After what felt like days instead of hours, the questioning was finally over. Luke was waiting for her outside the conference room where they’d interviewed her.
“Thank God that’s over,” she whispered as they walked down the hallway. She couldn’t wait to get outside and breathe in the Texas air.
The rest of the team waited in the parking lot for her. Gwen hugged each of them and thanked them for their help. They told her it was their job, but she’d never forget how they’d rescued her and her parents, too. If not for them, she’d probably be buried in an unmarked grave in the middle of the Sinai Desert. She’d never forget their bravery.
Finally, they were on the road to Lancelot. Unable to stifle her yawn, she gazed out the window, hoping Luke wouldn’t notice. As tired as she was, she needed to see her grandparents and let them know she and her parents were safe.
“How are you holding up?” Luke asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m fine.” Then she corrected herself. “No, I’m not. I’m furious at my parents, and I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive them for this. How could they put our family in danger like that?”
“I wish I had an answer. And I don’t blame you for any of your feelings about them. That may change over time, though, maybe after you’ve had a chance to talk to them. The hard part will be accepting what they say. It may never be the answer you want or need to hear.”
Luke was right, again. But thoughts of their betrayal put knots in her stomach. “That’s what bothers me. I don’t want some bullshit answer. But I guess I know why they’d leave me at home and not let me travel with them. Maybe they didn’t hate me and were trying to keep me safe in some skewed way. But why wasn’t I important enough to stay at home?” Gwen brushed away the tears that filled her eyes and turned to stare out at the darkness whooshing by the windows.
Luke’s hand wrapped around hers. The small gesture made it even harder to keep from crying.
“I can’t fix this, but I promise to help you deal with it. Unless you’re upset with me, too.”
“What?” His words surprised her. “Why would I be upset with you?”
“Because I lied to you. I told you we were there to help you get your parents back when that was only part of it.”
“No, you always told me you had other things to look into. I’m not stupid, Luke. I knew they wouldn’t send a team like yours to help with a kidnapping.”
Luke sighed. “It will always be like this if we stay together. As long as I’m part of the team, when I leave, I won’t be able to tell you where I go, what I’m doing, or even how long I’ll be gone. Is that something you can live with? The never knowing what’s going on?”
Could she? The better question was, how could she even consider living without him? “I know it won’t be easy. And I may get pissy, but after seeing y’all in action, I have nothing but respect and admiration. Besides, you make my toes curl whenever you kiss me. I’m not sure I could find someone else to fill that position.”
Luke’s low growl made her smile. “You better not be looking for anyone, princess. I’m your one and only toe curler from here on out.”
The sheer silliness of the comment made her chuckle, and it released most of her pent-up tension. “What am I going to tell Grams and Gramps?”
“I’m sure when you were being interviewed, they reminded you that anything you did or saw while we were in Cairo is top secret and can’t be shared. Right?”
“Yes. But I have to tell my grandparents something.”
“You can tell them about the café and your parents’ part in it. Hell, you can tell them they’re CIA operatives. But that we’re Deltas and the rest of it never happened. I’m sorry it has to be that way.”
“I understand,” Gwen said with a sigh. “I’m not looking forward to hurting them, and I know when they find out about my parents, that’s exactly what will happen.”
“I’ll be with you for support.” Luke reached over and squeezed her hand.
It was like he knew what she needed all the time. “You’re staying? I thought you’d have to go back to post.”
“Nope. I’m staying for at least a few days. I’ll have to check in, but unless something comes up, you’ve got me all to yourself.”
That was the best news Gwen had heard in days, and relief filled her, replacing the anger and fear from earlier. She’d have Luke all to herself, and her insides got all tingly just thinking about it. She didn’t just look forward to making love with him, though the man had some serious moves. She wanted to wake up in his arms, listen to his heartbeat, and inhale the scent that was only his. She had it bad, but she’d take whatever he was willing to give her.
“First thing in the morning, we’ll need to go grocery shopping, or you’ll starve to death.” Gwen giggled as she remembered his grumbling about the lack of food in her house.
“There is that. I guess I can share you with the world while we do that. But we’ll have to be quick.”
His words helped soothe the ragged edges of her heart from her parents’ betrayal. Gwen loved him, all of him, from his alpha attitude to his sweet, caring concern whenever he thought she needed it. She wanted to tell him but was afraid of his reaction.
When Luke had asked her if she could handle his job, she’d wondered if he was going to confess his feelings. Karma or fate or whatever had been good to her so far—maybe she’d finally get her wizard.
They’d almost reached Lancelot, and Gwen borrowed Luke’s phone to call her grandparents. Hers had disappeared at some point. It was late, but she didn’t want to wait until morning. Gramps answered the phone in one ring, and she wondered if he’d been sitting next to it and waiting for it to ring.
“Hello?” Gramps sounded tired. He probably hadn’t slept since she’d left. It was hard to believe it was only two days ago.
“Gramps, it’s me. Luke’s bringing me home. We should get to Lancelot shortly,” Gwen replied. “Is it okay if we come over, or do you want us to wait until the morning?”
“Come on over. I’ll have Grams put on a pot of coffee.”
Gwen smiled. Some things never changed. “Okay, we’ll be there soon.”
Luke parked his truck in front of the bookstore and looked at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home first?”
“I just want to get this over with. Then we can go home.”
“You got it.”
By the time he helped her out of the truck, her grandparents were waiting by the open door of the bookstore.
“Gwenie-bee, oh my goodness, what happened to you? And where are Arthur and Stacey? Didn’t they come with you?” Questions rolled out of Grams’ mouth one after another as she ran forward and squeezed Gwen. Tears ran down the old woman’s cheeks.
“They’ll be here soon, maybe tomorrow. But I’m okay, Grams. It looks worse than it is, I promise.”
Gramps put his arms around both of them and looked over at Luke. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing our girl home safe.”
“No thanks are necessary, Jack. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep her from being hurt.”
“I keep telling you, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
“It doesn’t look like a scratch.”
Gwen smiled at her grandmother. “How can you tell? It’s under the bandage.”
“Oh, poo. You know what I mean. Don’t sass me, young lady.”
Luke chuckled. “Yeah, princess, don’t sass your grandmother.”
“Let’s get inside. You both look exhausted,” Gramps said.
Following the older couple into the kitchen, they sat at the same table where the whole mess had started. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. The past few days had altered her reality—for the good and bad. If nothing else, she learned she needed to stop waiting for things she wanted and to grab them for herself.
“Are you hungry? I have some leftovers in the fridge.”
“We’re fine, Mrs. Dedmond,” Luke answered.
&nbs
p; “Becca or Grams is fine. We told you, you are family.”
“Yes, ma’am, I mean Becca,” Luke said with a grin.
God, he was perfect. He had to be exhausted, yet he’d help her calm her grandparents and help her answer their questions.
“That’s better. So now explain why didn’t your parents come back with you? Were they hurt?” Grams asked, pouring coffee into mugs and passing them around the table.
Gwen glanced at Luke as he reached for her hand. He knew how hard this would be for her.
“No, they weren’t injured. They weren’t actually kidnapped at all.”
“What the hell? I don’t understand. What do you mean they weren’t kidnapped? Then who did you pay the ransom for?” Worry coated Gramps’ words.
“We don’t know the whole story. But apparently, Mom and Dad have been CIA agents for years,” she said.
“I’ll be damned.” Gramps leaned back in his chair, looking a lot shell shocked.
“How is that possible?” Grams asked.
“You’ll have to ask them. I’m not sure what exactly happened. All we know for sure is that the Daesh ISIS group used the kidnapping as a ploy to get me to go to Egypt.”
“Why would they do that?” Grams clenched Gramps’ hand. Confusion was plain on her face.
“To get your son and daughter-in-law out of hiding,” Luke said. “It’s complicated, but they were right. When Gwen went to pay the ransom, her parents tried to save her.”
Gwen cringed at seeing the shocked looks on their faces. Betrayal. Anger. Disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” Gwen said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s your father who should be sorry,” Gramps said.
She agreed, but it didn’t make it any less painful. They finished the pot of coffee and put a dent in a container of chocolate chip cookies while they chatted. When Gwen yawned for the third time, Luke took her home.
As always, Sir Galahad was waiting at the door, and she wondered if he’d spent the last couple days waiting for her. Scooping him up for a cuddle, she smiled as he purred and rubbed his face against hers.
“It’s good to be home.”
“I bet. Why don’t you go shower? Then we can get some sleep. You look dead on your feet.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 22
While Gwen showered, Merlin fed Sir Galahad, then locked up the house. By the time Merlin made it to the bedroom, Gwen was sound asleep. After checking on her and turning off the light, he grabbed a shower.
As Merlin stood under the steamy shower, he reviewed the events of the last few days. It was fucking amazing they’d gotten the bomb diffused in time. He’d swear that he aged about ten years in those last few seconds. But fate had helped him when he needed it most, and he’d clipped the right wire.
Sand had been part of Merlin’s debriefing, and it had taken all his willpower not to deck the fucker. If Roe hadn’t been there, he might have, but his commander’s slight nod reminded Merlin he was on post and it would mean a court-martial. Not that he’d cared at that moment. Hopefully, after the reports were turned over to command and the CIA office in DC, Sand would be demoted or something.
Roe had pulled him aside after the debriefing and told him the CIA had picked up Rashad and stowed him in a black site somewhere. At least now there was one less snake in the pit. Of course, there’d be at least five others vying to take over control. It made Merlin wonder if there would ever be peace. Talk about an oxymoron.
Damn. Merlin was tired and just about every muscle ached, even after the hot shower. A soft bed and a warm woman sounded like just the solution. But when he opened the bathroom door, Gwen looked so peaceful. He wondered if he should take the couch instead of disturbing her rest. Then the cat’s head popped up on her other side, his eyes glowing in the moonlight, almost like he’d been waiting for Merlin to come to bed. As soon as he slid underneath the sheets, the cat settled back down, his purr a soothing reminder that they were home.
For the first time in years, Merlin didn’t wake up at five and jump out of bed. When he woke and realized it was already nine, he was shocked. Smiling to himself, he looked down at his princess, who was still sound asleep. Gwen’s auburn hair spread over her shoulders and her even breathing tickled his chest.
Sir Galahad’s motorboat purr caught his attention. The cat was sitting in the center of Gwen’s unused pillow like he was king of the world.
“Sorry, buddy, she’s mine now.”
The cat meowed as if to say, “We’ll see.”
The ring of the doorbell startled him. Not wanting it to wake Gwen, he tried to extricate himself from their tangled arms and legs. He’d almost succeeded when her eyelids opened.
“Mmm, morning. Where are you going?” Gwen lifted her arms above her head, and the sheet pulled back, revealing the tops of her breasts. She looked like a fairy princess bathed in the sunlight, with gold glinting in her red hair and her bright-white smile.
Maybe he should just ignore the doorbell and climb back into bed, but it rang again.
“Someone rang the doorbell. I’ll tell them we don’t want any.” Merlin grinned. “It’s still early. You should try to get more sleep, princess.” He stepped into a pair of jeans he’d pulled out of his pack the night before and then grabbed a T-shirt.
After tucking the sheet around Gwen, he gently kissed her forehead.
“I’ll be back,” he murmured as he headed for the front door. Whoever was outside was damn persistent. They’d rung the bell two more times. Fuck. It was way too early for this shit.
Merlin unlocked the door and pulled it open to find her parents on the doorstep. He had expected them but not this early. It was rude. They had to know Gwen wouldn’t have gotten home until late last night or early this morning.
“Mr. Dedmond. Mrs. Dedmond. Don’t you think it’s a bit early for a visit?”
“Forest. Yes, I know who you are. And I don’t give a shit if you’re Delta or not. Get out of the way. I want to see my daughter,” Arthur Dedmond demanded and tried to push his way past Merlin. “What are you doing in my daughter’s house, anyway?”
Merlin waited for Arthur to push him. If it weren’t for Gwen, Merlin would have punched him in Cairo. The man was on borrowed time if he didn’t cut the shit.
“Dad? Mom? What are you doing here?” Gwen asked.
Well, fuck. Merlin couldn’t keep them out now and backed away to allow her parents to come into the house. It just proved how inconsiderate they were. Gwen looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was much paler than usual. She needed rest.
“We need to talk to you. Alone,” Stacey Dedmond said as she looked over at Merlin.
Gwen shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. I’m not asking Luke to leave. Besides, couldn’t this conversation have happened later? I don’t have anything to say to you. But I guess I can listen to you.”
Merlin held back a sigh when she didn’t toss them out on their asses. He’d have enjoyed that. But his princess wouldn’t do that. It’s just one small reason why he loved her. Even after everything she’d been through, she was still gentle and kind.
“I’ll make some coffee,” he offered.
“Perfect.” Gwen smiled. “Do you want to sit here or in the kitchen?”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Arthur said.
“Don’t, Dad. Not after everything. You’ve never even been to my home. And honestly, I’m surprised you knew the address. So don’t even try to pretend that anything about this is okay.”
Merlin winced. Okay, maybe not quite as gentle or kind as he thought. Not that the Dedmonds didn’t have it coming.
“I’m sorry,” Stacey said. ”We’re sorry. We ever intended—”
“No, I don’t want to hear how sorry you are. Do you have any idea what you put your parents through? They’re old, and this could have killed them. Did you ever think about anyone besides yourselves? You had a
child who grew up without you. Thank God for Gramps and Grams.”
The open floor plan of the house enabled Merlin to hear everything, so he was surprised to see tears on Stacey Dedmond’s cheeks as he carried in the coffee and mugs.
Gwen’s parents were sitting next to each other on the couch, holding hands, whether to make Gwen feel bad or for emotional support, Merlin didn’t know. His princess was sitting in one of the two armchairs. His heart ached for her, and he’d give anything to save her from this pain. But she needed to face it and get through it, so she could move on with her life—whether or not it included her parents.
“You’re right. We were inconsiderate. But at first, it just added excitement to our normal buying trips. They approached us in Syria and recruited and trained us. Over the years, we recruited our own resources and helped to uncover plots to keep you safe,” Arthur explained.
“Why didn’t you stop after you had me?”
“We were in too deep by then. There were countless threats, and new terror groups popped up all the time. After nine eleven, it got worse.”
“So you dumped me on your parents and played James Bond?” Gwen’s hand shook as she reached for the coffee mug Merlin held out to her.
Arthur winced. He shook his head when Merlin offered him a mug.
“It wasn’t like that,” Stacey said. “We made sure you had a safe place to grow up.”
“Without parents? I’m not saying I had a crappy childhood, because I didn’t thanks to Grams and Gramps, but they weren’t you. Most of my childhood I thought you hated me. That you didn’t want to be around me, and that’s why you stayed away.” The pain in Gwen’s voice made Merlin want to cuddle her close.
“Gwenie, it was never that,” Arthur said as he reached for her.
“No, don’t. I don’t know what to think. I guess I should be happy you helped keep the world safe, but at what expense? Maybe that’s selfish of me. But I still remember the little girl who waited for her parents to be there even once for her birthday. Or high school graduation. By college, I’d given up on you. It hurt less.”
Gwen's Delta (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Delta Team Three Book 3) Page 21
