Chapter 26

Damien

It’s been a week since I called to check in with King. The last we spoke, we were still waiting on the FBI to get their shit together and close the case.

King is the person I talked to about everything related to this case and my new wife. He’s known about my attration to her and the fight I’ve been raging to keep myself from acting on it. He’s championed me to explore my feelings with Penny so often, I have no problem telling him where things lie with her.

He picks up the line on the second ring.

“Diz, so good of you to finally check in.” He sounds annoyed, and I know I’m going to get shit for not calling sooner.

“Hey, King, just calling to check in.”

“You were supposed to do that two days ago. You okay?”

“Just peachy.” I smile thinking about the way I pushed Penny’s body this morning. I lost count of how many times she came for me. “Any news?”

“I just hung up with McNamara, actually. They’re still trying to identify a couple of bodies.” He sounds as irritated as I feel.

“Fuck, man, I was hoping this shit would be wrapped already.” I’ve given up nearly a year of my life to this investigation, and to say I’m at my limit with it is putting it mildly. Not to mention the way things have progressed between Penny and me the last few days. I’m ready to get home and settle down.

“Everything okay out there? Do you want me to find a safehouse closer to home while shit gets worked out?”

“It’s good, but I want to take her home.”

“She decide to go home to her family after all?”

“My home, to meet my family.”

“Shit,” he chuckles across the line. “Is that why you didn’t check in?”

“Just leave it,” I retort. It’s none of his business what is or isn’t happening between Penny and me. I don’t get involved in his shit.

“Diz, man, don’t think that’s a good idea. You know why we suggested a safehouse when you started this case and you agreed to lay low until it was all over.” He’s not being an ass on purpose, and he’s right. I agreed to lay low, but I agreed to a lot of things, none of which included her. Now, things are different.

“No, King, I’m gonna go home, and I’m taking her with me.” I pause, waiting for him to argue with me, but he doesn’t, so I level with him. “It isn’t just her. This entire investigation has had me thinking about my sisters and my nieces. I’ve been running too long. It’s time to go home.”

“Yeah?”

“Besides, I think they’ll like her.”

“Something tells me they’ll love her, but how they gonna handle knowing you married her for the reasons you did? Are you sure bringing her to meet the family is a good idea right now?”

“They don’t need to know the details, but I know my family. They won’t hold the reasons against her.”

“They’re gonna wanna know why things are ending when they do.”

“Things aren’t gonna end.”

“Diz...” he starts, but I stop him. King has always had a level head when it comes to the team. He’s always been able to notice shit we’re too close to see, but this time, I know what I’m getting myself into.

“I married her with every intention of letting her go, King. I wanted to do the right thing by her, but things have changed. I’m not letting her go.”

“She know that?” he asks, surprising me. I expected him to argue.

“She will,” I inform him. And she will, if she hasn’t figured it out already.

“You love her.” It’s a simple statement, but it’s a topic I’m not comfortable with yet.

“I don’t know about love, but I know she’s mine.”

“Good,” he says, and maybe it’s because he’s finally found happiness himself, but he gets what’s happening without too much information. “You want me to have Annabelle book you a flight home?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. But I need a favor from you.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Don’t tell them I’m coming.”

“Tell who?”

“My sisters. I know you talk to them. That’s why they don’t bother me like they used to.”

“Dizzy… l—”

“It’s fine. If I had a problem with it, I would have said something years ago. But I get it. It’s what you do.”

“What do I do?”

“You care.”

“Fuck off,” he laughs into the phone, and I smile. “Alaska’s making you soft. Maybe you should come home.”

“Nah, I’m breathing for the first time in a long time, and it feels good.”

“I’m glad to hear it, man. I’ll have Annabelle email the flight information. What day you want to get there?”

“Christmas Eve.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“You’re a miracle worker, Kingston. Make it happen.”

I hang up the phone and look back to the little cabin that’s been our home since we arrived in the wild state of Alaska. While I’m glad to finally be going home, to both homes, I’m going to miss it just being the two of us.

Thankfully, the cabin is company property, which will make it easy to bring her back here one day.

Maybe a spontaneous trip for our anniversary.