Impossible Odds: Rescue Team Nine

Chapter 8

Dice

I hadn't meant for my words to come out so forcefully, but what the hell does she expect to happen when she lets a rabbit like that out of the bag. I have to give it to her. She doesn't flinch. Not even once. Her blue-eyed gaze remains on me instead which causes the rhythm of my heart to pick up. I study her. She's dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a red sweater that hugs her slim waist. She's lost a few pounds since I last saw her. Her blonde hair is down; its wavy golden strands cause the pink of her lips and the blue of her eyes to stand out. She's beautiful, but underneath that beauty I see the deep shadows under her eyes, the fear in their depths. There's one other part of her I see, her stubbornness. The way she holds her body up, the way she faces me with a fearlessness that causes me to love her more. And I do love her.

All of that doesn't cancel out the anger pulsing through my veins. It wants to push out and explode, throw something, but I've been primed to face drama with a cool front since I was a kid. Being the unwanted child of a politician taught me early. It's all about appearances. When I look down at the picture again, it finally hits me. I have a little girl, a daughter. And Cloey was nice enough to give her my last name. As I continue to stare at the image, pride fills me to the core. My heart feels the impact like a bomb going off. There's no denying the similarities. My gene pool shows on every part of her body.

"I should have told you," Cloey whispers.

"What was that?"

The cold way my voice sounds registers in my brain, but I ignore it. I heard her, but the anger inside me wants to hear it again.

"I should have told you."

"Why didn't you?"

She sighs. "I don't have an answer for you, Dice. I don't. Selfishness maybe? Or maybe it was because you were adamant about never having a family. Remember that conversation?"

She pounds her head like she's dredging up information. "I'm pretty sure your exact words were that kids weren't for men like you and that kids would slow you down. I don't want that for Felicity. I don't want her to have a father that's only there part time because he's too busy being carefree and wild."

My jaw tightens and it takes everything I have not to lose my cool. "Don't you think I deserved the chance to try? A hell of a lot has happened that has changed me in more ways than you will ever know, Cloey. But you never bothered to give me a chance. Hell, my name's based off chances."

There it is. The tear running down her cheek lets me know it's deeper than that. The tremble in her chin shakes me to my core.

"She's the only family I have outside of Ayasha and Ola that I trust. Outside of them, you're the only one I trusted with my heart, Dice, and where did that get me? Yes, I was selfish. I'll have to face the consequences for that. I want you to be a part of her life, but I need you to help me keep her safe. Please, they can kill me but don't let them touch our daughter."

Closing the space between us, I take her in my arms. When she doesn't push away immediately, I take that as invitation and take her lips with mine. I don't care that I'm angry. I haven't cared about anything since I found out there was a target on her head. My goal was to touch her and to feel the fact that she's alive. I need that validation. Maybe she's feeling the same way. If the way she's clutching my arm is any indication, she does. The desperation and longing I'm feeling makes this kiss feel deeper than any kiss we've ever shared. 

When I finally pull back, I take a step back and swallow.

"I'm calling in the team. I won't let anything happen to our daughter, Cloey." I choke on the last word. "And I sure as hell won't let anything happen to you either. We've both made some shitty mistakes. And when this is all over with, I'm pretty sure we need to have a talk."