Page 98 of Loco

But for now, she was here, and that was enough.

Sayla leaned into me a little more, her damp hair brushing my arm. Her voice was quiet but not hesitant.

“Should we tell the FBI?”

I exhaled through my nose and shook my head slowly. “We can’t.”

Her brows knit slightly, and I turned to look at her fully. “Ned sent through a file just before you came out of the bathroom. There’s a guy we have a photo of at our house from the security cameras, and Ned identified him as Walter Grigg’s new security. He’s also former FBI, and so is his other security, which we’ve just found out. Same training and clearance, all buried behind nice, clean resumes.”

Her expression shifted, that sharp Intelligence behind her eyes clicking into place.

“We have no idea how deep this goes,” I added. “No way to know who’s still clean and who’s part of it. So, for now, we’re sticking with the people we trust. That’s us and the cops in Piersville.”

Sayla didn’t argue. She nodded slowly and thoughtfully, then looked up at me again.

I leaned in and kissed her, deep and certain, like I needed her to know just how close we’d come to losing this—losing her. My voice cracked when I pulled back despite trying to keep it level.

“I was so goddamn worried, Sayla. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

Her arms slid around me, pulling me in until I could feel the steady thump of her heart against my chest. She breathed me in like I was grounding her.

“I realized something while I was there,” she said softly. “When everything was stripped away, all the fear and noise, I realized how much I love you, Roque. And I love the kids more than I ever thought I could love anything.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and wrapped my arms tighter around her, burying my face against her shoulder.

“I love you, too,” I said into her skin. “So damn much.”

We stayed like that for a minute—no words were said because they were unnecessary. Just holding each other like we could shield the world out.

Then I pulled back slightly and murmured, “But you know Lynyrd, Skynyrd, and Dog won’t be happy if they’re left out of that love equation.”

She laughed softly, the sound like a spark in the dark. “They’re absolutely included. All three of those chaos gremlins.”

That made me smile, and I leaned in again, kissing her with a slow, lingering tenderness that quickly turned into something deeper. She met me halfway, her fingers slipping into my shirt, and I let myself press her back toward the bed, the mattress dipping beneath us as we found each other in the quiet hush of the night.

It could’ve gone further. It would’ve, if?—

Knock knock.

“Roque!” Judd’s voice was rough and apologetic. “Sorry, man. Need you for a minute.”

Sayla let her head fall back on the pillow with a groan. I closed my eyes, forehead dropping to hers as I exhaled the world’s longest sigh.

“I swear he has the worst timing.”

Sayla grinned, brushing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You better go. We’ll finish this later.”

I stood reluctantly, threw one last look at her draped on the bed in the low light, like peace finally had a place to land, and then turned toward the door.

Judd better have adamngood reason for this interruption

I closed the door behind me and followed Judd down the hall, still smoothing my T-shirt and trying to blink away the moment I’d just walked out.

“This better be urgent,” I muttered.

“It is.” Judd was all business. His face was tight, meaning something was about to break open or already had.

He led me down to the living room, where the lights were lower but still bright enough to catch the tension in the air. Kai was pacing, and Keir had his arms crossed. Imogen sat at the dining table with her tablet, her expression unreadable.

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