Page 73 of Reclaiming Izabel

“He’s really sorry about what happened and apologized again before he left,” she said.

I didn’t say anything. When Marcus discovered how the fake maintenance guys got into the building, I’d lost my mind. Allison Tierney had been watching Izabel and the people around her, picking out who she could target. She’d zeroed in on Kyle. Tierney’s MO had always been “sex as a weapon” and she had a bevy of high-paid escorts who she had used to seduce lawmakers she wanted to blackmail. With Kyle, she used them to swipe his keycard, allowing access into the company. The architect hadn’t even found out it had been duplicated until Marcus barged intohis office and hauled him off for questioning. It was only through Izabel’s pleading that kept me from beating the shit out of the guy.

I was also in awe at my wife’s resilience from her ordeal. Although the first week or so brought her nightmares, she was able to put the incident behind her with my help and Doc G’s.

She was a true-blue SEAL wife.

Izabel’s foot rubbed against my legs.

“Cold?” I murmured.

“Hmm…” She pressed closer. “Just miss the feel of you.”

“So, what took you so long to get to the door?”

“Not this again,” she groaned, giving an emphatic, pained sigh.

“What are you hiding from me?”

She swatted my chest. “What makes you think I’m hiding something?”

“Because you had this smirk on your face and I know you well enough that you’re keeping a surprise from me.”

“Well, if you know it’s a surprise, why are you pushing me about it?” she groused. “What if I’m not ready to show you?”

I barked a laugh. “Well, now, you’ll really have to show me.”

I tightened my fingers around her rib cage.

“Ugh! You’re so annoying.” Izabel scrambled away from me, scooted off the bed and snagged her sleep shorts off the floor, and hopped into them. “Well, come on then.”

I chuckled as I followed my almost naked wife down the hallway, down the stairs, and into her office.

She snagged her robe off the floor and put herself into it.

“I was enjoying the view,” I murmured.

Izabel glared at me before she plopped in front of her computer and woke it up. Her expression grew tender when she clicked on a file and displayed its contents on the screen.

A ball of emotion formed in my throat.

I swallowed hard. “You did this for us?”

“Yes, it was time to draw our new beginning.”

epilogue

Two YearsLater

Drake

The steaks sizzledon the grill. The patio was hopping with activity. Children were playing in the pool, parents keeping an eye on them…mostly…while the rest of the visitors lazed on lounge chairs, drinking beer or fruity drinks.

“Man, that’s some grill you have there.” Brick blew a low whistle and handed me a beer.

“Thanks.” I welcomed the cool drink by taking a mighty swig.

“I want mine bloody.” My friend cheekily put in his steak request before shifting his eyes back to the sixty-inch grill. It was built into a stack of natural stone and was the centerpiece of the outdoor cooking station. To the left of the grill was a stainless-steel top that could serve as a dining area and on the right was a smoker, also built into the structure.

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