“Have you told anyone?”
Malin shook her head.
“Then it’s about damn time you got it off your chest.”
* * *
She told him everything, right down to the pink panties and the fact that only thirty minutes before the woman called, Dutch had given her the best orgasm of her life.
“And just like that,” she snapped her fingers, “he was gone. Didn’t even wait to walk me out to my car.”
Onyx shook his head. It wasn’t the first time he did in the course of her story.
“That explains why you asked if he planned to kill you.”
“It does?”
“What Dutch did to you was about the worst thing you could ever imagine, wasn’t it?”
She nodded.
“So you said the worst thing you could imagine.”
“It might be an oversimplification, but I guess so.”
“Now, I’ve got a story to tell you.”
5
Dutch had never, not once, walked away from a mission. Maybe the reason he did today was because, to him, that wasn’t what it was. He was saving Malin’s life. That wasn’t a mission. Something in his gut told him whatever she was caught up in, was that serious.
He cared very deeply for Malin. She was a woman he might have fallen in love with if he believed in that sort of thing. At least for him. At one time he thought he’d loved Alegria, but now that he knew better, he doubted he’d ever be capable of feeling the emotion.
A few hours ago, he told himself that if he had to do it over again, he wouldn’t do anything differently that night, but he would’ve. If he could go back in time, he would take Malin with him when Alegria called, drunk, begging him to come to her. Instead of him choosing her over Malin, the two of them would’ve brought Alegria back to his house, let her sleep it off, and then helped her figure out her shit with Mantis once and for all.
One thing he was certain of, if he could have a do-over, he wouldn’t have had sex with Alegria, not even once. The other thing he’d do would be to pull his head out of his ass and realize how amazing Malin was before it was too late.
“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” said the last voice Dutch expected to hear.
“What are you doing here, Doc?”
“I got a call from Onyx.”
“That bastard.”
“Now, now. He must’ve had a good reason since he asked me to fly down here.”
Dutch lowered his head. “God, Doc. I’m so sorry. I just needed to get out of there for a little while.”
“What happened?”
Dutch shook his head and downed the shot the bartender set in front of him. “Where’d you fly in from?”
“Reagan.”
“I thought you would’ve gone home by now.”
“I was headed there.”