I am falling in love with you, she admitted. She turned her head to look up at him. The look on his face sent a million butterfly wings brushing along the walls of her stomach.
Grateful you’re finally catching up, Warrior Woman.He smiled, that slow, sweet, real smile that transformed him if only briefly, but the warmth remained.I fell like a ton of bricks before I ever got near you. Watching you defend your sister and Luther did it for me. I could barely take my eyes off you long enough to back you up.
She knew it was true because when they spoke with a telepathic intimate connection between them, he couldn’t hide any emotion from her. He certainly couldn’t hide a lie. He actually had felt that way about her when she had a gun in her hand. Many men wouldn’t.
My feelings for you have grown stronger every single day, even when I didn’t believe they could get deeper, he continued.But seeing you in every capacity, as a woman, as a mother, it’s impossible not to love you more.
He could melt any woman’s heart. She was grateful it was hers he was after.I didn’t know I could trust a man the way I trust you. I didn’t think it was possible. And I never believed I would ever want to give a man the chance to prove himself.
Again, his fingers stroked through her hair, and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. It was those little touches that made her feel so much a part of him. Other women might not like their men to connect physically when others were around, but she realized that was a huge part of the attraction to Diego.
“I haven’t been the most trusting woman in the world, Nonny,” Leila revealed. “Diego changed that for me. He makes me feel like the most important person in his world. It really is all him. Just the fact that he finds my atrocious sense of humor funny shows you he’s meant for me.”
“She’s never going to keep a straight face when little Gracie actsup,” Nonny informed Diego. “Berengere could never keep a straight face at our boys’ antics. I had to learn to do that, although the ridiculous things my grandsons got up to were so hysterical I’d have to go into my room and smother my laughter with a pillow.”
Leila could picture Nonny doing just that. She seemed so at peace with herself. She had a pipe in one hand and a shotgun leaning against the wall close to her other hand. She appeared serene and perfectly content. Being close to someone who gave off those low waves of energy, so low it was soothing…she wanted that not just for her daughter but for her sister.
“Did your grandson tell you about my sister, Bridget?” she asked. Her voice sounded strangled.
It was difficult to know she was in such a good, safe place while Bridget could be enduring the worst of Whitney. The man was a sadist as far as she was concerned. She had to get to her sister as soon as possible. They had to settle Grace in a safe place before they went after Bridget. The planning was already in motion. Ezekiel and Joe would be holding a meeting as soon as they worked out the mission. In the meantime, Diego was ensuring Leila and Grace felt safe as he introduced them to what would be their new home.
“Yes, he did. Ezekiel told me most of it, including that you had a good woman lookin’ after Grace for you.”
“Marcy Chariot. She looked after me before I ever had Grace. When Gracie came, she acted like a grandmother. I’m sure she’s missing her.”
Nonny turned those all-seeing eyes on her. “And you, Leila. She must be missing you and wondering if you’re all right.”
Leila smiled at the thought. Marcy had been in her life since she was ten and terrified out of her mind. Her parents had died, and they took her sister away from her. There was only Marcy to comfort her. It was Marcy who, despite shifts at a hospital, wouldsee to her every need. If she could have, Leila knew Marcy would have taken her into her home.
In all honesty, Leila missed Marcy and wanted to check in with her. She understood why she needed to wait to contact her, especially since they were going to launch an attack against the elusive Whitney. He seemed to escape unscathed each time anyone hunted him. This time, the GhostWalkers weren’t involving anyone higher up. They weren’t about to reveal their plans to anyone, although Luther guessed and wanted to go along. Someone always tipped Whitney off, and he would leave before he could be captured or killed.
Leila believed that Marcy knew her well enough to know she would never leave her sister with Whitney. No one other than Diego’s team and Luther knew Bridget had a tracking device in her that Whitney wouldn’t be able to detect. The tracking device would lead them straight to Bridget’s location. There was no way Whitney wouldn’t be with her. He would want to “debrief” her. That was what he called his sadistic interrogations, according to Bridget.
Whitney had several laboratories, some hidden within the military system. Others were private labs he appeared not to have an association with until, after much digging, the connection was found. By that time, he was long gone. He moved from place to place, overseeing others doing his experiments. It sucked that he had her sister.
“I can’t wait to bring Bridget here,” Leila said. Her gaze swung to the play yard, where the little girls were helping her toddler on a small slide. There was a tall slide, but the three little girls had avoided it, directing Grace to the short one. Grace threw back her head and laughed, a baby sound of pure joy, holding out her arms to one of the girls, who picked her up.
“Ginger,” Nonny cautioned. “I know you’re very strong, but it would be best if you didn’t pick Grace up. Her weight might hurt your back.”
For a moment, Ginger looked mutinous, but then she kissed Grace on the forehead and gently deposited her on the ground. Both hands went to her hips, and she glared at Nonny. “I’m superstrong. She won’t hurt me.”
Thym and Cannelle spun around with shocked looks on their faces at the tone of their sister’s voice. They looked like exact replicas of Ginger, yet neither appeared to agree with the way Ginger spoke.
The screen door opened behind Leila, and the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen stepped outside. She was small but had real curves. Her hair was dark and glossy. She wore it in an intricate braid that was extremely thick. Strange dark patterns were stamped through the mass of blue-black hair. Her eyes were large, framed with very heavy black lashes. They had the same blue tint as her hair. Her eyes were even more unusual than her hair—nearly a purple violet but with a diamond starburst through the dark center.
“Ginger, do you think it’s okay to talk in a disrespectful manner to Nonny like that? Do you talk to anyone you love in that tone of voice?” Her voice was low and sultry. Enthralling. There was no hint of anger in it or in the energy she gave off. She gave the explanation patiently.
Oh my God, I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful. Who is she?Leila asked.
Pepper, Wyatt’s wife. She can’t be touched by anyone but Wyatt unless she’s pregnant. She recently gave birth to twins. An experiment was done on her, and she has some kind of biochemical that makes her very, very alluring.
Leila didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t want to know Diego might find another woman beguiling, even if she couldn’t help it and neither could he.
She is not my warrior woman. She doesn’t meet a single one of my needs. I don’t look at other women. For one, she belongs with Wyatt, andhe’s a good friend. I wouldn’t do that to a friend. Two, I am in love with the woman sitting right here. She’s all I can see.
Ginger raised her chin. Leila tried not to smile at the defiance written on the little girl’s face. She had a mop of dark wavy hair that fell in whorls and ringlets around her face.
How awful for Pepper that she has to worry all the time that someone will want her if she just touches them. That’s so isolating.His reassurance was very sincere. She felt his warmth surrounding her. That made her a little ashamed when the other woman had so much to contend with.
