“I hope Callie’s going to be okay.”
“Maybe you’ll get the chance to talk to her, see for yourself.”
Kate smiled. “I’d like that.” She yawned. “I’m really tired, Jase.”
“So am I, honey.” Lifting her back into his arms, he carried her down the hall to the room they’d been sharing and settled her on the bed. “You were really something tonight.” He leaned down and very softly kissed her. “You were amazing.”
Kate slid her arms around his neck. “So were you, big guy. Why don’t you take off your clothes and come to bed, and we’ll show each other just how amazing we really were.”
Jase laughed and started stripping off his clothes.
The sun was shining the next morning when the call came in from Mark Kingsley. According to the FBI agent, all three massage parlors in the Houston area were raided just before dawn. Dozens of arrests were made, guys ready to spill information.
Twenty-five members of Los Besos were rounded up, and the underage girls in the Garden of Eden were taken into protective custody.
“Wow, that’s great news,” Kate said as Jase relayed the call. “I feel like my sister is finally getting justice.”
“It’s a good feeling,” Jase said.
While Kate was in the shower, his phone rang again, Detective Tony Castillo with more good news.
“I guess you heard about the raid,” Castillo said.
“Sounds like it went down without a hitch,” Jase said.
“I’m not crazy about the feds getting involved, but in this case they didn’t have much choice. But that’s not the reason I called.”
“What’s going on?”
“After the truck stop debacle, I went to my lieutenant, Adam Gray. He’s a good guy and a good police officer. Lieutenant Gray doesn’t like dirty cops. When I told him what went down, he got Internal Affairs involved. Two police officers and a lieutenant from one of the precincts on the southwest side have been charged with aiding and abetting, taking bribes—you name it. Gray runs a tight ship and with these guys off the force, he plans to make sure it stays that way.”
“That’s good news, Tony,” Jase said. “I appreciate your help with this.”
“Not as much as we appreciate yours and Kate’s,” Castillo said. “Gray said to tell you HPD owes you.”
Jase smiled. “I’ll remember that.”
He had a lot to tell Kate, and she was as relieved to hear the news as he had been. The bad guys were in jail. They were safe. They could finally get their lives back.
They reassembled their cell phones and moved out of Reese’s condo, back into their own homes—though Jase still spent almost every night at Kate’s.
He had tried to convince himself to end things, but after everything that had happened, he was beginning to think maybe it could work out between them. Beginning to believe it would be all right if he stayed.
Kate wanted him there and he wanted to be there. What was wrong with that? He was happy in a way he had never been before. Coming home to a woman who cared about him filled him with a quiet joy, a feeling that all was right with the world.
Deep down, he knew he was being selfish. Kate deserved a helluva lot better than he could give her. She deserved a stable guy who wanted to settle down, give her kids and be a good dad.
But even as the thought occurred, he began to imagine that maybe he could be that guy. Maybe he could have a family of his own, something he had never dared consider.
He liked kids. Maybe it could work. The idea filled him with a fierce desire for the kind of life other people had. Why couldn’t he and Kate have that life together?
He was in the kitchen helping her make dinner, smiling and laughing, trying to keep his hands to himself, when her cell phone rang.
“Darn, I left my phone in the living room.” She reached for a towel to dry her hands.
“I’ll get it.” Jase started in that direction.
“It’s on the table in front of the window,” Kate called after him.
