"Roman, chill," Luke warns softly, grabbing my other shoulder like he thinks I might go for Cassidy's throat.
I shake him and Finn off, taking a step toward Cassidy. He doesn't back down, despite the fact that I tower over him. He merely grits his teeth and shoots me a baleful smirk. I cock one brow, silently daring him to take a swing. I'd love to wipe that smirk off his face, but I'm not stupid enough to throw the first punch.
"Cassidy, Gregory, stand down," Randolph orders, earning a growl from Cassidy. "Getting in each other's faces isn't going to solve anything."
Cassidy continues to glare at me for a second, and then holds his hands up and takes a step back. The pussy.
"What happened, Roman?" Randolph asks again.
"He came after my girl because you motherfuckers sent me after him," I mutter.
"We never planned for that to happen," Randolph says, his voice soft.
I flick my gaze in his direction. "You never planned for a lot of shit, Randolph."
His lips compress into a thin line, but he doesn't deny it. He can't.
"Finn, are the rest of our guys out from underneath these motherfuckers yet?" I ask.
"All except Kincaid," he says.
I jerk my head in a nod, glancing between Cassidy and Randolph. "Remi broke in here with a weapon. Mila tried to convince him to turn himself in. He didn't like that plan. He also didn't expect me to have someone watching her. When he heard us coming, he shot himself instead of trying to take all of us on." Cassidy opens his mouth like he wants to question my version of events, but I turn a malevolent glare in his direction. "You wanted him silenced, he's silenced."
"We wanted him brought in," he mutters.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should have told him that before he pulled the trigger and splattered his brains all over my fiancée and my living room," I growl. "Your problem is solved. He won't be saying shit to anyone about anything. Now you can tell whatever fucking story you want about what happened here, but do not even think about coming for my fiancée, Kincaid, or anyone else on our team. I did my part and we're done. If you come for any of us, you'll regret it. Any questions?"
"The baby," Randolph says softly, and then holds his hands up when Finn and I both aim warning glares in his direction. "I'm only asking because LAPD saw him with the kid."
"We're handling it," Finn mutters before I can answer. "As far as LAPD is concerned, the kid was his son's daughter, his granddaughter. She's in protective custody now, and the mother won't be coming around to cause problem. That's all you need to know."
Randolph eyes him for a long, tense moment and then nods. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something and then snaps it closed again.
"Let's go," Cassidy snaps, pushing his way around me.
I let him go. As much as I'd like to mess up that pretty boy face of his, there's no point.
"For what it's worth," Randolph says quietly, genuine regret in his voice, "I'm sorry about all of this."
"I'm sure you are," Finn says without inflection. His eyes though…those make it more than clear that Randolph and his buddies at the DEA ruined any chances of mending fences when they decided to threaten us into keeping their secrets for them. We'll work with them if we have to do it, and will work around them when we don't. But we'll never be partners. We'll never be friends. We'll never trust a goddamn thing they say, ever again.
Randolph offers him a tight nod and then follows after Cassidy.
"Fucking disgraces," I mutter beneath my breath, watching them duck back inside the house. My blood boils in my veins, burning like lava as it pumps through me. I take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to calm myself down again.
Finn and Luke stand beside me, not speaking for several long minutes. Long enough to ensure Cassidy and Randolph can't eavesdrop. Luke ducks inside and looks around before coming back out to let us know the coast is clear and we can talk openly.
"What really happened?" Finn asks, turning to face me.
"Apparently there are at least four more of Francisco's kids out there," I tell him, pitching my voice low just in case anyone else decides to eavesdrop. "I guess he knew there was no way out of this shit for him, so he came here to rope me into helping find them."
"Motherfucker," Finn swears, and I know I don't even have to tell him that we can't risk Francisco getting his hands on those kids. He knows as well as I do that we can't. "You're sure?"
"He was sure enough to risk coming here," I murmur. As much as I want to believe he's full of shit, I can't do it. Remi knew he wouldn't walk away again if he came here, but he came anyway. I don't have a choice but to believe him, not when failing to do so could put four innocent children in the hands of a murderer.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Finn asks, not wasting time arguing.
"I'll find them," Luke murmurs, drawing Finn's attention. "Roman has Mila to worry about. You've got your wife. Kincaid has his own shit right now. We can't ask anyone else on the team to help because the more people who about this, the more danger those kids are in. It has to be me."
"There's no guarantee these kids are even in California," Finn says.
Luke shrugs a shoulder like that doesn't matter to him. "The two of you have done more than your fair share lately, and I know you did part of it to keep me and the rest of the team out of the crosshairs."
"We did it because you're family, Luke," I remind him, frowning. I don't want him thinking he owes us a damn thing for what we did to get them out of from underneath Cassidy and Randolph, or for dealing with the Remi situation on our own. They're our teammates, our brothers.
"You think I don't know that?" He glances at me and then at Finn, his green eyes softening. "You've been going to bat for us since the very beginning. You've probably done shit to protect us that I don't even know about. Now you're done. Everyone is out safely, and Remi is gone. Let me do this part for you so you can spend time with your families."
He meets my gaze, letting me read his expression. He still thinks he has penance to pay for what happened with Lillian…still thinks he has something to prove. He's wrong about that—he's proved himself a thousand times over—but if this is something he feels like he needs to do, I can't tell him no. If he thinks he still has something to prove, I need to let him do it. Besides, there is no one I trust more to find those kids and get them to safety than him.
"You're sure?" Finn asks, eyeing him with a new respect.
Luke nods.
Finn glances up at me, a question in his eyes. I don't hesitate to give him my answer.
"Let him do it," I say softly.
"What happens now?" Mila asks me hours later, curling up on my lap.
I set my phone to the side and wrap my arms around her, pressing my lips against her crown and lingering there. Gratitude flows through me…gratitude that she's here, gratitude that she's safe, gratitude that Remi is dead and is no longer a threat. For the first time since el Demonio and Jose Guerrero ripped my world apart six months ago, I finally feel like I can breathe easy.
"Now?" I murmur into her skin. "Now we plan a wedding and have a baby."
She rests quietly in my arms for a long moment. "It's really over, isn't it?"
"Yeah, baby." I slide my hand through her thick hair, turning her face up toward mine to kiss her softly on the lips. "It's really over." I'll continue to help Octavio protect Faith until she's out of harm's way, but with Remi and Kaleo out of the picture, Kincaid likely to be cleared at any time, and Luke taking over the search for Francisco's kids, there's not a whole lot left for me to do. My job is done. No more gangs. No more bullshit.
"What about Faith?" she asks, unable to hide her worry.
"I'll still help Octavio keep her safe," I promise, though I have a feeling her safety won't be an issue for much longer. When Octavio saw her standing beside Knox today, his composure slipped. He had her in his arms with his lips on hers in a matter of seconds. She's his now…and there's no way in hell he'll let anyth
ing happen to her.
"And Michael and January?"
"Still working on that one," I admit, tugging gently on her hair. "But I have faith everything is going to work out for the two of them. After everything, they deserve that much." I brush my lips back and forth across hers in soft passes. "We're through the worst of it, Mila. You're allowed to be happy even if everything isn't perfect just yet."
"I know," she whispers, smiling against my lips. "But I know you too. You'll never be completely out of it until all of your people are taken care of."
"My people are taken care of," I remind her.
"You know what I mean."
I nod, because I do know what she means. Luke and Kincaid, hell, even Declan Carter, Knox Cooper, and Evan Arias, are mine now. They're my family, my responsibility. I will always be there if they need my help…it's what you do for family. But my part in all of the bullshit is finished now. The last cloud hanging over my head is gone, blown away because the priceless woman in my arms is a fucking warrior who was willing to go to war to secure our future.
Now I can focus on her and the little girl growing in her belly like I've wanted to do all along.
"You're finally all mine," she whispers, smiling against my lips.
"I've always been all yours," I remind her, tightening my hand in her hair. "From day one, I've been yours, Mila. I'll continue to be yours until God sees fit to take me from this earth." My lips ghost across hers, my tongue teasing at the seam of her lips. "And when I die, I'll be yours in whatever life comes next."
"I love you, Roman."
"So much you could float away?" I ask.
"Always," she whispers before taking my mouth in a deep kiss.
Chapter Eighteen
Roman
"You need to name our daughter," Mila says, a little huff in her voice.
"Oh?" I run my eyes over the document in front of me, skimming it quickly.
"I've looked at five thousand names, and I can't pick one. You have to do it."
I lean back in my chair, grinning as she rambles about how hard picking a name for a tiny human actually is. Faith gave her a book of baby names a couple days ago, and she's been pouring over it ever since, trying to find the perfect one for our little girl. I haven't told her yet, but I already have the perfect name picked out. I've been keeping it under wraps though, hoping to surprise her.
"Why aren't you worried about this?" she cries into the phone. "Our daughter will be here soon and she doesn't have a name. We can't call her ladybug forever!"
"Baby, calm down," I say, chuckling. "We have time."
"What if she comes early?"
My brows snap together, worry slicing through me. "Is something wrong? Are you sick?"
"No. Settle down," she huffs. "I'm just saying, it could happen, and then she isn't going to have a name, and her crib will say something like Baby Girl Gregory, and that's sad, Roman. I don't want her to be the only baby in the nursery with no name."
I shake my head, fighting the urge to laugh because if I do, she'll kick my ass. She's been a little more emotional than normal since Remi killed himself. If it weren't for that, you'd never know she watched a man die a few days ago. She's been a fucking warrior through everything. She even refused to spend more than a couple of nights in a hotel before she demanded we return home. I'm so fucking proud of her.
"Roman! Are you even listening to me?"
"Baby," I say, laughing softly. "You aren't going to have her early so stop worrying about that shit right now. And I already picked a name."
"You did?" she asks, and then her voice turns suspicious. "When?"
"A while ago."
"When?"
"When I found out we were having a girl," I admit, signing off on the paperwork in front of me and then pushing it to the side to look over the next stack. I'll never admit it, but being behind a desk is a hell of a lot easier to face when the alternative means there's a possibility of Mila getting caught in the middle again. After what happened with Remi…well, let's just say there will never again come a time when my job puts her in harm's way.
"Really?" she asks.
"Yeah," I whisper as my pen scratches across a uniform request form for one of the guys we pinched from the DEA. They're settling into their new roles with the taskforce well. If any of them had any objections about changing agencies, they quickly dropped them once Luke explained that Randolph, Cassidy, and Benson held Kincaid's future and my own over my head to gain my cooperation in bringing Remi in. He didn't spill the DEA's dirty secret, but he didn't need to spill it.
They've worked alongside me and Finn long enough to know we don't do shit without reason. Once the dust settled, we had a long conversation with everyone about what happened with Remi. It went a long way toward rebuilding the trust Remi and Sanders damaged. I have no illusions that getting back to where we once were will be easy, but shit isn't as broken as I thought. The team is leery, but receptive. It's a start.
"Why didn't you tell me? I've been looking through this book all day!"
"You trust me, baby?" I ask, smiling.
"Yes."
"Then stop worrying and know that I've already got it handled."
"Okay," she agrees, her voice turning as soft and sweet as ever. I love how much faith she has in me and how readily she gives me her trust. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"Are you going to tell me what you're wearing under your wedding dress?" I demand, knowing damn well she isn't. She and Faith spent all day yesterday giggling about whatever she picked out to torture me with. I was hard half the day, fantasizing about the possibilities, but she refused to give me even a hint. I ate her pussy until she passed out and she still wouldn't tell me.
"That's not fair!" she cries.
"Seems fair to me."
"I like you so much better when you're giving me what I want," she grumbles, making me laugh. It's not the first time she's told me that. It probably won't be the last. "Do I at least get veto power?"
"Yeah," I say, smiling. "You can veto if you don't like it." There's no chance of that happening, though. We're naming the baby after her mom. She'll love it.
"Fine," she grumbles. "But I still like you better when you're giving me what I want."
"I'll give you what you want tonight," I promise, my voice dropping to a growl. My cock goes hard at the thought of giving her what she wants. I'm so hopelessly addicted to her. I don't ever want it to stop.
"Okay," she breathes, and I know she's right there with me.
"Behave and I'll see you in a couple hours. I have a surprise for you."
"What kind of surprise?"
"The kind that's a surprise," I murmur, grinning.
"Fine," she grumbles. "Keep your secrets then. I didn't want to know anyway."
"You're a terrible liar, baby." I shake my head, laughing quietly.
"Whatever," she huffs, though I can hear the smile in her voice. "Stop bugging me, I have a wedding to plan."
I growl at her, which just makes her laugh at me.
"Love you, Roman."
"I love you too, sweetheart." I disconnect and set my phone down, only for it to ding a moment later. Picking it back up, I laugh when I see her message.
Mila: You didn't pick something like Wilma, did you? Please say no.
"What are you smiling about?" Finn asks, ducking into my office.
"Mila," I say simply, and then fire off a text telling her it isn't Wilma.
"How is my favorite girl?" Finn asks, propping a hip on the side of my desk and crossing his arms. The stack of paperwork I just signed off on slips off the larger stack, scattering across my desk.
"Go sit on your own desk," I bitch, glaring at him while I pick it all up and organize it again.
He smirks and flips me off, not budging. "Has anyone ever told you that you're anal retentive?"
"Fuck off."
He laughs loudly, still taking far too much enjoyment in the amount of paperwork I have to deal with…whi
ch we both know is his fault. In more ways than one.
I narrow my eyes on him. "You want to explain why half of this shit has your name on it, fucker?"
"No clue," he says, shrugging innocently despite the shit eating grin on his face.
"Right," I snort, shaking my head. He paid one of the clerks in the mailroom to drop all his paperwork off in my box. Which I probably never would have figured out if I hadn't caught her red-handed, forcing her to confess through gales of laughter.
"Took you long enough to figure it out," he says, laughing at me.
"It's not like I've even been here to go through any of this shit," I remind him, setting aside the stack of uniform requests and picking up the next stack. "And just so you know, I haven't read half this shit. I'm just forging your name on it."
"You better be kidding."
"Nope."
"Motherfucker," he growls, leaning over to snatch the file of uniform requests off my desk.
I chuckle when he flips the file open and sees that I'm just fucking with him. Though it'd serve him right if I did forge his name on everything he pawned off on me. He flips me off again, and then snatches the rest of his shit off my desk, tucking it under his arm.
"Why are you in here bothering me anyway?" I ask him.
"Came to tell you that Ames called. January woke up about an hour ago."
"Thank God," I murmur. The day after Remi killed himself, she had to be rushed back into surgery. Kincaid has been a nervous wreck ever since. Mila and I have stopped by every day to check on them and take food since Kincaid hasn't stepped foot outside the hospital since she was shot. "I'll swing by and check on her and Kincaid later."
"Sounds good." Finn says. "Any word yet on whether he's going to be charged?"
I shake my head. "Octavio's still waiting for ballistics to come back. Why?"
He hesitates for a long moment…long enough to make me set aside my pen and glance up from my paperwork. He eyes me warily, like he isn't sure whether he wants to tell me whatever is bothering him.
Desire Me (Her Best Friend's Father Book 4) Page 27
