“Mutually assured destruction,” Hadley said cheerfully. “We’re gonna go now and let you finish making up with your wife. Bye, Cayla!”
There was something in their banter that had Cayla wondering if there was more between them than a lifelong friendship. But given Holt’s reaction, she kept the question to herself.
When the line went dead, Holt stared at the phone for a moment before shoving it back in his pocket. “Well, that was… faster than I expected. Also, a little anticlimactic.”
“Wishing you were there for the takedown?”
“For the chance to plant my fist in his face for all the pain and suffering he’s caused us and everyone else? Hell yeah. But that wasn’t my role to play in this.”
“You stepped way out of your comfort zone to put an end to this whole nightmare. And it worked. I don’t know how to thank you for that.”
“I protect what’s mine. You and Maddie are mine.” His smile turned a little wicked. “But if you’re feeling like you have to express gratitude, I’ve got some ideas.”
Cayla linked her arms around his neck. “Then let’s go home, warrior mine.”
* * *
“CanI go outside to play with Banana Bread some more?” Maddie folded her hands in a prayer position. “Pleeeeeease, Daddy?”
As if Holt could refuse her anything when she called him Daddy? “Well, since school is officially out for the summer and you don’t have to be up and out first thing tomorrow, I suppose you can have a little more playtime.”
“Thank you!” Without giving him a chance to change his mind, she bolted out the backdoor, BB on her heels, into the newly fenced backyard.
Cayla huffed a laugh.
“What?” he asked.
“She’s totally figured you out. Hit you with those big brown eyes and call you Daddy, and you’ll agree to almost anything.”
“I fit quite neatly around her little finger. I admit it.” Holt snagged his wife around the waist and nuzzled her neck. “I’m just as big a softie for her mama.”
Cayla’s hand skated down his back to cop a friendly squeeze of his ass. “Well, maybe softie isn’t the right word.”
Even as he hummed a note of approval, the doorbell was ringing.
She frowned. “It’s nearly eight. Who’s stopping by this late?”
Holt strode to the front door and pulled it open. The man on the front stoop was a Fed. Holt recognized that from the suit and the stance before he even took in the guy’s salt and pepper hair and the bronze skin that hinted at some kind of Hispanic ancestry.
“Mr. Steele. I’m Special Agent Anthony Marquez. May I come in?”
Holt’s first instinct was to bar the door to whatever bad news this guy might carry. But his manner was easy, with no suggestion of dread in his posture.
“Sure.”
Cayla stepped into the room. “Special Agent Marquez!”
“Ms. Black.” He stepped into the house, frowning. “Or is it Mrs. Steele now?”
Oh, Holt liked the sound of that.
“How about Cayla? I feel like maybe we’re past the formalities at this point.”
“Fair enough. Please call me Anthony. I’m sorry to stop by so late, but I had some news.”
Holt automatically reached for her, stepping close to be brace or shield as necessary, though he didn’t really think it was bad. “Why don’t we step out back? Maddie’s out there playing. We want to keep an eye on her.”
“Of course.” Marquez followed them out to the back porch.
Maddie was out in the yard, playing some bastardized version of fetch with the dog where she threw a ball and they both chased after it. Her delighted giggles filled the air. For a moment, they all watched her and smiled. It was hard not to. She was the picture of childhood innocence. They’d managed to preserve that for her.
At last, the agent turned to face them. “I’ll get straight to the point. Arthur Raynor is officially back in prison, and we’ve got all the evidence we need to keep him there this time. He will still face trial for the additional counts of fraud that he committed while he was out. I wanted to personally let you both know that I’m pulling some strings to fast track getting the fraud cleared from your records and those of your friends. It will still take a little time, but everything should be sorted by the end of the month. I apologize for how long it took, and for the fact that he was out to cause trouble in the first place.”
Cayla sucked in a breath. “So, it’s really over?”
“It’s really, really over,” Marquez confirmed.
“Thank you.” She shook the agent’s hand and held it for a moment. “Truly. I know I was a little hard on you at the end there.”
Marquez waved that off. “Completely understandable. I didn’t take it personally. And anyway, you weren’t wrong. We wouldn’t have tied things up quite so neatly without your husband’s help, and that of his… associate.”
That was a polite way of saying he wasn’t sure who the hell Cash was, but he wasn’t looking the gift of good intel in the mouth.
“He’s a handy guy to know.”
The older man’s lips twitched. “Let’s just say we’re glad he’s on our side. Anyway, I just wanted to come by and let you know in person. You’ve certainly earned that. I’ll let you folks get back to your evening.”
After he was gone, they settled on the swing, thigh to thigh, as the last rays of sun faded from the watercolor sky. Maddie continued to romp with Banana Bread, now switching to chasing the fireflies winking on and off. He put his arm around Cayla, and she snuggled close against him. For long minutes, they sat in silence, and Holt absorbed everything about this little slice of contentment.
“Has it sunk in yet?”
She glanced up. “I don’t know if it’s ever really going to sink in. I think there’s always going to be a piece of me that worries Arthur might get out again and try to pull the same stunts.”
“Oh, even if he does, he won’t be able to pull off what he pulled off again. Cash has set up the mac daddy of all identity protection services on all of us. But I don’t think he’s gonna get out for a very long time.”
Her sigh was full of relief, but her silence was full of something else.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’m thinking about what’s next.”
Holt definitely had some ideas about that. “What did you have in mind?”
Tearing her gaze away from Maddie, she looked up at him, face serious. “Are you really happy being a family man? I mean, you jumped into this for honorable reasons. And those reasons are now resolved.”
“Are you seriously trying to give me an out?”