“I am taking the rest of the day off. I’m sure you can handle everything, Huck.”
“The paperwork on this…sure.”
“Oh, God no. There’s no paperwork on this.”
“What?”
“You don’t get it do you? This never happened. This is now classified material. This gets buried.”
“Whoa,” Huck shot a look over to York who looked just as shocked. “You rolled with that?”
“Our unit did a lot of things, but we weren’t on the end of torture. That doesn’t mean we didn’t know once we arrested the guys that where they went would violate every civil liberty they thought they had. Scary, isn’t it? What our government is capable of…it’s scary.”
“Hell yeah,” Huck said and York agreed.
“Lock it up tonight and go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to have to start vetting a replacement for this position. But tonight I think you all deserve a break. Just don’t turn your phone off, Huck—you and I don’t technically get a complete break from this place.”
“Never changes,” he chuckled. “Man I love this.”
She was happy that he had found his groove again. She knew how an injury could make a man feel useless—an injury that put him behind a desk when he was used to being hands on in the field. Huck was more valuable than he knew. Maybe one day she would tell him about the plans she had been considering for him. She figured even if Candice let her go back to Homeland she could advocate for Huck. But since she was stuck in Witness Protection she could move the chess pieces on the board with ease. Huck was going to be an intricate part of the equation; he just didn’t know it yet.
Autumn took Colt back to his place. They showered together. Finally, after sitting around most of the day she was able to wash the run off her body. She had sweated; fortunately nobody seemed to be telling her she smelled so she figured she wasn’t a threat to leaving a stench behind in the office. Colt had been on her like a kid afraid of letting their mother out of their sight for the first time.
“I’m okay,” she told him as he took another look at her arm. He shoved one hand through his hair, got up from the couch and paced backwards and forward. The man was going to pace himself into the grave with guilt when it wasn’t his fault.
She stepped in front of him, placing her hand on his chest. “I’m okay,” she told him. “See,” she gestured to her face and body. “We’re okay.” He pulled her in for a hug where he held her a long while. She had to dislodge herself from his arms. “I heard from Candice,” she signed. “They found the guy’s place. They found his journals. He went after men that he thought might be molesting kids, or could do it one day. He was molested as a child, so he apparently figured he was saving children by killing any man that looked like a threat in his opinion. Apparently the journals are pretty twisted, but that’s what it was.”
“I wasn’t a threat to any kids.”
“No, but you saw him. You were the only one who could really stop him—at least that’s how he saw it. I guess he figured the DA wouldn’t have a case against him without you. I don’t know. I can’t sort out crazy. But I can tell you that you’re safe. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
He pouted.
“What? I thought you would be happy.”
“You’re going to leave.”
“Well I do have a place of my own, but I like it here too. Your bed is more comfortable than mine,” she winked. “I can split my time between both places. We can split our time between both places.”
He smiled. “I paint here,” he pointed toward the back.
“Well, when I pose for you I’ll stay overnight. But every once in a while you can stay at my place too.”
“You’re going to pose for me?”
She smiled softly. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“And you’ll stay overnight when you do?”
“Sure.”
“Great, let’s get started.” He pulled her hand into his and tugged her down the hallway. She laughed hysterically. The man obviously wanted her to stay over. She wasn’t planning on leaving tonight.
“Sit here,” he told her. “Now, I must warn you that I’m going to have to work on this every day,” he winked. “I think you should be sure to bring enough clothes over for that.”
She laughed hard just as he had. She loved his laugh. She loved him. The thought of loving him this soon seemed crazy, but he was what she wanted, what she cared about, what she would kill to protect and to her that meant love. Instead of dwelling on the situation she curled up on the chaise he had positioned her on and she waited for him to take brush in hand and paint her a picture, to paint their love.
About the Author
Capri Montgomery is an author of multicultural and interracial suspense, science fiction and contemporary romance. Her passion for writing started at a young age and for over twenty years she has been turning the movies playing in her head into written works. She is passionately exploring worlds one book at a time.
When she’s not writing, Capri enjoys nature—unless the insects are biting her, traveling, old movies, art, photography, playing cello, and exploring emotions and worlds through music.
Find more information on books by Capri Montgomery at:
Blog: http://caprimontgomery.wordpress.com/
(Print books) www.lulu.com/haremnights
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/caprimontgomery
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/caprimontgomerybooks
Mine's to Kill Page 10