she saw Lacey, relief flashed on her face. “Finally.”
Lacey stepped forward.
The bellman slipped away.
“Lacey.”
She looked over her shoulder at Dex’s deep voice.
“You stay safe, my love. Remember that you matter to me more than anything else. If you get so much as a bruise on you, I will be very, very pissed off.”
Lacey licked her lips. Tasted him. “And you stay safe. You matter more than I ever imagined.” So much that it scared her. “If you get so much as a bruise on you, not only will I be very pissed off, but I will kick the ass of the person who bruised you.”
His white teeth flashed. “How could I not love you?”
Her body trembled. She’d always known that Dex was a dangerous man. She just hadn’t always known…
How much I’d care about him.
Elizabeth grabbed her. “This is great and all, but the man I love is missing! Come on, Lacey! Come on!”
***
She hadn’t said she loved him. Dex hadn’t expected a confession from Lacey. One would have been nice, certainly, but he knew he still had to build more trust with her.
When it came to Lacey, he wanted no secrets. He wanted to let down the wall, as she’d said, and let her in. No one else had ever been as close to him as Lacey. When he thought of his life without her, a brutal cold seemed to sweep around him.
Because she brings warmth. Life. All of the things that he’d told her he fought for at the CIA? The kids on the soccer field? The teens going to prom and the proud grandmothers? All of that had been true. But…
He also fought for people like Lacey. People who lit up the world simply by being in it.
She’d certainly lit up his life.
He watched as she made her way to the elevator with Elizabeth. One of his undercover operatives was nearby. A man who’d earned Dex’s respect with his skills and intelligence. Dex approached Cornell Tait and quietly ordered, “Go up on that elevator with Lacey. Show her your ID. Tell her that I want you near her and Elizabeth at all times. Stay with them until I personally come and relieve you of duty. I cannot stress how important it is for you to be with Lacey every moment.”
Cornell nodded and immediately headed for the elevator. “Hold the ride!”
Lacey threw out her hand to stop the door. Her gaze darted from Cornell to Dex.
Dex gave a slow nod.
Cornell entered the elevator, and when the doors closed, Dex drew in a deep breath. Time to confront Roman. He’d let the guy stew long enough. Lacey had been right—as she was often proving to be—he could tell when the other man tried to bullshit him.
He called some of his agents. Got them to begin searching the area for Jonathan Radcliff. Dex made his way down to the holding area. The elevator ride was brief, and when the doors opened—
Antony was standing right there. “Lacey was right.” He gripped a laptop in his hands. Not the same laptop he’d held before. This one was a dark silver. Probably the fellow’s own machine which meant it would be decked out to the extreme.
“What is she right about this time?” Dex nodded as he passed two other agents and marched to holding. He’d have to close this CIA location as soon as the case ended. Definitely compromised. Pity. The lodge had been convenient, and he’d enjoyed the whole underground lair aspect of the facility.
“There are spaces that don’t make sense in this lodge. I pulled up some architectural plans, and when I look at them and compare them to the rooms and floors that I’ve actually walked in myself, the dimensions are off. Probably not enough to be noticed by the average person, but you know, I don’t always think like—”
“I know your mind often goes off on its own, fun, interesting tangents,” Dex allowed carefully. He paused in front of the holding room door. “I’m in a bit of a hurry here, so could you get to the point?”
“The dimensions are wrong on the plans. They don’t match up. That means there is space in some areas—like on the Whisper Floor—for there to be tunnels. Small passageways.” His eyebrows wiggled. “Secret passages, do you get what I’m saying?”
“Jinkies,” Dex replied.
Antony pushed up his glasses. “Is that supposed to be funny right now? Because I knew I made a mistake when I told you about Velma.”
“I was always a Daphne fan