Page 123 of Lethal Vengeance
I clap him on the back. “That’s wonderful. He’s already starting to look at you like you’re his dad.”
If she’s asked this of Sterling, she’s serious about staying with us. Some of the pressure eases.
Sterling taps his wrist on the way out. “ETA—two minutes.”
Standing straight, I stare at the man in the mirror. Tall, shaved head, muscular. The black suit looks good on me. Not bad, old man. Except for the glint of silver on my shaved head that I swear wasn’t there last year. Forty-three will be here in just a few weeks. Am I really starting a relationship at my age?
I stride into the living room. All three men give me a thumbs up.
“Are we ready?” I ask softly, not wanting her to hear.
“Ready,” they reply in chorus.
Gabriel comes bouncing down the stairs. “Quinn is coming.” He jumps up on the sofa between Cruz and Raider.
Raider leans down. “How does she look?”
“Beautiful,” he whispers with a giggle.
The tap of her heels makes me straighten the sleeves and smooth the jacket one more time.
She rounds the corner, and my jaw drops.
Thank you, big guy, I say silently to the man upstairs.
She’s beautiful in a green silk dress that looks like it wraps around every curve on her body. The only thing holding it up are two tiny little straps. Her legs are bare all the way down to the strappy shoes on her feet.
Clearing my throat to make sure it still works, I step forward. “You look beautiful. The green really brings out your eyes.”
She brightens. “Thank you! Margot said it would look incredible on me.”
“Margot helped you pick it out?” I ask. Now I’m conflicted because I still haven’t forgiven Margot for the last dress she picked out.
“She sent it by courier earlier today. I tried to pay her, but she wouldn’t accept it,” she says with a glint in her eyes that tells me she’ll find a way to pay Margot. “Honestly, I thought it was a little… short, but she assured me it wasn’t. What do you think?”
She turns around in a circle, and we all groan. It stops short enough to make your palm itch to slide over her sweet curves.
Her lip is between her teeth. “It’s too short, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s damn near perfect,” I assure her. “Our reservations are in thirty minutes. Are you ready?”
She pats the small diamond pin on one strap. “Dress. Tracker. Weapon. Ready.”
Hearing her say tracker and weapon eases some of my worry, but now I can’t help but focus on where she could have possibly hidden a weapon under that dress.
Gabriel jumps off the couch and runs over to her. “Kiss!”
She bends over to kiss the little boy’s cheek, and I see Raider slap a hand over Cruz’ eyes in jest.
I usher her out of the house to the SUV sitting in the driveway. Opening the door, I lift her into the front seat. “Probably easier for me to help you in and out tonight.”
“Good idea. Don’t want to flash everyone,” she says with a grin.
“Nope. I would have to knock someone around. It would get ugly. You would get mad. I probably wouldn’t get a kiss. Better if you just stay modest and let me help,” I say, only half-joking.
The first ten minutes of the drive is silent.
I sigh, worried this might have been too soon, but then I remember the whole purpose was to let Rodrigo see us. Raider and Sterling had already caught him watching us at the warehouse.
