Protected by Shadows (41 page)

“You did learn something,” she teased. “Hector would be so proud.”

Slipping behind her and hugging her, he whispered, “A few things, here and there. Come on, your carriage awaits.”

“Really?” She wheeled in his arms to face him. “We’re going for a carriage ride?”

The joy in her eyes humbled him in ways he’d never realized would happen to him. He tapped the tip of her nose.

“As soon as we get in.”

Lexy barely allowed him to help her up. As he climbed up after her, he swore he saw their driver fighting a grin. Once seated beside her, he placed his arm along the back of the seat. With a snap of leather, the horse set off.

“This you get excited for,” he remarked with false offense.

“It’s a carriage ride in Central Park. Of course I’m excited.”

He idly stroked his hand up and down her arm. Lexy relaxed into him with a contented sigh.

“You are a crazy woman, Alexsa.”

“What’s it say about you that you stuck around despite that knowledge?”

I’m totally head over heels in love with you and don’t want to spend a day without you as my wife.
“I’m brave.”

She laughed and he smiled at the infectious sound. He shifted his weight and felt the box in his pocket poke him. He’d gotten her ring back from Gio. His mind raced with the possibilities of how this would play out.
What’s the worst that could happen? She says no. Which would rip my heart out.

“Are you sure it’s safe to be in the open like this?”

He looked around, determined to keep her safe. “They said Trevor was dead. I still told them to run the DNA on him, but they were confident it was him. What remains of The Watchers have scattered, well, those not dead or in custody.” He slid even closer to her, hating the memory of her lying in a pool of her own blood.

“You’re thinking about my getting shot again, Val. Forget it. I’m fine.”

“How do you know what I was thinking? And I’ll never forget it as long as I live.” He wouldn’t ever forget the pulse draining warm blood as it pumped from her over his hands as he tried to staunch the flow. He couldn’t. The panic he’d felt. The worry. And of course, the recognition of the love he had for her.

“There was emotion on your face. Seems to be the only time you show any.”

He frowned. Was that truly how she saw him? Even now? He thought he’d been getting better. “Can I ask you a question?” He played with the shorter strands of her hair.

“Knock yourself out, handsome.”

He rotated slightly on the seat so he faced her fully. Her expression was pure Lexy. Partially amused, part arrogance, and of course with Lexy, there was always a bit of impatience. For the first time in a very long time in his life, he felt uncertain. He tried a few times to begin only to falter. Lexy crossed her arms and arched one plucked eyebrow.

“You okay? Never seen you stutter so.”

He hadn’t either. Heat crept up the back of his neck and he shifted uncomfortably. Had the entire park fallen silent, waiting for his attempted reveal of feelings?
Damn it, even the driver seems interested in what I’m trying to say.

Licking his lips, he grabbed her hands. “What I’m fucking up instead of saying is—”

Her face had drained of color and her eyes were wide. “That looks just like Trevor, Val. Oh my God, it
is
him!”

It wasn’t the fear in her voice but the raw fury that told him she wasn’t imagining things. Val turned in time to see the man who had caused so much pain and suffering in their lives. Trevor stood a short distance away from them, his coat flipped back and the weapon raised. Then he fired.

Screams erupted as Val fell forward, using his body as cover for Lexy, pain burning in his back. His larger form pressed hers to the floor of the carriage and she struggled beneath him.

“Get off me!”

The horse began moving faster and Val looked over the side, blinking away pain, and saw Trevor crumple to the ground. “Stop!” he hollered at the driver.

“Christ, Val, you’re shot,” Lexy said, pressing her hand to his soaked shirt.

Her words weren’t making sense and he struggled against the approaching darkness. He had to protect her. He couldn’t fail again. Not again.

“Beauregard?” Lexy asked. “Red?”

“Damn it, woman, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” A short pause. “Or Scarlett.”

“What the hell is going on here? And get me a medic, Val’s been shot.”

The carriage no longer moved and he stared up at her from the mire determined to suck him in. He fought with strength he didn’t know he possessed. Trying to sit up, he scowled when she pushed him back down. He saw her with an SIG in one hand and blinked as he tried to make sense of it all. Then Anabelle Lee peeked in at him and her mouth moved but none of her words registered. That was followed by Beauregard’s head. The man also said something.

“Love you, Alexsa,” he grated out, determined to tell her how he felt.

Lexy bent over him and brushed a hand along his head. “I love you, too, Valentino. You hang on. You hear me?”

He heard her. With a small nod, he grabbed at one of her hands, hating how he fumbled, but didn’t give up until their fingers were laced with one another. “Marry me.”

Tears spilled over her eyes as she looked away from him briefly. “We’re already married, fool.”

“Again. Big. Families.”

Her hand let go of his and before he could complain, two more men moved him onto a stretcher. He could see the medic uniforms and one of them gave him a shot of something. The pain melted away.

“Lexy. Lexy!” He tore the mask off his face and called for her again.

“I’m right here, Val,” she said, putting the mask back on him. “You need this on.”

“Answer me,” he said, removing it long enough to speak. “Or I don’t go in the ambulance.”

“No choice about that, hoss.” She brushed a kiss over his cheek and placed her mouth by his ear. “And yes, I’ll marry you again. Big wedding. Family included.”

He smiled and relaxed back.
I love you!

They lifted him into the back and she climbed in with him. The blood on her clothing bothered him and he fought to speak. She held his hand and shook her head.

“It’s not mine, it’s yours. I’m fine.”

He needed to check her over himself and struggled to sit. She lifted a brow at him and gave him a look that told him it wasn’t happening. Cupping the side of his face, she leaned down again and whispered in his ear, “I love you too, Valentino Cassano. Rest now and don’t worry. I get to drive home.”

Her smug smile escorted him into the darkness and she was there when he woke again, in her same clothing as she sat beside him in the hospital room.

“I love you, Lexy,” he said after watching her in silence for a few seconds.

“I know. You shouted it to everyone in the park as you were being loaded into the ambulance,” she replied gently, looking up at him with a smile.

“Let me hold you.”

Lexy hesitated for about two beats of his heart before she stood up, placed the magazine she’d had in her hand upon the chair she’d just vacated then crawled into the narrow bed with him, staying on the side of him that hadn’t been operated on. She rested her head against his shoulder and placed a hand upon his bare chest.

“He’s dead for sure this time,” she whispered.

“Who took the shot?”

“Red.”

“She always was our best shot.”

“Beauregard said they got the results back and wanted to warn you but tracked your cell instead. They’ve been following us since we got to New York. Even Masters is here. They’ll want to see you.”

“They can wait,” he said, holding her tight. “I’m recovering, remember.”

Her laugh was light and comforting. “Then you should sleep.” He flexed his fingers on her arm. “I’m staying right here.”

Kissing her on the head, he closed his eyes. They weren’t home and it wasn’t like he could jump her but he’d take it. She had agreed to marry him again and she loved him. All in all, his life was perfect.

Coming Soon from Totally Bound Publishing:

McKingley: Seduction’s Dance

Aliyah Burke

Released 27
th
December 2013

Excerpt

Chapter One

Dimitri Wright rolled the cold
bottle between his fingers, his thoughts not fully on what he was doing. He swore he was in the middle of an epidemic of relationships leading to marriage—all his siblings had paired off, one after the other, and their parents were happily planning the weddings. His mother had that gleam in her eye that put dread into every man who was single and enjoyed being so. Dimitri hoped she’d turn her attention to one of the cousins next—the Wright family was large, and they should keep her busy for a while. He was one of those men who liked his life the way it was. He didn’t need a woman to change that—the thought of having to discuss feelings and all the other crap that came with being in a relationship made him want to lock himself in his house until people regained their senses. Hell, even the tentative, trying to figure out if you were even interested in each other was something he hated.

Give him an honest, blunt, straightforward woman and maybe he’d change his mind. The women who approached him were anything but that. They came at him with some excuse trying to capture his eye. But what they didn’t realize was that he enjoyed the chase. The woman he wanted could be blunt, but he was old-fashioned and enjoyed being the one to make the first move. After that he didn’t have a problem with her holding her own with him—he wanted her to. But
he
wanted to make the initial approach. Then if they discovered they had common interests, it was important for him to know she could share his silences as well as his conversations. He enjoyed those moments of being silent more than anything else. With his profession, he saw some of the most horrible things and just needed time to chill and be.

Dimitri rubbed the back of his neck as his thoughts turned to the fire he’d been sent to investigate earlier. There was no doubt that it was arson. The family in the home had died, all of them including the children—six, four, two and a baby. It was always so damn disheartening when there were kids involved. It was his job to find out who had eradicated the family from the face of the earth. Fire was a nasty business that didn’t differentiate based on race, ethnicity or any other demographic. Once a fire was started, its hunger took all that was in its path
.
Arsonists lit them for many reasons, but sometimes it was someone who didn’t even think, not knowing that fire isn’t to be played with. These cases were the ones that made his gut burn. He loved his job—investigating fires, tracking down the source, gathering evidence and finding who did it. He didn’t manage the last part all the time, but he damn well tried his best.

He thought of the open case of the serial arsonist he’d been trying to catch for the last few months. It had started with a fire in the science building at the university. There had been no fatalities, but there had been many other fires since then and in some of those, people had died. The fires seemed to be random—there was no pattern—which was making it harder to track him. Lately they had been quiet and there had been no fires with the signature Dimitri had found. Others in the community had assumed and even hoped that maybe the arsonist had stopped, but Dimitri felt in his gut they hadn’t—there was something big coming. There was something about all the cases that bugged him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. That piece eluding him might be the one to solve the case.

The fire today hadn’t been one of the serial fires. Dimitri lifted the bottle to his lips then drank his beer. He returned it to the top of the bar, rolling his shoulders. He’d been gathering evidence and was tight around his lower neck and back, but he hadn’t felt like going home.

Absently, he glanced around the bar. It was frequented by cops, fire fighters and those like him who did business between the two places. He was actually based out of the firehouse but worked closely with the police force. The good thing was his younger brother Leonardo was the sheriff, and the cops knew him through Leo, making it easier for him to do his job. Not that he wouldn’t go around them if he needed to in order to get his job done. But he’d rather not get in a pissing match, instead preferring to just get what he needed taken care of accomplished.

“It was a tough one,” someone with a soft voice spoke beside him.

Dimitri turned his head then blinked, realizing that someone was sitting next to him. He noted the two empty beer bottles in front of the woman, which meant she had been there a bit. Probably had been when he came in, since he was still on his first. He hadn’t even noticed her. Dimitri studied the woman. Her features blended in a face that he would call lovely but in an understated way. Wire-rimmed glasses covered dark brown eyes with thick lashes. Her hair was away from her face in a neat braid, the tail end resting over her shoulder. He glanced at her hand, noting she was rolling a bottle between her rich, caramel-colored hands as he had been. Her nails were short, neatly clipped, with their natural hue. Dimitri lifted his gaze to study her closer since he thought he recognized her. He tried to place where he knew her from. Suddenly it dawned on him.