“I know I can.”
“You may think you do, but you don’t believe it fully yet. I know, baby. I was right where you are after I got back from my last mission with my legs missing. I was forced to depend on other people at first and thought I’d lost my independence. What I realized, babe, was that I actually gave it up.”
She tipped her head back to meet his eyes. “Gave it up?”
He rubbed his nose against hers. “Yeah, babe. Gave up my independence, got depressed, didn’t care about a fucking thing. Just gave up on everything. Low made me realize some things, therapist made me realize the rest. Still does. Essentially, I figured out that I could be independent, and still depend on other people, as long as the trust was there. Do you trust me, Amelia?”
She swallowed. “I do, more than anyone I’ve ever trusted before.”
He gave her a squeeze. “That’s a good place to start, don’t you think? Just work to get to the same place as me. I am not going anywhere. We’ll fight, we’ll both get angry—that’s real, that’s life. But when that happens, know that I am not fucking leaving you, and I won’t fucking hurt you.”
She sighed and drew back. “Life will never get easier, will it?”
“No, baby. Probably not. But I’ll be here to make sure it’s not too hard. I think with both of us trying, together, we’ll make it through all right. Probably better than all right.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Sully spoke up. “They’re here. They were just spotted near the front gate.”
“Oh God.”
Oh God. They were here!
Her father and maybe her half-brothers, just minutes away.
“Oh God.”
Hector cupped her face. “Steady, babe. You can do this, you hear me?”
She nodded, eyes wide.
“We’re here with you. There’s a room full of cops across the hall. You are not alone. Say it, babe.”
“I am not alone.”
“Again.”
She took a deep breath, winced a little due to her ribs, and said it again.
“Good, babe.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss.
Sully glanced up from his phone. “Cameras and mics are now engaged.”
Millie nodded. “Okay. It’s almost over. I am not alone.”
“That’s right, baby.”
“Hector.” Sully nodded to the front door. “We need to take positions. Now.”
Hector shifted in front of Millie, his hands loose and ready at his sides. His fingers were slowly furling into fists, then unfurling.
Sully pulled his gun out and positioned himself against the wall by the front door just before the pounding started.
“Open up, bitch!”
Her entire body locked.
Piers.
God, so much had changed since the last time she’d seen him. Then, he’d jumped out of an alley, grabbing her on her way to work.
His voice had been manic, his grip had been filled with rage.
And his eyes…his eyes had been something else entirely. The hatred had been clear to see, so much hatred, it had terrified her. But there had been something not quite right in his eyes, too.
She touched Hector’s shoulder, and he looked over it at her. His eyes were hard, but that hard wasn’t aimed at her. Even when he’d been frustrated with her, he might get angry but never at her.
A rush of emotion rolled through her, like a wave cresting high then crashing to the shore, and she blurted out, “I love you.”
His head jerked.
She hadn’t meant to say it. Telling him those words was the most terrifying thing she’d ever done, but she didn’t regret it. “I love you. I, uh, just thought you should know before all hell breaks loose.”
“Baby.” He began turning towards her, but the pounding on the door resumed.
“Dumbass bitch! Open up!” A new voice she didn’t recognize.
Hector held her gaze for another moment, then kissed her hard and quick. “I love you, baby, and I loved hearing those words, but I need you to stick to the script right now.”
She nodded, and he resumed his protective position in front of her.
More pounding, more insults and raised voices from the other side of the door.
They’d been told not to open it. The police would now have them for harassment, but if they tried to break down the door, it would also be breaking and entering with the intent to harm.
More pounding.
Millie stuck to the script, a series of lines she’d rehearsed with the cops earlier. “I’m calling the cops,” she yelled, her voice slightly shaky. “Go away!”
“No fucking way, bitch!”
Pounding, more pounding.
They were going to break down the door.
Sully gave a hand signal at the camera, a message to the cops across the hall, then remained poised near the door.
Crack!
The front door gave a little, and Millie jumped behind Hector. She curled into his back, gripping his shirt in her hands, and peered over his shoulder at the door.
Crunch!
More of the door gave way.
Crash!
In through the door they came.
Then onto the floor they fell, right on top of each other.
Fucking idiots.
Apparently, the force of trying to break down the door was too much for them and they crashed onto the floor with the door.
As they scrambled to their feet, they came face-to-face with Sully’s gun.
“Freeze. You’re under arrest.”
They paused, then the oldest one—that must be her father!—smirked.
Ugh. What an asshole.
“I’m here to see my daughter, officer. The door just gave way. It’s a shitty door. You can’t stop me.”
Sully only looked amused. “Turn around.”
The trio slowly turned to find a hallway full of cops with their guns on them.
“You’re all under arrest.”
The cops rushed forward to subdue them. Her father was screaming for a lawyer, while Piers was screaming ‘it’s a mistake’ and ‘she’s my sister’ and all kinds of nonsense.
They clearly were not heeding their right to remain silent.
Rob was the only one keeping quiet. His face was twisted and surly, his eyes narrowed on her and Hector.
Millie was still plastered against Hector’s back, and he pulled her around his waist to the front, where he held her tight. “It’s almost over, baby.”
‘Over’ was a word she might not believe when it came to them. As long as they existed, they’d harass her, even if it was behind prison bars. “It’ll never be over.”
He squeezed tighter. “I know, mi alma. ‘Never’ might be too strong a word, but it is over for now. They’re going to jail, and they’ll go on trial. At some point, you might need to testify. But it’s over for now. Think about that.”
Her arms tightened, then relaxed. It was over for now.
If she’d been on her own as she had been before Hector, ‘over for now’ wouldn’t have given her any peace, because she would have been managing everything on her own. Now, after Hector, she knew she’d never have to manage anything on her own again.
She tilted her head up, resting her chin on his chest. “I love you.”
He smiled wide. “I love you, baby.”
Officer Sullivan came over. “We’re taking them to the station. They’ll be questioned and processed.”
“Can we observe the questioning?” Hector asked, his arms still around her.
“No, I’m sorry.”
Millie frowned in confusion. “Why do you want to be there?”
“To try and understand their reasoning, to try and understand what they might do, in case they get released again.” He tucked a lock of her hair back. “Do you want to talk to them? Ask them anything?”
She glanced over at them, on their knees, cuffed hands behind their backs, and their heads bowed. She thought of her mother declin
ing rapidly in a hospital bed, and how the choices her mother and her father had made, then choices Piers had made, had led them all here to this moment.
What choices had she made that had led her here, too? “They’re selfish.”
“Yes, baby, they are.”
“Do you think I’m selfish?”
He immediately shook his head. “No fucking way. You don’t have that kind of hate and selfishness in you, mi alma. Everybody’s selfish about something, but that kind of selfish? You are not like that. Stop thinking everyone’s going to hate you because of who’s in your life. You can’t choose your family, babe. You don’t realize that you’ve been trying to pull away from them, but they’re the ones who keep dragging you back. They don’t have that opportunity anymore.”
She frowned. Had they been dragging her back? She’d never thought of it from that perspective.
“You don’t take shit from anyone anymore. I’ll make sure of that. Your friends will make sure of that. We’re your family now. We have to deal with them in the courts, we’ll deal with it, babe, at your side. Family isn’t always what you’re born with. More often, it’s the family you make. I lost my family and made another, and you’re a part of that. You lost your family, too, and now you can make another with me and others. You’ll always have a family with me. Do you get me, babe?”
Her voice was full of wonder. “I’m your family.”
“Yes.”
She repeated it because she liked the way the words felt on her tongue. “I’m your family.”
“Yeah.”
She glanced back at the handcuffed men. She’d asked herself ‘why’ a million times since she’d realized the kind of person Piers really was. Asked herself ‘why me’ and what had she done to ‘deserve this’ and other questions on a loop every time something bad happened in her life. Because of her mother, and having Hector near while she dealt with her, she’d finally accepted that some questions she’d just never get answers to.
With the men on the floor, though she might want answers to her questions, her father and half-brothers would never give them to her. They’d only ever do what they wanted; they didn’t give a shit about her.
So, she was done giving a shit about them.
Hector was right. She had a family now. It was one she’d made, but it was just as important as if they were a family bound by blood.
“Okay.”
His head jerked back. “Okay? You’re really okay with that?”
“No, but I think I’ll get there.”
“Good.”
“And I don’t want to talk to them. I’m through with them. They try something in the future, try to bother me again, or even if I need to go testify or whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
Hector kissed the crown of her head. “Yeah, babe, we will. We’ll deal with it.”
Chapter Nineteen
Hours later, Hector was holding Amelia. They were curled up on the couch at his place, and she’d crawled into his arms on her own. They’d just finished dinner and were watching something mindless on television.
He could tell she wasn’t really paying attention, but since he liked the way she was absently drawing patterns on his tee-covered chest, he didn’t mind.
“You good, baby? You need anything?”
“I’m fine,” she murmured.
He kissed the crown of her curly-haired head. She’d put it in a messy braid. He preferred it flowing free, so he could run his hands through it.
She glanced up at him. “Do you need anything?”
“I’m good.”
“Are you sure? Maybe some water or a beer or—”
When she moved to get up, he pulled her back down.
She let out an ‘oomph’ when she hit his chest again.
“Relax, babe, and settle back down again.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Something I just realized.”
“What?”
“You like to call me ‘babe’ when you’re ordering me around or being all macho badass, but I’m ‘baby’ or ‘mi alma’ when you’re all soft and melty and, and…”
“And what?”
“Nice,” she added quietly.
He smiled. “Baby.”
She pointed at him. “And that! I’m ‘baby’ when you’re amused with me or humoring me or something like that.”
He drew her tight against him. “Amelia, let me make a few things clear. I’m pushy. I know it. I’m working on it. But know this: I will not now, nor ever, ask you to do something that could hurt you. If I ask you to do something, and you don’t want to do it, just tell me. We’ll argue about it, and, babe, told you before that I like arguing with you. But, babe, if I’m telling you to do something that’s going to protect you or, like now, if I’m telling you to relax because you deserve to relax—especially after a shitty day like this—you’re just going to have to do it, baby.”
She was quiet for a few moments. “You just used ‘babe’ and ‘baby’ in the same sentence.”
“I know. Now, do we understand each other?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then kiss me, babe.”
She looked like she was fighting a smile but kissed him. Easy kisses turned hot and wet in just a few minutes. Goddamn, kissing her was like a drug. One taste and he wanted more and more and more.
Her lips. Her skin. Her hair. Her body. He wanted to possess all of it. Needed all of her underneath him, riding him, on her knees in front of him.
She broke away, gasping for air. “Hector.”
“Shit, baby. Sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“I was pushing too fast, I—”
She plastered herself closer, though that didn’t seem possible. “Push harder.”
“Amelia.”
“I want you, Hector.”
Four breathy words that went straight to his cock. “You’re still injured.”
“Please?”
Christ. Jesus fucking Christ. How was he supposed to deny her now?
This was it. Amelia was finally going to lose her virginity.
Hector was leading her into the bedroom, where he’d take off her clothes and…
Maybe she should shower again. And shave. Definitely shave again. And—
He cupped her face. “We don’t have to do this now. We can wait. I love just sleeping next to you, waking up with you, sharing breakfast with you, laughing with you.” He brushed noses with her. “I just love you. I can wait. I’d wait forever for you. I feel like I already have.”
Her heart sighed at that.
Maybe he wouldn’t mind her stubbly legs and probably stubbly face and…oh, he was kissing her again.
So nice.
She gripped the front of his tee in her fists, and his hips touched hers.
A flame burst inside her. She wasn’t sure what happened, or how it happened, but suddenly she was deepening the kiss.
His growl moved from his throat, through their kiss, and into her body. It settled at the core of her, causing flames to shoot higher.
Her hands moved under his tee to his hard chest and muscled back. She’d felt it before, but it felt different now.
Hot.
Dangerous.
Addictive.
She wanted more. She wanted…
Him.
“Hector.”
He turned them and pushed up her shirt slow, slow, slow. His fingers brushed against her bruised ribs, which didn’t feel all that bruised anymore. Her back bandages were gone, her cheek was now more putrid yellow than anything else, and her eye was a lot better. Though she still had a cast, her ribs were the only thing causing her much pain.
She wasn’t feeling any pain at the moment, though.
Only pleasure.
Her shirt was pulled off, and she felt ridiculously shy standing in her bra and bared torso. She moved her arms to cover herself, but he wasn’t having it.
“You’re beautiful.”
Maybe if he said that to her enou
gh, she’d believe it. Right now, all she could think of was her poochy belly and that line of hair under belly button and her stubbly legs and—
Oh. He was kissing her again.
His hand roamed her back, and she arched against it.
His voice was gruff. “Turn around. I’m going to undo your braid.”
She turned in the circle of his arms, one of his hands flat against her stomach. She clenched it in—it was habit to hide her belly—but couldn’t hold it when he pressed his hips against her bottom and something hard nestled against her.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, baby. Feel that? That’s all for you.” One of his hands was undoing her braid, his lips were nestled near her ear, and his other hand was drifting down, down, down into her pants.
“Oh!”
Her hair free, his hand fisted it and turned her head so he could kiss her. Their mouths locked, and his fingers rubbed her over her underwear.
She arched again, this time onto her tiptoes, and pushed against him.
He rubbed his hip and cock against her.
His hand left her hair and trailed down her back to her bra. He unclipped it one-handed—she tried not to think about how much practice it must have taken him to be able to do that—and she tugged it off.
His hand moved to cup one breast. “Love these, baby. I have big plans for these.”
His thumb was moving around and across her nipple, and she was having trouble focusing. “Oh?”
“Mmm-hmm. Not all of what I have planned we’ll do tonight. Some of it’s for later.”
“Later?”
“Later.”
That promise hung in the air like a hot, humid night.
Oh God. She was going to explode, and they hadn’t even done anything yet.
“Hector.”
“Lie down, baby.”
She lay down on the bed and held back the need to cover her breasts. He’d just seen them and touched them already. Still, she couldn’t help the urge to cover up. She’d spent so much of her life staying covered up, hidden away.
She didn’t have to hide anything from him.
“Want your glasses on or off?”
She didn’t want to miss anything. “On. Is that okay?”
He whipped his shirt off. “Of course it is.”
Rush_Hector & Millie Page 29
