Delta: Revenge, page 24
“No one would be that stupid.”
“But what if?”
“Then, kaboom.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’d blow up someone who stole your car?”
“Sophia, don’t gape.” The mother she knew came out, reprimanding, and Sophia snapped her mouth closed.
“Trust me,” Brock grumbled. “In our world, it’s not the worst thing when something gets blown up.”
“Doesn’t sound great.” Sophia glanced at her mom.
“Better than somebody blowing up.”
Sage advice from Mom the spy.
“Tango one.” The low whisper of Brock’s voice tickled in her earpiece. “Subdued—Irene, behind you.”
A quick jostle of noise, and an unexpected second enemy made bile slosh in Sophia’s stomach as she quickly ran to the room Hana was determined to be in. She’d memorized the blueprints in the car on the ride over, but even as her feet moved with purpose, Sophia was waiting for her mom’s confirmation that everything would be alright.
“Second man down,” Mom announced.
Sophia’s heart jumped, then she opened the door, hoping to find an unsuspecting Hana. She put a finger to her lip, in case her friend needed shushing. Hana startled, but when she caught sight of Sophia’s face, she stood up without a word. The two of them took off.
Mom came into sight, heading out the door they’d initially breached, Brock following. The rain hit Sophia’s face, slapping cold and hard. But the sudden jolt was a taste of near freedom.
The SUV was still running, still in place, just as Brock had promised. Doors flew open. Hana and Sophia piled into the back, Brock took the driver’s seat, and Mom rode shotgun. The tires squealed as the people at Titan HQ hooted their approval of the job well done. Several voices were on the line, but Javier’s was the only one Sophia heard or cared about. She sank back into the seat, relaxed and dripping wet, freezing and head-over-heels in love, needing to tell him before she did anything else.
The earpiece was of no use anymore. She pulled it out, and Mom was doing the same.
Hana reached over and grabbed her hand, resting her head on Sophia’s shoulder. “Thank you, my friend.”
Sophia squeezed her, their soaked clothes and hair doing little to warm or soothe one another. But it was nice to actually have her safe. “I told you I would get you to the US.”
“You also told me that I’d get a date with your brother.”
“Haha.” Sophia tossed her head back, laughing hard. “Let me introduce you to the team. Front passenger, my mom. Meaning Colin’s mom. And Brock Gamble, his boss.”
Hana laughed as hard as Sophia had. “Fabulous. Mi amiga is a black ops ninja girl now too?”
“Apparently, it runs in the family.”
“Apparently,” Mom said then turned to face them. “You know what else I heard runs in the family?”
“Hmm?” How many more surprises could she take that day?
“Falling in love with military men.”
“Mom!” Who was this woman? First she was a spy, and now she wanted to gossip about Sophia’s love life. “How would you know?”
Mom’s head tilted toward her source.
“Brock!”
The man didn’t turn around, but Sophia could see his cheeks flex as though he were trying not to smile.
“I swear,” Sophia mumbled. “Men are almost worse than women.”
“With what?” Hana asked.
“Gossip.”
“Oh, this isn’t gossip,” Hana said. “It’s fact.”
“Hana!” Sophia pulled back and gave the stink eye as though she hadn’t just been part of the rescue to save her friend’s life.
Hana shrugged to Mom. “She won’t say I love you. She says she wasted it on her waste of a groom.”
Oh. Shit. Sophia’s eyes flew to her mom, having no idea how the ambassador’s wife—spy or not—would take any comment like that about the good doctor Josh.
Mom hummed, lost in thought, and for every rain-sloshed moment Brock continued to drive down the highway, Sophia wondered if her mom might accidentally turn back into a society lady and implode.
“Then,” Mom said, “don’t say it how you said it before.”
Sophia’s brow pinched as she tried to figure out if that advice was code from her mom, a spy, or a society lady. “I’m… sorry, wh—what?”
“A word is a word is a word, Sophia. Get new words.”
Ha. “I love you is pretty much it, Mom.”
“Or is it, sweetheart? There’s more than one way to say many things, especially when English is not his language.”
Hmmm. Discounting that this was their first personal mom-daughter conversation, and that Brock was eavesdropping, Sophia turned to Hana, who nodded as though it made sense.
“Adoro su hija, la señora Cole.”
Mom’s gaze held onto Hana. “Exactly.”
Hana’s native tongue was Spanish, most of which Sophia could pick out. She adored Mrs. Cole’s daughter. “Cute.” But Javier was Brazilian Portuguese. “How do you say—”
“Tell him, eu te amo.” Mom’s words were like a hug that they’d never shared. I love you. In Brazilian Portuguese.
This I love you offered Sophia a way to bridge her gap with Javier and brought her and her mom together more powerfully than sharing their first day in the field together ever could. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The maternity wing wasn’t the way Sophia would have imagined. She would have guessed there’d be pinks and blues, teddy bears and balloons. She hadn’t thought about it before, but walking into the security zone, she realized there was a high level of surveillance and protection in this place.
Hand in hand, she and Javier were buzzed in, passing Colin as he signed them in at the visitors’ station. The waiting area was down the hall, but Jared Westin, the boss of Titan, had put all their names on a list of people to be sent in when they arrived. With a quick show of ID and a name on a form, Sophia and Javier were directed to a private suite.
Javier rounded into the room first, and Sophia’s steps went heavy as she saw Jared, holding a very tiny newborn.
“Oh,” was all she could whisper.
“Hi.”
Sophia pulled her gaze from the tiny baby and the man who was normally almost scary looking but at the moment was just… a proud daddy quietly shifting his weight back and forth in his boots, soothing a sleeping bundle of blankets—his wife and other child. “Hi.”
Javier used their joined hands to point as he made introductions. “Sugar and Asal.”
Sugar smiled. “And that’s Violet.”
Jared walked over, quietly saying hello. Javier offered congratulations, and Violet was slipped into Sugar’s arms. Asal curled around her mom. The Westins were a family of operatives—badasses, often irreverent and always interesting to hear about. From the little that Sophia knew, that clan led an exciting life. But at the moment, this was their bliss. Wow.
Jared cleared his throat quietly. “You heard about Rodrigo Moreira?”
Javier’s grip in Sophia’s hand flexed. “Yes, sir.”
“The team found a ton of actionable intel. Enough to smoke out the last of the top dogs in the Primeiro Comando.”
“Yes, sir. I heard.”
Jared nodded to Sophia. “You made the right decision on which job to choose.”
He raised his chin as though preparing to walk into a firing line. “Thank you, sir.”
Jared continued. “I heard you two had come out of the closet. Though changing an op midstride was already a neon sign of an announcement.” The baby stirred, waking and quietly flapping its mouth open and shut, turning its head side to side.
“I think Vi-Vi’s hungry.” Asal leaned in, inspecting the infant.
Sophia took a step back. “Do you want us to leave?”
Sugar shook her head, readying to nurse. “Nah, it’s okay. I’m sure it’ll become easier—”
“Because we can leave.”
Knock, knock.
“There you go.” Sugar ignored the door and blew out a breath as a doctor walked in.
“I’m Dr. Josh Ject, the pediatrician on rotation. Just a quick stop to check on…” He picked up the clipboard at the end of the bed. “Violet. How’s everyone doing?”
Josh looked up from the chart, catching Sophia’s eye. “Oh.” It was the first time they’d set eyes on each other since she’d walked away from the altar.
“Hi,” Sophia said. “We’ll step out.”
His gaze dropped to Sophia’s hand, which was clasped in Javier’s. Javier’s other arm was around her protectively as he leaned into her from behind.
“Funny!” Sugar, who seemed highly amused but was moving slowly because of the baby on her breast, tossed her head back against the pillow. “I don’t need introductions to know we’ve got an ex in the room.”
Josh cleared his throat. “Mrs. Westin—”
“Sugar,” she corrected.
Sophia’s ex-fiancé smiled awkwardly. “Sugar.” He stepped forward as Jared moved closer to her bedside.
“We’ll step out.” Sophia tugged Javier behind her. “Thanks for letting us visit.”
“Just come back in a few.” Sugar snuggled Violet to her.
“It was nice seeing you, Sophia,” Josh said.
“We should go.” Gripping Javier’s hand with more force than needed, Sophia wasn’t sure if her vehemence was because she wanted to strangle Josh for the hell of it or if because he’d ruined something she wanted to give to Javier. She still hadn’t told Javier how much she loved him. Whatever the case, Javier didn’t react to her ex. He simply guided Sophia through the semi-open door and into the hallway.
“Waiting room.” Javier tilted his head toward the sign. “Let’s go.” Nothing fazed him.
“I need a candy bar. Or a balloon bouquet. Something over-the-top to erase the last few minutes from my mind.”
He laughed. “You okay?”
“That was so awkward.” They entered the small area. A few couches and chairs, a couple piles of magazines, and a row of vending machines awaited her. “So. So. So awkward.”
He shrugged. “Could’ve been worse.”
“Ha. How?”
“It could’ve been you lying in bed, holding our baby, when random ex-slash-doctor-on-duty rolls in.”
The simple casualness of his words didn’t take away from the monumental suggestion he’d just made. Between her spinning head and her swooning, Sophia managed to close her gaping mouth and not pass out. “Our baby?”
“You don’t want kids?” A slight concern showed on his face.
“Are we having this conversation?” Eyes peeled wide, Sophia fumbled for a couch, still clinging to his hand.
“Do you want to?” he asked as though it were that simple.
Sophia nodded, head in a haze, thoughts of little Javier Almeidas making her dizzy. His children would be so beautiful… their children? God. She couldn’t breathe.
“Remember that thing I said to you?” he asked, dropping to the spot next to her on the plastic couch.
There was no question what he was speaking about. He asked her that whenever he wanted to remind her how much she was loved. “Yes.”
Whether Javier could hear her response or not was another question. It came out on an unbelieving breath. Could she ever forget the words “I love you” from him?
“I assume we’re on the same page, and kids and a future come with that.”
God. God! This man. She melted into the crook of his arm. “Really?”
Javier pressed his lips to the top of her head, wrapping her protectively in his hold. “Yes, paixão. Really.”
Sophia pulled back enough to prop her chin against him. “Thank you.”
“You want to have my babies one day?”
She nodded. More than anything. But that he wanted that too and had suggested it? There was no greater feeling than knowing Javier, who had a rough family life and a need to never be tied down, would want a situation—a relationship—like that in his future. All the words didn’t matter. I love you—the words wasted on exes—and the fear that he’d never find a calm in his cartel-hunting inner storm all faded away. Javier wanted a family with her.
“Good.” His smile made the rest of the world pale in comparison. “You will be a great mother. You know that?”
“Eu te amo, Javier.” She loved him from the very bottom of her soul. The words flowed, and nothing held any meaning except him and her, together.
The quietest catch of a breath. He’d heard and understood.
Javier froze then gathered her into his arms in the middle of the waiting room, burying her against his chest. “Ah, paixão, my passion. I love you too.”
EPILOGUE
Javier smoothed the edge of the bedspread that Sophia had dragged from their first night together to their first apartment to their bedroom in the house they were calling home. “Sophia!”
Everything to her had meaning, especially that bedspread. His eyes ran over the bed and the chair with everything in place the way he wanted. His heart slammed in his chest, tension and excitement knotted in his shoulders. This would be something worth remembering and reliving.
He smiled, speaking to himself. “Paixão, love you.”
There was no sound of footsteps heading up the stairs. Javier ran his fingers through his hair then smoothed his T-shirt as though it had bunched because his muscles and mind were jumping. “Soph? Can you come here?”
“What?” she called faintly from downstairs.
He walked to the hall, leaning over the banister. “Sophia, I want to show you something.”
“Now?”
He laughed, making a face for the camera. “Yeah, gatinha.”
“I’m almost done with the dishes. Hang tight.”
Alright. Hanging tight. He chuckled, but he couldn’t wipe the grin off his face and couldn’t wait to see hers when she walked into their bedroom. He wanted to remember today because he’d never tried harder than at this moment to make her smile, make her fall in love with him again, and make his world spin as only she could do.
The water shut off, and footsteps sounded from the kitchen. He moved to the stairs, waiting.
“Coming,” she mumbled, but when she saw him at the top of the stairs, her beautiful grin reached her sweet eyes.
“Come faster.”
“What?” She laughed, maybe sensing he was up to no good.
“I need you in the bedroom.”
She batted his chest when she reached the landing. “You had me in the bedroom earlier.”
He took her hand, linking their fingers together and squeezing. “Need you again.”
“You’re insatiable.”
Javier laughed, pulling her close. “Never complained before.”
“Won’t start today—” They rounded the corner into the bedroom, him leaning against the doorjamb, her gaping as he’d prayed she would.
“Javier, what is this?” Her hand squeezed tightly as though she couldn’t let him go, couldn’t believe what she saw.
“You said you wanted to marry me but to hell with planning a wedding.”
“I did.” She nodded, her voice tight and quiet. Beautiful. And awestruck.
“I planned it for you.”
“You planned…” Tears slipped down her cheeks, and he pulled her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her, walking them closer to the bed.
On the bed, in front of three white dresses for her to choose from, was a bouquet of white calla lilies, a diamond ring, and a letter. Just as he knew she would, Sophia picked up the letter before the diamond, making him fall in love with her even more.
Paixão,
I’ve had a hundred dreams, a thousand wishes. To turn back the clock and hold you sooner, love you longer, give you everything that makes you smile.
I fell in love with you over and over, and each time, you had no idea just what you were doing to me. The feisty girl with the cake and scissors? I never had a chance.
I can’t promise that life will be without problems or that you won’t hurt when the world does. But I can promise you I will be by your side.
When we met, I didn’t know if you were ripping my soul and slicing my heart or making me stronger. You were making me stronger.
So much stronger.
Sophia Cole. I love you, and I do not care how it is said. Or if it’s said. I know we have love.
Here is a dress, or three. Take your pick. Put my ring on your finger. Our friends and family will be here today. You do not have to plan a thing. I’ll be the man wearing the smile you gave me. Find me at the end of the aisle. Please be my wife.
Love,
Javier
She trembled as she read his words while in his arms. Sophia was everything. There was only one answer, and he had no doubt that it would fall from her lips.
Sophia turned, wrapping him in a hug. “You did this for me?”
“For us.” Her touch made him feel unstoppable, and he knew why he’d been put on his life’s path: to get to her.
“I love you, Javier.” And as her head tilted back, her hair sliding back, she pressed her mouth to his and kissed the answer yes. “Eu te amo.”
Sophia tasted like sugar and smelled like sunshine. She held onto him as though she couldn’t survive without his touch, and his tongue tangled with hers because he knew it was true. He’d be lost and gone without her.
Her lips slowed, and his stilled. “Thank you.”
Emotion clogged his throat as he held her. “You are why I exist.”
“God…” she whispered against his lips. “I love you.”
Javier inched back. “Ready for today?”
Her soft brown eyes danced. “Like today today?”
“Yes, ma’am. Everything is planned.” He pulled her attention to the nightstand. Printed on the same thick ivory paper as his letter was a schedule of their day, aptly named “Javier + Sophia’s Agenda.”
“Just choose your dress. Nothing poofy or that will require scissors to be removed from. Only decision you have today.”
“That’s it? You planned everything?”
