Van lowered his forehead to her shoulder. “I’m sorry. For keeping her from you. For taking you from your mother. It’s too late for apologies. Fuck, I know this, but I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you.”
Tense seconds passed, then her arms rose and folded around his back. She squeezed tighter, her voice thick. “This is a good start.”
He raised his head and shared a look with Amber over Liv’s shoulder, one that promised new memories. Joyful memories. She pressed a knuckle to her mouth and gave him a tearful smile.
He released Liv and moved to her side, where he belonged, surrounded by the radiance of her presence. As he stared into the brown eyes of the woman who embodied impossible dreams, he felt the future in every cell of his body. It felt crazy and beautiful and decisively unbreakable.
Four years later...
Amber was outrunning him, fucking running circles around him. But really, how could he complain? Watching her ass flex in those painted-on athletic pants took his mind off his burning muscles and overworked lungs.
As the sun disappeared behind the skyline of downtown Austin, the city's towers glinted with the lingering rays of yellow and gold. Too bad the humidity didn't vanish with it. He wiped his forehead with the sweatband on his wrist and quickened his pace to catch up with that gorgeous ass.
Maybe fifty paces ahead of him, she pivoted, running backwards and grinning at him like a goon. “What's the hold up, old man?”
Old man? He was still a year younger than she was, even if she hadn’t broken a sweat. Fucking show-off.
Pedestrians and fellow runners scurried out of their way. A dozen teen-aged boys paused their soccer game to watch her run by. He gave the fuckers a threatening glare, and they snapped from their gawking and returned to their scrimmage.
He and Amber could’ve easily jogged in the woods at the cabin, but the social surroundings were good for her. And there was another reason he’d chosen this park.
In an hour, he would be meeting with one of his former slaves, Camila, on the south side of the pond. He’d learned she was attempting to bring down a new slave ring in Austin and was in over her head. Even with her cartel connections, it had been too ambitious and risky as hell. She needed help, and fuck him, but being a husband and a father fueled him with a crazy amount of protective drive, which included a bloodthirsty need to wipe the city of sex trafficking.
Amber was skittish about his involvement, but she would come around. He wouldn’t give her a choice.
Up ahead, an old lady and her Boston Terrier stepped into Amber’s backward running path. If Amber didn't turn back around soon, she was going to collide with them.
“Amber.” He panted for air. “Watch yourself.”
As she spun around, he glimpsed the tightening of her fist and the flinch of her shoulders. No one around her would notice the traces of her anxiety, the way she cracked her knuckles too often, the tiny hiccups in her breathing, and the trickle of sweat between her breasts. They would only see the confident woman she was with a knockout body and face so ethereal it compelled longing glances.
Every day she left the house was a workout for her. The agoraphobia would always be there, but she made it her bitch with an inspiring amount of courage.
He caught up with her on the bend around the pond and ran at her side. Christ, he loved seeing her at his side. Good thing, too, since they worked together every day out of the garage at the cabin. Her leathercraft business had trickled into the doll market, and they were inundated with orders.
When they reached the next bend, his pocket vibrated. He checked the caller ID and grabbed her elbow, veering them off the track.
Slowing to a stop and hunching over with a hand on his knee, he lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, sweetheart.”
A melodic voice tinkled through the phone. “Daddy?”
Damn, he would never get tired of hearing her call him that. And it was the only greeting she gave before charging into the reason for her call. “You can’t just go around threat—”
“I’m doing great.” He smiled, feeling the easiness of it inside and out. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” She sniffed then rushed on in her high-pitched voice. “But Katie told Jena, and Jena told—”
“Livana.” He used his warning tone, winking at Amber. “Slow down.”
Amber bent at the waist in a stretch that put her chest on her thighs and her ass in the air. He leaned with her, mesmerized, as blood rushed to his dick. He dropped the phone.
She gave him an upside down grin, her ponytail swishing over the ground.
He returned the phone to his ear and pulled his shirt over the front of his pants.
“—can't do that,” Livana said. “Are you there?”
“Yeah, honey. I dropped the phone. Start over.”
“Did you threaten Danny Taylor?”
Oh, that. “I didn't threaten him. I simply enlightened him.”
Amber straightened, shaking her head and licking the corner of her curved mouth, the vixen.