Close To Danger (Westen #4)(61)

“Oh, sweetheart,” Bobby whispered back, her hands coming through his hair, then holding him close. “We both know you love us.”

He lifted his head enough to see her eyes in the dim light of the room. “I promise you, our child will never, ever doubt how much I love them. I will protect them and you with everything I have. I’ll protect you from dangers, both physical and any other kind.”

She smiled down at him, cupping her hands around his face. “I don’t doubt that for one minute, but…”

“But what?” Was something wrong? Did she truly believe he’d keep them safe? Was she wondering if some danger might prove too much for him?

“But, could you swear your fealty to me in the bed? Right now I’m in danger of frostbite. It’s damn freezing tonight,” she said with a mischievous grin.

Once more he scooped her up and laid her in the bed. He covered her first with the thick blankets and quilts, then with his own body after he quickly shed his own clothing. With both love and desire coursing through him for this woman who’d somehow fallen in love with him, he showed her just how important she was to him, bringing her to orgasm twice before finding his own release.

Gage rolled onto his back, pulling Bobby into his side so her face rested on his chest and covering them both with the blankets. This was one of his favorite parts of being married to Bobby. His first wife had sex like it was a duty and quickly fell asleep, giving him her back. But not Bobby. She always wanted to snuggle in his arms afterwards. Slowly, he rubbed his hand up and down her arm—waiting.

“Why do you and Daniel believe extra drive-by rounds by us at the halfway house would be necessary tonight?” she asked.

And there it was. Gage grinned in the dark. Bobby never just snuggled. She always had questions. That beautiful mind of hers never turned off after sex. No, in fact, sex seemed to stimulate it.

“Because we want to be sure no one shows up to try and remove Lexie from Melissa’s care.”

“You mean her mother, don’t you?”

“Her, or someone acting in her behalf.” A spark of anger shot through him as he contemplated the unthinkable.

“Like a lawyer?” Bobby asked, moving to rest her hand on his chest and her chin on her hand so she could stare up at him.

God, he hated having to tell her what he and Daniel feared—especially in their home, in the bed they shared. He didn’t want anything ugly to ever touch her here. But she was a deputy and in their line of work they had to deal with the horrible, ugly side of humanity.

“Gage?”

He inhaled and exhaled, slipping his hand up to smooth the hair from her face. “No, not a lawyer. Her drug dealer.”

“Her drug dealer? Why on earth would she send him after Lexie?”

“Because sometimes…” He paused and took another breath to steady the anger building inside. “Because sometimes when a parent can’t pay for their drugs, they sell their kids to their dealers.”

“They use their children as payment? Why?” she asked, quickly coming to the logical conclusion. “For sex-trafficking.”

The horror in her eyes fueled his own. The idea that a parent would use their child in such a way disgusted him, but it was reality. It was the world they worked in.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t post someone inside the Westen House around the clock?”

God love his wife. She wanted to protect the whole world. She was going to be a great mother.

“Given the weather, I doubt we really have to go to that extreme. Besides, with Wes out of town, we’re a little shorthanded.”

“If you’re sure.”

She settled against him, but he wasn’t fooled. Bobby was nowhere done with questions.

“Wes hasn’t been in contact with you since he left?” she asked after a moment.

“Not a word.”

“And you think he might’ve gone to Cincinnati to see Chloe, whom both Dylan and I haven’t had so much as a text from since before the blizzard hit?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think there’s a possibility they’re stranded somewhere together?” she asked, following it up with a yawn and slowly her breathing became soft and regular as she fell asleep.

“Yes.” He thought exactly that. Which didn’t really make him happy. The moment he married Bobby he’d inherited two little, if already grown, sisters. Anyone messed with them or hurt them, even someone he trusted as much as Wes, they’d answer to him—one way or another.



*



Sitting in his car across from Chloe’s condo, he watched the activity going on up on the second floor.

After spending the night at her place and most of the day, he’d gotten hungry. Besides, as the road crews worked on clearing the main highways he figured he was pushing his luck sticking around too long. He’d headed home, changed clothes, and meant to stay put.

But the urges wouldn’t let him.

He needed to see her come home. Needed to see the man she’d spent the night with. Needed to punish her for turning her back on him for another.

So, he’d climbed back in his car and headed back to the Mt. Adams area, picked up some tacos at the shop around the corner because it was the only thing open and the parking lot conveniently faced the front of her building. Just as he’d gotten comfortable a Jeep pulled up out front and for a minute he thought the whore had come back. Only, it wasn’t her. It looked like her—tall, thin, same facial features—only this woman had long blonde hair sticking out from beneath her hat. He’d seen the pictures on Chloe’s mantel in her bedroom. Two tall beauties book-ending a shorter version of them both. He knew she had two sisters. This must be one of them.