Page 119 of Unexpected Redemption

“Yes. You can say that,” I jest, feeling saucier than the ziti.

“Ah-ha. Well played.” Her smile is radiant. “Seriously, though. You’re exactly what Tomer needed. You’re his Leo.”

My nose wrinkles. “Excuse me? I’m gonna need more explanation.”

She chortles, tight and choppy, tipping her head in the direction of her giant husband. “He’s my shield. My protector. And he taught me I’m worth loving.”

Without warning, tears pool, threatening to spill down my cheeks.Heavens above, these hormones are killing me. “You think I did that for Tomer?”

“You still do. Every day.”She beams back at me. “People like Tomer and me need someone to break us out of our shells and remind us we deserve happiness. That’s not something just anyone can do. It takes a lot of patience and determination.”

Leaning in to kiss her on the cheek, Leo wraps his arm around her shoulder. He gazes at her like she’s the most magical creature he’s ever seen. For such a giant, tough-looking dude, he’s giving off heart-emoji eyes vibes right now.

Sue cranes her neck to meet his eyes, her smile spreading as wide as the ocean and affection for him running as deep. “It takes a special person to love someone like me or Tomer,” she whispers.

“Nah,” he answers back, even if she didn’t ask a question. “Loving you is easy. It’s earning your love in return that takes patience.”

Oh my heart.

She gives him a quick kiss, then ends the tender moment in the most pregnant woman way ever. “Dammit. I have to pee again.”

“Same,” Sammy says, pushing away from the table.

The laughter rocking my gut has me standing up to join them. “If you’ll excuse us, all the baby factories must head to the bathroom immediately for a very important meeting.”

As we go, I hear Kri joking, “Quick. While they’re gone, spray the disinfectant on every surface so their condition doesn’t spread.”

Chapter 25

Freak flags and wax

TOMER

Afamiliar buzz of adrenaline dusts my skin. The lair is a flurry of nervous energy. The excitement steadies me.

However, Klein’s about to pull his hair out. “Call Boss. Call Shep. Call... I don’t fucking know who to call. What do we do first?”

It’s possible he may have been out of the field a bit too long. He’ll be bald by nightfall at this rate.

Mia flings her hand out, grabbing him by the wrist. “Cal, settle the fuck down.”

Shaking her off, he hovers his curled hands over both sides of his head and mimes a brain implosion. “Sorry. It’s been far too many fucking days of radio silence. And of all the potential responses, this isn’t one I expected.”

As soon as the email came through, I replied, asking the sender to standby for our response. I had hoped they’d see it while still online, and thus, we wouldn’t have to wait days for the next clue. This assumes they need to go somewhere private to communicate with us.

No fucking clue if that’s the case. But it couldn’t hurt to tell them to standby.

Still processing this development and thinking through what it might mean, I dial Big Al’s office. He needs to be in here for this.

He picks up on the second ring. “What is it, T?”

“Can you come over here? We got a reply from the email we sent a few days ago.”

“The Russian doll email?”

“The one and only.”

“Be right there.”

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