Page 98 of Taking Care of the Target

I should’ve insisted on staying at the courthouse until she left, no matter what anyone said.

The squeal of brakes caught his attention. Hooking a finger in the blinds, he pulled them down and peered out the window. Relief flooded him when Cassie stepped out of the car. Irritation followed when he noticed the cop with her. Officer Duffy obviously wanted his nose broken, because he put his hand on the small of Cassie’s back, where Vince’s should be. The pink and gray backpack Vince gave her all those months ago hung off one shoulder, and Duffy grabbed hold of a black suitcase.

Deputy Florez unholstered his pistol.

“It’s just Cassie and an annoying pig who follows her around,” Vince said, moving for the door. Deputy Florez shot him a stern look—most likely for trying to break protocol and the pig comment. The deputy insisted on answering the door and finally let in Cassie.

Vince didn’t waste any time pulling her into his arms. Real. Here. Her determination was written across her features earlier today, so he figured he’d simply hold on instead of lecturing her, even though he still wanted to scold her over what an unsafe move she’d made.

She turned to Bobby, and the beautiful, familiar smile that spread across her lips was another reminder that despite the changes, it was his Cassie. “Bobby!” She took two large steps and hugged him.

Bobby returned the gesture and then ran his gaze up and down her—in more of a confused way than checking her out, so Vince decided to let it slide. “You look…completely different. I didn’t think I was that messed up when I met you, but weren’t you blond?”

She laughed. “You look pretty different, too. Sober totally works for you.”

“Yeah. I won’t blame you if you decide to leave Vince for me.” Bobby ran a hand down his shirt. “Rehab took my killer looks and pushed them into irresistible territory.”

“Very funny.” Vince tugged Cassie back to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her so she was against his chest, facing out. He looked over her head at Duffy. “She’s good, so you can go now.”

“Vince and Bobby DaMarco, in the flesh,” Duffy said. “Weren’t the two of you always in the back of my dad’s cop car?”

Vince tensed, and Cassie gripped his arms, keeping them around her. “Remember what I said about being nice, Tom?” She glanced over her shoulder at Vince. “That goes all around.”

Duffy reached for the doorknob. “My partner and I will be in an unmarked car on the street keeping watch all night. But you’ve got my number if you need it.” He nodded at her and finally left, and Deputy Florez went to work locking the place up tight again.

“I had to call him for information before making my plans to return for the trial, and he asked to be put on the detail,” Cassie said.

“I didn’t say anything,” Vince said.

“But you were thinking about it.” She spun in his arms and kissed him. He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger. He couldn’t get over it. She still looked sexy, blond or brunette, but admittedly, he didn’t like that her eyes didn’t look like hers, even as he admired how far she went to transform herself.

“You learned to stick your finger in your eye.”

“Apparently I’ll do crazy things to get back to you. Even do a reverse Clark Kent and shed the glasses for gross eye-touching.” Cassie dropped her bag on the floor by the couch and pulled him to sit next to her.

“So you’re Superman now?” Vince teased, nuzzling her neck.

“Superwoman, thank-you-very-much.” Cassie patted the spot next to her, instructing Bobby to sit and tell her how her friend Annie was doing, and the three of them spent several minutes catching up.

Vince could tell by the way she talked about the people she met in Oklahoma that she’d been happy, and he was in awe she still came back for him. God he loved her.

When the conversation slowed, she rested her head on his shoulder.

He curled her closer and kissed her forehead. “If you boys will excuse us, Cassie and I need to have a private meeting. And you might want to turn up the TV while we have it.”

Red flared across Cassie’s cheeks. “Vince!”

“What? It’s not like they don’t know what’s about to happen.”

“Keep it up, and it’s going to be nothing.”

He laced his fingers with hers and pulled her to her feet. “In case anyone’s wondering, I’m going to go show Cassie how you can see a part of Assunpink Creek from my bedroom window. We visited it on one of our dates, so then we’ll probably just smile at each other for a while as we reminisce on that special memory.”

She blushed again and shook her head. He’d missed the way the color bled into her cheeks like that. Missedeverythingabout her, actually. She turned him into a sappy fool, and he didn’t even care.

They climbed the stairs, and as soon as they reached the landing, he scooped her into his arms and carried her into his temporary bedroom. He kicked the door closed and tossed her onto the bed.

A tiny squeal escaped her as he dove on top of her. He kissed her, taking the extra minutes they were denied earlier. One by one, she lost the jacket, shoes, and pants. At the sight of her lacy red thong he grew even harder, straining against the zipper of his jeans.

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