Grace silenced him with a kiss. She grabbed his face and slammed her lips over his, feeding hungrily on his mouth. Tears ran freely down her cheeks until they both tasted the slight salt on their tongues.
“Stop, just stop,” she whispered brokenly. “I can’t bear that you see yourself that way.”
He pulled gently away, his eyes bleak as he stood. He believed everything he’d said so passionately. And she hated it.
She scooted forward on the couch, not willing to let him escape. She tried to stand but he wouldn’t let her, and so she pulled him back down until he was on his knees in front of her, their faces just inches apart.
She stroked his face with both hands, smoothing over his jaw and cheekbones, frantic to ease some of the pain and self-condemnation that billowed from his soul.
“Do you want to know what I see when I look at you?” she said around the knot in her throat.
He tried to look away but she held firm, turning his face, refusing to allow him to escape her gaze.
“I see a man who’s honorable. Who gave his everything to a cause he believed in. I see a man who, upon realizing that the path he’d chosen was no longer in keeping with the principles he held close, walked away and re-created himself in a role as protector, savior, leader and, yes, hero. You may not like the label, Rio, but you are a hero. You’re my hero. You’re my savior and protector. Who else would have come for me if not you? Who else would have fought for me, refusing to let me go?
“We all make mistakes, Rio. The mark of a man is how he makes up for those mistakes, and you’ve more than paid your penance.”
He leaned his forehead against hers, and for a moment
they sat there in silence, their breathing the only sound in the room.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she murmured. “I won’t think I’m unworthy of you and your love if you never ever question that you’re worthy of mine. Deal?”
Rio smiled. He kissed her long and sweet, their tongues dueling and teasing. Light touches. Loving touches. His hands were on her face just as hers were on his. Holding. Touching. Caressing.
“Deal,” he said huskily. “Now I want you to sit here while I fix you something to eat. You need to regain your strength for what lies ahead. The others will join us because we have to plan our departure.”
She tried not to flinch. She knew it had to come to an end, this idyllic escape from reality. But it didn’t stop the regret or the knowledge that her entire world could change and she could lose everything in as little as a day.
CHAPTER 31
GRACE was welcomed by Rio’s team members with great enthusiasm. They all gathered to sit at the bar in the kitchen while Rio fried up hamburgers. They spent several minutes grilling her on her condition, how she was feeling and if she was going to be okay.
Smiling, she assured them that she would be fine.
Rio let them fuss over Grace for a period of time and then he effectively put a halt to any lighthearted banter by announcing that they were pulling out.
The men immediately becamer all business.
“What’s the plan?” Terrence asked.
Rio stood over the stove eyeing his team with utter seriousness. “I feel like they’re getting close. It’s a gut feeling and I don’t want to take any chances. My main reason for coming here was to give Grace time to heal. This isn’t where I want to engage Titan. There are some advantages. This our home turf. We know the lay of the land. But we don’t have the manpower necessary, and if Sam sends in Steele or we have all of KGI pouring in here, if Titan didn’t already know where we were, they sure as hell would at that point.”
“Makes sense,” Diego agreed.
“Plus we’re a man short,” Alton said grimly.
“Doesn’t matter,” Decker said. “We’ll get the job done.”
“We’re good,” Rio said matter-of-factly. “But not that good. Against a group like Titan, we’re going to need all the manpower we can get. You can bet your asses they aren’t coming to a fight with only a few good men. They’ll come with the best and they’ll come to win. Which is why we’re going to rendezvous with Sam. He’s calling in all we’ve got on this one.”
Grace’s brows came together in confusion. She put a hand up to massage her temple because this whole thing was making her crazy. Rio made it sound like they were going to schedule a damn war or something. On the count of three, everyone starts shooting. That sort of thing. It sounded…crazy.
“I don’t get it,” she said. “You make it sound so organized. How do we know when or where this happens. I mean, are you actually going to pick a place and start shooting each other?”
She couldn’t keep the horror from her voice. The very last thing she wanted was people to die because of her.
She turned to Rio, her expression pleading, but she used telepathy because she didn’t want the others to hear.
Let’s go away, Rio. Just you and me. Why couldn’t we go someplace where they’d never find us? Why do we have to involve so many people? I don’t want them to die for me. I don’t want anyone to die.
Rio used the spatula to remove the last burger from the pan, then put it aside and walked around the bar to where Grace sat. He framed her face and stared down at her, his eyes intense and sincere.
“This doesn’t just involve you, honey. If it did, then what you suggest might be the best option. But it involves Shea and, by proxy, everyone at KGI because now you and your sister both are part of us. We don’t run from a fight. It’s not what KGI is about. KGI is about family. It’s about protecting what matters the most to us. It’s about never letting anyone take what is ours. You and Shea are ours now, and we’ll protect you with our last breaths.”