by Desiree Holt
The agent nodded.
“I also have the information he sent us,” Avery told the agent. “We created reports and spreadsheets. I’ll forward them to your e-mail.”
“Much appreciated.” He turned to Graham. “We’ll be taking you someplace secluded tonight. Then tomorrow and maybe the day after we’ll be asking you a lot of questions. Everything you can tell us will be another nail in Moreno’s coffin.”
“After that I go back to…where I was, under my new name, so they can’t find me, right?”
LaValle nodded. “I’m sorry it has to be that way, but we don’t want to take chances with your life.”
“What—what about Cash Breeland? He’s the one who got us into it. Will he get hit as hard?”
“No question about it. As we speak federal agents have taken possession of his bank and brought in a team of accountants. The bank is closed.” He shook his head. “Everyone whose accounts are on the up-and-up will get their money, but we have to sort it all out first.”
“They were great buddies,” Graham told him. “Moreno used to call him Vato.”
LaValle snorted. “It means ‘dude’ in Spanish. I think Moreno didn’t respect him as much as you think.”
Devon frowned. “Why not? Cash is the one who set up all his money laundering systems.”
“That doesn’t mean there was respect there,” La Valle said. “We’ll go over all the records, but I believe they’ve been doing this together for a long time. I think it probably started when Moreno opened an account in Breeland’s bank and deposited a large sum of money.”
“I need to make a call.” Her father looked at Avery. “Someone’s waiting by the phone, I’m sure.”
“We can take care of that.” She looked at Chuck. “And tomorrow let’s let him have some time with Devon, too.”
The agent nodded.
And suddenly, with a flurry, they were gone.
Devon looked at Avery. “I should feel a lot better about this, but I just feel…empty. I’m happy I’ll get to spend some time with my dad tomorrow but then he’s gone again.” She looked around. “And where did Logan disappear to?”
“He has some issues to work through.” Avery smiled although it was obvious she was concerned. “Give him a little space and it will all work out.”
“I don’t know.” Devon bit her lip. “He feels so guilty. Did you know he had another incident in his past?”
Avery nodded. “I have to know everything about my agents when I hire them. But he never wanted to talk about it and I didn’t want to pry.”
She swallowed back tears. “I care about him.”
“I’d say it’s a little more than that. You’re in love with him. It may have been fast but I’ve always believed when the right person comes along you don’t need months to realize it.”
“So what do I do?”
“Like I said, give him some space. If he stays away too long, I promise I’ll step in. Okay?”
“I guess it will have to be.” Devon rubbed her forehead. “Right now I’m unbelievably tired. I need to shower and change my clothes. And sleep, if I can. I’d like to go back to the house, just in case…in case Logan decides to show up. But I don’t think I’m up to staying there by myself.”
“No worries.” Sheri had entered the room without her even noticing. “We discussed it. Avery and I are both going to stay with you. I’ll take you home and Avery will be along shortly. Will that work for you?”
Devon nearly lost it then, at the kindness of these people.
“I don’t know how to thank you.” She swallowed. “Maybe you’d better get me out of here before I lose it altogether and start bawling like a baby.”
But as exhausted as she was, it took her a long time to fall asleep without Logan’s arms around her and his hard, muscular body curled around hers. She cried silently, not wanting to disturb the March sisters. Finally, just before dawn, she fell into an exhausted sleep.
* * * *
Devon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. For a moment she was tempted to forget this, turn around, and drive back to Arrowhead Bay.
No. This is too important. If I leave now, I’ll always regret not taking this chance.
Avery had given her the directions to the little cottage at Ft. Myers Beach.
“I bought it a few years ago to stash a client and decided to keep it. It’s proven to be a good place to decompress without having to hide up in the hills.”
She’d hugged Avery. Hard. Then left before she lost her nerve.
She knocked on the door and when there was no answer, she knocked again. Still no answer. She peeked through the windows and didn’t see anyone and when she checked no one was on the back porch. Sighing, she hoofed it down to the end of the little street where a small park bordered the beach and Estero Bay.
Once she got into the park, Logan wasn’t hard to spot. He was standing in the water, the waves lapping his ankles, hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts. He was staring at the water so she didn’t think he was aware of her walking toward him in the sand.
“Your perfume gives you away all the time.” His voice was ragged, as if he’d been shouting for a long time. “I’ll never be able to smell vanilla and jasmine without thinking of you. If you really want to sneak up on somebody, you should change it.”
“Maybe I wanted you to know I was here.” She slipped off her sandals and walked forward to where he was.
“What do you want, Devon? You should stay as far away from me as you can. Haven’t you figured that out yet? I’m poison to the women I love. It seems I can protect everyone but them.”
“See. Now that’s where you’re wrong.” She walked up to stand beside him. “You protected me just fine.”
“Coulda woulda shoulda.”
She flipped a hand at him. “I knew you’d save me, Logan. I had every bit of faith in you.”
“I don’t know how you could.” He stared out at the horizon. “I let the first woman I loved die and almost did the same to the second one. I’m useless, Devon. You’re better off without me.”
Devon stared at him, the anger building inside her. On impulse she hit him on the side of the head with her sandals.
“Enough with the pity party.” She hit him again.
“Hey!” He held up his hand. “That hurts!”
“Good. Maybe it will knock some sense into you.” She got ready to do it a third time when his hand snaked out and he grabbed her by the wrist.
“You trying to knock my brains out?”
“I would if you had any.” She sighed. “Logan, in life shit happens. Did I think my father would get himself involved with drug dealers? Did he? Did I ever imagine any of this would happen?” She shook her head. “Not in my wildest nightmares. My father is beating himself up even worse than you, saying it’s really his fault I was kidnapped. It took me a long time the other day to convince him shit happens.”
“How could you ever trust me to take care of you again?” He held his hands out. “How could anyone?”
“Well, I’d say Vigilance would. Avery’s got an assignment waiting for you, but I told her it had to wait because you and I had some unfinished business.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You said you loved me. Were you lying?”
“No, but—”
She held up her hand. “You said we’d see what we had together when this was over. Was that a lie?”
He shook his head. “That’s not the point.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the whole point. If you can look me in the eye and tell me, truthfully, that you don’t love me and what we have isn’t the beginning of something strong and lasting, I’ll get back in my car, drive back to Arrowhead Bay, and you’ll never hear from me again. So look at me, Logan. Can you do that?”
He
looked at her, his eyes full of anguish, but something else lurked in there. The feelings she’d seen from the first time they made love. They were there, and the fist clenching around her heart loosened.
“Well?” she prompted.
Without any warning he stepped close to her, grabbed her, pulled her against him, and kissed her so hard she had a hard time breathing. But she didn’t care. All she cared about was his warm lips on hers, his tongue dancing with hers, his strong fingers cupping her cheeks as he held her head in place for his plundering. At last he lifted his mouth from hers, but he still cradled her face in his palms.
“I tried to get you out of my mind,” he said in a gravelly voice, “but I couldn’t. You were in my dreams every night and in my head every day. I don’t think I even felt this much for Amanda. But Devon—”
She touched his lips with a forefinger. “No buts. We both have issues to deal with, but we’ll do a lot better if we deal with them together.”
He studied her face for a long time. “I don’t know why or how I got so lucky but if this is what you want, you’re stuck with me. Period.”
“It’s what I want,” she whispered. “It’s all I want.”
They walked back to the cottage holding hands. She told him about her father’s new life that the DEA was going to get him back to and about his new love.
“The DEA set up a Skype call for the three of us. She’s lovely, Logan. And it’s obvious she cares a great deal for him.”
“I’m glad for him,” Logan told her. “Even if I want to kick his balls in for getting involved in the mess he did.”
She flapped a hand at him. “He had a problem and didn’t look too closely at the solution. It’s done now. Over with. They’re getting married in a couple of months and Chuck LaValle said he could get me up to Maine for the wedding without leaving tracks.” She stopped at the cottage and looked up at him. “I would be more than happy if you’d come with me.”
He hesitated for a moment, and she wondered if he was rethinking everything he’d said. Then she saw his body relax.
“I’d be honored to. Maybe by then we could have had our own wedding.”
Her heart nearly stopped beating. Then she grinned so broadly she thought her cheeks would crack, and threw her arms around him. “If that’s a proposal, I say yes. Yes, yes, yes!” She hugged him, hard. “No taking it back now.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I love you, Devon. Maybe I don’t have the right—”
She clapped her hand over his mouth. “We’re done with that, at least for today. I know you’ll be dealing with it for a while, because that’s the kind of person you are. But we’ll deal together. Okay?”
His laugh had a rusty sound to it, as if he hadn’t used it much lately. “Okay. I guess I find it hard to say no to you.”
“Good. Because from now on there’s going to be a lot of yes in our lives.”
They held hands at they climbed the stairs to the door of the stilted cottage. Logan punched the code into the lock and opened the door for her. They were barely inside before he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
“I have to have you right now,” he rasped. “Right. This. Minute.”
They were frantic tearing their clothes off. Logan yanked back the covers on the bed and lowered her to the cool sheets. They were both so aroused, so turned on after being apart, that foreplay almost wasn’t necessary.
He locked his gaze with hers as he slid into her, holding still as her muscles clenched around him.
“This is forever, Logan. No changing your mind now.”
“Forever,” he agreed, and took them both over the edge in a whirlwind release.
When they could catch their breath again he brushed his mouth over hers. “Forever,” he repeated.
She nodded. “Forever.”
In case you missed it, please enjoy an excerpt from Desiree Holt’s
FORWARD PASS
Get Ready to Play Rough
Shay Beckham grew up idolizing her brother’s best friend, star quarterback Joe Reilly. There was no one in their Texas town who had the moves to match Joe on or off the field. Years later, he’s still a player who has what it takes to drive any hot-blooded woman wild. But Shay isn’t a kid with a bad case of hero-worship anymore. She’s grown-up and independent, with her feet on the ground and a serious head on her shoulders. If she could just say the same for Joe.
It’s been fifteen years, but Joe Reilly hasn’t forgotten the skinny little kid who used to follow him around like a shadow. What he can’t get over is that the skinny shadow has grown into one hell of an incredible woman. One any man in his right mind would kill to get his hands on. And one who seems to be completely immune to him. He knows he and Shay could have something special together. If he could only convince her he’s about more than just the game.
A Lyrical e-book on sale now.
Learn more about Desiree at http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/author.aspx/31606
Chapter 1
“Damn it, Hank. Why don’t you answer?”
Shay Beckham pressed End on her cell phone yet again and sighed. She and her brother had been playing telephone tag for two days. When he called, she was in meetings. When she called, he was out of signal range. The only voices talking to each other were their voice mails. How godforsaken could it be in Wyoming, anyway? It was still in the United States, right?
And why was he trying so hard to reach her? They exchanged texts now and then, but they were both so busy they only called each other in case of emergency. The places he went, cell reception was spotty at best and talking to him was like playing leapfrog. Wait! Was he okay? Her heart stopped for a moment at the thought he might be hurt, but then she relaxed. If something had happened to him, his boss would have reached out to her. So what was on his mind that had generated this flurry of aborted phone calls? Obviously, he wanted something because he was the one who’d initiated this current game of phone tag.
She leaned back in the taxi as it turned from the airport access road onto the interstate. Less than half an hour and she’d be home, thank God, and she could get out of her sweatshirt and jeans that wore the remnants of her diet cola from the plane.
With the way her luck was running, maybe she shouldn’t have accepted her complimentary beverage. On the flight out to New York a week before, a little turbulence had been responsible for her arriving with a huge coffee stain on her favorite yellow sweater. Maybe she should carry a bib with her. Or a large tarpaulin.
On today’s flight, she had just set up her iPad and lifted her glass gingerly to take a sip when the plane hit an air pocket and everything bounced. Her iPad. The purse beneath the seat. Worst of all, her drink. Her hand flew up, with it her diet soda and, most importantly, the ice cubes. Up in the air. Over the back of her seat. Into the seat behind her.
She could still hear the man behind her growling. “Shit!”
Then, “Damn it anyway.”
She’d used the miniscule courtesy napkin to blot up what she could from her sweatshirt and jeans. Shay had cringed as the man behind her continued to mutter under his breath.
“Hey, you in front. Didn’t you ever learn to pay attention on a plane? You got your damn drink all over me.”
He hadn’t seemed impressed with her mumbled apology so she’d just slid down even farther and buried her nose in her iPad again. And been damn glad to get to the end of the flight without further incident. When it was time to deplane, she’d avoided even looking back at the man, hustling up the Jetway into the terminal as fast as she could. Getting home was all she could think of.
Sighing, she brushed a few wisps of hair away from her cheeks and tugged on the brim of her red ball cap. A lean cougar prowled across the red background, a new graphic she’d created for Dazzling Designs. The company she worked for produced merchandise for college and professiona
l sports teams. This prototype had been waiting for her when she flew in for four days at the main office and she’d decided to wear it on her trip home.
She was worn out from the long, intense days of discussions and brainstorming. This was her third round trip to New York since she’d made the move back to Texas. After five months, she was piling up plenty of frequent-flyer miles, which she hoped to use one of these days.
She realized with a start the taxi, which had slowed a moment ago, had come to a standstill. The driver’s two-way radio crackled in the front seat, but she ignored its staticky sound as she checked her phone again. Still no answer from Hank. She leaned forward, seeing rows of vehicles stopped in every lane of the interstate as far ahead as she could see. Shit.
“Is there an accident ahead of us?”
“Yes, miss.” The driver was nothing if not polite. “Dispatch radioed me a moment ago. Sorry, miss.”
Well, crap. Just what she didn’t need. She wanted a hot bath, a glass of wine, and pizza delivery.
She checked her watch again. Was it really only two minutes since she’d tried calling Hank? Maybe a text would reach him. Sometimes she had better success with that.
“In cab on way home from airport. What’s up? Try a tin can for reception.”
She hit Send and waited to see if he answered. In less than two minutes, her phone chimed.
“Good trip?”
“Yes. What’s up with you? What’s with all the phone calls?”
“Just wanted 2 let you know Laura had 2 vacate condo for repairs for 2 days. Told her she could stay at house. She knows where extra key is.”
That was what was so important?
Shay snorted and wrote, “I’ll bet.”
“She’ll be gone sometime 2day. Just a heads up.” Shay ground her teeth. Damn it. Why couldn’t the damn woman have gone to a hotel? And what was with giving out the location of the key? She loved her big brother and was grateful to him for sharing his house with her but she definitely needed to find a place of her own. She didn’t need his females driving her crazy when he wasn’t there.