The sun was still high for late afternoon and it promised to be a nice evening, perfect for a backyard BBQ. Then again as long as I get to be with her it wouldn’t matter if there was ten feet of snow on the ground.
I ran my hand over her hair thinking how great it was to be here with her like this. She’d lost some of that look from her face and the knots in my gut were starting to untangle themselves.
She has no way of knowing it, but I’m working really hard on making it so that she can come away with me at the end of summer. I can’t tell her what I’m doing either, so she’s probably going to wear that look a few times in the next couple of months.
According to Mancini there’s an outfit somewhere not far from here that’s part of a trafficking ring. It’s not like all of these people know each other, but somehow it seems that there’s one organization pulling the strings of the others.
Catalina’s information had opened the door to that realization, maybe I should be talking to her. But I know Mr. Lyon wouldn’t appreciate that. He was barely able to contain himself thus far and I can’t say that I blame him. She’s eight years old. And even though her brain doesn’t work like the rest of us, she’s still a kid.
Caitlin purred like a kitten and rubbed her cheek over the hard muscles of my stomach before sitting up and smiling down at me. I didn’t say anything as she leaned down and to put her lips on mine. I love that our kisses are still sweet and innocent though they pack a lot of heat.
Neither of us have had much practice kissing, we have a lot to make up for. I can’t wait, just as soon as I remove the threat from her. Now I just held her head in place and deepened the kiss, putting all my need for her in that one kiss so she’d have no doubt about my feelings for her.
I was tempted, sorely tempted to leave my mark on her lip, but I thought better of it. Instead I jackknifed into a sitting position and laid her back across my arm. Holding her eyes with mine I slightly lifted the bottom of her shirt before lowering my head to mark her tummy.
Sexual heat enveloped me as I felt her tummy quiver under my teeth and tongue. And the way she held my head against her as she pushed her flesh harder against my mouth only had visions of the two of us finally locked together playing through my head.
I released her flesh and pulled her shirt back into place before hugging her hard enough to make her squeal. “I love you Caitlin, and we’re going to get to do all the things you’ve ever dreamed of together. Just hold onto that and nothing else matters.”
She lifted her lips for another kiss, which I was only too happy to give before it was time for us to get back to the house. The picnic had served two purposes for me, I wanted to see, after everything Mancini had told me today, if anyone was going to follow us. I know her dad’s men were somewhere around here because we’d decided that until she was safe they’d stay put. I’m not willing to take chances with her life not even for some alone time with her.
She was much more talkative on the way back and seemed to be looking forward to the evening. It would be our first BBQ as a couple, the first time I’d be allowed to treat her as my girlfriend in a public setting and in her parents’ backyard no less.
Lyon
The BBQ was in full swing and my place looked like a street fair. Now Kat’s BBQs don’t stay in the backyard, people spread out all over the place, the kids are running wild back here, and the women hang out in the house mostly.
I had two of the trips strapped onto me while Cady was with her new best friend Todd. The women had pretty much left the babies with their dads and Drake, Cy and the pothead were manning the grills.
This worked out perfectly since we still had shit to discuss. Having everyone here was a big help, even Mallory had shown up with his wife and kids, which is nothing new. Still, I’m always surprised when Kat and I get him to show up for one of these things, the guy’s such a lone wolf.
“Pop’s looking into it, I’m thinking we should have something soon since he knows every damn thing.” We’d just given him a rundown of everything we had so far. I guess I can see how he and Mancini are related, they both have that same smooth shit going on, like nothing gets a rise out of them. With everything else that was going on I’d all but forgotten the run he’d made for me not more than a week ago.