you.”
“You don’t need to do that. It’s not that long till my flight, and I still have to get through security.” Sally frowned at her watch. Six in the morning? “I… God, Jessica, I dragged you out of bed, didn’t I? You’re going to get in trouble with Master Z. I’m really sorry.” How self-centered she’d been. “I should have called a taxi.”
Jessica scowled. “If you’d done that, I’d have given you a good bitch slap. Shadowkittens hang together against all comers, even Doms.” She hugged Sally with a grin. “I just told Z a friend needed a ride. If the Feds figure it out, well, Z understands loyalty. He won’t spank me too hard.”
Tears rose to Sally’s eyes, and she blinked them back. “Thank you. For the ride. For buying my ticket on your card.”
“Pffft. You gave me a check; not like I’m out any money. But…for the trouble, you can pay me back by calling once you get…wherever you’re going. Or else I’ll worry.”
Sally nodded. “I can do that. For my…for the Feds, if they ask, can you just not tell them anything?”
Jessica crossed her arms over her chest. Braless. Barefoot. She’d obviously run right out of the house to rescue Sally. “Did you tell me where you were going?”
“No. You said not to.”
Jessica smirked. “Exactly. I won’t lie to Z, but I can honestly inform him that you never told me.”
Despite the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, Sally found a smile. “You’re a sneaky little brat.”
“I am. But your Doms are FBI, girlfriend. They’ll find you.”
“They’re not mine.” Not anymore. “And they won’t try very long.” Not after she’d caused a fight. Ran away from them. “If they figure out you drove me here, can you tell them I said I’m sorry for causing them trouble. That I’m safe and thanks for the fun times.”
“Pretty crappy times if they made you look like this, the assholes.”
“It wasn’t their fault. I did it all.” Sally felt tears rising. “Gotta go.” Blinking hard, she hugged Jessica, grabbed her backpack, and ran into the terminal.
She loved him. Sitting at his desk in the home office, Galen scrubbed his hands over his face. He couldn’t get the memory of her soft expression out of his head. Flushed and beautiful, she’d looked him straight in the eyes and said that.
He hadn’t said it back. But he did.
Didn’t want to.
Law enforcement and relationships weren’t a good mix. Maybe some couples could deal with knowing that one partner could well die young, leaving the other to grieve. Not all—there was a reason the divorce rate for cops and agents was so high.
But most hadn’t experienced the grief and guilt of losing a loved one to criminals seeking revenge. Ursula hadn’t volunteered to be murdered.
How could Galen ever risk putting another woman in such danger?
But did he have the right to step away from someone who loved him? Or to hurt two people besides himself.
Sally loved Vance—and Vance loved her back. Fuck, his partner deserved a sweetie like Sally. Vance had always wanted a wife and children; maybe not this soon, but a person couldn’t dictate when love arrived.
What kind of a bastard would Galen be to let his fucking worries mess up his partner?
He should step away now. Let Sally go…and tell Vance to keep her. Perhaps it would hurt less if he knew they were together.
But Galen would lose them both. Pain stabbed into his chest so sharp and swift that he put his hand over his sternum.
After another breath, he nodded. He’d do what he had to do.
The door to the office opened, and Vance walked in—and stared. “Fuck, pard, mellow. We’ll find her. She hasn’t used a credit card, so she’s probably still in the city.”
“That’s not the problem.” Galen’s voice came out sounding as weak as if he lived in a nursing home.
“Back out…how?”
“You and Sally are good together.” Galen forced his mouth into a smile. “You can name the first kid after me.”
Vance’s nostrils flared as he pulled in a breath. “You stubborn asshole.”
“We never talked—”
“Didn’t think we needed to.” Vance crossed his arms over his chest. “But we will now. Lay our fucking cards on the table so I can kick your ass.”
Galen felt the rise of anger like a slow burn. Couldn’t Vance just say thanks and move on? “I don’t want a wife.”
“Bullshit. You don’t want to risk losing someone you care about. Can’t stand feeling guilty. You pussy.” Vance stalked across the room and stared down at him. “Bet if you’d been in a car accident and your wife died, you’d never drive again.”
“You don’t know—”
“Jesus, bro, I lost a partner in a takedown. Been through the if-I’d-only-moved-faster remorse. Had a partner turn into an alcoholic. Been through the if-only-I’d-been-more-supportive remorse. We all feel guilty about shit we could’ve done better. The rest of the world gets past it.”
Galen stood. Considered smashing his fist into that sarcastic mouth.
Vance’s gaze met his. “It’s time to move on, Galen. You’ve hung on your guilt too long.”
Maybe. But the past didn’t just disappear. Neither did worries over someone’s safety. Galen closed his eyes and exhaled. But others made it through to the other side.
Vance grinned and leaned his hip against the desk. “Long as we’re being all girlie here, yeah.” He crossed his arms again. “We live together. Top together. Co-Dom when there’s a sub in the house. Always figured we’d co-husband together if we found someone.”
Vance’s lips quirked. “Yeah, well…” His voice changed into the tone he used to coax information from suspects and submissives. “Can you trust me enough to share your idea of the future?” He waited.
Fucking Dom manipulative techniques were fucking effective.
Galen paced across the room and stared out the window. The glossy hibiscus shrub boasted a wealth of flashy red trumpet flowers…and they’d wilt away by late afternoon.
No lasting power.
He scowled at the bush. When he’d joined the FBI, no one mentioned one of his enemies could be his own mind. But he’d never backed away from a fight before. Wouldn’t start now. And he’d win this one.
So. Although he still wouldn’t mind putting a fist in the pushy bastard’s face, Vance deserved an answer.
Galen sighed. If he could conquer his worry and guilt, then…then, he could think of nothing better than living in the future with Sally. With Vance at his side.
He turned and looked his partner in the eye. “Being the older husband, I expect to name our first kid.”
A few hours later, Galen followed his partner through the back gate into Z’s private gardens. A distant rumbling made him look up. The air was muggy, and black clouds piled up like skyscrapers on the western horizon. Yeah, it was almost June. The afternoon thunderstorm season had started. Getting drenched would be a fitting end to a dismal day.
They still hadn’t found Sally.
Since she didn’t carry much cash, they figured she’d holed up with a friend, and so they’d called the trainees. No luck. Tried the Shadowlands submissives, one by one. Good thing that grad school had limited the
