of lemon and peppermint that would forever be known to him as Antonia’s fragrance. He never thought the two scents would go together, but the sweet and tart aroma fit Antonia perfectly.

  “Let’s sit down,” he suggested. They were still standing in the hallway. When she gave no indication of hearing what he suggested, he tightened his hold and picked her up, carrying her to the living room.

  He settled them on the couch and she snuggled into him. Robot relished the complete trust she was granting him. Another indication she wasn’t quite aware of what she was doing. Shock at the morning’s events had clearly sunk its claws into her and wasn’t releasing her anytime soon.

  He continued with the slow strokes up and down her back until the tension seeped out of her. Her body softened against his and her breathing slowly evened out. He glanced down to see she’d fallen asleep.

  Robot relaxed into the cushions, adjusting Antonia so she was in a more comfortable position. He had no plans on leaving her today. He would escort her to the police station and sit by her side while she gave her statement and looked through the mugshots.

  His phone buzzed, and he maneuvered his hand from around Antonia’s back to his pocket. The sender of the message was no doubt one of his team, most probably Italy seeing as he was the closest with the guy. The fact they were married to best friends would cement the friendship even more.

  That is if Antonia stayed married to him.

  He pushed that thought away and studied his phone.

  Spoke to Commander Black about the situation. Didn’t mention you being a married man, figured you could do that. But he’s okay with you spending the day with Antonia. Call me when you can.

  He fired off a quick response.

  Thanks. I’ll keep you apprised of the situation. She’s asleep on me at the moment. I think everything got the better of her. When she wakes we’ll head down to the police station. Do me a favor and don’t tell Erin about what you heard. Let Antonia do it.

  A few seconds later his phone beeped with another response.

  I’ll see what I can do. I think Joker and T-Rex may have already told Suzie and Brielle, but I’ll tell them to ask the girls to keep it quiet.

  As much as Robot wished for the guys not have said anything to their partners, he had an idea that neither one of them kept secrets from each other. As hard as it would be for Suzie and Brielle, he believed they would keep his and Antonia’s marriage between them until they knew for sure Erin had been told.

  Thanks. Appreciate it. Later.

  Antonia stirred in his arms and he tightened his hold. She’d be waking soon and then he’d have to convince her to let him come with her to police station.

  When he’d received the email from his former lawyer’s office about the mix-up, he’d been royally pissed off. Now he was grateful for their fuck up.

  “Robot?”

  He looked down and saw Antonia was awake, her brown eyes dreamy from her short nap. “Yeah, T, I’m here.”

  No sooner had he finished speaking, her body stiffened then she pulled away and hopped off his lap. His fingers itched to bring her close again, but he closed them in a fist. Antonia didn’t like to show vulnerability to anyone, most especially him.

  “How long was I,” she waved her hand toward him, “there.”

  Robot stood and frowned when she took a step back. What? Did she think he would hurt her? Fuck, didn’t she know that would be the last thing he would ever do?

  “Not long.” He checked his watch. “About fifteen minutes.”

  She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, tightening the t-shirt she wore, outlining her breasts. He’d never forgotten how their weight felt in his hands. How they tasted on his tongue. His dick hardened against his pants.

  Great, the last thing he needed was to be sporting a hard-on when he was trying to show her support.

  “Right. I’d like you to leave now. I need to shower then go to the police station. Can I have the detective’s card please?” She held out her hand.

  If she thought, for one minute, that he was going to let her go to down to the station by herself, she had another think coming. However, coming right out and disabusing her of that notion would only cause them to fight, which would get them nowhere. He needed to let her think she was getting her way.

  Robot reached down and picked up the white rectangle and handed it to her. Her eyes widened in surprise at his quick acquiescence of her request. “Make sure you call and go down today.”

  Antonia took the card from him. “Thanks. I want this over and done with as quickly as possible.”

  Neither of them moved, their gazes locked on each other. In the depths of her brown eyes, he was sure he spied longing. Like she wanted him to take over, but she didn’t. He wanted to take the look away. He wanted to let her know he would never let anything happen to her.

  She headed for the door, her intentions loud and clear—she wanted him to leave. “I appreciate you and the guys coming over, even though it wasn’t necessary.”

  Giving her the impression he was granting her wish, he strode past her to leave, stopping in front of her. He waited until she looked up at him. He smoothed a stray lock of her chestnut hair off her face. “Call me anytime. I don’t care if it’s fucking three in the morning. You hear something, or need me, I’m here. Do you understand?”

  Her eyes narrowed at his command to her, but he needed her to understand she didn’t have to do this alone and there was no shame in leaning on him. He just hoped she wasn’t too stubborn to listen. Though, stubborn or not, he would be at the police station waiting for her.

  Giving her the space might be what she wanted, but he knew recalling the events of what she’d seen was going to be harder than she ever imagined.

  He’d witnessed people being debriefed after they’d been held captive, recounting what they’d seen and been through, was traumatic. No way was he going to let Antonia experience the fear alone.

  “Fine,” she eventually said after their silent battle of the wills. “But don’t wait up because I probably won’t need you.”

  To any other man those sharp words would cut them down, but he’d been around her long enough to let them bounce off him, like water flowing off a duck’s back.

  “Make sure to lock the door after me. I won’t leave until I hear it click in place.”

  She rolled her eyes, but a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Fine.” He was beginning to think that was her favorite word.

  He leaned in and placed his lips softly over hers. “Bye, T.

  Robot stepped out and the door shut, he waited half a heartbeat before hearing the locking mechanism engage and the slide of the chain in its track.

  He probably had enough time to head back to his apartment, change and get down to the station before Antonia got there.

  Surprising her wasn’t going to go down well, but tough, his job was to protect against all foreign and domestic terrorists. What happened today may not have been a terrorist act, but his woman needed protecting and he wasn’t going to walk away from that.

  Taking a deep breath, Antonia opened her car door and stepped out into the Virginian sunshine. The day was mild and she needed the blue skies to remind her of good things after what she’d witnessed that morning.

  During her shower, snippets of what she’d seen returned to the forefront of her mind. She hadn’t forgotten; her brain was finally letting her process everything after dealing with the shock. Now, she wasn’t sure she was happy with her brain. It had been blissful to close her eyes and see nothing but blackness. Now all she saw was a man’s knife-wielding arm rising up and down repeatedly.

 
Not to mention the fact that her brain relived the moment Robot revealed their marriage to the team. She’d been surprised to see that her phone hadn’t blown up with text messages from Erin, let alone Suzie. Brielle already knew. She may not have said anything to Antonia, but yesterday it had been clear from the expression on the other woman’s face that she’d overheard Antonia and Robot’s discussion. Antonia was grateful for her silence, but now that the cat was out of the bag, why wasn’t she texting her either?

  At least, if there were incoming messages, she could ignore them, but the silence was deafening. There was no way Erin wouldn’t be demanding answers if she knew. Surely, Carlos would’ve told her what he’d heard.

  Okay, she’d worry about spilling her Vegas mistake to her best friend later. First and foremost, she had to give her statement. Once that was done, she hoped she could leave the whole mess behind her. A jab of remorse at her callous thought hit her. A woman had died today. A family was mourning the loss of a daughter, sister, aunt, and maybe even a mother. It fell on her shoulders to help make sure the family got closure by helping the police with their investigation. She shouldn’t brush what happened aside like a piece of trash.

  Enough procrastinating the sooner she walked into the building the quicker she’d get it over with. Making sure the car was locked she headed toward the front of the police station, her steps slowing when she spied a tall figure leaning against the stair railing. To the average onlooker he appeared to be relaxed, but to Antonia, he was on red alert, observing everything around him. Searching for any signs of danger and ready to spring into action.

  Of course, he would be here. If she hadn’t still been in the depths of shock, she would’ve worked out that he’d given up far too easily when she’d asked him to leave.

  Annoyed that he believed she couldn’t do anything by herself, she marched over to him. When she got within touching distance, she poked him in the chest. “What are you doing here? I thought we had an agreement, I’d call if I needed you. As far as I can recall, I haven’t called you because I don’t need you.”