knew full well he was the topic of conversation.
“I could probably take him,” Dani said. Fawkes raised a single eyebrow at the statement. She reassessed him. “Okay, maybe not,” she conceded. “But, seeing as it's unlikely someone more skilled than me would attempt to attack me between here and the hotel, I think I should be okay on my own.”
“Hand to hand isn't the only way to ambush,” Ty pointed out.
“Last time I checked, SEALs weren't bullet proof either,” Dani snapped.
Ty took a deep breath, paused and then spoke. “Dani, please,” was all he said.
Dani bit her lip. The tone of Ty's voice was like a breeze clearing the fog and the clouds. They weren't talking about whether or not SEAL Fawkes would walk her home. They were talking about her letting Ty into her life—letting him care, letting him be a part of her.
She stood, knocking the chair back against the wall, and moved away from the watchful eyes of Fawkes and Roddy. She didn't harbor any doubts that moving ten feet away would make her conversation any more private. But she hoped, by turning her back on them, they would give her a measure of privacy.
“I'm sorry, Ty. This is all new to me,” she said. And it was. She had people in her life she'd let in, she'd let care, but she could count them on one hand and they were all related by blood or marriage. And in truth, Drew was the only one who she ever really let ‘take care’ of her. She hadn't been kidding when she'd told Ty that Drew was almost like a father figure to her. But what Ty wanted was different and they both knew it.
“I know, Ella,” he answered, using the name he'd whispered across her skin as they'd moved together in the dark of his bedroom.
He didn't push, he didn't demand or get angry. He didn't say another word as Dani stood staring out at the ocean. ‘I belong to you’ floated through her mind. How could he be so sure? Her breathing was shallow, her pulse erratic. It was her reaction to fear. Again. At least she knew what she was afraid of now—letting someone get close in a way she never had before. She'd turned and walked away from Ty the first time it had happened, just a few days ago in her hotel room. She could walk away again.
She swallowed. “Yeah, okay,” she said, almost to herself. But she knew Ty heard her when he let out a deep breath.
“I'll call you tomorrow?” he asked. He was giving her some space and time to absorb the decision she'd made.
“Yeah, sounds good,” she said, hanging up the phone.
“I find it a bit unusual meeting a DEA agent who thinks she can outshoot and out-spar a SEAL,” Fawkes commented when she returned to the table. His voice was light but his eyes were assessing her, as she had assessed him earlier. His insinuation—that she was more than a rank and file DEA agent—was accurate. There weren't many DEA agents who would tangle with a SEAL and think they could win.
She glanced his way and blinded him with a smile. “Honey, there's a lot that's unusual about me.” She gave him a wink and walked away, okay with the fact that he would follow.
Chapter 13
“SO, TELL ME AGAIN why we think this kid is the link between Eagle's Wing and a shitload of drugs?” Alicia Gordon asked from the passenger seat. Doubt laced her voice, but she never took her eyes from the high-powered glasses she had trained on Savendra's house several blocks away.
“I could but since we've gone over this six times already, I think I'll pass,” Dani said from her position behind the wheel.
“God, I'm being annoying aren't I?” Alicia acknowledged.
“Believe me, it's nothing I haven't done or said at leastas many times to my team director. He won't listen. Well, that's not really true. He listens, I think he even agrees, but he can't really run the investigation on my intuition. And wouldn't we all look stupid if it turned out the kid fooled us.”
“At least you'll see some action tonight when he meets his friends,” Alicia offered.
“Yeah, we'll get to go to the bowling alley,” Dani said. All of Savendra's friends had jobs—like good little college graduates. Savendra was the odd one out, so if he wanted to play with his friends, he had to play on their schedules.
“Yeah, well at least it will