“It connects to my father,” she supplies.
“Yes, and while we’re not going to go after him, you know that I need to clear the air and get right in my mind on some things.”
“He convinced you to join Tag, and leave me, and you need to understand why.”
I’m not surprised that she understands. She knows me. I’ve given her way too little credit for that fact in the past, but I’m not doing that now or ever again. “Yes, and I need to ensure that there are no more surprises coming out of the ground to bite us. I don’t know if he’ll talk freely with you, the daughter he wants to respect and love him, present.”
“Okay. I need to catch up on my work anyway. You go. I’ll get comfortable in my new home.”
“That’s it? Okay?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
I catch her hand and pull her between me and the island. “Do you know how crazy I am about you?”
“You washed my mug,” she smiles. “I believe you.” She kisses me. “Go. Get back. I want to sketch something to show you.” She ducks under my arm, grabs her coffee and sashays her sweet little ass up the stairs.
I’m hot, check.
I’m hard, check.
I’m in love, check.
***
I arrive at the loft apartment where the general is staying at noon. One of our guys, Jeddie, with him. I get rid of Jeddie. He has big ears, literally and otherwise. This is not a talk to be had with ears that aren’t mine. The general is standing on the balcony with his back to me, arms on the railing. He’s dressed in fatigues, which considering how long he’s been in the army, may or may not, speak of his commitment to his duty. He doesn’t turn but there’s a slight stiffening of his spine, and a shift in the air. He knows I’m here. I join him, claiming a spot next to him.
“Why?” I ask.
He rotates to face me and I him. He doesn’t ask for an explanation. “I trusted you.”
“You knew I couldn’t go back to her.”
“But you did, now didn’t you? You were fucked in the head back then by your father. You weren’t ready to be the man you needed to be for her until now.”
“And you think making me a killer was the way to do that?”
“I didn’t make you a killer. I made you see you, not him.”
“Why did Gabriel want you dead?”
“Because after he started dating my daughter, I was handed proof that he was ordering missions under my name. We shared the initials GM. Gabriel Manning and General Marks. He ordered cold-blooded assassinations through Tag’s operation, on US soil for personal gain. I was going to take him down and get him the fuck away from my daughter.”
“Why the hell didn’t you call me?”
“You ran some of those missions.”
“Because I respected you and thought they came from you.”
“I didn’t know where you ended up in the ethics of it all.”
“You should have known.”
“You’re right. I should have known. Clearly, you love my daughter. And I know I’m alive because of you.”
“Your daughter is why you’re alive. And the men who risked their lives to save you, they are the reason you’re alive. Did you order a hit on a US admiral right after your wife was killed?”
He turns away and faces the railing again. “Yes.”
I lean on the railing. “Why?”
He glances over at me, and in this moment, he looks older than I remember. The lines splattered around his eyes deeper, his dark hair more salt and pepper than pepper. “He had her killed.” There’s torment in his green eyes, in his deep voice.
“Why?”
“I ran a mission that destroyed a large investment for him. It was all about money. I don’t regret killing him.”
Nor would I, I think, but I don’t say that. I’m not allowing my opinion to be inserted into a conversation he has to have with his daughter.
“Are you going to tell Candace?”
“She figured it out,” I say. “She’s smart like that.”
“And?” he prods.
“And I’ll leave that to you and her to discuss. I’ve cleared every obstacle I know exists. Tag is dead. Gabriel is dead. Ted Pocher will ignore you. Is there any other pissy little devil in the darkness that might bite us all in the ass?”
“No. No one.”
“Then what are your plans. You’re free. You don’t need a guard or protection.”
“I’m going to go home, sign my retirement papers and then go it Italy and visit a woman I met there last year. See if maybe I can start a new life. But not until I see Candace.”
“You know her number.” I push off the railing and leave.
A few minutes later, I step onto the street and walk toward my next destination: Tiffany & Co., where I’m going to buy Candace a ring. It’s time to ask her to marry me.