Page 42 of Dangerous Lies

After she took it from his hand, he pulled her into his arms and rested a hand on either side of her hips. “You are the sun in my life. I’m not sure what I would do without you.”

Rose’s tongue peeked out and ran along her lips. He couldn’t hold back from leaning forward and capturing a kiss. She wrapped her hands around his neck as he swiped his tongue across her lips.

A whistle from the side had him pulling back.

Casanova stood in the doorway with a lopsided smile. “Came to see if you needed any help.”

“Here.” Ginger handed a few beers over to Casanova.

Ginger placed a quick kiss on Rose’s lips again before grabbing the other bottles off the counter and heading back into the living room.

He sat back down on the recliner. “Any more leads on our other team member?”

With Casper retiring, Richy joining his fiancé at the White House, and him out, the team was down members, and there was a decent chance he wouldn’t be back.

“We might get two new recruits.” Cy sighed.

“It always takes time to adjust,” Lucky added. “I’m down for whatever, as long as we can get back out in the field. The PE every day is nice and all, but it’s been too long since we had a mission.”

“Didn’t you volunteer for an extra mission a week ago with another team?” Ginger asked.

Lucky shrugged. “It was a one-day op. I never even had to pull my gun. So, are we not going to discuss the thirty boxes of bugs in the living room? I swear I saw a box labeled venom.”

Rose stepped into the room as Ginger held back a smile.

“You really saw one labeled venom?” Rose asked, stopping next to the pile. “That would be so cool if she boxed up the samples too.”

“You’re joking, right?” Lucky asked, moving to the other side of the room.

“You know spider venom can help with epilepsy and pain?” Rose countered.

She shifted through the boxes until she found the one with her spiders. She practically skipped to the center of the room and set the box on the coffee table.

Ginger wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to her spider infatuation or the fact she kept them in the house, but they made her happy.

Rose raised a plastic container with a red lid from the box. “This is Martin. He’s a funnel-web spider. This state-of-the-art container is unbreakable, plus you need a code to unlock the top. This way, nobody can accidentally let him out.”

“According to Google, those thing is very dangerous,” Richy said, gazing down at his phone.

“I’ve gone toe to toe with the scum of the world, but I’m not even sure how I feel right now,” Lucky added.

Doc shook his head. “I understand how the venom can help, but it doesn’t mean I ever wanted to sit in the same room as one. But we each have our hobbies or passions. And I have to say, yours is unique.”

Rose smiled as she put the plastic cage back in the box and picked it up. Every man stood simultaneously to help, and laughter filled the room.

“I can move them myself.”

“Not happening,” Ginger said. “Tell us where you want them.”

“Let’s do the panic room.”

Each team member carried a box down the hall, and not one complained. They did seem less rigid when they all sat back in the living room that had been cleared of the boxes.

A few hours later, and with lots of laughing and pizza, the team was ready to leave. Tyler had woken up and challenged the guys to a game of Mario Kart. Ginger’s stomach hurt from chuckling so much. It was nice to have friends around.

“It was great seeing you guys,” he said.

Richy wrapped Rose in a hug. “Remember, the girls are coming tomorrow.”

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