The murderous rage slides off his face, and he comes to a skidding stop on his knees in front of me. “I’m so sorry, little girl. So, so sorry.”
When he opens his arms, I launch myself into them, feeling safe and warm and grateful. He holds me close. Tears I don’t want come, and I’m still trembling uncontrollably.
He gathers up my comforter and wraps it around me, cocooning me as he holds and soothes me, crooning to me like he would a child. “I’m here. And I’ll never let anything happen to you, Vanessa. You’re my everything. My world, the air I breathe, the heart beating in my chest. I’ll always keep you safe. You know that, right?”
I don’t know much right now, but deep down I know that’s true. Rush would move heaven and earth for me. “Yes.”
“Good.” He peppers kisses on my cheeks as he cradles my face in his hands and stares into my eyes. “And you know why I’d do that, don’t you? I said it this morning while I was still deep inside you. You remember?”
How could I forget? “Yes.”
“Tell me why. Tell me what I said.”
“You love me.”
“That’s right.” He caresses my face gently and presses a kiss to my lips. “And you love me, too, don’t you? I know we had a fight, and I’m sorry I wasn’t honest sooner, but I couldn’t be. I wanted to be, but Bryan Russell and his pal Harold Dunne have been using the hotel to distribute drugs and government secrets all across southeast Florida and beyond.”
“Our manager Bryan Russell?”
“Yes.”
If Dunne was inside with me, then… “Is that whose foot I shot?”
“Yep. You did great. You kept him from hurting you and from running away. We’ve been on the cusp of catching them doing something illegal for weeks. But I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t jeopardize the mission. And I didn’t want to scare you. You’re everything to me. Please believe me. I don’t want to be without you.”
“I know.” And I do. I feel that in the way he’s holding me and staring into my eyes as if nothing else matters.
“You still love me?”
My earlier anger is gone. Only truth lies in its place. “I’ve loved you since I was sixteen. I can’t stop.”
I don’t know how I’ll handle being in love with a spy, but I grew up with one. I guess I’ll deal with it like I always have. One day at a time.
A big smile creases his face. “I think I fell in love that night, too, with that pretty little girl in a pink prom dress. And I’m going to love you until the day I die.”
Tears fall then. I’m not sure if it’s the ebb of my adrenaline or the sincerity of his words, but I bury my face in his neck and cling to him. Rush brings me closer, his arms tightening around me, as he rocks back and forth, doing his best to settle me.
“What’s going on here?” barks a voice I’d know anywhere.
I raise my head and look over Rush’s shoulder. “Daddy?”
He’s standing in the threshold of my bedroom, dressed in head-to-toe black, clutching a gun and wearing a forbidding glower.
“You’re back,” I breathe as I scramble to my feet and right my robe.
He takes in the scene, then his stare lands on Rush, who’s already on his feet, hovering protectively beside me.
“Sit rep?” Daddy snaps.
“I put a bullet in Dunne’s head after he threatened to rape and kill Vanessa.”
“Good riddance.” Then he turns to me with a gentler expression. “You okay, baby?”
“Thanks to Rush.” I take his hand in mine and squeeze.
“Just before that, Vanessa shot Russell in the foot when he tried to break in through the slider back there.” Rush gestures with this thumb over his shoulder. “I zip-tied him to the post of the patio cover.”
“Good, but I gathered that already. I meant you two.” Daddy points to us. “You’re in love?”
“Yes.” I clutch Rush’s hand even tighter.
“Garrison?”
Beside me, Rush tenses. “Yes, sir?”
“You’re in love with my daughter?”
“Yes, sir. And I know you told me never to touch her, but—”
“But you did. I heard something about unauthorized sexual contact. Explain.”
“Daddy!” I’m mortified. “Stop. I love him.”
“I know. I heard you the first time, baby. Right now, I’m talking to him.” He points at Rush. “What do you have to say?”
“Vanessa is mine in every way, and I don’t regret a thing. She may, even now, be pregnant. I didn’t do a damn thing to prevent it because I intend to marry her if she’ll have me. I don’t need your consent, sir…but I’d like it.”
Daddy is quiet for a long, almost painful moment. Rush is nervous. I can tell when he slips an arm around me and brings me closer, like he’s afraid I’ll slip away. And I’m holding my breath, wondering what my father will say.