Page 45 of Rush

“What did he say?” asked Rush. Antonio stared at him, confused. “When you told him about the city being locked down. What did he say?”

“He said he’d find another way in, even if he had to create it himself.” Antonio saw two strangers walking toward them and frowned, seeing the one in a police uniform. “No. No way! I told you what I knew.”

“And we appreciate it,” said Rush. “Our friends here are going to keep you nice and safe until it’s time for you to be tried in a court of law. A Turkish court of law. Your uncle is going to be very disappointed, Antonio. Very, very disappointed.”

“I knew Caroline was trouble! I knew it! She was such a stuck-up bitch!”

“Why?” growled Rush, pushing toward the little man. “Because she ignored you and your pathetic ass? No, she isn’t stuck-up. She’s smart, and she knew deep down in her soul, she knew that you were no good.”

As Kaan and his officers took him away, the others stayed in the alley, searching the plaza to be sure there were no others that looked suspicious.

“What now?” asked Rush, looking at the others. Trak stepped forward, pulling his long hair back up in a tight bun.

“Now, we go to Bulgaria.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Moose found Ece sitting in the gardens on one of the stone benches. She seemed deep in thought, and he almost left her there, concerned that he would interrupt.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“Hi,” she said, standing to hug him. The smell of him, the feel of him, made her whole body shake, and she knew that she had to have this conversation with him now before it was too late.

“I’m glad that was my greeting,” he chuckled. “I was worried that maybe you’d changed your mind about us.”

“No. No, I don’t think I could ever change my mind about us, Moose. Can I call you Major?” He laughed, nodding his head. “I think I like the sound of that better. Major. Very commanding.”

“I can command if you like,” he said in a raspy growl, hugging her closer.

“I think I do like that, but could we talk for a moment?” He nodded, swallowing as he took the seat beside her. He was internally preparing himself for bad news. She wanted to go home, or she’d made a mistake allowing him to bring her here. Or worse, she’d notified the press of where they were.

“I’ve been thinking about everything. About how we got together, about you telling me that I’m ‘yours,’ and about you saying you want to make me your wife.”

“What about it?” he asked quietly.

“I wouldn’t change anything, Major. Nothing, except that I want to marry someone who loves me. Not someone who thinks they have to marry me because they took my virginity. I want the man I marry to feel passion for me. I want him to want me to come home at night. I want him to be in a room full of people and only see me.”

“And you think I don’t feel those things?” he asked with a serious expression.

“I don’t know, honestly. I mean, you haven’t said anything to me.” He nodded, standing to pace in front of her. He’d done this all wrong. He’d ridden in on the Voodoo Guardian love train and swept her off her feet, disorienting her.

“First, let me apologize for the asshole that I was in Turkey. I didn’t realize what was happening, but from the moment I could see your face in that hole, I knew that you were meant to be mine. This won’t make a lot of sense to you, Ece, but my first wife and I were best friends before we got married. When I became a SEAL, she thought it would be a good idea to get married, and I thought, ‘why not.’ I mean, we got along well enough, and we’d been friends forever, sometimes friends with benefits.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but she wanted to get married as a status symbol. She was married to a SEAL, and she wore that badge like a designer handbag. I think she loved me in her own way, but she wasn’t in love with me. I don’t think I was in love with her, except as a friend. I thought having children, creating a family would change all of that, and I was really pushing for it. All the while, she was pushing me to get out of the Navy and move to Florida to be closer to her parents.

“I did get out of the Navy. When I look back, it wasn’t because I loved her and wanted to make her happy. It was because I didn’t want to fail at marriage. When my marriage imploded, almost live on national television, I just figured I wasn’t meant to find love.”

“That’s crazy! You’re the most wonderful, handsome, sexy, intelligent man I know. Of course, you were meant to find love.” Moose smiled at her, kissing her forehead.

“We move at the speed of sound around here. Sometimes it’s too much. I did everything backwards. I should have explained that I was feeling protective of you because I had feelings for you. Deep, passionate, genuine feelings that were making me possessive of your well-being. Believe me, honey, I’ve never felt that way with anyone else. Never.

“By the time we were on the airplane, I knew I was gone. I knew that you were the only woman I was ever meant to be with. Then, to realize that I was the only man that you’d ever been with, well, that sealed the deal for me.

“You are mine, Ece. My woman. But you are also the woman I am madly, passionately, crazy in love with. I know it seems impossible, but I am in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of our lives right here being happy and making babies.”

“Oh, Major,” she whispered.

Standing, she wrapped her arms around his body, and he lifted her, taking a seat again with her on his lap. He kissed her fervently, one hand wrapped around her waist, the other creeping up the front of her shirt.

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