Her Last Word(105)
“I remember Randy and Derek fighting at that last Fourth of July party. When Randy approached me, he was very frustrated, angry, and drunk. I wasn’t sure what set him off because he and Derek never fought. Something must have come up that day about Maria.” She shook her head. “I should never have been with Randy.”
He laid his hand on her shoulder. “But you walked away from him.”
“I did. But that set him on a collision course with Gina.” She shook off a jab of guilt and focused on what she’d done. “I’ve been digging into Marcus’s past. The deeper I go the more I realize how troubled he was.”
“Logan discovered that Marcus’s wife left him last year and took their son. When Logan interviewed Mrs. Marcus, she said her husband’s obsession with finding Gina finally drove her away.”
“And when he couldn’t find Gina, he shifted his focus to Jennifer, Erika, and me.”
“According to a journal found in his car, he said he could die in peace knowing Gina was waiting for him on the other side. He’d known all along that day that I would come after you and he’d kill us all in the fire.”
She still had nightmares about the explosion. Several times she’d awakened in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Most of those nights, Adler was with her, and he’d pulled her into his embrace until she stopped shaking. “It’s all heartbreaking.”
Adler traced her jaw with his finger and then kissed her. “It’s all out in the open now because of you.”
And that did give her comfort. “On the bright side, I did get a corporate sponsor, Shield Security. I won’t be getting rich, but it’s enough to cover my bills, promote the project, and buy time until the next project.”
He cocked his head. “The next project?”
She laughed as she snuggled close to him. When she was in his arms, the world simply felt right. “There’s always going to be a next project.”
He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes, and he kissed her on the lips. “As long as you keep me involved with your next endeavor.”
He’d been a rock for her, and she didn’t want to imagine him not being in her life. She kissed him back. “Endeavor? That’s such a professional word.” Her hand slid to his belt buckle. “Is that what we have?” She unfastened the buckle, already anxious to have him inside her. “A strictly professional relationship?”
He slid his hand down her spine and under the waistband of her pajama pants. He cupped her buttocks and pushed her pelvis toward him as she unfastened the belt. “No, not just professional. I love the personal, and you, far too much to settle for just that.”
She stilled. “You love me?”
He nodded, smiling. “I love you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “And I love you right back.”