“Then what the hell do you have to gain by not trying?” she asked.
I sighed as I leaned back in my chair. I closed my eyes and allowed the pain of my body to overcome me. I saw Bradley’s face. I saw him smiling at the end of the aisle and holding our beautiful girl in his arms. I saw him running up and down the road, trying to get in some physical training while I recuperated from my C-section. I saw Bradley shoving off to war with his bag slung over his shoulder and a grim stare in his eyes.
Then I saw Graham, his eyes looking down at me as he carried me through the woods.
“Could you take me home?” I asked.
“Already there,” Nicole said.
We pulled into my driveway, and I shook my head.
“Go get him,” she said. “And don’t worry about Lily. I’ll pick her up.”
I got out of the car and headed straight for Graham’s house. I stepped up onto the porch, wincing as my hip popped. I banged on his door with my good hand. I banged and I banged and I yelled Graham’s name. I was about to throw my only good shoulder into it when the door whipped open, revealing a confused Graham standing in nothing but a towel.
“Really?” I asked.
“I was in the shower,” he said.
“Of course you were.”
“What is it, Cindy? Is something wrong?”
“Yes, something’s wrong,” I said. “You’re leaving.”
Graham sighed and shook his head, but I stood my ground.
“You can’t leave,” I said.
“I have to,” he said.
“No, you don’t. You think you do, but you don’t.”
“I’ve already signed contracts to renovate the house. The construction crew will be here next week,” he said.
“But I love you, Graham.”
I watched his eyes whip over to mine as I took a step toward him.
“I love you,” I said breathlessly.
I slid my hand up his wet chest and pressed my lips against his. His body was rigid, but his lips were soft, undulating against mine as I pressed deeper into him. His arms draped around my body, unable to refuse the warmth I had to give him. I slid my tongue between his lips, tasting him as he opened himself up to me.
“I love you,” I said again.
“Cindy.”
“I love you.”
“Please, Cindy.”
“Oh, how I love you, Graham.”
“I love you too.”
His words stopped me in my tracks. I opened my eyes, and he nuzzled his nose against mine. My legs grew weak and he caught me in his arms, my hands flying up to his chest.
“Then why are you leaving?” I asked.
“Because I love you,” he said.
“You don't leave someone you love.”
“If it keeps them safe, you do,” he said.
“It doesn’t work that way with me,” I said.
“This is the best way, whether you realize it or not.”
“Humans aren’t meant to survive alone, Graham. They are meant to have people, a community surrounding them. Helping them eat and grow and thrive and raise their children. We aren’t lone wolves. We were meant to mate. To love. To procreate. It’s etched into our biological DNA.”
“I had that, and I lost it,” he said.
“And sometimes, that happens. We’re animals, but we’re sophisticated. Sometimes, people like us get a second chance, another shot at dwelling with someone who completes us. You complete me, Graham. I think this is my second chance at a happy ending.”
I looked up into his eyes as his arms tightened around my body.
“And I know you feel the same,” I said.
“I bought this house, and it’s about to be heavily renovated. I’ve got nowhere to stay,” Graham said.
“Then move in with me and Lily. Right next door,” I said.
“You don’t have a guest bedroom.”
“Why would I need one?” I asked.
He snickered and shook his head as I steadied myself on my feet. I pushed through the pain in my shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck. I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes as the water from his body soaked the front of my clothes.
“You’re a stubborn woman, you know that?” he asked.
“Say yes,” I said.
“I still don’t know if they’re looking for me,” he said.
“Say yes, Graham.”
Our lips grew closer and closer, so close, I could feel his breath on my cheek. I turned my lips to him and kissed him lightly, peppering his face as my fingers twirled in his water-drenched locks. Our lips connected, and his arms enveloped my back, pulling me into the strength of his body.
I loved this man.
I would always love this man.
I felt him nod against me, and I smiled into our kiss. He walked us into his home and shut the door behind him. He picked me up into his arms as his towel slipped to the kitchen floor. Then, he walked us back into his steam-filled bathroom.
“I love you,” he said as he stepped us into his shower.
“I’m still in my clothes,” I said with a giggle.
“Don’t worry,” he said into my ear. “I’ll fix that.”
CHAPTER 32
GRAHAM
As I washed my hands in the sink, I looked over at Cindy’s house. Most of my things had been packed up and moved over already, but I still had a couple of days in my house. If I was going to stay with Cindy, it meant I had to do whatever was necessary to make sure they were safe, which meant I had to dip back into a life I thought I’d left behind over two years ago.
I roped Daniel into my plan, and we’d called up Buckley. The two of us flew to DC, and I told him I wanted to help him catch those sons of bitches once and for all. I was at their disposal so long as they let me get back to the life I was about to create, and Buckley was more than willing to accept the help.
With Paul in prison, the head of the Fresco family was scrambling.
Which meant a lot of their contacts the CIA knew about would be vulnerable.
I did things I wasn’t proud of. Dragged assholes into abandoned buildings and trod in the murky gray waters the CIA couldn’t. I took time off work and lurked in the shadows, using Paul’s own connections against him. Daniel posed as the man taking over Paul’s position, and we got everyone we needed into a room for negotiating. The head of the drug trafficking, the head of the arms dealing, and the three patriarchs of the mob family Paul had been dancing with for years.
Everyone responsible for killing my family.
We got the negotiation tactics on camera before we stormed in. We lit up the room as I pulled Daniel out. Bullets riddled the walls of the abandoned house deep within the woods.
The CIA had their firmest lead on how to take down the largest crime family on the East Coast. I got justice for my family, and I made sure no one would come after Cindy and Lily.
It didn’t bring my family back, but I still felt relief. I knew they could no longer hurt any other families, nor could they come after me. Mine and Daniel’s names were kept out of all the official documents, and we were paid a very hefty sum of money under the table for our time. Money that would be put to good use.
I dried off my hands as Lily came running across the yard. It would take time to wipe that amount of blood off my hands, but I knew I had done it in the best interest of the people I had come to love.
The family I had come to adopt.
“Graham! Graham! Is it true? Are we going swimming?” Lily asked.
“Yes, we are,” I said as I picked her up. “We’re going to the beach for the day.”
“Yay!”
“Is your mother ready?” I asked.
“Yep. She said to come get you because we’re already in the car.”
I locked the house behind me and started for Cindy’s car. I made her get out so I could drive because I knew her hip was still giving her some trouble. It was a bit of a drive to get to the beach I wanted to go to, but I didn’t mind. Lily and Cindy were singing songs in the car, and I was trying to memorize the words so I could sing along with them.
And all the while, Cindy was holding my hand.
After a two-hour drive, we pulled up to the beach. Lily scrambled to get out of the car, and Cindy stepped out to run after her. I gathered the blanket, toys, and the picnic basket out of the back and started to where my girls had taken off.