Prisoner and Together: All of You series complete set (27 page)

As soon as Chief Vaden is finished, I turn to Lani.  “Should I call Doctor Foster?”

She quickly shakes her head, and turns toward Burke.  “Can I go to the hospital with you to question De Soto?” 

“Your dad told you to stay here,” I remind her.  “Maybe you should just stay-“

“You’re not my boss, and neither is my dad,” she snaps. 

Burke’s gaze moves from me to Lani.  “I think you should stay here, Lani.  You’re safer here.”  I’m glad he backed me up.

“You two are insufferable.  I can take care of myself.”  She frowns at me, and before I can apologize, she’s back in the bathroom again.

“Since I don’t have a cell phone, could you call Doctor Foster?” I ask Burke.

He shrugs.  “I don’t have the number.”  Then he steps away himself.

So I’m the only one worried about Lani’s health.  Well, fine.  I go looking for Chief Vaden, and when I find him, he’s chewing out Barrett in the lieutenant’s office.  I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but the chief is very loud.  I hear Lani’s name more than once.  So instead of looking like I’m spying, I return to Lani’s desk, and have a seat.  Her placard says
Detective Melanie Vaden
.  I kinda really like the name Melanie.  I think I’ll call her that during sex, and see what kind of reaction I get.

“Is my chair comfortable?”  She lets out a little sigh, and takes the chair at her partner’s desk.

“Not as comfortable as your-“

“Lani, we’ve arranged for you and Roman to be transported to a safe house in Oakville.  It’s temporary, but we’ll only need it until tomorrow.  That’s when Tony will be headed to D.C. to have his date with Congress.”  Burke picks the perfect moment to interrupt.  I grin at Lani, but she just rolls her eyes.  “Were you about to make some kind of sexually suggestive comment?”

Lani gives me a withering stare with those green eyes that I love so much.  “When were you going to tell me?  Am I coming with you?”

“I think that’s up to Burke.”  I am more than happy to put the blame squarely on his shoulders if she can’t come too.  “Will you please go see Doctor Foster today?”  She mumbles something.  “You’re going to be the death of me, woman.”

Chapter Thirteen

Lani

We’ve got a beautiful view of the sunrise over the Capitol building.  The alarm on my phone hasn’t even gone off yet.  Of course I got to come with him.  I twisted Killian Burke’s arm, but I’m here.  As soon as we’re back in Winston, though, I’m back on the job at the police department.  Apparently Tony overheard Dad chewing out Lieutenant Barrett, something about me being the best detective he has.  I can’t say I’m surprised.

I am facing the window, and although Tony moves silently, I feel him coming up behind me.  He pushes my hair off my shoulders, and kisses my neck.  I’m watching our reflections in the glass. 

He inhales my scent, and murmurs, “You smell like the sea.  And you don’t know how fucking glad I am that your hair is dark again, although it’s not quite the right shade.”  I smile at him, even though he can’t see me.  He’s too busy gently kissing my shoulder. 

“Aren’t you glad Riley took me to the salon, instead of to visit Doctor Dad?”  I arch my back, and when I do his hand goes up under my tank top. 

“You’re going to see him as soon as we’re back home, right?”  While we were on the plane, I threw up again, twice.  I’m sure he won’t shut up until I do.

“Yes, dear.”  I sigh, and enjoy the wave of euphoria that flows through my mind, and the pleasure that crashes over my body.  He called Winston home.  I thought he wouldn’t be able to get out of there fast enough, once he’s free.  But now, maybe, he’ll stick around.  “Isn’t the view beautiful?” 

“I don’t know, baby.  All I ever see is you.”  He pulls my body back against him, and shoves his hips into my ass so I can feel he’s hard again.  “Will it ever go down?”

“God, I hope not.”  I let myself melt into him, and his huge body behind me makes me feel safe and calm.  I lean my head against his shoulder, and he kisses my cheek.  “I’m so fucking nervous, Tony.  I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“And here I thought I screwed you until you passed out,” he murmurs, right before his tongue circles my ear. 

“You were pretty damn good last night.  Did you memorize the Kama Sutra while you were locked up?”  I brace my hands against the window as he hooks his thumb into the waistband of my panties.

“I don’t even know why you wear these.  They’re just in my way.”  He kneels as he peels the underwear down my legs.

“Do you have a condom?”  I feel his tongue against the back of my knee.  How does he make each time feel different, and better than the last time?  His fingertips trail up my other leg, at the same pace as his tongue. 

“Let me get you ready first, baby.  You know you’re my favorite breakfast.”  As he says it, I feel his tongue against my core. 

“I love you, Tony.  No matter what happens today, I will always love you.  You’re mine.”  I’m muttering it as he’s inhaling my essence.  After that, all I know, all I feel, is Tony.

Tony

I’m wearing my ten year old suit.  Burke was kind enough to take me shopping while Lani was at the salon, but I couldn’t find a jacket that fit.  There were plenty of slacks that I could wear, but the jackets would have needed alterations to fit my chest and shoulders.  The suit I have is fine.  It’s black, so I’m sure it won’t be out of style.  I hope, anyway.  We did buy a new white shirt, and a black and white striped tie.  Burke tied it for me, when he saw me glancing at the stupid sling that’s still on my shoulder.

So I’m tightening it as Lani strides out of the bathroom.  She is stunning.  At this moment, I’m glad she wears the ugly pantsuits to work.  She probably does it intentionally, so she doesn’t get hit on all the time.  And I’m sure they’re comfortable too, as she claims.  But she’s wearing a gorgeous, yet tasteful white dress that looks almost lacy.  The tiniest little brown belt encircles her waist, and matches her shoes perfectly.  She’s wearing a white jacket over it, and several strings of pearls.

“I’m speechless,” I say, as I gaze at her.  Her dark hair is pulled back at the nape of her neck, and tiny little tendrils frame her face.  Her make-up looks expertly applied.  “You look fantastic.  Is there a better word than fantastic?  Because if there is, you look it.” 

Her eyes are taking in every inch of me as well.  Again, I don’t feel good enough to even be in her orbit, much less to have her standing right in front of me, straightening my tie.  “You look better than I imagined you would,” she purrs at me, right before she touches my cheek. 

“You imagined me in a suit?”  My eyes narrow, and I bend forward just enough to allow her to kiss me. 

“Are you ready for this?” she asks, just as we hear the knock on the door.  “That must be Riley.”  I go to the door, and she moves to grab her purse.  I open it without looking through the tiny hole.  Why would I?  It’s got to be Burke, or Riley.  Who else would it be?

But when I see the gun, I immediately react.  “Lani, gun!” I scream, as I move to the side, and reach out my right hand to hit the man’s wrist.  I hear the pop of the silenced gun going off, followed by a dull thud from behind me, as I punch the guy with my left hand.  Sure, it burns like I’m on fire, and I scream when I do it.  He reaches out his right hand, and tries to hit my injured shoulder, but I turn away, avoid his punch, and shove his head into the metal doorframe. 

He’s only fazed for a moment, but it’s long enough for me to glance behind me to check on Lani.  It’s in that brief moment, seeing the woman I love more than anything sprawled out on the floor, that I snap. 
No!  This can’t be happening.
  I want to run to her, to make sure she is alright, but I know that I have to neutralize this threat first.  I grab his right hand and twist it until he drops the gun.  Then I slam his head into the metal doorframe once more for good measure, before I hear movement from behind me. 

“Lani, baby, are you okay?” I toss over my shoulder.

“I’m fine, Tony.” 
Thank Christ. 
If she was shot I would have had to kill this fucker.  “I just had to jump out of the way to avoid being shot by this moron.  I’m fine, I swear,” she says.

Now that I know she’s alright, and my heart is no longer in my throat, I kick the gun toward Lani.  She picks it up and aims it at the idiot. 

His first thought is to run, and he turns quickly to find that Burke is suddenly behind him.  “Freeze, dumbass,” he exclaims. 

But, of course the dumbass doesn’t.  He tries to punch me, which I dodge.  By this time my shoulder really hurts.  I grab his right arm, twist it behind his back, and kick his legs out from under him.  He falls down to his knees.

“I don’t know if you knew this before you took the job, but Lani over there has a hair-trigger finger, and she hasn’t killed anyone in the last week.  So if I were you, I’d just sit there, and wait for Burke to cuff you.  Because if you don’t, she will shoot you.”

I glance over at her, and her eyes are laser focused on the white man, dressed all in black.  I swear, sometimes I think I can’t handle her hotness.  Then she glances at me, and winks.  I might have a fucking heart attack.

“I don’t have any fucking cuffs with me.  I wasn’t planning on arresting anyone.”  Burke takes the guy’s arms, and places his knee in his back.  I’m glad, because my shoulder is killing me.

“Check my bag.  I’m always planning to arrest someone,” Lani states, and nods her head toward her purse. 

“Were you really intending to take those into a Congressional hearing?”  Burke is more shocked than I’d expect him to be.  I mean, he’s met Lani, right?

“Of course I wasn’t,” she scoffs.  But as I approach, she gives me a little shrug and a wink.  “Take the gun.”  For the first time, she hands me the weapon in a tense situation.  I smile as I turn, and aim it at the douche bag.  She looks around in her purse for several moments, before pulling the cuffs out.  She cuffs the guy, while Burke holds his arms, in a dress and heels. 

“This is why I like pantsuits,” she sighs, as she flips the hair framing her face, causing it to fall perfectly back into place.  I can’t help but think how damn lucky I am.

“It seems you’ve thwarted another assassination attempt, Chief Petty Officer Roman.  Is this three in all?  Someone is certainly trying hard to silence you.”  The senators and representatives all have placards in front of them, but I can’t really keep them straight. 

I clear my throat.  I definitely wasn’t expecting this question.  “Yes, sir, three.”

“What do you think they don’t want you to say?” a representative asks.  He looks familiar.  He might be from Pennsylvania, or maybe California.

“I’m not sure, sir.  I think perhaps someone might want to bury the past.  While we were all in prison, we were easy to forget about.  Now that I’ve been on the news, I’m a reminder.”  I have thought about that question quite a bit.  Why do they want me dead so badly?  Is it just about the prison fights, or is it about my SEAL team?

“Tell us about what happened over there, Chief.” 

Once upon a time, I would have cursed at a sailor if they didn’t address me by Chief.  Damn, I was so fucking proud of my rank.  Now, after ten years, it just seems weird to think of myself that way.

“We were attacked by a mob of villagers.  We tried to retreat, but the villagers had us surrounded.  There were seven of us, and hundreds of them.  It seemed like all of them had guns, and I believe they were American guns, sir.” 

Yes.  I believe that’s what this is about.  The rebels attacked us with our own guns.  How in the hell did they get them?

A silence shrouds the dais.  “I believe that information was in another report we received recently.  Will you rejoin the Navy if you are pardoned?”  They’re trying to change the subject.  They don’t want me to talk about the weapons either.

“I’m not sure I’m in a shape that could be useful to the Navy.  I’ll consider it.”  I want to be truthful.  I don’t think I could approach the missions the same way now, physically or mentally.

“With your degree in Chemical Engineering, you would be useful to the Navy, or any branch of the military.  You could be very useful to your government, Chief.”  I close my eyes, and picture Lani’s face.  I bet she probably thought my degree is in Physical Education, or something. 

“Thank you, sir.  It would be an honor and a privilege to be of use to my country.” 

Each of them say thank you, and I realize my time is up.  I stand, and nod.  A marine comes over to escort Mr. Worthington and me, and he shakes my hand.  I don’t want to feel this way again.  I’m past this feeling of loss for something I will never get back.  I’m past the anger of losing my career, and my freedom.  But I feel a spark of it when that marine shakes my hand, and says, “This way, sir.”

I know he’s being polite, and not referring to my rank.  Still, it hurts.  It hurts worse than my shoulder, which is still aching from the fight earlier.  I glance over at Lani as I walk past her, once again thanking my lucky star that she wasn’t injured earlier.  She’s sitting beside Burke.  She’s looking at me with part wonder, and part awe.  She thinks I’m some kind of a god.  Right now, I feel like shit. 

After I walk past, she falls in behind me.  When we’re outside the huge room, past the crowds, I see Riley waiting.  He’s dressed to impress in a grey suit with a white oxford.  He definitely stands out in a sea of men dressed in black.  He’s with another marine, and two men who are obviously Feds.  “Secret Service,” he informs us as we approach.

“Come with us, Chief Roman,” one of the agents says. 

When I turn toward Lani, she hurries toward me and takes my hand.  “She’s coming with me,” I inform them.  “She’s my bodyguard.”

One of the agents chuckles.  They have no idea what this woman and I have been through together, or what she’s capable of.  I wrap my arm protectively around her shoulder, and she turns to make sure Riley and Burke are behind us.  She nods at me, and I help her into the back of a black SUV.  Riley and Burke are placed in the vehicle behind ours.

“I assume we’re meeting the president,” I say, calmly.

“Yes, sir,” the other agent says.

“I wish everyone would stop calling me sir,” I grumble. 

“You deserve it,” Lani whispers.  “You deserve all of it.  Enjoy it.”  After a pause, she asks, “When were you going to tell me you’re a genius?”

I turn toward her, and gaze into bright green eyes that shine with an admiration I don’t deserve.  “I thought you already knew.” 

She smiles at me.  “Are you perfect?”

“No, I want a cigarette really bad.”  She playfully slaps my shoulder.  “Ow!  Stop abusing me, Sexy Sentinel.” 

She growls at me.  I stare back at her blankly, trying to act cool.  “I love you, Antony Roman,” she says, as we pull up to the White House.

Lani

I’m on my guard.  I’m afraid that around any corner we’ll see someone with a gun.  I know we’re in the White House.  That doesn’t matter.  I’m still scared.  Or maybe I’m cautious.  I’m definitely not paranoid.  They really are out to get us.

I’m holding on tight to Tony.  I wish I had a gun.  The way Tony disarmed the gunman earlier, maybe I won’t need one.  I’m still shocked by how well he handled the situation.  Every move he made was flawless.  He warned me about the gun, which gave me enough time to dodge the bullet that missed me by mere inches.  He effortlessly disarmed the threat, then he subdued him.  He was perfect.  I don’t know why I ever doubted him.