Pilar and Maverick stood there outside in the fresh air and waited anxiously for the new DOD men to come and pick them up. They waited for what seemed like too long to the both of them when suddenly two fancy black sedans sped up right next to where they stood.
Their tires skidded to a stop, and the back passenger side door flung open, making it obvious that the two of them needed to climb inside.Better make sure they are the real guys sent here to get them this time.
Pilar climbed in the car first, looked around the seats, and then at the men who drove the car. She checked to make sure their faces matched their badges and then climbed back out to where Maverick stood and had watched her safety procedure.
She motioned for him to slide in as soon as she knew it was safe, and she followed close behind him, just like the good bodyguard she was supposed to be.
Once inside the car, Pilar shut the door behind them. They heard the two car doors of the car that followed them shut as the driver and passenger emerged from inside and slammed them closed behind them. Maverick’s head flew around in a panicked state at the sound to look out the back window. He had obviously forgotten about the second car.
“It’s okay, Maverick. They are just here to clean up the mess out there,” Pilar said as she pointed out the window to the bodies they had left outside and tried to calm his nerves.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right, damn, okay. I’m all sorts of jumpy, I guess.” He laughed, seemingly embarrassed at his nervousness.All six feet of that man and his nervousness are extremely more adorable than they should be.
Pilar hadn’t noticed that he had grabbed her hand in fear of the car behind them. When Maverick realized he had a hold of it, he released it quickly and looked down at his lap, even more embarrassed now.
She felt there was no need to say anything to him about it. She didn’t want to embarrass him any further. Plus, she had liked how his hand had felt.He can’t know how nice it felt on mine.
When they arrived at the meeting, the agents greeted them both but started the conversation by talking to Maverick.
“Hal Steik, a member of the Jersey Triad, wants to get his dirty hands on your Pod, Maverick, and we have brought you here as a safety measure to present you with an offer that could protect you forever,” one of the men said.
As he looked at him, he could sense the obvious confusion spread across Maverick's face. “The Jersey Triad is a multi-national criminal syndicate based out of New Jersey,” he continued, trying to shed some light on the clearly confusing subject at hand.
Pilar looked up at Maverick, still confused. She had no idea what these men were talking about, and she stared at him until he looked down at her. Once he had noticed her confusion, he gave her an explanation of what they were saying before the meeting went any further.
“I’ll give you a little background on the Pod they’re talking about, Pilar. I’ve been working on a project that could cure cancer. That project has been attracting attention, but it’s now apparently attracting the wrong people’s attention …” He was interrupted, and it was clear that the men must not have felt she needed an explanation as they had not been talking to her.
“Mr. Wilcox, we believe the best course of action in this situation would be for you to come with us. You would be in our custody. We can fully protect you and keep you safe. This would relieve Nick’s agency of their duty to protect you,” another man said to him, completely ignoring her presence.
At the thought of her one and only mate being taken from her, Pilar chimed in, “No disrespect to either of you, fellas, but I’m not leaving my client.”
If this had been any other case, any other case at all that she had been on previously where Maverick had not been involved, she would have been extremely happy to hand this work over to those men. She would have happily given them her case and looked forward to the next new and exciting one that followed.
However, Maverick’s case was different. Even though he didn’t know it yet, Maverick was her mate. Pilar could not allow herself to be separated from him now. She couldn’t tell anyone, that included Maverick … at least for now … but she also knew she could not just let him go.
“Well, Miss Douglas,” one of the men finally addressed her. “The only way you are able to come with him is if you go into protective custody as well. Which, if we didn’t make perfectly clear for you earlier, is a permanent arrangement. It would include a name change and a relocation. You will be forced to completely start over.”
Their harsh words rang in her ears. She couldn’t lose her mate, but all Pilar thought about was Lydia. Lydia would never leave her school or all her friends. Pilar could never get her to agree to go with them, and she knew she would never be able to leave Lydia behind. Pilar’s heart started to sink at the thought of losing her mate when, to her surprise, he spoke up.
“No. I’m not moving. I’m not leaving my lab and all of my years of work behind. I don’t care what the danger to myself is. It’s not going to happen. My life’s work is that Pod. You, or anyone else, can’t expect me to just move out and start all over on it in a new lab.”
“Let me just clarify something for you, Mr. Wilcox. This protection would mean a clean slate for you. Meaning you wouldn’t even be allowed to start over in your projects anyway. You wouldn’t be able to work on the same things, not even in the same field of research, if you truly want us to keep you protected.”
“Okay. That makes my decision easy. I won’t go with you guys then. There is absolutely no way I would leave all of my hard work behind. I will stay here and continue to work on the Pod until it is ready to roll out. Not one single person should have to suffer another minute just because some criminals are wanting to get their hands on my secret. I won’t be bullied out of it that way,” Maverick responded.
Wow, he is really dedicated to saving people. He was insanely passionate about it. Would he want to stay with me, to let me be his protection?She watched as Maverick and those men argued back and forth continually about where he would be the safest.It was so sexy watching him get all worked up protecting himself.She couldn’t help imagining him using that harsh voice with her in the bedroom.
His words started to form a new image of him in her head. She was afraid to care, though, because if she were to let herself care for him, then she would have something to lose, just like she had lost her pride.
Maverick’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I have seen the things she will do to keep me safe. Although I’m more than just safe with her, and as long as she is there with me, I can continue my work and continue living my life the way I want to live it without you guys interfering. I really don’t think you’ll be able to do a better job of protecting me than the ass kicking I’ve seen her give in the last few days,” he said as he forced a flash of his handsome smile in her direction.
Her eyes caught his gaze, and she was lost yet again, as if he were a magnet she couldn’t make herself be pulled away from.Don’t do that to me here. We need to be serious. We are in a very serious situation.
The men interrupted yet again, ruining their intimate moment. “Okay, well, it is your decision, after all, Mr. Wilcox. It is your life, and you are allowed to choose what happens to it. If you are choosing to decline our offer and our help and choosing to stick with her in the hope she will be able to provide the protection you will need, then we’ll allow you to head back home and stop wasting everyone’s time here.”
They were escorted back to the car, and Pilar did her tedious safety inspection of the car and the men again, then allowed Maverick to climb in. Pilar followed closely behind him.
It was the same process as the first encounter with this sedan. On their way back to the condo, she thought of how passionate he had seemed about all of his work and saving lives and how much more attracted to him that had made her.