Page 10 of Last Hope
“This is our job, Crawford.” She reached out to him and gripped his hand in hers. “It’s a risk we take.”
“I know that,” he groaned, sounding frustrated. “But…” He broke off, voice cracking. “I’m not good at this, Victoria.”
And she knew it. Terrance was a man of action; he couldn’t communicate well with words. This must have been serious hell for him. She watched slightly amused and a little more touched.
“Damn it, Phillipe,” he growled, “don’t laugh at me.”
She smiled weakly and tapped her palm to his cheek. “Keep going, you’re doing great.”
He growled at her. “Phillipe, I held you as you were dying. I couldn’t help you. I didn’t know how. It made me realize some things.”
Victoria felt as though her head were spinning. She sat up, despite his protests, and watched him. His black hair was in disarray, like he had run his hand through it a million times. She could see it now—the tiredness in his eyes, the strain, she could see all of it. God, she had been a fool to miss it before. She loved this man, and he loved her even though he’d never said it…
“What did it make you realize?” she whispered.
He trailed his hand over her knotted hair. “Someone once asked me for a favor, a few years ago…he was a Phantom, one of the worst kind; needed me to help him with a…” he paused, “situation…it had to do with a woman and I laughed at him. I mean, a Phantom of Fear afraid over a woman? It was ridiculous. He told me that one day I’d find a woman that’d grab me by the balls and the heart. And that he’d be here to tell me ‘I told you so.’” He chuckled low in his throat. “Now I know what he means. Now I know what it feels like to fear for a woman I love.”
Victoria stared at him, her mouth opened wide. Had he just said what she thought he said? Had he just told her he loved her? He did…and hearing those words…dear lord, they made her heart flutter and her stomach twist. Never before had she thought to hear those words, especially coming out of his mouth.
“So?” He nudged her impatiently after a long moment of silence.
She smiled at him. “So, it amazes me that you completed a whole paragraph.” At his frown she laughed. “And I am proud to be the girl that was able to grab you by the balls and the heart.” She leaned into him, planting a kiss firmly on his lips. “Don’t worry,” she whispered against him. “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
She stared at Terrance now. They weren’t in a hospital; they were at the police station, surrounded by coworkers and friends. Knowing she could get suspended for eventhinkingabout public displays of affection, but not caring in the least, Victoria glued herself to Terrance and wrapped her arms around his waist. She stood on her tiptoes and ever so carefully, kissed his lips.
“It’s a risk we take,” she repeated. “This is our job; don’t worry about me, all right? I’m fine, as long as I know you’ve got my back.”
He replied in comfort by kissing her back, once, twice, three times before releasing her and smiling. Of course, he would have never prevented her from doing her job. He wasn’t like that—well, not all of the time, anyway—he simply stated his worry and left it at that.
“Now…” Victoria smiled. “Let’s kick some ass.”
7
“You know, I’ve been thinking…” Antonio braced himself for he had an idea, and it wasn’t particularly one that he thought Esmeralda would have liked. It’s not like it was a bad idea, it was just logical, safe…merely a precaution.
“What have you been thinking?” Esmeralda asked as she tucked Viktor into his crib. The earlier events had shaken their child up a bit and he had been fussy all the way home, even now he looked a little restless.
Esmeralda turned to Antonio and he felt his heart beat faster. She had a purple sweater pulled around her and his oversized sweatpants on. Her hair was braided into pigtails down her shoulders and she never looked more beautiful.
Antonio cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking we need to take a vacation…”
She raised her eyebrows at him in question. “A vacation?”
He nodded and held his hand out to her. If he was going to explain himself, he wanted to do it somewhere peaceful, in case she got angry and started throwing stuff at him, which is what usually tended to happen when he got an idea she didn’t agree with.
She stared at his hand for a moment before reaching hers out and placing it on his palm. She was warm to the touch, and soft and her skin still set off sparks against his. Slowly, he pulled her to his side and out of Viktor’s small room only to lead her to their room, where there were less breakables.
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking we should take a vacation,” he began again, sitting her at the edge of the bed next to him, keeping her hands firmly set between his. “Just you, me, Viktor. If that’s okay with you?”
She looked at him with her eyebrows raised. “A vacation, sure, but, why?”
This time, he sighed. “Things have been hectic lately, with the whole ‘Isis’ situation. I thought that with Caesareon’s death, things would calm down but what happened today proved me wrong.” She worried at her bottom lip, he had the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her but instead, he kept going.
“That wolf could have attacked you or, even worse, he could have attacked our son. While Isis is still being hunted, I don’t think we’re safe. What if they try to threaten her by getting to us like last time?” She opened her mouth to speak but he held his hand up, silencing her immediately. “I know it’s not very ‘friend-like’ as it should be, and I know we should protect her, but that was when we were only two people, just me and you. We have a son to look after and I don’t want anything to happen to him because of those lunatics. I hope you understand my reasoning.”
He had actually given it a fair bit of thought on the way home. His heart had nearly fallen out of his chest when he saw that werewolf in front of them. And, had he been alone with Esmeralda, he would have rushed to protect Isis in an instant. But, he had a son now, and he had to think about that. He couldn’t just rush into danger all of the time, not when his son needed him.
“You’re right,” Esmeralda whispered.
