Page 125 of Forging Caine

My head rested on Antonio’s shoulder and he’d kissed it at least two dozen times.

FBI agents with their beautiful blue jackets moved through the space, along with police officers, detectives, and paramedics.

Police tape surrounded the yard, and the crime scene techs were placing their little flags around the garden room. Two bodies remained on the floor until the techs were done: Pasquale Fiori and Bodyguard One. Antonio had been on top of me when the SWAT team breached, so neither of us saw what happened, but the easy assumption was that Bodyguard One had presented himself as too big a threat. He must have been the only one completely loyal.

I gripped Antonio’s hand tighter. Two more deaths over this smuggling ring. But only two and not his or mine. And not our families, either. We’d been in touch with Cristian who confirmed Cass and Sofia’s families were safe and were being taken back to their homes.

Baptiste and everyone else in the room had been taken into custody, while officers interviewed the staff and remaining security personnel.

No one said a word about whether they’d found Jason—dead or alive. We’d circled back to the pond’s edge, finding nothing more than a trail of blood by the water before we were told to sit still. And no one would talk about Cam-ron, either. Until Elliot showed up, we were little more than witnesses.

I let out a sigh. “What a shitty day.” How had we only left the yacht this morning?

“Shall I call my travel agent now and book the flights to Tahiti?”

I sat up slowly, turning to stare at the ridiculous man next to me, and just laughed.

“You said we could go if we survived and here we are.” He winked at me, that silly little move he’d been pulling since we met.

I’d shut the world off because I’d lost so many people. Antonio had taught me I should be grateful for them and grab onto every moment life gave me. Time to grab on. “I don’t know about Tahiti. It sounds too much like a honeymoon destination.”

He pursed his gorgeous lips, not cluing in. “Then Venezia?”

“I’ve gotta be honest, Antonio. I’m not enjoying this whole fiancée thing.”

His teasing face fell. And good. He deserved that stress for a few seconds after how he proposed to me.

“What about Tahiti…” I paused, sinking in to my revenge for a moment. “With a layover for a day or so in Vegas on the way?”

He straightened, head pulling back from me, as though the flash-bang was still affecting his hearing. “Scusi?”

“It’s still on the table, isn’t it?” I tried to hold my smile down, but it was pointless. I was too tired.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“That depends on what you think I’m saying.”

He blinked rapidly. “Flight to Vegas, get married, and go to Tahiti for a honeymoon?”

“So long as you promise I don’t have to lie around on a beach.”

He jumped up from his chair and flung the blanket around me. “I need to find a phone and call my travel agent.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Your mother’s going to hate me for this, isn’t she?”

“Let me worry about my mother.” He kissed the top of my head. “You just worry about not changing your mind.”

“Yes, sir.”

He dashed off. That smile. That excitement. My insides went all liquidy. I was clearly exhausted. And I was getting married again. I must have been hit harder in the head than I thought.

A chair on my other side scraped against the tiles, and I turned. “Elliot.”

“I came straight from the airport. What are you still doing here?”

“No one’s taken our statements yet.” Camera flashes went off inside the garden room as techs photographed the scene. “Did you hear from Cam-ron Parker? He was here and we got him out, I told him to—”

“He called me. And he’s eager to tell us about everything he’s been doing here. He asked if his cooperation can help with his father at all, since from the sounds of it, his father’s lawyer won’t be around much longer.”

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