Page 99 of For The Days We Can't Forget

Being smarter than I imagined, he believed her words.Just give me more. Be just a little more specific, so I have a reason.

“I’m getting you the girls by the end of the month.”Bingo. “The one you want, and the batch that comes along.”

She didn’t say anything else. She was smart enough not to say the compromising words. But what I had was already enough at least to bring her for interrogation. I heard her standing up, so I looked to the other side to avoid being seen.

“Don’t make me regret this,” she warned and left.

If I wasn’t so anxious to get out of the hell I was in, I would’ve prepared my case better. Follow her around, watch her steps, and catch her in the act. Or I’d focus on Keyes to get what I needed.

But I was too keyed up to wait, and I was acting mostly on my instinct and trust in my CI. I had enough to bring her in for questioning, and my gut told me she’d have the answers I needed.

Once again, the feeling that my life was about to change assaulted me. I followed her outside the restaurant, careful to keep a safe distance so as not to spook her or bring attention to myself in case someone from the cartel was watching us.

We were a few blocks away from the restaurant, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I sped up as silently as I could. But as soon as I turned the corner to a cul-de-sac after her, a blunt pain assaulted my stomach. Before I could recover and understand what was going on, the little trouble punched me in the face.

I was more prepared for the third jab, though, and pulled her arm, twisting her so I could press her back to my chest, drape my arm around her neck, and immobilize her. But once again, she bested me.

Still under my constriction, she elbowed me on the ribs, climbed the wall in front of us, and boosted herself over my shoulder, pulling us both down on the ground. I landed on top of her, both of us grunting from the impact, and she pressed one of her legs on my neck and the other on my midsection, pulling one of my arms closer to her chest.

I tried to relax my body, doing my best to ignore the pain, then grabbed ahold of her elbow to pull it down and loosen her grip. As soon as I had a little wiggle room, I launched my free hand onto her ribs. She lost some of her strength, and I took advantage of it to swift my torso and press one of my legs between her thighs.

She struggled way more than I expected for someone so small. When she tried to elbow me again in the face—she was successful the first time—I finally took control of the situation. I pulled her arm, turned her body downon the ground, kneeled on the back of her thighs to constrict her, and placed the handcuffs around her wrists.

The mysterious woman turned her head to stare at me, recognition coloring her face as her brows went up, one of them portraying a scar. Her big, dark brown, expressive eyes felt like a punch to my gut.

But I wasn’t deterred. We were just beginning. “I told you not to make an enemy out of me.”

There were too many emotions for me to handle. After over a year of waiting, we were finally going back to our original building. It took us longer than we expected to renovate it, since we added a few more safety demands to the construction company. Like the restoration and fortification of our vault. Thickening the security in our panic room. Armored windows.

I was beyond relieved to be going back and getting out of the shoebox we’d been cramped out for so long.

I was also having a hard time breathing, thinking about the last time we were all in that building. I couldn’t even look at Zach’s closed office without feeling a pang in my chest.

It was no wonder Mia hadn’t shown up yet. If it was that agonizing for me, I couldn’t even imagine how it’d be for her.

Being the lucky bastard that I was, Lisa made it a point to be with me not only to help us move back in, but also for the emotional support she knew I needed.

“Where do you need this?” I checked the box she was holding, which hadPersonal – Dannywritten on it.

“Put it on my desk, please. Those are the things I leave in my office.”

She carefully placed the box as I instructed and clapped her hands to dust them off. “That was the last one from your car. What should we do next?”

“Ben is coordinating everything with the moving truck. There were a lot of sensitive materials we couldn’t leave unattended. So, now we wait for him to come.”

“Then let’s make your office presentable.”

She kissed my cheek and proceeded to open the boxes, pulling out my stuff to organize the space. We worked together in tandem, emptying the boxes I’d brought earlier with my car, most of them carrying fragile items we had around the office. Ben was bringing our weaponry, and Mia was supposed to carry our private and most sensitive files, while the moving truck would bring the rest of our belongings.

I left the last card box I emptied in the hall and stepped into my office, finding a smiling Lisa sitting on my chair and staring at my shelf nailed onto the side wall. I watched each one of my portraits, all of them showing someone I love. Me and my parents when I was little. Me holding Sofia when she was just a baby. Zach, Ben, and I wearing our uniform during our SEAL days. The three of us and Mia when I started working at the company. Aaron, the kids, the Bryant clan. The funny one I had of Lisa and Fee—there was no need to have two identical pictures in our bedroom, so I brought the duplicate. I was starting to mimic Rosie and Jackson with their wall of family.

“They’re so beautiful.” She swiveled in the chair to lean on my desk. “Butthisis my favorite one.” Lisa picked up the one I had just for my eyes, facing me whenever I was working. It was taken on her birthday, right after she agreed to move in with us.

She, Sofia, and I were still in our pajamas and crowding the bed. I’d pulled Fee on my lap and had Lissie cuddled into my chest. We just put our faces together, and she took the selfie. There was so much happiness and love in that frame. I couldn’t help smiling at that picture every time I looked at it.

I stood behind her. “It’s mine as well.” I kissed the top of her head, and she leaned it back to look at me upside down.

She stood from the chair, rolling it away, and pulled me closer by the belt loops on my pants. “You know? We’re the first ones here.” She kissed my chin. “I think we should...celebrate your return to the building.” I rolled my arms around her waist. “Something like an act of good luck. A christening of sorts.”

---