Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (117 page)

I was excited for this trip—I had been for weeks. But I didn’t think I could keep my decision about work from John; it would feel like I was lying to him. “A little bird told me you were at the liquor store,” I said, eyeing the paper bag John was holding. I could hear the tension in my own voice.
Holy shit,
I thought,
I’m just gonna let this rip right now.
I didn’t want to hide things from John, and I’d never been someone with a lot of patience. Or any patience, for that matter.

“I always come prepared,” John said and grabbed a bottle of
Negra Modelo
. He opened it with his teeth and handed it to me.

“I wish you’d stop doing that,” Liberty said, wincing. “I’m worried you’re going to get hurt.”

“You’re always worried I’m going to get hurt,” John reminded her gently.

“Real men open beer with their teeth,” I said and threw my arm back around Mer. She was the only one that knew I was scared right now, and shaky.

“What am I going to do with you two?” Liberty asked. “You’re impossible.” She turned to Mer and smiled again. “I’m so glad you’re here. We can act like we don’t know them.”

“Phew,” Mer said. “I have a feeling Matthew’s gonna be on a roll all weekend.”

“I’m always on a roll,” I said and took a large swig of beer. “But seriously, there’s something Mer and I have been talking about that we want to share with you.”

John sat back, surprised. “You’re pregnant? Again?” he asked, looking at us with wide eyes. Lily was only eight months old.

That tripped me up for a second. I turned to Mer. “Are you?” I was both horrified and slightly proud.

She blinked at me. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked.

“Oh. Right,” I said, sounding sheepish. She’d told me earlier, to my extreme delight, that she’d gone back on the pill. I’d promptly and gleefully emptied our suitcase of condoms. “She’s not pregnant, John. It’s not that. It’s…” I swallowed hard. “It’s that I’m resigning. I’m going to find a job in Miami and stay home with Mer and the kids. No more getting shot at.”

John paused for beat, his blue eyes calm and thoughtful. Then he nodded. “I’ll miss you more than I can say. But I understand your decision. And I respect it.”

I just looked at him. “That’s it? Aren’t you going to throw a fit? Or offer me some more money?” His response was too anticlimactic for me. I wanted him to have a temper tantrum. Or at least beg.

John was gripping Liberty’s hand, the only sign that he was in distress. He was trying to be supportive. Childishly, it made me feel better that he was at least a little upset.

“I’ll give you more money if that’s what you want. But I’ve been waiting for this.” He turned to look at Meredith and smiled. “You’ve been very patient with us. I appreciate you letting me have him for as long as you did. He’s a tremendous asset.”

“That’s more like it,” I said. “Keep that up. And maybe throw in some groveling. Otherwise, I’ll think you’re happy to see me go.”

“Never,” John said. “But family comes first.”

Liberty just sat there, looking stunned. “Wow, you guys. I’m happy for you. But I’m pretty sure I need one of those beers,” she said. “Do you mind using a bottle opener, babe?”

***

I heard Mer suck in her breath when we pulled up to Estrella Maya, the remote resort where we were staying. It was enormous and imposing, a pristine, multicolored stucco building that rose majestically into the sky. “This looks like a place where Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox would stay for a girls’ weekend,” she whispered to me. She looked down at her flip-flops and frowned. “I got these at Target.” She looked back up at me nervously, waiting for a response.

I looked at her blankly. I loved Target.

She rolled her eyes at me. “The last time we went away, we stayed at a Ramada,” she hiss-whispered. “
This
is no Ramada.”

“You are perfect. Whether you’re at a Ramada or an Estrella, or whatever the heck this is,” I said, squeezing her to me. “Relax. It’s Mexico, babe. You can wear shorts to everything.” One of my wife’s many talents was having absolutely no idea how gorgeous she was. No one was going to look at her plastic flip-flops—they would only be looking at her beautiful face, the smattering of freckles across her skin, the way her blue eyes sparkled.

“No—
you
can wear shorts to everything,” she chided. “Because everyone wants to look at your big muscles.”

“That’s true, baby,” I said, slinging my arm around her. “But it’s true for you, too. Without the big muscle part.”

John came up beside us while the valet organized our luggage. He clapped me on the back. “I’m glad you told me about your plans first thing,” he said. “We can figure out how we’re going to transition you out. We’ll do it however you want.”

Mer slid away from us a little and looked at her phone, letting us have some privacy. “It doesn’t seem real yet,” I said. “I feel like I just ripped off a Band-Aid, and there was a lot of hair attached to it.” I felt a little stunned by the events of the day, starring me.

“That’s gross. But I hear you,” John said. He laughed.

“I know it’s the right decision. But I’m still adjusting to it—I just told Mer today, on our way here.”

“She must be relieved,” John said.

“I won’t let her tell Liberty how much,” I offered.

John nodded. “There’s going to be some real adjusting ahead of you,” he said. “Civilian life’s different from what we’ve been used to all these years. But you can do it. You’re a strong guy.”

“I still have to figure out what I’m going to do,” I said, and the first feeling of real worry stirred within me.

“I’ll help you. You have lots of transferable skills.”

“Are interrogating people and blowing shit up considered transferable skills?” I asked.

“In some industries,” John said. “The good news is, no matter what, you can put the trouble behind you now. Say goodbye to it.”

I snorted at that. “Do you ever really say goodbye to it?” I asked.

Our eyes met for a second. “I don’t know,” John said. “But I’m also probably not the best person to ask.”

LIBERTY

I didn't want to tell John what I was thinking about. First, that I couldn't believe how gorgeous our resort was. It beat the living hell out of the last place I’d stayed in Mexico—which of course wasn’t saying much, because that was the dirt dungeon I'd been kept in at the
Morales
cartel compound.

I didn’t think that particular trip was worth mentioning. Mainly because I’d run away from him, and he’d had to rescue me from the deadly cartel. Where his daughter was holding me captive and torturing me.

It was one of those awkward family memories. Best to not bring it up.

The second thing that was on my mind was that even though I knew it was true, I still didn’t actually
believe
Matthew was leaving the company. I understood his decision perfectly: he wanted to do what was right for his family. And clearly, getting shot at while chasing criminals around the globe was not the best thing for his family. But still. Everything was going to be different now—for him and for us. I couldn't imagine working without him.

But that was only part of what I was thinking, and that was the problem.

The thing was, I'd asked John to do the same. I'd asked him to quit so that he could lead a safe, long, and happy life, one that didn’t involve almost getting killed on a regular basis. But now that Matthew was actually taking the step, I only felt worried for him. Trouble was Matthew's natural environment. He excelled at covert operations, hand-to-hand combat, and lying on dirt floors with a scope, waiting to catch someone, and then beating the crap out of them when he inevitably did.

What the hell was he going to do for a day job? After having spent years like that?

I looked over at John, who was staring out the window at the enormous infinity pool and the skyline behind it. He’d been quiet since we’d checked in, probably thinking about Matthew and how he was going to handle the business in his absence. In that instant, I knew I couldn't ask him to leave his company behind again.
Sometimes the thing chooses you,
I remember Matthew saying to me. He’d been trying to convince me that I liked our dangerous missions more than I cared to admit.

Matthew had been right, of course. But where was that going to leave
him
?

“Are you okay?” I asked John. I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around his chest.

“About Matthew? Yeah,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

“It won’t be the same though, huh?” I asked.

“Nope,” John said. “But you can’t stop change. It’s a natural part of life. And sometimes change is what you need to find your way forward.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning I have a lot to think about,” he said. He turned and wrapped his powerful arms around me, and I relaxed against him, even though his words made me curious.

“Like…what sorts of things?” I asked.

He smiled and shook his head at me. “You don’t leave things alone well, babe.”

“I never have.”

Just then there was a knock at the door. John’s face broke into a smile. “I guess we don’t have time to talk,” he said. “I love it when that happens.”

“It’s not like I’m going to forget about it,” I said.

“
Awesome
, as you would say,” John said good-naturedly and opened the door. Outside was a leathery-looking man with a large, bald head and a Hawaiian shirt.

“Leo,” John said. He reached out and hugged him.

“Hey, man,” Leo said and clapped him on the back. He spied me over John’s shoulder and raised his eyebrows, doing a double take. “John, you old dog. Is this gorgeous young creature your wife?”

John laughed and grabbed me, pulling me protectively to his side. “Leo, this is Liberty. My wife.”

I held out my hand to shake Leo’s, but he kissed it instead. He smiled at me, deep fissures crisscrossing his face. Then he turned to John. “Life isn’t fair,” he said, shaking his head.

“Yes, it is,” John assured him.

“Ha!” He walked into our room and flopped down on the couch. “Well, it’s good to see you, old friend. It’s been a long time.”

“I’ve been busy,” John said as we sat down across from him.

“I can see that,” Leo said, looking at me wistfully.

“What about you, Leo? Have you been staying out of trouble?”

“For the most part,” Leo said. He gestured at the room. “This resort’s been lucrative for me. I sold off a few of the other properties I had. Mexico hasn’t been great for diversification lately. So I’ve put some things behind me. Started fresh. There are only a few places where I feel comfortable doing business here, now.”

“And Chichen Itza’s one of them?”

Leo nodded. “This is an old place, a powerful place. Even the cartels and the gangs respect its power. No one’s given me trouble here. I feel like I’ve got the gods on my side.”

“I’m not sure how you managed that,” John said. “Last time we met, lots of people were giving you trouble.”

“But you showed them, didn’t you?” Leo’s tanned face split into a grin.

“I did,” John said, but the teasing quality was gone from his voice. “Have you heard from…any of our old friends?”

“Nah,” Leo said. “I’m pretty sure they’ve made their peace and forgotten about me.”

“How could anyone ever forget about you? You fucked over too many people.” John smiled.

“I did.” Leo laughed. “And I’ve never forgotten that you helped me, anyway. So please—eat and drink this week. Feast. Get massages.” He winked at me. “Relax. Liberty, can you get John to relax?”

“No,” I admitted. “It’s not really his thing.”

“Never has been,” Leo agreed.

“Lucky for you,” John quipped.

Leo rubbed his bald head. “Lucky for me is right.”

MATTHEW

“I still can’t believe you actually told him,” Mer said.

“I can’t believe it, either,” I said, rubbing my face.

“You didn’t want to wait? And think it through some more?”

“Nah,” I said and stuffed a chip loaded with fresh guacamole into my mouth. One thing I definitely didn’t want to do was think about it some more. Because then I would probably change my mind, and my wife would want to put me on a spike and shish-kebab me.

We were sitting underneath one of the cabanas near the infinity pool, drinking watermelon
aqua frescas
served to us by a cabana boy. He’d also brought us the chips, guacamole, and a delicious shrimp ceviche I’d been busy devouring. I could get used to the appetizers, the refreshing watermelon drinks, the infinity pool, and the cabana boy. But the fact that I was no longer a retaliation operative? That was another story.

I was still reeling from my decision. But I had my game face squarely in place, where it would remain until further notice.

“Do you think he’s taking it okay?” she asked.

“John can handle pretty much anything,” I said. “I’ve known him a long time. This is just another blip on the radar.”

“Matthew, you’re hardly a blip.”

I smiled at her. “You’re sweet—complimenting me like that.”

She swatted me and then laced her fingers through mine. “It means a lot to me. The sacrifice you’re making.”

“I know,” I said. The fact that it meant a lot to her was the thing I needed to remind myself of, again and again. I saw John and Liberty heading towards us, followed by a man with the roundest, tannest head I’d ever seen. “That’s gotta be Leo,” I told Mer. “He’s one of John’s old clients.”

“You must be Matthew,” Leo said, coming up and shaking my hand. “And this must be your beautiful wife, Meredith. So great to have you here. Any friend of John’s is a friend of mine.”

“Matthew’s actually my best employee,” John said. “We’re celebrating his retirement this week.”

“You’re retiring?” Leo asked, looking me up and down. “What’s your secret, young man?”

“Family,” I said, squeezing Mer’s hand again. “Family keeps you on the right track.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Leo said, squinting at me and Mer. “You’re a lucky guy.”

“I know,” I said, even though discussing my impending retirement made me feel a little queasy.