Black Ops Brotherhood: Tightrope Part 20

"I'd like for you to stay with CBP because you're established."

"They have CBP in San Antonio. I'll look for a position there first."

"What do you want?"

"What I want hasn't changed since high school, and I know you can't walk away from the Navy, nor would I ask you to. If this is what you really want, I'll figure out what I need to do to be with you wherever you have to go. You need to be honest with me, though. No kidding around. If you're not sure, then tell me now."

"No, babe, I'm sure. I'm just blown away that you would do that for me."

"All you need to do is ask. Didn't you tell me you wanted me to make our decisions? Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

He kissed her and some of the tension he'd sensed before seemed to vanish with her smile.

"What's our plan?" he asked.

"I'll move to San Antonio as soon as I can find a job. If you're living in an apartment, I need you to start looking for a house when you go back, and let me know what our bills look like. Dogs are a big part of my life, and I'll always have them, so we need a yard."

"What else?"

"When you go back to work, stay safe. It's taken me a long time to finally get you to come around. I don't want to lose you now."

Sliding to the floor, he curled his arm around her leg and thought about how perfect this moment had been, just the way it had always been between them. He leaned his head against her and closed his eyes in relief. It had been too perfect, and he knew being a SEAL that many marriages were broken because of the deployments and the secrets the men had to keep. He exhaled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"My job keeps me gone a lot, babe..."

"Do you want to talk me out of something?"

"No. I want you to know, I won't leave the SEALs to find an office job somewhere, at least not yet."

"I'm not asking you to leave anything. I worked with the SEALs and Marine Recon in Iraq because their dog handlers were in short supply. I know what you do. I'm willing to take you just the way you are. You need to understand I'm not leaving my career, either."

He tightened his grip. "The danger you put yourself in scares me, babe."

"I'm not leaving law enforcement. It's what I do, and I'm good at it. That's been a problem for me in other relations.h.i.+ps. Let's make a deal; I promise you I'll do whatever I need to do to accommodate your career. And I won't tell you what to do with it, if you promise not to tell me what to do with mine. Do I have your word?" she asked as she ran her hand over his shoulder.

This wouldn't be easy especially when he thought about finding her stuffed in that d.a.m.n attic, not to mention her unknown stalker who'd figured out how to hide a little better. It worried him that she seemed oblivious to those sorts of dangers around her. The thought of the worst elements of society wanting to hurt her raised a fierce protectiveness in him, but he couldn't tell her what to do. It would be a tradeoff because she was the only woman who made him feel safe and the only one he trusted enough to make the decisions he would end up putting off.

"Deal," he said, laying a kiss on her knee. "Can we go to the reunion?" He turned around and knelt in between her legs. He bent down and kissed her p.u.s.s.y. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."

"You don't give up, do you?" she asked with a giggle.

"Nope."

"Brat," she said, pus.h.i.+ng his head away. "Yes, we can go."

As they drove into Bisbee, Rio breathed a sigh of relief that the day was almost over with. The picnic hadn't been as bad as she expected. They'd sat with a bunch of people from the CBP, and she'd been sheltered from the drama of high school by sticking with people she knew and were friendly to her. Being a social b.u.t.terfly, Danny never stayed still and roamed all over the place talking with old schoolmates. With a certain amount of satisfaction, she watched Sylvia and her buddies seethe every time he would touch her or run to get her a drink. This would be one time she didn't mind him being all over her and waiting on her every whim.

Since they'd talked about what he wanted, she'd started reading about female dominance in a relations.h.i.+p. It surprised her that there could be so much information about it. Knowing Danny, he'd studied it in depth. She didn't ask him what to look for because she knew he'd give her the information he wanted her to know, not necessarily what she needed to know. Some of the expectations she'd learned about were difficult for her because no matter what kind of D/s relations.h.i.+p they embarked on, to her he was still Danny. All of his pranking and his stubbornness would be unacceptable in the type of relations.h.i.+p he said he wanted. She would need to craft this new facet of their relations.h.i.+p to suit them because she didn't want him to change.

He even understood he needed limitations, and Rio began to understand why. Danny had become used to pus.h.i.+ng the envelope with everything in his life. His career in special operations forced him to the brink of extremity on a frequent basis, and his pranks and sense of humor often pushed the edge of tolerance. But for all of his changes, there were a few things that hadn't changed. He still knew how to charm his way in and out of almost anything and rarely got called out or turned down for whatever he did or wanted. She'd noticed the way women looked at him and so did he. He'd become a master at the art of flirting. The tall, dark, and handsome SEAL could be a panty dropper, and he'd gotten used to women never saying no to him. He'd recognized, like before, she'd set limits and wouldn't tolerate his bulls.h.i.+t. Just like working with her dogs, she had to place boundaries for him to respond and eventually trust her again.

After the picnic, she'd been ready to call it a day but publicly agreed to go to the after party when the group she'd been hanging out with razzed her about being so unsociable. It wasn't the peer pressure-she knew Danny wanted to go, and she didn't want to spoil what little time he had left at home. She made it seem as if she'd indulged him when he promised they'd only be there an hour. The memory of his smoldering look made her smirk when she made it clear she would a.s.sert that dominance that he loved in exactly one hour.

When they walked into the small tavern, her hackles rose; something was amiss. It hung in the air as she looked around St. Elmo's. Some of the guys that worked with her at the station were here. They weren't in her cla.s.s or Danny's, but were on the CBP team she ran. This had become downright uncomfortable for her. She took a deep breath and tried not to let her suspicion show.

"Hey there, Lil' bit!" Van McKay called as he handed her a Diet c.o.ke.

"Hey, sis!" Davey greeted her with a hug.

What the h.e.l.l's going on here? Danny left her in the company of her brother and Van while he went to talk to his buddies. She watched him make his rounds as different people tried to engage her in conversation. She turned and faced the door when Sylvia put her arms around him and kissed him. She couldn't help it; she turned back around and watched Danny unwind himself from Sylvia's clutches, and she could tell it made him uncomfortable. Van and Alan had seen it, too, and tried to draw her into a conversation. Glancing at her watch, she knew this hour would be the longest of her life.

"Hey, everyone! I've got some news about our Lil' bit here," Van said, calling attention to himself.

She shot Alan an annoyed glance, but he simply winked at her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Not me, Lil' bit." Van gave her a sly smile as he nodded his head.

Looking in the direction Van had indicated, she watched as Danny walked through the crowded bar. The tiger had returned, and his dangerous gaze held her firm. He looked as if he were on a mission.

What the h.e.l.l is he doing? What kind of d.a.m.n prank is he pulling now?

When he reached her, he dropped to his knees and took her hands. The seriousness of his gaze threw her off balance because she'd never seen those nuances in that expression before.

"Will you marry me?"

Her surprised gasp caught in her throat as the bar went silent, waiting for her to answer. Time stopped and hung in antic.i.p.ation of what she would say. The silence was eerie and out of place for this noisy, overcrowded little tavern. The people around her faded until it had become only the two of them looking at each other. She looked closer. He'd never been this dead serious before, and she realized the question should've been more of a statement because there was only one answer he'd accept. He'd hound her to the end of her days if she dared to say anything else. This time she wouldn't be left behind and forgotten. Every bit of yearning and every single ache she'd ever had over him evaporated in an instant. He'd really be hers for life.

"Yyes," she managed to say as she threw herself into his arms.

The entire bar erupted in a cheer. The noise was deafening and shook her with excitement as he took out a ring and slid it onto her quivering finger. He stood and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her and whispered against her lips with a mischievous smile, "Gotcha."

Sheriff Wright sat at his desk attempting to get a grip on his rage. He watched as Jax applied the ice bag to his nose and whined in pain. What a big-a.s.s baby! The door opening caught his attention, and Wes Macey crossed the room to his son. He appraised the situation and turned to Mason.

"Well? What the h.e.l.l happened, and what are you doing about this?" Wes asked.

"I'm firing Jax from his job and throwing him in jail. The FBI just called me demanding his arrest for violation of his restraining order."

"What!" Wes roared.

"I told him to stay away from Rio Jensen, and told him what I would do if he didn't. He's a big boy, and he made the decision."

"You can't put him in jail!"

"I don't have a f.u.c.king choice. I have to enforce that restraining order. " Mason roared as he leaped to his feet.

Wes Macey took a step backward and exhaled. "What happened? Who did this to him?"

Mason resumed his seat. "He started hara.s.sing Rio when he saw her with another guy right before the parade. He was in uniform and had a patrol car. He wasn't on duty because he'd been suspended. Her boyfriend did this to him when your son tried to take a swing at him."

"Okay, you've released him into my custody."

Mason shook his head. "You're not hearing me. He'll be booked, processed, and put in jail. You're going back home and doing exactly what I tell you."

Wes' face paled. "You know what'll happen to him if you do that? You can't-"

"I can and I will. I'll put him in solitary confinement and you'll post bail then keep his a.s.s away from Rio. I can make this go away if you do exactly what I tell you to do."

"Arrest the son of a b.i.t.c.h who did this to my son because I'm pressing charges!"

"You don't want to do that, Wes. The guy was defending himself, and genius over there did all this in front of a bunch of witnesses who I'm sure will say Jax started the whole thing."

"Well I'll take care of this right now. Who the f.u.c.k was that guy?"

"Danny Gamez."

"What? You let some wimpy bookworm kick your a.s.s?" Wes asked his son in disbelief.

"He did some kind of karate s.h.i.+t on me, Dad," Jax groaned.

Mason rolled his eyes. He'd done some checking up on Danny Gamez and figured out bookworm Danny did some sort of covert s.h.i.+t for the Navy. His personnel file that could be accessed to law enforcement had been generic at best. That in itself had been unusual because law enforcement needed to know what they were dealing with when it came to combat-trained citizens. By the damage he'd done to Jax, the list of possible career options was short. Mason had reached out to some of his contacts and found out that they couldn't, or in some cases wouldn't, give him any information on Danny, either, which meant that the bookworm probably did some sort of active duty special operations. If that had been the case, Danny had shown tremendous restraint and Jax was lucky to still have a heartbeat.

This had been information he decided to withhold for the moment. Jax deserved much more than an a.s.s kicking. He'd read the FBI report that had been presented to the federal judge who'd signed the restraining order on his deputy. Rio had almost been killed over Jax's bulls.h.i.+t stunt. Mason leaned his head back and exhaled. He'd grown tired of dealing with a dumba.s.s who couldn't take no for an answer.

"What are you doing about Danny?"

"Not a d.a.m.n thing. There's nothing I can do to Rio or Danny. They haven't done anything wrong."

"Well if you're not doing anything, then I have to."

"I'm telling you right now. Leave them alone. The feds are involved in this. Keep dumba.s.s over there away from Rio. Go home and lay low until Danny leaves. She'll forget about him, and life will get back to normal."

Wes helped Jax to his feet.

"You leave him right where he's sitting. Jax is going to the lock up."

Wes shot Mason a deadly look. "I can't believe you're really about to do this." Running his fingers through his thinning hair, he growled in aggravation, "And I can't wait. I need to close this deal."

Mason shrugged. "Have it your way, but don't depend on me to get you out of the s.h.i.+tstorm you're brewing. You're f.u.c.king with the wrong people on this one."

Wes narrowed his eyes. "You'll help me. You'll have to."

Chapter 17.

Old Bisbee July 5, 2010/0426 Zulu "We're here," Danny announced as he parked.

"Where are we?" Rio asked.

They'd navigated through some trails and managed to come to the top of a hill that overlooked Old Bisbee. He'd made sure they hadn't been followed this time because where he had taken her would've put her in serious danger if they were caught alone. Not even Rio knew where they'd gone. It was dark, and he'd engaged her in conversation, making her lose her sense of direction.

"It's my secret place," he said.

When they were settled, she looked down the hill at Old Bisbee and became pleasantly amazed at how he always managed to find the most breathtaking views. From their vantage point, the old city came into sharp perspective as it bathed in colorful lights. The yellow of the street lamps reflected off the asphalt giving the city an iridescent yellow glow. The lights that reflected off the granite buildings gave them a pink radiance. Lights redirected from swimming pools and off the granite hills that dotted the landscape, setting off a jeweled blue hue.

"How do you find these places?" she asked.

"I've taken lots of pictures up here at night."

"Are we stargazing again or are you taking me to meet your buddy Leatherface this time?"

"It might be too bright for stargazing in a few minutes, and Leatherface took the night off since it's a holiday."

Hopping up onto the tailgate, he sat next to her and leaned in to her with a kiss.

"Wanna make out?" he murmured.

"Oh, I see where this is going. So, how many other girls have come up here with you?" she asked with a giggle.

Leaning back, he gave her a shocked look. "What? Babe, you've got to know by now you're the only woman for me. There is no one else."

"Yeah, right. How many times did you bring Syl-"

"Nuh-uh." He silenced her by putting his finger to her lips. "No more of that. There is no one else for me, never has been. I love you and only you." He lifted her left hand and kissed the ring he'd given her.

"Good answer," she said, sliding her arms around him.

Keeping himself attached to her lips, he eased her down onto the bed of the truck. She sensed the first flash through her closed eyes. When she opened them, the second volley of fireworks exploded right over them. They seemed to be underneath the falling fire in the sky as the Fourth of July display started overhead. Danny rubbed his nose against hers and leaned back on his elbows. Schotzie hopped up into the bed of the truck. The next volley of fireworks startled her, and she whined as she jumped down and hid underneath the tailgate away from the bright flashes. Seeing her dog's reaction to the display, she regretted bringing her and hopped down from the tailgate to find her.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"It's Schotzie. The lights from the fireworks are scaring her. I'm putting her inside the truck," she said, opening the door. "Come on, girl, load up."

Danny followed and rolled down the windows. Rio rejoined him on the bed of the truck once Schotzie had settled inside.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I should've told you what we were doing," he said as she settled against him.