“Will I have to wait long?” she asks, an impish grin on her face.
“Give me about five minutes after the handcuffs go on Borovsky, okay?”
“Deal,” she murmurs and kisses me again.
When we pull apart, she says, “I’m not leaving, though. Don’t try to make me.”
I sigh, but it’s a relenting one. “You have to stay here, and you have to stay inside. My dad has plenty of men around, but the FBI is going to put a few on the grounds as well. Bebe has to stay here too.”
“She’s not going to like that,” Jess muses.
“Tough shit,” I grouse, remembering I have to give her a piece of my mind too.
“Don’t you even think about taking your anger out on her,” Jess says, as if she was just delving into my brain. “It’s done, and I don’t want you having angry words with her before you go off to do something dangerous, okay?”
“Fine,” I agree without any real enthusiasm and then can’t help but add, “But when it’s all done—”
“You’ll hug her and tell her what a great friend she is,” Jess says firmly.
And I can tell there’s no arguing with that.
I laugh and pull her back into me for one long, last, and dare I say superhot kiss. She’s breathless when I let her go.
I need to do the job I came here to do.
On my way out the door, Griff preceding me into the garage, my dad puts a hand on my shoulder. “Got a minute?”
“Sure,” I say. I’m pressed for time, but I absolutely will take a moment for him because he’s going to protect Jess while I’m gone. Also… no telling if this could be our last conversation.
“I’ll be a second,” I say to Griff and then follow my dad back into the kitchen.
He leans against the counter, arms folded over his chest. “Want to tell me what you’re getting ready to do?”
I didn’t give my dad details because I didn’t want him to worry. All he knows is that I’m here with Jameson to help the FBI in the manhunt for Borovsky. I’m half afraid if I tell him what I’m going to do, he’ll get his guys to hog-tie me and won’t let me out of the house.
So I lie to him, and I’ll apologize later. “Just providing tech support. But I have to be at the FBI office with the team.”
I can tell by his face he doesn’t buy it, but he can’t force me to tell him the truth either. Of course, he’ll know exactly what’s going on when he sees the press conference, or it could be that Jess and Bebe fill him in after I’ve left. I didn’t tell them to keep it from him, but maybe I should have.
“Listen,” he says, moving to stand before me. We’re matched in size and strength, though I’ve only ever seen him as a big tough guy. But as I watch tears fill his eyes, I have the sudden urge to run, because I’m not ready to see this part of my dad.
He blinks them away, probably because of the panicked look on my face, and instead pulls me into a hard hug. I freeze in shock but it’s not long before my arms go around him.
There’s a hard pound on my back from one of his meaty fists. “Whatever you’re doing, you better stay safe.”
“I will,” I promise as he releases me.
“I know I haven’t been the best dad—”
“Don’t,” I interrupt with a hard shake of my head. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.”
“I haven’t been overly supportive of your career,” he amends, and I can’t argue with that. “But just because I wasn’t vocal about it doesn’t mean I haven’t been filled with pride over all of your accomplishments from the day you were born. Whether you were playing football or building spaceships, or whatever the fuck you did at NASA, or capturing murderers, I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
My eyes sting, but I force the tears back. It’s such a naked admission from my dad, but it couldn’t come at a better time.
I hug him again. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.”
“I love you, son.”
“Love you too,” I reply.
Later, as we’re in the SUV heading back to the FBI office, Griff looks over his shoulder at me in the back seat. “You good?”
“As good as can be.” All the words between me and Jess and me and my dad have filled me with strength.
Still, I ride off into the unknown, unsure if they were my last words with them.
CHAPTER 18
Dozer
My phone rings, and I connect it through the Bluetooth on the rental car. It’s Thea calling from her phone watch I gave her, and there’s no stopping the smile on my face.
“What’s up, pip-squeak?”
“Hi, Uncle Dozer,” she says, her voice music to my ears. “Guess what?”