Page 48 of Strip Search

Chapter Nineteen

Cole

Iran around the entireneighborhood twice, punched the punching bag in the workout room for over half an hour and I’ve taken a cold shower. Yet I still can’t get my shit together. I know Molly’s sitting at some fancy restaurant right now while Hunter, formerly known as Dallas during the sting operation, is wooing her and trying to take away one of my best employees. An employee that my stupid ass willing gave a glowing recommendation for and told him they would be damn lucky to have. I’ve brought every ounce of this torture on myself.

She’s better off with an agency like the DEA; she fucking earned it and then some. Hell, I knew when I hired her that’s what she really wanted, and thatCole Securitywould likely only be a map dot on her way to her dreams. And I never ever had any intentions of stopping her from chasing those dreams. I still don’t. In fact, I’ll be the first damn one ready to congratulate her when she hands in her resignation. That sure as shit does not mean I have to like it.

Running the towel over my hair one more time, I toss it into the hamper and walk into my bedroom to throw on a pair of shorts. I guess at this point, I’ll order a pizza and down a few beers. Maybe then I’ll at least be able to fucking relax a little.

Forty minutes later, I’m two beers in, when I hear the garage door open and close again a few minutes later. Molly walks into the kitchen entrance with two pizzas in her hand.

“Hi.” She gives me a timid smile. “I sort of, uhm, caught the delivery guy at the pass and paid him off. So, technically, I bought you dinner.”

“You’re a mess, Molly,” I tell her with a smile, relieved that she’s back here with me.

Taking the pizza from her, I head to the kitchen with her trailing behind. Setting the boxes down on the counter, I pull out the paper plates and grab two more beers from the fridge.

I’m anxious to hear what she has to say, as she takes a seat at the counter and I slide over a bottle to her.

“So, uhm. Dinner was interesting.”

“I sure hope you didn’t take the first offer he put on the table.” I give her a wink, recalling how she didn’t even look at the compensation package when I hired her.

“Well, that’s the thing.” She pauses to take a bite of the pepperoni pizza that she’s already pulled from the box. “I didn’t accept anything.”

“Molly,” I groan in frustration.

“Hang on now. I didn’t say I wouldn’t accept anything. Hunter told me I had fourteen days to think about it before he needed a response.”

“You’re going to take it.” It’s not a question. She will be taking this job. “As long as they’re not trying to screw you over. If you want someone to look over their offer, I’ll go through it with you. Molly, this is what I was trying to tell you earlier. I’ll fire you before I let you waste another year stuck with us.”

Tears fill her eyes, and my heart cracks a little more.

“Would being stuck here, really be that bad?” her voice shakes.

Setting down my beer, I circle the counter and pull her to me. “Baby, the last damn thing I want you to do is to take a job that’s going to pull you away from me. But as selfish as I am, there is still no way in hell I’m letting you pass this opportunity up.”

Looking up at me with sad eyes, Molly sighs, “If I take this job, where does that leave us? Are we through?”

“No. Crazy girl. Absolutely not. We’re far from over. I’m not letting you go. Why would you even think that?”

“I’ll have to travel. Not always, and not right away. Hunter warned that there may be times when I may be gone long periods of time. He was undercover for two and a half years this time. That could happen to me, to us.” She chokes back a sob.

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