“That was when you lived in that crappy basement apartment, right?” She smiled at the memory. “People always underestimate me. They think my size means I’ll be a lightweight.”
“Not you,” Blake agreed. “You friend-zoned him that night.”
“I what?” She twisted her head to look at Blake’s face. His weird green eyes returned her look with a serious stare of his own. “I friend-zoned him?”
“Is that what you’re going to do when we get back?”
Debriefing her and Mick’s relationship with her partner ranked up there with getting shot. In many aspects, getting shot was preferable. This conversation was exactly why sleeping with your partner during an operation was a mistake. It blurred the lines between personal and professional. It gave Blake permission to talk about it since they’d been on the job. “What, are we sharing now? How’s your girlfriend?”
“Recovering nicely, thanks.” Blake smiled. Smug bastard. “I know you. You don’t trust men. I figure with your old man, trusting men isn’t your forte, but you can’t—”
“Why does everyone think they can profile me just because my father was a grade-A asshole? I have my life together. I do my job.” Who the hell did Blake think he was? Yes, he was her partner, but that didn’t give him the right—
“You’re my best friends. Both of you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt.” She heard the defensiveness in her tone and wrapped her arms around her waist. So maybe getting involved with Mick during a mission was a mistake, but sleeping with him hadn’t been a mistake. She had fallen in love with Mick, and she couldn’t make herself regret it, even though she knew pain was coming. They’d agreed, no long term, no responsibilities. She twisted to get a look at him sleeping with Nate. She’d screwed up and let her emotions get involved. “My emotions, my problem.”
“Are you so sure emotions are a problem?”
“Aren’t you?” Dez leaned back, trapping Blake’s arm behind her back. Almost like a hug.
He pressed his arm all the way around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. Okay, it was a hug. “I’m moving in with Victoria as soon as I have two solid hours where I’m not running background checks, tracking bad guys, or racing to your rescue.”
“Please, we didn’t need your rescue. We had it handled.”
“Sure you did,” he said, his sarcastic tone contradicting his words. “I’ve never seen both of you so beat up on an operation before.”
It wasn’t just an operation. Not this time. It was Nate and Mick and her past and his. Life sucked sometimes. She dropped her head to Blake’s shoulder. If she’d had a sibling, she’d want him to be like Blake. And she’d want him to be happy. “Congratulations. I’m not sure what she sees in you, but congrats.”
“It’s my charming personality.”
“Right.”
The pilot came over the intercom telling them to buckle up for landing, but they were both already strapped in.
Blake handed her two phones. “One for you, one for Mick. Don’t toss this one,” he said. “And don’t run from Mick.” He ran a hand through her hair. The kindness from someone she cared about nearly sent her into tears.
“What are you talking about?” She closed her eyes, because she didn’t want to look up and see the knowledge in his eyes.
“I saw your vacation request in Stiles’s email when we got the warrant to go through his financials.”
Her heart pounded. “I was thinking the beach.”
“You gonna wait for Mick to heal first?”
Hell if she knew. They all needed to heal. “You know, when Sully pointed a gun at Nate’s head, when he turned it on Mick, I didn’t think. I just did what had to be done.”
“Takes courage.”
Her ears popped as they descended to the city airport. “That wasn’t courage, it was training and instinct.”
The tires screeched on the tarmac as they landed. Dez leaned against Blake and tried not to think, but as they pulled into the terminal, Blake nudged her, so she looked up at him.
“Don’t sell yourself short. You have a spine of fucking steel. Use it.”
The damage to Mick’s leg required surgery. Doctor Diane met them in the ER and arranged for a surgeon before escorting Dez and Nate to the surgical waiting room. They waited for what felt like an eternity before the surgeon came out and said everything went fine and they were taking Mick to recovery. Diane came up and sat with them on her break and asked what happened with Nate now.
“The danger is passed,” Dez assured them. She glanced at Nate. She’d come to love his sweet face and her heart hurt to leave him. “What do you want?”
The look on his features was pain and confusion. Was he too young to make a choice that would affect the rest of his life? Dez didn’t know, but she knew she’d have given anything at his age to have a choice of what happened in her life.
“What’s the typical procedure?” Diane asked.
“He has a biological half-sister.” Vicki Calvetti. “And a great-uncle.” Manny the hitman. Wasn’t he a winner?
“So Kim’s wishes, her will may not—”
“We don’t know. That’s up to the court. Typically we set a child up in foster care until a determination can be made. Did Kim have plans in place?”
Diane nodded. “I’d agreed—” She looked at Nate. “Maybe we should table this discussion.”
He glanced anxiously at Dez. “I want to stay while you two decide.”
Nate had seen death, destruction, and mayhem in the last few days. He’d earned the right to participate in the discussion. “What do you want, Nate?”
“I want to stay with Diane.” His throat convulsed. “But I don’t want you to disappear.”
A fist clamped around her throat.
“And…” Uncertainty filled his features.
“Go ahead,” she prodded.
“You can turn the internet off on me anytime.”
Tears streamed down her cheek. “Jesus, kid, you’re killing me.” The words came out a rough whisper. She tugged him into her arms and used a thumb to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not running away.”
And just like that, responsibility and connection dropped in her lap. A kid like Nate was a keeper, and she couldn’t very well be his kick-ass auntie if she went running to the beach every time life got hard. She nodded at Diane over Nate’s head. “We can probably streamline a temporary placement with you until a final determination is made.”
“Thank you.” Diane cried openly. She pulled Nate to her. “I still can’t process all this, but… Thank you.”
“Need a shot of tequila there, Doc?”
Diane sputtered out a watery laugh. “You think you’re joking? I’m off duty in an hour.”
Dez had no idea what time of day or night it was and didn’t much care. It had been one long-ass day and tequila didn’t sound so awful. “You’re not what I expected from a suburban mom.”
“You’re not what I expected from a hard-ass cop.”
The smile came out of nowhere, unbidden but not unwanted. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine,” she told Diane before turning her attention to Nate. “Can you hang with Diane while I make some calls to get the paperwork started?”
“Yeah, but…what if Mick wakes up?”
“Good point.” Dez pulled out Mick’s phone and handed it to the kid. “Text me if he comes out of it before I get back.”
Nate wrapped the phone in his small hands. The intense look in his eyes belonged to a much older man. “I’ll keep you updated.”
Her one call turned to many as she talked to her captain from the local precinct, a case worker from DHS, and then called Blake who put her on conference with Logan so they could do a phone debrief of recent events. Her body ached, and she could really use a shower. And a toothbrush. She was finishing up with the conference call when a text buzzed into her phone. “I think that’s an update
on Mick,” she said. “I need to see what’s going on.”
“I’m on my way,” Blake said.
She didn’t bother arguing. He and Mick had been friends since middle school. Nothing would keep him away. She hung up and clicked over to read the text message.
Hurry your ass.
A laugh shot out of her mouth, startling the nurse walking past. She zipped down the hall and up an elevator to get back to the recovery waiting room. Nate sat at the edge of his seat. “They won’t let me go back,” he said, glaring over his shoulder at Diane.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Dez said. “Nice message, by the way.”
He grinned, that hint of mischief in an otherwise solemn soul. “You said I could.”
Dez’s chuckle turned to full out laughter. “Kid, you’re a keeper. Come on, I’ll see if my badge can get you past the nurse’s station.”
Nate jumped off the seat like a rocket. Diane swatted him playfully on the backside. “I’m going down for one last check on my patients, and then I’m done for the day. I’ll come back up.”
Dez and Nate followed a nurse to the recovery room. A machine beeped Mick’s heartbeat, the sound grating on her nerves. Mick lay on the bed looking like a truck had hit him. His normally fantastic hair was knotted to his pale, but rugged face. A line of stubble coated his cheeks and the hospital gown looked like it wanted to strangle him. They probably didn’t have a hospital gown large enough for a man Mick’s size.
When he saw them, he ran a tongue over his teeth before he smiled. “Hey, there’s Thing One and Thing Two.”
Nate’s smile was restrained, and it hit her how much the kid had lost in less than a week. Seeing Mick shot and in a hospital bed had to bring it all to the fore.
“Come here, Nate.” Mick gestured him over with the hand not tied up in tubing and IVs. “Can you help me get this bed upright?”
Together they pushed the buttons until they found the one that angled the back of the mattress to a seated position. Once Mick was upright, Nate helped him find the cup of ice chips the nurses had left.
Finally, Mick looked up and met Dez’s gaze. “How you doing there, Detective?”
“Peachy.” If you considered her heart felt like someone had run over it with a semi. So many feelings rumbled through her soul, and so few words came to her lips. Losing Mick to a bullet would have killed her inside, so there was no way she could let him go now. Their agreement be damned. “I want to renegotiate our deal.”
“Oh?” His eyes flared, but he looked at Nate standing uncertainly beside the bed. “Hop up here, kid.”
Didn’t have to tell him twice. Nate hopped onto the bed and leaned into Mick’s good side. Mick helped him get settled before turning his attention to Dez. “I’d have to hear your arguments first.”
“Shit,” she muttered, too low for Nate to hear. Mick was going to make her do this in front of an audience. Jerk.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear that.” Mick lifted a cup to his lips and chewed on the ice. “Maybe you should move closer and tell me what deal we’re renegotiating.”
Legs stiff, feeling as unsure as a rookie on her first bust, Dez moved closer to the bed. “The one where we, uh—” How did she say what needed to be said in front of a kid? “Where we enjoy the ride and move on after. I’d like to reconsider the moving on part.”
“Oh.” Nate tapped Mick’s hand before leaning up and whispering in Mick’s ear. “Little bit here tells me I need to ask for a concession to be named later.”
That knocked Dez back a step. She stared down at the kid. “I thought we were on the same side?”
He shrugged. Damn but the kid had perfected the careless Mick shrug. “Fair is fair.”
“You do realize that you still owe me a concession?”
He nodded, but his features turned guarded. “What do you want?”
Oh, there it was, the childlike attitude she’d expected from day one. “Five minutes alone with Mick. You go stand guard outside.”
He glanced up to confer with Mick. Mick lifted an eyebrow followed by his trademark shrug. “Sounds like a fair deal.”
“I guess,” Nate said, sliding from the bed. “I still have Mick’s phone, so I could call or text.”
“Sure,” Dez said. “See if you can find an app for a timer on there.”
He nodded and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Mick didn’t wait but launched in the second the door clicked closed. “So you’re not ready to part ways?”
“No.” Shit, did her voice just waver? Dez straightened her shoulders.
His features gave nothing away. “Do you want to hear my concession first?”
No. Panic took up residence in her fluttering tummy. “Sure,” she said with a tight nod.
“You have to say it first.”
“Say what?”
“You know.”
“You want—” Nonsense sputtered from her mouth. He wanted her to spill her guts. To tell him—good God—her feelings. “That’s just wrong, Mick. Come on, everyone knows the guy says it first.”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah, it’s like a rule or something.”
“Since when have we followed rules?”
Yeah, but… “Fine, but that’s a huge damn concession. You’re gonna owe me.”
He grinned. “Name the time and place. I promise to pay up.”
“Fine. I love you.” She crossed her arm over her chest. “Loser.”
The light in his amber eyes glowed gold and pushed out the last of his surgery-induced haze. “Come here.”
“No.” If she still had her weapon, she’d pull it on him. Blasted man was leaving her hanging. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Come here.” He lifted his free arm and waited.
Dez moved stiffly to his side and eased her hip on the bed. It was all he needed to wrap her in a one-arm hug and pull her all the way onto the bed.
“I love you, Destiny. I don’t want either one of us to walk away.”
The tension and fear melted away so she relaxed against him, felt him nibble her ear.
“You know, I still owe you a shower shot.” He gestured to the hospital bathroom. “I’m ready to pay up.”
“I just bet. Maybe you should wait until the meds are out of your system.”
“That’s my line,” he teased. “You know, it was worth getting shot if it helped you realize you love me.”
“Me?” She squirmed, but he held her in place. “You’re Mr. I-don’t-do-relationships.”
“Is that what we have?”
“Yes, unless you’re looking for another bullet hole.”
“That’s what I love about you. You’re bloodthirsty.”
That didn’t sound like a compliment. “I’m direct and know what I want.”
“You’re a physical being, pushy and invasive. But—” He squeezed to keep her from interrupting. “You’re mine.”
Dez leaned her head on his strong shoulder. Well, when he put it that way… “And you’re mine.”
He leaned against the pillow, taking her with him. “Do you think they have a toothbrush around here somewhere?”
“I’m sure, but—”
Nate entered, holding the phone out as it clanged. “Time’s up.”
Dez slipped from under Mick’s embrace. “I guess we’ll have to negotiate later.”
“Oh, I definitely have some ideas for negotiating.”
The grin on his face was pure sin.
Nate silenced the phone and handed it to Mick. “Since you’re not in surgery anymore.”
“Keep it,” Dez said.
Nate looked up at her with those dark lashes and bright blue eyes. “Why?” The word and tone held so much pain and hope.
“How else will we stay in touch?”
Nate swallowed and the skin around his eyes turned red.
Diane peeked in, and seeing them all there, stepped fully into the room. Her green scrubs were wrinkled and the expression on her
face tired, but she gave them a bright smile. “Ready to go, Nate?”
He glanced from Dez to Mick. “You really want to stay in touch?”
Maybe it was a bad plan. As much as she’d like to be a part of his life, maybe he needed a clean break to deal with his grief. “Is that what you want?”
With a furtive glance at Diane, he typed out his response. A few seconds later, her phone buzzed.
You bet your ass.
She laughed and handed her phone to Mick who gave the kid a thumb’s up. Diane took Nate out, leaving them alone. The resulting silence felt awkward, the kind of thing that worried her about getting involved with him in the first place. What would it be like to go undercover with the man she loved? Would he be overbearing and possessive? Would she be jealous or dependent? They had a few things to work out, because she wasn’t giving up undercover work.
“You’re thinking too damned loud.” He gave her hand a tug and pulled her close.
“Stop. I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“Me, neither. Let’s risk it.”
He rubbed his lips over hers, gentle. In response, she felt a tug inside that wasn’t attraction, although she was still attracted to him. Incredibly attracted, but the tug emanated from her chest before it did a slow roll. They were both grubby and dirty and exhausted, and yet—
“Diane said you should come for dinner next week, but—” Nate pushed back through the door. “Ugh…”
Dez stepped away from the temptation of Mick. “But what?”
“You should come over sooner than next week.” Nate kept his focus on the television on the other side of the bed. “Are you guys getting all mushy?”
“Yep.”
Nate gave an exaggerated shiver. “Ugh, adults.”
Dez laughed as Mick pulled her back to the bed. “It’s not so bad, kid.” Love wasn’t so bad after all.
Epilogue
Six months later
The ceremony was a long church affair that had Dez ready to slit her wrists, but Mick held her tight against his side while Logan and Sofia said their vows in front of God and everyone. And it felt like everyone. Every pew in the crowded church was filled with FBI agents, cops, mobsters, and hit men. Eddie, a former bodyguard for mobster Nick Calvetti, gave the bride away before hurrying to his seat in the front row, standing in as Sofia’s family. Sofia’s little boy Eli stood beside Logan, while both Vicki and Blake stood up as maid of honor and best man. On the opposite side of the aisle, Logan’s family looked on with watery eyes, seemingly unaware that they were surrounded by lawmen and lawbreakers.
Unstoppable (The Untouchable Series) Page 21
