took a minute to realize that tears pooled in his eyes.
Derek pulled him into a hug. He buried his face in Derek’s chest and began to sob. “It’s okay, son. You’re safe now. No one will be able to hurt you again.
Chapter 8
* * *
The house was too quiet. Alessia sat alone in her living room, thinking about Christmas. Where on earth would she get the energy to handle a holiday? In the last week, the situation with Derek, no matter how she tried to overcome it, had drained her. Luckily, her family was big on non-material gifts, though an occasional one, for a new baby for instance, would be given. Last year, her brothers had gone in on two tickets to an upcoming rock concert for Pete, and for the twins, had built an ice-skating rink in the backyard last summer. Alessia had received a day at a luxury spa that opened up over in Camden Cove.
Mention of the spa gave her an idea: maybe she’d take a bath. That always made her feel better. She stood, grabbed her phone, crossed to the staircase and trudged up the steps. Sad, damn it. She was still so sad. But she had a ten-minute meditation she’d use while taking a bath to help erase her thoughts. She ran water in the soaking tub she’d splurged on, disrobed and stepped into heavenly warm water. The meditation did the trick and she even dozed some.
When the water chilled, she stepped out of the tub. She dried off, put jasmine-scented lotion on her body—a body that she had hoped to share with Derek—and grabbed the winter pajamas she’d left on the hook of the door. They were fuzzy and warm, perfect for a cold winter morning. She left the bathroom and walked into the bedroom.
And screamed.
A man stretched out on her bed. It took a few seconds to realize that man was Derek. He’d kicked off his shoes, laced his hands in the back of his neck, and was staring at her with that laser blue gaze.
“How’d you get into my house? W-what are you doing here?”
“I’ll answer any questions you have later. But you and I need to talk first.”
“Nothing good ever comes after somebody says that.”
“What I have to say has its pros and cons.” He patted the mattress on the far side of the bed. “Come sit here. I promise I won’t touch you.”
She sat cross legged and he pushed up so his back rested against the headboard. Strangely, he wore expensive looking jeans and a heather blue cashmere sweater. His face was lined with fatigue. And something else. “I’ll give you the pros first, then the cons. I’m in love with you. It’s been happening since I met you.”
She ignored the declaration. “Damn it, Derek, you promised me you’d leave me alone if your affair with Jane didn’t work out.”
“I didn’t have an affair with her. We only saw each other a couple of times, and I didn’t sleep with her.”
“I don’t care.”
“I think you do. But you have to know the downside of what I’ve done.”
She just stared at him, warring within herself whether to listen or ask him to leave.
“I’m not a student at City College. I’m an undercover agent for the FBI. A human trafficking ring to abduct dropouts was suspected. I was there to find out who the contact was at the school.”
Her jaw dropped. James Bond from last week’s movie flashed through her mind. “Are you serious?”
“I’m deadly serious. We rescued three college students in our raid. We lost one on her way to her buyer. The administrator in charge told us the whereabouts of the last one.”
“Let me guess—the administrator was Jane Carlin.”
“Yes. This isn’t all bad news, Alessia. We saved lives last week, but in order to do that, I had to lie to you.”
A deadly calm came over her. Her heart even beat slower. “If this was so important, why did you get close to me? Was I a suspect?”
He chuckled. “Never. You were…accidental. I wasn’t supposed to fall for you. I caught hell for going to the wedding, for spending Thanksgiving with you. But, sweetheart, honestly I couldn’t resist you.”
“I was accidental! You couldn’t resist me!” She slid off the mattress and came around to his side of the bed. “You tricked me into caring about you.”
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
“You deceived me into…” Her hand clapped over her mouth. “Are you even a widower? With two daughters?”
He swung his