“Dead.”
She added him to the list of people she would never mourn.
Megan let him fluff the pillows behind her until he was satisfied she was comfortable. The nurse bustled in, far too loudly in Megan’s opinion. She checked Megan’s blood pressure, temperature and IV line. Then she forced some pain meds and antibiotics down her throat.
“I want to go home,” Megan complained when the woman was gone.
Dimitri froze. “To Scotland?”
“No.” Had he taken a hit to the head? “To the flat above the office.” He relaxed, then he looked guilty. “What?” Megan demanded.
“Katrina is going to stay in your flat at the office.”
“There are only two bedrooms.” The rest of the floor was still under construction. Give it a few weeks and there would be more rooms—right now it was just her tatty flat that was liveable.
“Yeah.” He ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair, while the other one tightened its hold on her hand. “She’s going to take your room.”
And just like that her blood pressure shot up. “Where am I going to stay?” Panic hit her. “Wait, am I still fired? I thought I’d been rehired. Am I being sent back to Scotland?”
The guilt was still there, plain as day in his beautiful brown eyes. The grey sweater rippled when he shrugged his broad shoulders. “You’re still hired. You have trainee status.”
“Does that mean I get to learn how to use an automatic weapon?” Because that knowledge would have come in damn handy when she’d had one pointed at Durand.
“I’ll train you myself.”
“Great. So where am I living? I liked that flat. It was close to work.” And it was free.
A pause set off warning bells. “I’ve moved you in with me.”
Megan stilled. “How long have I been in hospital?”
“You came in this morning. About fourteen hours ago.”
“And in that time, you moved me in with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Into your hotel room?”
He squirmed. It wasn’t a big squirm. But she spotted it. “No, I found an apartment for us, near the office.”
“Pinch me,” she said, because she was pretty sure she was still unconscious.
“I’m not going to pinch you, you’re bruised enough.”
“Fine, then tell me how you managed to find an apartment and move me into it in fourteen hours? Without my consent, I might add, due to extreme unconsciousness.” Seriously, if it didn’t hurt so much to glare, she would have glared his head to a burning ember.
“It didn’t take long. Rachel owns it. We’re renting from her.”
A ray of sunshine peeked through her ire. “Does it have a pool?”
“No.”
Typical. Megan tugged at her hand, but he wouldn’t let go. “I’m not moving in with you. You can’t just arrange my life while I’m unconscious.” She frowned at him. That hurt too, damn it. “Did I mention the unconsciousness?”
“Get over it,” the idiot said. “It’s a done deal, Buffy.”
And to think she’d accused her sister of falling in love with a caveman. At least Grunt had asked Claire to move in with him. He didn’t sneak her in while she was unconscious!
“I don’t want to live with you.”
“Of course you want to live with me. You love me.”
It must have been the drugs, because her heart melted a little at his words and her irritation faded. “Your ego knows no bounds.”
“So I’ve been told.” His smile was dazzling.
And a touch too smug. “As soon as I get out of here, I’m moving back to the office.”
The smile faded. “And kick my sister out? My poor recovering sister, who needs the security the building affords while she copes with the aftermath of her ordeal?” It was a miracle he didn’t try to flutter his eyelashes at her too.
Megan’s eyes narrowed before she remembered it hurt to move. “Do you really think you can manipulate me into getting what you want?”
In reply, the damn man leaned over and kissed her. It was slow, delicate tease of a kiss. His lips pressed softly against hers and she felt everything within her sigh. His forehead rested against hers when the kiss ended. His eyes were closed.
“I nearly lost you. I need you beside me. I need to know I can protect you.” His eyes flickered open. “Please,” her warrior said.
It wasn’t needed, he’d already broken her down with his tender kiss. “You realise none of that makes any logical sense, right?”
“Humour me.” Another gentle kiss that robbed her senses.
“Only if you admit that I’m only doing this to humour you and I know how to take care of myself.”
“Never going to happen.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he kissed the words away. A possessive, demanding kiss that left her panting for more, only her body wasn’t in any fit state to follow up on her need.
Dimitri enfolded her in his arms and pulled her into his chest. Breathing deeply, she filled herself with the scent of summer woodland. The scent of home. Megan closed her eyes and let him take her weight. He kissed the top of her head before nuzzling her temple.
“I love you too, Buffy,” he whispered against her ear.
Sleep began to steal her senses. Safe. She was safe.
“Buffy was a superhero,” she mumbled.
“So are you, baby, so are you.”
With a contented smile on her face, Megan slipped into a healing sleep, safe in the arms of the man she loved.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
It was a week after the showdown at the abandoned school—something Dimitri knew would take years for him to get over. The team were gathered around the conference room table, pastries and coffee in abundance. Dimitri sat back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him and a smile on his face. Callum and Rachel were arguing at the head of the table, like a pair of dysfunctional parents. Julia was hiding behind the plant that shouldn’t even be in the building. Joe stared at the plant with a curious look on his face, as though he was trying to figure something out. Elle’s hair colour had changed to bubble gum pink. Dimitri missed the blue. She currently had her head together with Megan, plotting. In the past week, the two of them had done a lot of plotting. Megan thought the team would be more successful if they were equipped with spy gear from the sixties and their computer tech agreed. Thankfully, so far Callum had managed to keep their crazy ideas to a minimum.
Ryan was over at the buffet table, as usual. He piled a plate high with pastries, then made up a second one with a single chocolate croissant on it. As he passed Katrina, he placed the plate in front of her without saying a word. Katrina recoiled from him, but once he was far enough away from her, she pulled the plate towards her and nibbled on the pastry. Her eyes firmly avoided Ryan, and every other man at the table. Except for her brother. When she looked at Dimitri, he gave her a reassuring smile.
Sharing the flat upstairs with Julia seemed to be helping his sister to cope. The security of the building helped and the partners had promised him his sister could stay there as long as she needed. Another reason he was a Benson Security guy for life. Katrina showed no signs of wanting to leave the office, but it was early days yet. She was putting on weight, her skin wasn’t so pale and the only scars remaining were the ones on the inside. Rachel, for reasons known only to herself, was paying for a counsellor for Katrina. With the support of the team, and time, his sister would make it. He just knew she would.
“Okay.” Callum stood and folded his arms over his grey Henley. “Rachel has an announcement before we begin the debrief on the Abramovich case.”
Katrina stiffened, but Megan leaned into her and whispered something that made his sister smile. He caught Megan’s eye and used telepathy to tell her she had a reward in her very near future. She must have got the message because her cheeks flushed.
Rachel stood, flipped her long brown hair behind her shoulder and scanned
the group. She still looked dismayed to find them all there.
“As you know, after the Abramovich incident, where Megan went off the reservation, I decided I didn’t want to work for Benson Security any longer.”
Ryan held up a hand to stop her. “You mean, when you were fired because you followed Megan off the reservation?”
Rachel carried on talking as though he was invisible. “I’ve since had a change of heart and approached the partners about an idea I have. After some negotiation, they agreed to my proposal.” Her smile was pure evil delight that had everyone in the room worried. “I wanted to start a business that specialises in putting together holistic security packages for discerning women, so I bought into the Benson Security partnership.”
There was silence. Which Megan broke. “Does this mean you’re starting a women-only part of the operation? Like Charlie’s Angels? Will you be Bosley?”
There was laughter. Rachel narrowed her eyes at Megan. “You’ve been assigned to my team.”
That took the smile off Megan’s face. She blustered, at a loss for words for the first time since Dimitri met her in Scotland. That’s when it hit him. When he knew what he wanted. The idea appeared in his mind fully formed and he knew absolutely that it was the right thing to do. Suddenly, his future was crystal clear before him. And Megan was at the heart of it. He already knew he loved her. Now he knew he wanted it to last forever.
“I have an announcement too,” Dimitri said, making Megan’s eyes shoot to his. He smiled at her which made her look worried. “Megan and I are getting married.”
There were whoops of delight, followed by a shout of “What the heck?” from Megan.
She shuffled forward in her chair and slapped her hands on the table between them. “You can’t announce that. You haven’t even asked me. Shouldn’t I have a choice in the matter? And, seriously, Dim Boy, I’ve known you less than two months.”
Dimitri grinned at the nickname. It was a new one she was trying out in her never-ending attempt to drive him insane. But he was strong enough to handle her. Standing, he strode round the table, put his hand on the nape of her neck and kissed her hard. Which merited a cheer. He sat back down feeling pretty damn smug at the rosy cheeks and swollen lips he’d left behind. He also felt pretty smug about the fact she was currently using a cane to get around, which would make running away from him a whole lot harder for her. Talk about perfect timing.
“We’re going to talk about this later.” She pointed at him. “At home. In private.” She sat back with an air of dignity. “While you wait for that chat, you can think about the fact that if you marry me, you get Grunt for a brother-in-law.”
That wiped the smile off Dimitri’s face. It was Megan’s turn to look smug.
“We done?” Callum said. “You think we could stop kissing during team meetings or at any other point during work hours? Bloody hell, how about you pretend to make an effort to behave professionally? You would never have gotten away with this soppy crap in the armed forces.”
“Good job we’re not in the armed forces then,” Megan said.
“As I was saying.” Callum glared at Megan, who grinned. “Rachel is now one of four partners. We’ll be discussing the new side of the business at future meetings.”
“What about other vacancies?” Ryan asked, once it had quietened down. “We need more men.”
“Team members,” Julia gently corrected from behind her plant.
Ryan grinned at the foliage. “I don’t care what gender they are as long as they know how to work as a team and they can handle their Chinese food.”
Megan groaned. “Never going to live that down,” she mumbled.
“We’re on it,” Callum told Ryan. “We’re interviewing. We’ll get the team members we need.” That seemed to appease Ryan. “Now, to the Abramovich case. Joe, an update.” Callum sat back down.
Joe leaned forward, elbows on the table. “We got word this morning that an operation is tabled for this weekend. Authorities in eleven countries will close in on all of the Abramovich-owned brothels.”
“So soon.” Megan sat up straight. “The Met police said it would be months.”
Joe cocked his head at her. “Apparently Rudi is in no condition to warn off his empire. He’s currently undergoing extensive plastic surgery. The joint teams think that striking sooner rather than later is a better scenario.”
Megan’s whole face lit up. The sight made Dimitri’s heart swell. “I helped,” she said with awe.
“Yes, you did.” Dimitri wished he was sitting beside her. He’d pull her into his lap and damn the business meeting.
“The names and addresses of every woman Rudi sold are in the hands of the authorities. Raids will be happening over the next few days. Those women will be going home.”
Katrina let out a gentle sob. Ryan moved towards her, but a swift shake of the head from Dimitri made him sit down again. The younger man’s jaw was clenched tight. Julia quietly sneaked out from behind her plant to sit beside Katrina, with a box of tissues in her hand. Katrina’s smile when she saw them lit up Dimitri’s heart. His sister was healing. He knew it would be a slow process and a painful one, but she was home and it would happen.
“There are still a lot of threads to unravel,” Joe said. “But the core of the operation will be gone by the end of next week. Rudi’s money has already been confiscated and the Met expect arrests to number in the hundreds.” He smiled at Elle. “The data storage unit in Switzerland was corrupted, so no one can access it. The only comprehensive records of the Abramovich empire are in the hands of the police and Rudi will be locked up for the rest of his life.” He sat back in his chair. “It’s over, people.”
Katrina hiccupped and Julia rubbed her back.
Megan leaned forwards, mischief in her eyes. “I think we should have a party to celebrate. A ‘so long you bastard’ party. And Rachel should pay, because she’s totally minted and needs the goodwill she’ll earn from the gesture.” She grinned widely as laughter broke out.
As everyone started to shout out suggestions for a party, Megan sat back and smiled at Dimitri. It was a smile that went straight to that secret place inside of him. The place she owned.
He cocked an eyebrow and mouthed the word, “So?” A challenge. His woman couldn’t resist a challenge.
Eyes gleaming, she mouthed one word back to him.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
Julia’s phone rang as the meeting degenerated into gleeful chaos. She heard Megan demand that someone go fetch champagne and watched as Dimitri grinned at her with pride. Megan was coping remarkably well with her injuries. The bullet wound in her leg was healing nicely, her dislocated shoulder was still a little sensitive and her bruises had almost faded. It would take a whole lot more than a psycho on her tail to keep that woman down.
Slipping out of the room, Julia answered her phone as she walked to her office. She didn’t recognise the number, but expected it to be one of the companies she’d contracted to finish the building. She was wrong.
“Julia darling?” her grandmother bellowed down the line, making Julia smile.
“Hey Gran, what’s up? Are you home?” The last email Julia received had informed her that her grandmother was off sightseeing in Peru.
“Not quite.” The hesitation in her tone made Julia stop dead in the corridor.
“What do you mean ‘not quite’?” Oh, she had a bad feeling about this call. She placed a hand on the wall beside her, steadying herself for whatever her grandmother was about to tell her.
“I’m still in Peru, darling,” her gran said. “I need you to come and get me.” There was a pause. “And you can’t tell your mother.”
Yep. It was bad. Julia leaned her shoulder against the cool wall. “Why do I need to come and get you? And why can’t I tell Mum?”
“I’ve been arrested, darling.”
“Arrested?” It came out as a high pitched squeak.
“Yes. I’m in Lima. You’ll need to b
ring someone you can trust who’s fluent in Spanish. I need you to find a decent lawyer to represent me once you’re here.”
Julia’s head was spinning so fast it was hard to think straight. “Start at the beginning. What have you been arrested for? And where’s your friend Alice?”
“Alice has gone missing.” There was panic in her grandmother’s voice now.
“They don’t think you have something to do with that, do they?” Julia could actually feel her blood pressure spike. “Is that what you’ve been arrested for? And what do you mean gone missing?”
“I don’t know what happened to Alice, we were separated and she disappeared. I was looking for her when I was arrested.”
“Gran, spit it out. What did they arrest you for?”
“They think I stole a mummified body.”
Julia blinked as time stood still. “A mummified body?”
There was silence.
“Did you?”
“Well, I’m not going to answer that over the phone! For goodness sake, Julia, use your brain. You’re supposed to be the sensible one in the family. Now are you coming to get me out or not?”
There was only one answer. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, darling.” Her grandmother sounded relieved. “I’ll get them to send you the details of where they’re holding me. Please hurry.”
The line went dead. Julia let her hand drop to her side, still holding the phone. Peru. A stolen mummy. A missing woman. And her grandmother in jail. She automatically thought of calling her mum then remembered her gran’s order not to.
Placing a hand on her roiling stomach, Julia began to make a mental checklist of everything she needed to do. Right at the top was informing Callum that she’d need some time off immediately. She bit her lip and wondered if she could do it by email. Probably not.
Gathering her courage, she turned back towards the conference room. The party mood had gained momentum in the short time she’d been gone. Megan was sitting in Dimitri’s lap while calling for pizza. Ryan was on his way out to pick up drinks and trying to gently convince Katrina to go along for the ride. Although Katrina was keeping her distance physically from Ryan, she had no problem telling him that she didn’t want to go. Elle was demanding cake. Rachel was sitting off to the side studying everyone as though they were aliens and Callum looked like he was getting ready to run. She didn’t know what Joe was doing, because she was still trying to stay as far away from him as possible until she figured out how to deal with the effect he had on her.
Reckless (Benson's Boys Book 1) Page 26