Lee shook it and turned to the scowling Matt, who shifted next to him. “You lied to my sister.”
“I protected Nhiari as much as I could.”
Matt gave a reluctant nod. “Pretty stupid to jump in front of the knife.”
Lee raised an eyebrow. “Instinct. If I recall, you stepped in front of the woman you love too.”
Matt’s eyes widened, and he whistled. “Shit.”
Lee smiled. Finally he had found a way to shut Matt up.
Darcy cleared his throat. “It might take some of us time before we can forgive you completely.”
“I understand.” He was being more than generous.
“However our women are very forgiving. They’ve invited you to dinner tomorrow night at the Ridge.”
Lee stared at him.
Ed chuckled. “Tess said she and Georgie would drag you there. They have questions.” The love in his voice was clear.
Darcy handed over the car keys. “You’d better be there. Dinner’s at six.” With that, they walked away.
Lee rubbed his thumb over the warm metal of his keys. He’d always known the Stokes were special.
Lee got into his car and drove the short distance to Nhiari’s town house. He’d only been here once before on their date, but nothing had changed. It was a small brick and tile place in the same complex as Georgie’s and had two bedrooms. Her car was parked in the carport and he parked in the spot next to it, nerves scrambling around his stomach.
This was it.
Would she forgive him for lying to her? Would she forgive him for shooting her?
Did they have a future together?
The only way to get answers was to knock on her door.
Taking a deep breath, he walked up the few steps and knocked.
The wait was interminable. It was almost midday, so she shouldn’t be sleeping any longer, but he couldn’t hear her walking around inside.
He rapped again, louder and a little more insistent. This time she called, “I’m coming!” with a little irritation in her voice.
He exhaled and stepped back to give her space. She flung open the door. Her dark hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, she had a plain T-shirt and shorts on and her eyes widened in shock. “Lee.” She rubbed her hands over her face, looking as if she’d just woken up.
He smiled. “They gave me parole.”
She frowned and stepped back, blinking her disbelief. “What?”
He clenched his hands together to stop himself from pulling her into his arms. He needed to give her a chance to compute what was happening. “Since you contacted Doug a few days ago, they’ve been putting together the evidence about what I’ve done to stop Stonefish. With what Rodney’s now added to it, they agreed to parole me based on a few conditions.” He kept his gaze steady on her.
She tugged on the end of her ponytail. “What conditions?”
“I had to hand over my passport, be available for further questioning, and report to a police station weekly.” When she continued to stare at him, he asked, “Can I come in?”
She nodded and stepped back so he could enter her house. The living area was simple but with touches of her. Comfortable sofa in front of a moderate sized television and a coffee table with several books on it. The photo on the wall was of the waterhole they had swum in. She’d told him on their date that it was her special place.
“Are you all right?” She touched her chest in the same place as his injury.
“Yeah. I need to take it easy for a couple of weeks. No strenuous exercise.”
