"I've been ready for awhile now. Anita's blowing up my phone. Once she realized you left the compound, she went apeshit. I had to talk her off the ledge from coming here to drag your ass back."
"And here I thought she didn't like me all that much."
Sloane snorted. "She'll never admit her feelings are involved. It's just not the kind of woman she is. But if you're okay with that and can accept her for who she is, then I think the two of you have a future together."
Oh, I would accept it. I would take Anita any way I could get her because I knew damn well she cared. She was just emotionally stunted, and that was one of the many things I loved about her.
I might never hear her say she loved me, but in my heart, I knew it was true. And that was all that mattered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ANITA
One Month Later
Supposedly life was forever changing, and it was either adapt or be left behind. A month ago, I would've said fuck adapting. I didn't give a shit if I got left behind. But that was before Beckett and Krista came into my life. They taught me there was nothing wrong with adapting, and most of the time, I accepted it without complaint.
Today wasn't one of those days.
"I'm not sure why you're calling me again, Beckett. I told you I'm fine, and I'll be home tomorrow." I did my best not to snap at the man who started to thaw my cold heart. It was days like today that I regretted letting him in.
Okay, that wasn't the truth. I liked having him in my life, but I was used to going on an assignment without someone worrying about me. Now I had two people who cared enough to call and make sure I made it home safe.
"Maybe I just want to hear your voice. Did you ever think about that?"
"You heard my voice two hours ago. It didn't change in that time other than to get more annoyed."
"Krista and I just miss you. We've gotten used to everyone being around. It's a little quiet here without you guys."
This was the first assignment my team and I took since rescuing Krista. It wasn't that we didn't have the opportunity to take others before this; we just wanted time to get used to our new normal. It was no longer just the four of us living on the compound. There was now six, and the small living quarters we were used to suddenly felt a little cramped.
"Have you heard from the contractors?" I needed to change the subject before things got a little too mushy for my liking. Beckett had no problem showing me how much he cared about me, but I always put a stop to it when I felt he was going to say something deep like he loved me. I didn't know if I would ever be comfortable enough with that level of heart-to-heart.
"I did. They will be delivering the houses next week and assure me it won't take them long to finish everything up. I know you're anxious about them being on the property, so I will be monitoring them every step of the way."
The six of us sat down not long after Beckett informed us he was moving in with me.
Yes, I literally mean he told me he was moving in with me. There was no asking. No discussion. One day, he decided to bring what he wanted and told me in no uncertain terms I was stuck with him for life. It was then we decided that Krista and Beckett weren't going anywhere. They deserved better than living quarters meant for one person. Krista especially deserved her own room. And we figured if someone was going to come onto the property to deliver modular homes, then we might aswell do one for everyone so we didn't have to bring people back in the future.
Sloane and Nyx weren't convinced they would move into theirs, but they would be there just in case. Forward thinking and all that nonsense. Hawk was the one to convince them, and it was Hawk who assured us we could trust the contractors.
We still didn't know how Hawk knew Krista. No matter how many times we asked, they refused to answer, so we stopped asking. For now anyway. One day, we would get our answer, but in the meantime, Krista was happy and thriving. She was enrolled in cyber school and, according to her teachers, the model student.
I didn't know the first thing about parenting, so I left that part up to Lilith. It turned out she had a knack for the thing.
"Have you heard anything more on Deputy Dickhead?"
Yes, I still called him that. After seeing every shitty thing Alexander had on him, Beckett should be happy I didn't murder the son of a bitch. The only thing that stopped me was Beckett telling me it would be better for him to suffer in prison. I didn't agree. I saw firsthand how criminals slipped through the cracks and got away with things. I would do things Beckett's way for now, but one sign the deputy was getting off and I was ending his life.
"He's been let go from the FBI. Charges are pending. I'm keeping an eye on things to make sure he gets what he deserves."
"You wouldn't have to do that if you left me handle it."
"I promise you can if things go south."
Compromise. Supposedly that's what relationships were. So far, I wasn't a fan, but according to Nyx, they were necessary.
Speaking of my teammate, she was signaling that our target was close.
