Page 43 of Dangerous Mission

“They were too young to know about love.”

Terri knew she should feel bad for starting a fight between her parents, but it was nice to know her mom wasn’t on board with the plan that had left her heartbroken for years. “I’m going to spend a week at Axel families beach house, but after that, I’m going back to DC. I can’t keep hiding. As for Axel and me, you both need to stay out of it unless we ask.”

“Hey, I brought you back together,” her dad grumbled.

She wanted to point out that he was the one who’d also torn them apart years ago but kept her mouth shut. “I’ll keep in touch. Senator Wilson was at the event tonight. He wants to derail my project. Don’t do anything until we talk.”

Her father’s jaw ticked. “We have lots to discuss.” He turned to Axel. “Take care of her for me.”

Axel pulled her into his arms. “I promise, sir.”

Everyone packed up and left. Axel wanted to head to the beach, so they got into his truck.

Terri had almost fallen asleep when the phone rang through the car speakers. Tex’s number flashed across the center console screen. She smiled, remembering it was the only number she actually knew by heart.

Axel hit the answer button on the steering wheel. “Tex.”

“Senator Wilson was killed on his way to his hotel about an hour ago.”

Axel

Axel tuggedTerri closer to him on the couch. She hadn’t said much since the call with Tex ended. He wished Grim wouldn’t have mentioned the meeting he had scheduled with Commander North in a week.

He planned to tell Terri about the meeting. He wanted to wait until the right time. Well, he wasn’t sure when the right time was. If he wanted to be honest with himself, he tried to push any thoughts of the meeting out of his head. The publicity was too much for Cy and Tex to take down. His name was everywhere, along with his picture. It didn’t take long for the media to dig into every aspect of his life. He also knew it wouldn’t be long before they were camped outside his house. He hated when the media staked out his home growing up. Now he was dragged back into that life.

“I’m sorry,” Terri said next to him.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. Tex and the team will find the person who drugged you. I’m still trying to figure out the purpose of the spiked water. They didn’t want to harm you, but they attempted something.”

“They exposed you. Which in return hurts me.”

“But who knew I would run up on stage and grab you. The media turned me into some white knight.”

Terri’s lips twisted into a grin. “TikTok already blew up with the video. You’re one of the top posts. Everyone woman wants to know if you are single or if you are dating. You went viral.”

Axel wrapped an arm around Terri’s shoulders and pulled her in closer to him. “I can tell you I don’t have a viral disease. Not sure why TikTok would even do videos about people having sexual diseases.”

She burst out laughing, and it was music to his ears. “It’s not a disease. It’s when your video gets seen by a hell of a lot of people.”

“I know what it is.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I wanted to hear you laugh. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. You helped a woman escape a trafficking ring. I walked back into your life, I went on a mini deployment, and someone drugged you. But the only thing I know for certain is I want to be with you. Do I have the answers on how that will work? Hell no. But we can figure shit out as we go.”

“My life is a mess.”

“No, it’s not. Someone is out for you. Soon the media will die down.”

“Then you can go back to your team.”

Axel frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know what the commander will say. With the media finding out who my family is, it’s a risk for me to go back into the field. If I were to get kidnapped, they know a huge ransom would be paid. Now I’m romantically tied to you. Even if we didn’t kiss in public. I’m not going to hide our relationship. I have time to think about things before I talk to Commander North.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.” He truly meant it. Axel didn’t plan on having any secrets from her.

Terri ran her hand over his chest and stopped in the center. It’s where the deepest scar on his body was. “Can you tell me how you got the scars and bullet wounds? I know your missions are secret, so if you can’t tell me, I understand.”

“It’s not a pretty story.”

“I want to hear it.”

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