by Bex Dane
Everything he said lined up with the goals of Aida's organization. It would take some of the funding pressure off Torrez and Dallas. Shit. If we took it far enough, Dallas might enter into an agreement with the FBI and get them off his back. Might work out. Could also fail horribly.
"We'll give it a shot," Rogan said. "You let tonight go down as planned. We'll give you access to the women tomorrow. Tonight, no cops. The volunteers get the intake done. You show up tomorrow and ask them to turn on the pimps. Do not scare them into running back."
Colt nodded. "We can do that."
"We gotta get going," I said. Rogan and I needed to discuss this alone.
"Good luck, guys." Lachlan gave Rogan a thumbs up and left with his friend.
Rogan looked skeptically at Lachlan's back.
"Blow it off, Rogan. Let's get this thing done."
Not one to waste time, Rogan returned to the group and picked up where he'd left off.
***
I entered the hotel room for my nine pm appointment. The girl hid behind the door and peeked one eye around.
"Hello, honey." Her voice sounded scratchy.
I sat in a chair. "You comin' out?"
She closed the door and I saw her for the first time. Pink mini skirt and tank top. Skinny. No hips. Flat ass. Lips all wrong. Clearly a dude.
"What'll it be?" she asked.
If I called her out for being a man right away, I'd lose her trust.
"Just wanna talk."
She frowned and ran her hand over her wig. "You want me to suck your dick? Unless you want ass. You seem like the kinda guy who likes ass."
Holy shit. How did I end up in this situation? "Relax, turbo. I'm not here for sex."
"You're not? Are you a cop?"
"Nope. Here to talk to you."
Twenty minutes later, she'd taken off her wig and admitted to being male cross-dresser. I talked to him about leaving his pimp. He resisted at first, but the promise of witness protection threw him over the edge. He wanted out. He was just scared. I gave him the sweats and T-shirt kit and he changed his clothes.
Aida was a little surprised when I showed up with a dude wearing lipstick, but she recovered quickly and handed him over to the volunteers.
It was a helluva week with Aida. But then again, every week with her was eventful. Sure as hell not boring.
***
By the end of the night, the team rescued twenty-one women and one man. The volunteers helped them get settled in the hotel rooms on the top floor. Aida said a tearful goodnight to her mother, and we headed back to our suite.
I got her naked and pushed her exhausted body into the shower. I climbed in behind her and held her up as the water washed everything away.
"You did so much for me. I'm so grateful." Her words slurred, she was so tired.
"I'd do anything for you, mi paloma. Dive on a grenade for you." It was true. The woman had my loyalty now.
"No, please. Don't do that."
"Hush." I massaged shampoo into her hair and she moaned.
I wrapped her in a towel and fell in bed behind her. "Gotta tell you one thing before I let you sleep."
"Okay."
"Rogan has a contact at the FBI, Lachlan Cutlass. He's been following us."
"Uh oh."
"It's good."
"Does he suspect you killed Ivan?"
"He didn't mention it."
"Why do you bring it up?"
"He wants to talk to the women tomorrow."
"I don't want to involve the FBI."
"Right. He wants to talk to them. We don't have a lot of choices. We say no, they shut us down, arrest us all for soliciting prostitution."
"Oh."
"So, he's offering rehabilitation and protection for the girls. Similar to what you do but he has more funding."
"He does?"
"Some private celebrity charity to fight human trafficking."
"Oh. Wow. That might be awesome."
"Yeah, Rogan took the deal, with tomorrow being a test run."
"Okay."
"They have to turn and testify against the pimps."
"Oh. They might not like that, but if you offer them protection, they might be more cooperative. I like the idea."
"Let's wait and see."
"Okay."
"Sleep."
"I love you, Falcon."
I squeezed her close and kissed her neck, but didn't say anything. I let her sleep. First thing in the morning, I made slow love to her and showed her how I felt.
Chapter 28
Tessa decked out her ranch house for Christmas again this year. She added stacked candles that spelled out the word LOVE. She was in on my covert plans for tonight, but I did not tell Rogan. Couldn't bear the ridicule.
Tessa's excitement was way more than I could stomach, but she came through in flying colors and hopefully she'd managed to keep the secret from Rogan.
We all took seats at extended tables that ran from the dining room to the living room. All the suspects from last year were here, plus Aida, Soledad and her husband, Taye. Thorne brought his brother and seemed happy. Gaspar and Marcella being there made Tessa nervous at first because she'd never had celebrities in her house before, but the large crown absorbed them and the tension passed.
Aida had quickly become close with Claudia, her husband, and their kids, who all came tonight. Plus two new arrivals from Veranistaad, Narium and Fasul. Narium had been victimized just like Cecelia and Soraya. Fasul had helped Zook when he needed it. Torrez and Zook sponsored them to come to the States after King Ivan died. They looked very happy about their first Christmas in America.
Milo, Tessa's younger brother, had grown a foot in the past year. He had his eyes on Aida all evening. "Hey, kid."
"Hi, Falcon. Did you know Aida is a rock star?"
"Yeah. Heard that."
This year Rogan didn't even ask Tessa to bring the food out first. The new tradition was cemented in stone. The food would come after the speech.
Although this year, Tessa and I had something up our sleeves.
Tessa whispered in Rogan's ear, and his gaze slid to mine. First he looked surprised, then distrustful. I raised my brows.
What, bro? You don't trust me with your speech?
He must've seen I was serious because he nodded his head.
Go ahead.
I stood up and cleared my throat. The shocked reaction from all the seated people made me chuckle. Not one person in that room expected me to stand up and talk.
"Hey. I got something to say."
The room went deathly quiet and what Aida must feel before she goes on stage zipped through me. I glanced down into her sweet eyes and found the words.
"Rogan usually makes a dumbass speech at this time."
Tessa scowled at me. Right. No cussing. Or insulting Rogan. Let me try again.
"I mean. This year I'll be making the speech before Christmas dinner."
This got me a few dropped jaws.
"Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are. But I wanted to say something in front of all of you." I downed a shot of whiskey and gritted my teeth through the burn. Tessa nodded to encourage me. "Sometimes you think you know something. Then you find out you were wrong. Alpha Squadron's been my life for a long time. Gave up everything for this group of men. In the beginning, there was just us. We spent our Christmases trying to find a flat surface to catch some sleep. But then Rogan met Tessa, and our work with the government came to an end. I'm not sure what I'm saying. I suck at this. I didn't even have falling in love on my radar before. But I smashed into this woman again and everything changed. She's a good woman. She cares about other people. She's incredibly talented, and she's more grateful than anyone here to have Christmas with you all. So I'm saying this in front of you so you see how important it is. I'm marrying her." I heard her gasp and a few awws from the girls. Nothing from the men. I was pretty sure I'd stunned them into silence.
"I told her we'd have to wait and see. I waited a
nd I saw. I saw I was mistaken. My life was missing something. The kind of love only a good woman can fill. So this woman here and her voice convinced me. We have no solid plan. We don't know how Alpha Squadron will fit in. All I know is I'll be by her side for every song she sings and she'll be by mine for whatever the heck is in store for me. We started this journey together a long time ago. Twenty-three years ago. And we still have a lot of life left to live. Whatever time I got left, I'm gonna spend it listening to her voice, and enjoying the love she gives me."
I grabbed her hand and made her stand. Her shocked eyes made me laugh. "Aida, marry me." I held up the ring.
She mumbled something and looked around the room like, is this really happening?
"You say, yes, Falcon, I'll marry you."
"Yes, Falcon." Her lips sputtered.
"I'll marry you," I repeated.
"I'll marry you," she said with her mouth all twisted in emotion.
I slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her deep and hard. Cheers and jeers erupted. She whimpered when I ended the kiss. "Alright then. Show's over. We'll send you all an invitation."
Everyone laughed and we sat down. She started kissing me like crazy. I slipped a hand into her hair and deepened it.
Milo giggled.
I licked her lips and kissed her smile. "Happy?"
"Beyond happy."
"Good. Let's eat."
Chapter 29
After dinner, she dragged me out to the patio where it was snowing.
"It's cold as fuck out here, babe."
"You want to get married? To me?" She sounded shocked. Was she not at the table just now?
"Definitely."
Her shoulders shook and her lip quivered. "I have a tour in Italy."
I stepped close and held her shivering body in my arms. "Then I'm going to see Italy for the first time."
"You've never seen Italy?"
"If they didn't have a war and Guillermo didn't expand his operations to Europe, I didn't have a need to go there."
"The Amalfi Coast?"
"Never even heard of it."
"Oh, Falcon. It's gorgeous." She smiled.
"Then you'll show it to me."
Her hands came up to her mouth. "Oh my God. You're going to travel with me?"
"Yes. I'm your head of security."
"Oh lordy lordy." She patted her chest with her hand, trying not to hyperventilate. The ring looked good on her finger.
"Couple conditions," I said.
"You and your conditions!"
"When we're in Los Angeles, we stay in the mansion in Beverly Hills."
Her eyes widened but she nodded. "If it's available to rent, I would love that."
"It's available. I bought it."
"You bought it?"
"You liked it and it has a kickass security setup."
She laughed. "Yes, it does."
"It's got great privacy on the patio if I decide to fuck you with my gun again, or anything else I want to do to you out there."
"Shut up."
I pulled her in closer and tried to keep her warm with my arms. "When you're in New York, we come to Boston and visit these folks. They're my family."
"Yes, yes. Of course. I love them all."
"Then we have an arrangement." I kissed her frozen nose.
"An understanding." She smiled up at me.
"A marriage," I said, making it clear I was dead serious.
"I can't believe this."
"Can I convince you to believe inside? My balls are freezing."
She jumped on her tiptoes and kissed me. Her lips were cold from the snowflakes that had melted there, but I bit her lower lip and she opened for me.
Nothing cold about Aida's mouth.
Hot as hell and all mine.
Forever.
###
Want More?
Sign up to Bex Dane's VIP reader team and receive exclusive bonus content including;
● Free Books
● Deleted scenes
● Secrets no one else knows
● Advanced Reader Copies and first look at cover reveals
Give me more!
