Complicate (Deliver 9)

Her father, Shannon, Mike—everyone she’d ever loved had been taken from her. Maybe it was safer to avoid all forms of love.

But after eight years of being alone, he knew it was far better to experience all the ups and downs with a partner, to fight together, and spark joy in each other. Loneliness was never a better option.

“Do it anyway,” he said.

Her fingers twitched against his chest, her voice a thready whisper. “Did you just order me to love you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Danni had said that love wasn’t a choice, and she was right. Love was a chance.

A chance worth taking.

She whimpered and cleared her throat. “It hurts, Cole.”

“Tell me what to do.” He pulled her tighter to his chest.

“This.” She melted against him, accepting his embrace. “Don’t let go.”

“Never.”

Not this time.

She fought the pull of sleep, but at last, her body won out and dragged her under.

Reluctantly, carefully, he slipped out of bed, stepped into the bathroom, and called Rylee. She listened as he updated her on everything that had happened since the moment he decided to walk into Lydia’s house.

When he finished, she blew a breath into the phone. “God, Cole. My heart is so happy and sad at the same time. I’m glad she has you right now.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“She needs you to watch over her and hold her hand while she grieves. Just keep doing that.” Her voice softened. “I look forward to finally meeting her.”

“This is almost over.”

“Matias selected the team for the heist you’re planning with the hacker. They’re on their way to you now. He’s bringing the best. Obviously, I’m not with them.”

“You’ll be on the next mission.”

“I know. Get back to your girl, and I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Night, Rylee.”

“Night, Cole.”

He made two more calls, touching base with Matias and Romero. If the gardai or Vincent Barrington’s men showed up here looking for him or Lydia, Romero would know. The kid was linked into the apartment’s security system, as well as multiple security cameras throughout the surrounding blocks.

With that comforting news, Cole returned to Lydia and grabbed some much-needed sleep.

The next morning, he was all business. From the moment they woke, stepped out of the apartment, caught a cab, boarded Matias’ private plane, and lifted off the tarmac, every thought in his head and measure he took focused on the safety of Lydia and the team.

It wasn’t until they were high in the air that he released a sigh of relief.

Lydia sat beside him in the front of the jet, staring out the small window as they ascended through the clouds. She hadn’t spoken much since she woke, and her limbs barely moved. Almost as if she were in a state of catatonia.

“Lydia.” He rested a hand on her denim-clad thigh.

She turned to him, the skin around her eyes red and puffy despite not having shed a single tear today. “Don’t ask me if I’m okay.”

“I won’t.”

“But you want to know how I’m doing.”

“For sure.”

“It changes by the second. I feel strong one moment and utterly paralyzed the next.” She rubbed her breastbone, wearing the weight of her heart in the shadows on her beautiful face. “I don’t want to cry, and I don’t want to pretend I’m fine. So I’m balancing on this plateau in emotional limbo.”

“It’s okay to cry,” he murmured.

“There’s a time and place.” She gripped his hand and squeezed. “I want to do that with you, when it’s just us. Which is weird because I’m not a crier. I was a ball of rage when my dad died, and I was a pillar of strength for Mike when Shannon died. But now, God, this is so much harder. It feels too heavy to carry. But I know I can. I will. Because of you.” She unbuckled her seat belt and twisted to face him fully, resting a hand on his whiskers. “You’ve seen me at my worst. As if all the things I did to you in Texas weren’t bad enough. Now you’ve seen me cry for ten hours straight.”

“If that’s your worst—”

“I puked all over your feet in the shower.”

“I was there.”

“Exactly,” she said quietly. “You were there. You’re still here.”

“I’m committed, Lydia.”

She said nothing and drew her gaze away, her smooth cheeks and pert freckled nose illuminated by the window light. Then she leaned toward him and rested her mouth against his shoulder, her hands curving around his ribs.

He encircled her slight body with one arm and pulled her onto his lap. “I want you to meet my friends.”

“They should want to kill me, not help me.”

“I told them your drone was a bluff. You already know who they are and what we do. They appreciate a good deception tactic.” He stroked along the length of her tumbled hair. “You’re exactly the kind of person they want fighting alongside them, not against them.”