Page 95 of Edge of Desire

He turned me around so he could look at me.

“I can’t answer that. I’m hoping not long. I’m hoping they’ll get in, take care of business, and get out.”

I grabbed his shirt in both of my fists. “You promise me that’s all you’re going to do. You promise me right now you’re only going to EPIC because I swear to God if anything happens to you ...”

He kissed me then. Not tenderly, but possessively, bruising my lips with his as he invaded my mouth. He broke away and whispered against my mouth, “I swear to you nothing’s gonna happen to me. I’ll stay at EPIC, and when it’s over, I’ll come straight back here. I promise.”

We kissed again, but in the end, he made the decision that I would go with him. He pulled out his phone and called Pete, telling him he was out of the mission, but coming to EPIC and bringing me along. He didn’t want to leave me alone, even with the security detail.

The next morning, we flew to El Paso. “What if the mission fails?” I asked him on the plane.

“It won’t,” he answered as he reached for my hand.

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because we’re dealing with the CIA and the U.S. military. Failure isn’t an option.”

Thirty

Preston

EPIC ... when I left a month ago, I thought I wouldn’t be back for a year. Life threw another curveball at me. I was getting damn tired of them too.

Avery was nervous. I assured her everything would be fine, but her brain wouldn’t let her believe it. Getting shot had done a number on her. Hell, it had done a number on me too.

We passed through the first two levels of security, but Pete had to clear Avery for the last. At first, they didn’t want to allow her in the situation room. However, I was adamant about her being there. When I made up my mind about something, I was as thickheaded as they came. Pete finally had to intervene to get her clearance, but he did. The DEA had run an in-depth background check on the whole Middleton family back when Terri was going into WITSEC and then again when she married Justin. Because of that, getting Avery cleared wasn’t much of an issue. There was no way in hell I would leave her alone while all this was going down, and Pete knew it.

Pete had organized a team of thirty. They were a talented combination of CIA and U.S. Special Forces. In the middle of the night they invaded the main compound of the Durango Cartel and the drug lord’s home simultaneously, eliminating the entire organization, from top to bottom. They also dismantled their operations and grabbed computers, hard drives, and everything they could carry. It would provide us information on their connections all over the world. After tonight, the Durango Cartel would no longer be a threat to anyone, including Avery and me. My information would be wiped clean from every piece of data they had out there, giving me the freedom to live my life in peace. Not only that, it enabled Avery to live without fear again. My mother and sister would no longer have to worry either. I sat back and closed my eyes as years of anguish poured over me. Those fuckers had destroyed so much of my life, the liberation I felt was laced in so much sadness, it was bittersweet. When it was over, ragged gasps wheezed out of me as I struggled to hold back my emotions.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” I heard her soft voice next to my ear. “You can let it go. We’re alone now.”

Her hands and arms wound around me as I shuddered with the assault of my emotions. I’d never grieved when my father was murdered, and never grieved for my sister when she fell into that bottomless abyss. And my mother ... I can’t even think about what she endured. I grieved for it all in Avery’s arms. When I was spent, I raised my head and wondered aloud, “How did I ever think I could go in there? I would’ve been a total fuckup. And I wouldn’t have had your shoulder to cry on. Christ. This shit doesn’t end, does it?”

“I think it just did.”

I leaned back to look at her. “Avery, are you even sure you want to be with a fucked-up?—”

“Stop it. We’ve been over this dozens of times and it’s a worn-out discussion, Preston.”

“But look at me.”

“I am. What’s your point?”

“I’m a mess. I’m supposed to be the strong one.”

“You are the strong one. How many people do you know could’ve done what you’ve been through and made it out alive? You don’t give yourself any credit. I don’t want to talk about this. You need to be happy it’s over.”

“I am. I am happy. Now I don’t have to worry about you, or Caroline or my mother.”

“Precisely. So, when can we leave?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Eager, huh?”

“Yeah. I’d like to go to the cabin for a couple of weeks.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah.”

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