Charly sat beside Antonio, so he angled his body toward her at the same time reaching for her thigh and giving it a squeeze. “You saved my company, minha querida. Thank you.”
“We worked as a team,” she told him, then looked at everyone around the table. “We all worked as a team. Speaking of which, where is John?”
“Dammit,” Bristow muttered. “He did it again.” He glanced at Roarke. “Need to catch a ride with you guys.”
Antonio raised a brow. “You don’t know where he went?”
The former SEAL focused his attention on the taco in front of him. “When he slips away like that? No,” he said, before taking a bite and chewing slowly. Antonio directed his eyes at Roarke.
“Don’t look at me,” the detective’s husband said. “He doesn’t tell me anything either.”
“I guess he’s in the wind again,” Gabby sighed.
“Is no one going to ask me if I know where Garrison went?” Migs asked.
“Did he tell you?” Ariana asked.
“No.” He grinned.
His wife shook her head in fond exasperation.
“Where is Nadia Powell?” Antonio asked.
“She’s still on leave,” Kelso shared “Everyone is still wrapping their heads around who she is.”
“She did a good job getting our asses out of Mexico,” Migs said.
“I agree,” Bristow put in.
“Not arguing about that,” Gabby replied. “It’s between Nadia and the LAPD. We’ll hear her out when she’s ready to return to the task force.” She stared at Antonio. “Anything else?”
Antonio shook his head.
“By the way,” Kelso said. “The U.S. Marshals have taken over Claudette’s custody.”
“Is she still in danger?” Antonio asked.
“We think the buck ends with Lev Skoryk, so no. But there’s still a connection to the Ukrainian brotherhood,” Gabby said. “We feel a war coming to the streets of LA. The whole point of the virus getting out there was to draw Stephen Powell out of hiding. He had made many enemies when he gave up the names of the people involved in Soviet era bioterrorism labs.”
“If you need anything from me, detective, let me know,” Antonio said. “My resources are at your disposal.”
Gabby arched a brow. “Are you sure you want to get involved? You’re free and clear.”
“Because they aligned themselves with a psychopath, my friend is dead and the woman I love suffered for it. I will not rest until I make them pay.”
“Understood,” Gabby replied then she gave a brief smile. “Garrison did say it’s good to have a billionaire on the team. I’ll keep you posted.”
The rest of the dinner passed with lighter topics, such as making fun of where Garrison could be. Antonio’s theory was that the spook was after the Ukrainian brotherhood as well. He knew the CIA officer enough to know that he hated wasting time, remembering the time Garrison showed up in Rio soon after escaping the Mexican Army.
As for Antonio he was learning what mattered the most.
And it was the woman sitting beside him.
As much as Charly enjoyed the company, she couldn’t wait to be alone with Antonio. Her boyfriend dropped a bombshell right in front of everyone. She wasn’t sure if he did that on purpose. As soon as the door closed on their last guest, she turned to him with her hands on her hips.
“Please explain to me how I missed the memo on your marriage proposal, Mr. Andrade.”
Antonio’s mouth twitched. “Surely, meu amor, you knew marriage between us was a given.”
“A woman still appreciates being asked.”
He crowded her and, with the light behind him, the shadows fell on his face as though its angles were chipped from granite with an unholy light glittering in his eyes. “Asking would mean a yes or no answer. There is no other outcome other than you becoming my wife.”
Refusing to be intimidated, Charly crossed her arms and glared at him. “Antonio Andrade, stop being such a bullish asshole.”
“But you love this bullish asshole.”
Sometime between rolling her eyes and attempting to respond to that last statement, she was swept off her feet and Antonio was marching toward the staircase.
“What are you doing?”
“My instinct is to throw you over my shoulder, but I remember the last time that happened.”
“Antonio, put me down! This will not be solved by sex.”
He glanced down at her. “Fucking that stubbornness out of you is option two.”
Of course Charly had to ask, “What’s option one?”
He grinned, but didn’t answer her, simply continued ascending the steps that led straight to their bedroom which consisted of the entire third floor. He headed straight for the bed, dropping her on it then followed, pinning her to the mattress. Somehow she was Pavlov’s dog where Antonio was concerned and her legs spread to cradle his hips.
“Ah, such a perfect place to be,” he said.
“I thought you said no sex.”
“So impatient. I just want you locked in place while I do the thing.”
“What thing?”
Antonio started chuckling. “You drive me crazy, minha querida, but that’s why I love you.”
He bent briefly to reach into his pocket and, when he straightened, Charly was staring into the most stunning pear-shaped gem she’d ever seen.
“You’ve been carrying this around?” she asked, perplexed.
“Most of the time. I wanted to be ready in case the timing was perfect. Our unexpected visitors sped up my timeline.”
“Is that a blue diamond?”
“It is. I had to bribe a jeweler to sell this to me since some European royal already had it reserved.”
“You’re pulling my leg.”
An autocratic brow arched. “You doubt my negotiating skills?”
Charly laughed briefly. “Of course not, but when did you have the time to shop for this?”
“When I was in Brazil.”
“Before I was kidnapped by Jacaré?” Would she never stop being amazed by Antonio?
“Yes. After I found out that you were with this Tom Crawford, putting that ring on your finger became imperative. Jacaré ruined my plans.”
“Oh my God. This was prompted by jealousy?”
“No. By the need for you to know you belong to me.” He clasped her left wrist, splaying out her fingers and then slipped the ring on. “There,” he said with satisfaction. “We marry in six
