He came, hips locked, pulsing deep.Then he collapsed, falling to the side so he didn’t crush her.
They lay there for several minutes before she lifted her head to look at him.
“Good,” she whispered.“You didn’t open your stitches.I don’t think I could sew you back up again.”
Sergei chuckled.
Several more seconds of silence ensued before she spoke again.
“This one,” she murmured, touching a leaf tattoo.“What’s it mean?”
“Protection,” he lied, then stopped.“No.Failure.”
She nodded, hand on his heart, unraveling him.
“They’ll come for us at some point,” he said against her hair.
“I know,” she said, resolute.“We’ll be ready.”
His arm tightened, her scent calming him.
Keisha’s breath slowed as she curled against him.The small bed forced them close, his arm heavy, fingers tracing her skin.He should feel trapped, but he didn’t.
“You’re thinking loud,” he murmured, rumbling against her ear.
She touched his jaw.“What now?”
“We face them head on.”
“They won’t stop,” she said.“After the files, the warehouse...”
“I know.”His arm tightened.“Neither will we.”
There was so much at risk.Deportation, death, her career, freedom, Tiana.He’d be lying if he didn’t admit the odds were stacked against them.The tip to the FBI had been a stall tactic.If Pavel covered his tracks like he normally did, they had a few weeks at most.
“We need proof,” she said.“Something the cops can’t bury.”
“I got contacts,” he said, facing her.“With your files, their intel, we might have enough.”
A tremor shook her hand, but not a seizure.His gaze caught it, then her face.“Meds working?”
“For now,” she said, nodding.
His hand laced hers, tremor quieting.He kissed her knuckles, throat tightening.“When this is over,” he said, “When Tiana’s safe what then?For you?”
She’d lived moment-to-moment since being in danger from discovering the Coastal files.
“Dunno,” she admitted.“Keep fighting the system.It’s me.”
“Alone?”
“I’ve never known another way,” she said.
“Sleep,” he said, tucking her hair.“You need it.”
She settled into his shoulder, legs tangled with his.Trust went both ways.He had to let her in if he wanted the same in return.
