Page 47 of Dangerous Lies

Sadness hit her that she had nobody to share the news with. All she wanted to do was yell it from the rooftops but also dish it to a close friend. It wasn’t until Ginger had she realized how closed off her life had become. Friends weren’t something she made easily, mostly because nobody could get past her insect obsession.

Richy had mentioned a bunch of the girlfriends and wives were coming to their house, and she wondered if they would accept her. She hadn’t talked with Grim since the plane ride, but she knew the woman was busy helping people worldwide. She just wished for one close friend she could call and talk with.

Rose threw the covers to the side of the bed, grabbed her sweats from the chair, and slipped on her love bug shirt. Ginger had ordered it for her off Amazon. The man fed her bug addiction, and she wasn’t going to complain.

Her ring sparkled and reminded her of honey.

She padded down the hall to the kitchen, where Ginger stood near the island with a cup of coffee in his hand. Her eyes were on his bare chest. He’d complained of being out of shape, but he still had washboard abs. Probably from the million sit-ups and pushups he did every day. He’d asked if she wanted to train with him, and she’d almost died of laughter.He wouldn’t let her out of the daily swim lessons though.

Her little boy had joined him, and was so excited about the number of pushups he could do because he wanted to be just like his dad when he grew up. Her heart squeezed that he used to want to be like her, but she couldn’t blame Tyler. Ginger had an aura around him that made her want to be a better person, even if she could see he struggled with the fact he was a great man.

He still blamed himself for the car accident. She couldn’t possibly understand how since the person after them put a device on the SUV to override the mechanics and shot out two tires.

He looked up from his cup and smiled at her.”Good morning, beautiful.”

She rushed across the kitchen and into his open arms. God, she hoped the protective feeling she got from his embrace never stopped.

“Hey, yourself. You left the bed without waking me.”

He pressed his lips against the top of her head. “I went for a run, and it gave me time to think about the meeting today.”

Right, the one they should have talked about last night instead of spending time making love.

“Shouldn’t we talk about it?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “But…”

She pulled back from his arms so she could see his eyes. “Starting a conversation withbutis not good, Ginger. You asked me to be part of your life. That means making decisions together, no going rogue, Mr. CIA Officer.”

His hand came down on her ass, and the smack echoed through the room. “I love your firecracker temper when it comes out. As for decisions, I was coming up with different options to run by you.”

“Oh.” She grabbed a mug from the cabinet. It was nice to have her bugs, but she wished she had the rest of her things. She should be grateful for the nice house Xavier let them use, but it didn’t feel like home.

Ginger grabbed the mug from her hand and filled it with coffee and sugar. “Xavier’s doctor sent me a report from the scans they took when I was in the hospital. He wants me to go to the hospital for some more tests. Many people make this their career for years, taking them away from their families. I think it’s time for a change.”

She took a moment for his words to sink in. “So, where do you want to go?”

“We can head back to Las Vegas and I can assist you with your business, or Richy offered me a job with him. I could do a few missions to help from there, but I think it’s time we focus on our family. Another option is to move to DC, but I think Vegas is better.”

“You’d want to help me clean up blood and people’s homes? The crime scenes are easy jobs. Sometimes I have to do a hoarder’s home, and the stench is ten times worse.”

A few years prior, a woman called who asked her to clean out her mom’s place. Rose found close to twenty living cats and way more dead ones stuffed under piles and piles of junk. The job took her three weeks. Once she completed it, she spent the weekend clearing her own house of clutter.

“What about Carter?” she asked.

He ran a hand over his face and sighed. “I’ve chased him for so long. We will always be in danger until he’s dead, but I need to live my life. I’m sure if I asked Xavier when it came down to the mission, he would let me assist, because I need to see the man dead.”

Las Vegas still had the serial killer. The Chief had said no matter how much the evidence pointed to Evan Miller, he had an alibi for each of the murders. Ginger pointed out that it was way too convenient for a man who lived alone to have a witness for every night linked to the murders.

“How about you go to your meeting and see what the man says, and then we can decide tonight?”

He placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I’m going to stop by Rogue Mercenaries and see if Lucas has any info on the killer in Vegas.”

He grabbed her hand with the ring on and kissed the top.

“I love you, Rose.”

“Love you more. Maybe tonight we can go out and celebrate. I think I’m going stir crazy.”

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