by Becky McGraw
“I love you too, Griff, and I do believe you’re sorry, but I want you to leave.”
There, she said it. And even though the words felt like acid on her tongue and burned a weeping wound into her soul, she knew she’d done the right thing. Here he went, doing things behind her back again. She had no faith she could ever trust him.
* * *
At six-thirty on New Year’s Eve, Griff pulled his new-to-him Humvee up to the curb around the corner from Lou Ellen’s house. He parked behind a row of tall hedges a little back from the intersection, so she wouldn’t see him and shut him down, or shoot him down, before he got into the house.
The element of surprise would be his calling card tonight, he thought, as he exited the SUV and walked toward the passenger side to get their gifts. His feet tangled together and his blood ran cold when his eyes snagged on a familiar blacked-out, jacked-up SUV parked down the block under the street lights, which had just come on.
His eyes swung to the house and he noticed her porch light wasn’t on. A shiver rocked him as he crouched behind the hedgerow to survey the situation. Maybe he was overreacting because he was so damned worried about them being alone.
He stayed there, hidden behind the bushes for fifteen minutes and nothing moved inside the house that he could see, not even in the bay window in the kitchen. Lou Ellen’s car was in the driveway, so that told him they were there. Something was wrong. The hair on the back of his neck was standing tall and that never happened unless that was the case. It happened the night they were ambushed in Julo but he ignored it. He wasn’t ignoring it tonight.
Standing, he bent, then looked around the end of the hedges. Adrenaline pumped through him and his heart raced in his ears as he dashed across the lawn and immediately crouched beside the bay window. He reached inside his suit to pull out the brand new FN57 pistol he’d bought, then did a quick look-see in the window. What he saw stopped his heart. Lou Ellen, Layla and Jayden were on their knees in the living room with their hands tied behind their backs.
The lunch he’d eaten earlier lunged up to his throat as fear paralyzed him. His hand shook as he slid his cell phone out of his breast pocket and dialed 9-1-1. As soon as the emergency operator answered, he gave her the address and hung up, then cut off the ringer on his phone.
He was sure because of the neighborhood, they would be here in minutes. But those were minutes he didn’t have. If he waited to go in, he knew they would be dead and he would be living the nightmare of his wife and daughter’s death all over again. If that happened, he would put himself out of his misery this time, because he could not go through that again. A man could only take so much grief before he snapped.
Griff had just reached his snapping point, he thought, as he turned and crept toward the back of the house. He was not letting terrorists―homegrown, gang-related or radical, take his family again. If he died in the process, he would die knowing they were alive.
Chapter 24
“How could you be so stupid, Jayden?” Layla growled, squeezing her eyes shut, which sent a matching set of tears down her face.
“He said he had the money they owed me for the last run. We needed that money,” he hissed back. “You never know what will happen here.” He shot an accusing glance at Lou Ellen and she fought the urge to vomit.
This was not her fault—he’d been belligerent and testy this morning before she left for work. Taking his game console, which she’d given him for Christmas, with her was a commensurate punishment. As soon as she walked in the front door with groceries in her arms, she got her reward for disciplining him when these three thugs jumped her.
Another time that Bruno let her down, because she couldn’t get to him in her purse.
That pistol won’t do you much good in your purse.
Griff was right, but that knowledge didn’t help her in this dire situation—nothing would. Her Silent Knight wouldn’t be saving them either, because she’d cut him from their lives.
They were all going to die as soon as the third thug finished ransacking her house for what he could find. He was making trips back and forth to put his loot beside the Christmas tree. She knew the other two, who sat on her sofa eating a sandwich from her groceries, were only torturing them by making them sweat while they wondered when they kill them.
Thug number three came back into the living room carrying her jewelry box that she kept at the back of her closet. Her two sets of wedding rings were in that box, her grandmother’s diamond brooch, and her mother’s pearls.
Her heart ripped apart at the thought of these gangsters having those heirlooms in their filthy hands. But those treasures wouldn’t do her any good where she was about to go. She would have otherworldly treasures, she hoped. Lou Ellen hadn’t lived a perfect life, but she tried to help others as much as she could and prayed those gestures hadn’t gone unnoticed.
After the heavily-tatted gangbanger set the box with the other stuff, he looked at his partners and gave a chin nod, and Lou Ellen swallowed hard as she closed her eyes and began praying. She hoped they killed her first so she didn’t have to watch the kids die.
A bullet popped and she cringed, but started crying when she realized it wasn’t for her. Something crashed loudly—it sounded like her Christmas tree falling. She opened her eyes as two more quick rounds fired, and whimpered when the two thugs on the couch slumped there.
Relief like she’d never known made her lightheaded as her eyes landed on her Silent Knight standing in the doorway of the living room wielding a pistol, looking like an avenging angel, in a dark gray suit. Sirens rang in her ears as dots danced before her eyes. She swayed on her knees as the dots closed together to form a black curtain and she felt herself falling.
“Oh, God, Queenie—please wake up! Please tell me you’re okay!”
Griff’s strangled voice was terror and agony personified. It dragged Lou Ellen toward the light, her soul desperate to help him. She tried to move, but her arms and upper body were bound. Something also kept her ribs from expanding so she could breathe. Hot water dripped in the center of her forehead and down into her eyes to burn them.
“Let her go, dude. You’re going to smother her.” It was Jayden’s voice. Lou Ellen fought harder to open her eyes and thought she had, but all she saw was darkness.
“Sir, you’ll have to let her go, so we can check her out,” a kind, but impatient voice said.
“I’m never letting her go,” Griff growled, and the band around her upper body tightened. “I don’t care if she wants me or not—I’m not letting this happen again.”
“She wants you, dumbass—she loves you and we do, too. You just need to get your head out of your ass and make things right,” Layla said, and emotion too intense to hold back escaped from Lou’s lips in a wail.
The band around her loosened and she sucked in a huge breath, but before she could exhale, Griff covered her mouth with his to kiss her fiercely. She pushed his shoulders and he moved his mouth to her cheek, but continued to rain kisses all over her face.
“Sir, we need to talk to you outside about what happened and the kids need to clear the room so CSI can come inside and, ah, clear the house.”
Lou Ellen looked up at the detective who stood above them looking down patiently at Griff, who sat against the sofa holding her. Her eyes filled as she saw Layla and Jayden standing beside him.
“Oh, thank God, you two are okay,” she said, her voice shaking as badly as her body. Griff’s arms tightened around her, again forcing the air from her lungs. She turned her head to meet his tear-filled eyes. “Were you a boa constrictor in another life?” she squeaked.
He looked surprised as he gave a watery chuckle. “No, I was a cobra, baby. Silent and deadly,” he replied, his eyes sparkling like the blue topaz in her grandmother’s brooch.
“Sort of like your bean farts that almost killed me living in that tent with you,” Layla said, and the detective choked, Lou Ellen gasped and Griff laughed hard.
“No more beans for
us now, Shortie—I promise,” Griff said, giving Lou a final squeeze before he eased her off of his lap. When he stood, Layla and Jayden almost tackled him in a hug. It was their turn to cry and Lou Ellen joined in on both the hug and the tears.
Griff took control after that, and Lou Ellen gladly let him. After he gave his statement to the police, he loaded all of them into his vehicle to drive them out to the compound. He said they would not be spending another night in that house, and she wholeheartedly endorsed that idea.
Even though the police said they’d have regular patrols through the neighborhood for the foreseeable future, those gangsters knew where she lived now and she did not feel safe there. She wasn’t sure she’d ever feel safe again, because her confidence that she could protect herself and her kids had just been rocked to its core.
Maybe they would be better off going back into the system.
Chapter 25
Lou Ellen was shocked when she saw Logan’s SUV parked outside of the office and the lights on. She leaned forward in the seat and squinted as they drove nearer and noticed other vehicles were parked under the tree. It was New Year’s Eve—what was everyone doing out here at the compound? With a groan, she sat back against the seat and felt Griff’s eyes on her.
“You okay, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice tight.
It was the first time he’d spoken since they left her house. She knew it was because he was still on guard because she didn’t miss his white-knuckled grip on the wheel, or his glances in the rear view or side view mirrors every five minutes.
He stopped in front of the porch, but didn’t kill the engine. “Are you sure we don’t need to take you to the E.R?” he asked, his eyes scanning her body.
“I’m positive—I told you I’m fine,” she grated, but the fact that he cared enough to ask again melted her insides. This man did care about her and showed it with his actions.
“Well, what you tell me and what you actually feel are sometimes two different things, aren’t they? You like to pretend you don’t need anyone. You are this scion of goodness, a fortress of strength, who helps everyone but yourself, aren’t you?” He twisted the keys in the ignition to kill the motor and turn in his seat to look at her. “Am I wasting my time here, Queenie? Will you ever let me back in?”
“Not the right track, dumbass,” Layla said with a sigh as she opened the back door. Jayden exited on the other side and quietly closed the door. Layla slammed hers, compressing the air inside the cab.
Lou Ellen folded her arms over her chest and looked at him. “I am strong, even though right now I’m scared shitless for me, and for the kids,” she admitted, her eyes burning.
“You are one of the strongest, kindest women I’ve ever met, Queenie. But everyone hits a wall sometimes and needs help. I need to be the one there to help you, the one you lean on when you hit that wall.” His jaw worked and his eyes glittered in the porch light.
Lou Ellen’s chest filled with the love in his eyes, her heart bled from hearing the desperation in his voice. She wanted to throw herself into his arms until she stopped shaking from the ordeal she’d just survived. But she couldn’t yet.
“How can I know leaning on you won’t result in me falling on my butt because you’re just not secure enough to hold me up? To deal with the problems I face raising these kids? You are just getting your feet under you again.”
“No—because of you, I’m standing tall again. You were my rock when I’d given up hope. I want to be your rock now and for the rest of my life. I love you more than my next breath, Lou Ellen…” His face pinched as he sucked in a sharp breath. “The new life you’ve given me is worth nothing if I don’t have you and the kids to share it with. I knew that before, but almost losing youand them tonight drove that point home.”
The dam burst and warmth flooded her system as she admitted her life would mean nothing without him either. She needed him to lean on, to love her and to protect their family, because he was right—she was strong, but the brick wall she hit tonight told her they were stronger together than she would ever be alone. She’d lived her whole life taking risks, so what was one more?
“What are you asking me, Mr. Griffin?” she asked, unfolding her arms.
With a growl, he pulled her over the console into his lap and wedged her between the wheel and his chest. “I’m asking you to be my Mrs. Robinson for the rest of my life, Queenie. I want you to marry me, to adopt the kids with you, and to move out of this godforsaken state as soon as possible. I want a fresh start with you at the center of my universe, to be my strength and my one and only love for the rest of our lives. I want to grow old with you, Queenie.”
“I’ve got a considerable head start on you, so you have some catching up to do,” she said, smiling as she stroked his neatly trimmed beard. “Now, it’s midnight, so Happy New Year’s. Kiss me and take me to bed, because it’s past my bedtime.”
Griff’s mouth closed over hers in a gentle kiss that touched her soul. She glided her hand up his chest to cup his neck and opened her mouth for him. His tongue slipped into her mouth and his hand slid up her thigh to dive under the hem of her skirt.
He kissed her deeper and her nails dug into his scalp as need burned through her like a wildfire. His hand moved higher to grip her ass as he lowered her in his arms to kiss her harder. His breath hitched, his heart pounded against her palm, and she squirmed as waves of sensual pleasure washed through her.
The passenger door suddenly flew open, cold air rushed into the cab, dousing the flames inside her as she sat up in Griff’s lap, feeling his steely erection pressing into her hip. Her face flamed as she stared into Logan’s angry eyes.
“When you two are finished making out like teenagers, we’ll be in the conference room. I want sit rep right now on what just went down. We have been on standby since Griff’s call and they are chomping at the bit to either go kick some gangster ass or go home.” Logan slammed the door and stomped back toward the porch.
Griff met Lou Ellen’s eyes and his lips twitched. “Busted,” he said wiggling his eyebrows.
She certainly wasn’t a teenager, but she might be something else Lou Ellen realized. “Does loving you make me a cougar?” she asked, kind of relishing the idea.
“No, it makes me the luckiest silver fox in the universe.” He kissed her forehead and eased her off of his lap. “Let’s go inside and give them the good news, so we can get rid of them. After that I’m putting you to bed—but be prepared—there won’t be much sleeping.” He gave her a sexy grin she felt down low as he opened his door. “Remember, you’re marrying a younger man who can go the distance.”
Epilogue
“Would you two please stop making out long enough to help me finish painting my room?” Layla asked, huffing a breath as she leaned against the door jamb of their room. “I’d like to get this done before school starts next month. You never know, I might make a friend or two to invite over.”
Lou Ellen tensed and pushed Griff away to put her hand over her deliciously ravaged and swollen mouth. He growled and turned to glare at his daughter.
“I told you we don’t have enough paint left to finish. I’m going to the hardware store in a few minutes to get more. I was just kissing your mother goodbye. Mint Julep, right?” he asked.
“Sucking face with Momma, isn’t getting it bought,” Layla replied sassily as she folded her arms over her chest, slapping the paintbrush against her bicep to color more of her mocha skin and white t-shirt mint green. “We need to hurry because we have that counseling session this afternoon, remember? I like that lady—she’s pretty cool.”
Lou Ellen would not let them miss even one of those sessions.
They were helping the kids too much and Griff’s individual sessions were helping him tremendously. He was a different man in just six short months. Not that he wasn’t perfect before, but he felt better about himself and was dealing with the repercussions from his former life. Their family was growing stronger and stronger with each day that pa
ssed and that was helping her.
“I’m dropping y’all off today because I have to go to the office to meet the contractor. He has the buildings framed up and wants me to walk through with him.”
“Aw, hell, Queenie,” Griff said, shoving his hand through his hair, leaving a mint green streak behind. “Why today? I wanted to go with you to meet him. That security fence needs to be upgraded to spec with the Dallas compound. I want the call box, and the razor wire.”
“Because you are a security freak these days,” she replied, huffing a breath. “I hardly think someone is going to scale an eight foot fence with barbed wire on top, Griff. Seriously—go to your session. You can meet with him another day.”
His eyes narrowed and focused on her mouth.
“I am a freak, all right,” he said giving her that grin as he stalked toward her.
Lou Ellen pinched her knees together and held up a hand. God, the man got sexier every day. And he knew it.
“Don’t give me that grin, Griff,” she warned, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s not working today, because I don’t have time for it.”
“You’ll make time for me, Mrs. Robinson,” he growled as he used his body to back her into the wall. That alpha tone, those hungry eyes, cranked her engine. It roared when he shoved his hand into her hair, tilted her head back and claimed her mouth again, as if he wanted to eat her up.
“Eww—old people, please!“ Layla said, as she backed out of the room.
“Hey, Griff, I’m ready to go—eww is right,” Jayden said, before he slammed the door.
Griff kissed her hard as he edged them along the wall to the door. He reached out and flipped the lock, then bent to sweep her up into his arms. Never breaking the kiss, he carried her to bed. She squealed when he tossed her onto the mattress, giggled when he ripped his t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
