Edge of Danger (San Antonio Security #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tessa jumped like a skittish rabbit when the key turned in the lock on the front door.

Brax had texted to let her know he was leaving for the apartment, with two of his brothers following him. Then he’d texted to tell her he was in the garage and on his way up.

Even with his thoughtful warnings, she couldn’t breathe until he opened the door and poked his head into the living room.

Then, it was like her feet had a mind of their own. She closed the distance between them before she knew what was happening.

She stopped short before she could do anything stupid. What if he didn’t want her to jump all over him like an overexcited puppy the minute he walked through the door?

The flash of his smile told her otherwise. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping her up tight. He filled her world. Pressed against him, she could forget about everything for a little while.

“Hi,” he murmured against the top of her head before planting a kiss there. “How’s it going?”

“Would it be too unforgivably corny if I said it’s going better now that you’re here?”

Laughter rumbled in his chest up against her ear. “Corny, but not unforgivably.”

“Good.” She snuggled closer, breathing in his scent, drinking in his warmth. “How are you?”

“Not the worst I’ve ever been. Not anymore.” He pulled back enough to look down at her. How would he feel about staring at each other this way for the rest of their lives?

If being held in his arms was balm for her wounded soul, his kiss was nothing short of heaven. His arms tightened. A groan from the back of his throat awakened something deep in her core. This was all she needed—this and her son.

The three of them. What if this could be their life?

Not this, exactly. The thought of it pulled her back to reality. They were standing in a safe house because she was hiding from all sorts of bad guys. No, she didn’t want this exact situation to be her life.

She smiled when the kiss was over, standing on tiptoe to brush her nose against his. “Did you eat?”

“Not yet. I’ll dig up something.”

“You’ll do no such thing. Let me. You look so tired.” He followed her toward the kitchen, stopping to check the bedroom where Walker slept before joining her.

“How was your day? I see you’re good and stocked up now.”

“It was sweet of Maci and Claire to go out and shop. And sweet of you to make them a list.”

“It’s the least I could do.”

Tessa didn’t exactly agree. She was in this apartment thanks to him. She had her son thanks to him.

“Claire and Maci are great. It’s been a long time since I chatted with the girls. They made me feel like we were old friends.” She couldn’t suppress a grin.

“I knew you would get along.” He smiled, too, but she’d been right. He did look tired. The overhead light made the circles under his eyes more prominent.

She stopped making his sandwich to touch his scruffy cheek. “You really do need some rest. I’m starting to become a little worried about you.”

“This is nothing. You’ve never seen me exhausted. I’m only slightly tired right now.”

“I know you think you’re helping your cause, but you aren’t.”

“I’m the last thing you need to worry about. I’ve been handling myself for a long time.”

“I need you to know I’m here for you.” He smiled in an indulgent, “aren’t you cute” sort of way. “Seriously,” she insisted. “So far, you’ve been super involved in my problems. I want you to know I’m here for you. This goes both ways. It can’t be all me, me, me.”

“I don’t see you that way. I never would.”

“Well, thank you, but you get what I mean.” She turned to him, plate in hand, and it was plain he leaned against the wall to prop himself up. “Come on. Let’s sit in the living room where you can be more comfortable.”

He joined her on the couch, kicking off his shoes with a sigh before taking the huge sandwich she’d fixed. “My favorite.” He grinned, taking in the sight of the turkey, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on rye.

“Maci told me it’s what you always order when she goes for sandwiches. She figured she’d buy the ingredients in case you had a hankering.”

“She’s a godsend.” He closed his eyes after taking a bite and groaned. “Oh, yeah.”

“That good, huh?”

“Sometimes a simple thing like this really hits the spot.” He looked genuinely happy while devouring the sandwich in far fewer bites than Tessa could have managed.

She sat facing him, legs crossed in front of her. “So now that you’ve gorged, can you tell me what’s going on? Share a little something with me? I know bad guys are after you, but I’ll go nuts without updates on anything new.”

“I appreciate you caring.” He leaned over, leaving the plate and napkin on the coffee table, then sank back against the cushions with a sigh. “I don’t want to burden you.”

“It’s not a burden.”

He shot her a knowing look, stopping just short of rolling his eyes.

“Even if it is a burden, that’s fine. I have pretty strong shoulders.” She wiggled them around, hoping to get a smile from him.

And she did, though it was brief.

“I know you’re a strong person.” His hand found hers. “But you’ve already handled so much.”

“I can handle more. Please. Let me in. Tell me what’s happening.”

He let out a long breath, puffing out his cheeks. “Okay. It’s not going to be easy.”

She braced herself.

His hand tightened. “Robert’s back in town. He came to the office today. He wants Walker back.”

Her head snapped back. Her body went into panic mode: heart racing, blood roaring in her ears, her stomach in knots, muscles twitching. She had to move. She had to leave before Robert found her.

Before he took Walker away from her again.

“Hey, hey.” Brax moved closer until she was practically in his lap. “It’s going to be okay. Just because he’s back doesn’t mean he’ll get Walker. That’s not going to happen.”

“I...” She looked away from him because his face was so earnest, and she liked looking at it so much, but she was going to have to leave. How could she leave him?

“I know what you’re thinking right now.” With his free hand, he cupped the back of her head and drew her close, touching his forehead to hers. “I get it. I do. Just breathe. No way in hell am I or my brothers—my real brothers—going to let that happen. You can trust me on that, okay? We will never let him take Walker away.”

She breathed the way he’d asked her to, and after a few minutes, was calm enough to ask, “How? He has documents on his side. Even if they’re fake, it’ll take time to prove they are, and in the meantime, he could take the baby and go anywhere. What if he runs and is never found?”

“I’m telling you. We’re not going to let that happen. He won’t so much as put his hands on Walker.”

“No offense, but how can you be so certain?”

“I have a plan.”

Hope stirred in her still-racing heart.

He continued, “We’ll get it on record that Robert went through illegal channels to take the baby from you. That he falsified information. Once that’s done, you’ll get full custody back. The Patterson brothers are going to make sure of it.”

It was so easy to believe him because she wanted to believe. She wanted what he said to be true with every ounce of her being.

That didn’t mean she missed his choice of words.

“The Patterson brothers will make sure of it?” She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye, searching for answers.

“Right.”

“Not you, personally?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not saying you have to do it all yourself. But you’ve always made it sound like you were the one fighting for me and Walker. Why shift it to your brothers now? What am I missing?”

The way his brows drew together spoke volumes. So she was right. Brax Patterson wasn’t exactly an open book, but she’d learned enough about him to know how he operated.

He took the situation with her and Walker seriously. Personally. He might rely on his brothers for help, but he would never straight up outsource.

“Things are getting more dangerous with Riviera and the cartel. You of all people know that.” He stroked her hair, looking deep into her eyes. “I might have to go off the grid for a while because of it. I won’t do it until you’re completely in the clear. I swear it.”

Her chest ached. Her throat went tight.

He was leaving her.

Maybe he had never been with her in the first place.

Sure, those few kisses had been mind-blowing, but that was all they had. No promises.

She sat up straighter, patting the hand on the back of her head. He let it fall away. “So you’re going away to keep yourself safe. That’s smart. It’s what I would want you to do. Those guys—”

“Tessa—”

“—Those guys won’t stop until they shut you up. I mean, it won’t be easy on you.”

“Would you listen to me?”

She tried to turn away, to reposition herself on the couch so he couldn’t see the emotion she fought against. The disappointment crushing her insides.

He wasn’t having it. “Listen, please.” Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her to him. “Do you think I’m trying to run away from you? Nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t you know by now how much I want to be part of your life? Not just Walker’s life, but yours. I want us to be together. But not if it means putting you in jeopardy. You are my number one concern right now. Do you believe me?”

There was no other way to answer. “Yes.”

“Good.”

“So what’s your plan?”

He shot her a rueful smile. “Funny you should ask, since it involves you. Don’t worry,” he was quick to add at her sharp intake of breath. “It’s nothing huge. You don’t have to show your face, and you don’t have to even speak to Robert. For the record, he has no idea you’re even in town, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

“Okay.” But her voice sounded shaky even to her.

“I’m going to need you to call that guy. The one who tracked you down. We have his name now, thanks to Robert, and his contact information. Don’t bother asking.”

Her mouth snapped shut, because she’d been about to ask how they managed it. The Pattersons had their ways.

“You’ll call him and tell him you know where Robert is. That’s all you have to do. My brothers and I and the police will handle the rest. If all goes as planned—and there’s no reason it shouldn’t—both Robert and this Jakob Hawkins who’s been terrorizing you will be arrested. And you’ll be free.”

“Free.” The word fell from her lips like a prayer. It felt foreign, like a language she hadn’t learned yet.

“That’s what I want for you.” He kissed her forehead, her cheeks. “I want you to be free and to feel safe. You deserve nothing less than the whole world. I might not be able to give you the whole world, but I can give you this.”

And she would accept it gladly, though she wanted more. She wanted the man whose arms she was now in. The man who would put his plans to keep himself safe from the cartel on hold to ensure she was taken care of first.

He was her miracle. Everything she could ever want.

She kissed him, melting into his arms. She kissed him over and over. Every time their mouths met, she only wanted more. Like a thirst that got worse the more she drank.

She’d never have enough.

He held back a little, eventually pulling his head away and taking her by the shoulders, holding her in place. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t owe me anything.”

She ran her hands over his arms, his shoulders. “I know that.”

“It’s just that I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have a choice.”

Her hands moved to his face, one on either side. She stroked his scruffy cheeks with her thumbs and wondered what she’d ever done to deserve a man like him in her life. Before meeting Brax, she’d had no idea men like him existed.

There was so much concern in his eyes. It was almost enough to break her heart, the way he cared about her.

“I know I have a choice,” she whispered, and she meant it with all her heart. “And I choose you.”

A soft smile touched the corners of his mouth before he pulled her in, and this time there was no hesitation as his mouth crushed against hers and his arms held her tight against his unyielding chest.

His heart pounded there—she felt it when her hand slid over his chest, then up under his shirt as she worked it over his head.

Her heart pounded too. But for once, it wasn’t fear. Fear was the last thing on her mind as Brax lowered her to the couch and stretched out on top of her, wiping away all thoughts of anything but him. And her. Together.