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“Do you think she’ll be alright?”
“I don’t know. It isn’t looking good. Search and Rescue dogs are on the property, and they found another woman in a shallow grave in the wooded area just off the property. She was dead. They are bringing in the cadaver dogs for a more thorough search.”
“And his wife?”
“Wife? What wife, sweetheart?”
“I heard someone else rummaging around at the doorway, and he referred to a wife several times.”
“We will look into it. Anyone else?”
“No.”
Both fell silent, just existing in their closeness. It was a gratifying feeling to know you could take care of your woman, and she allowed it. Monroe loved how they fit together so well. He knew they did in other ways as well, but it would take time to prove to Mallory that the only place she needed to be was with him.
Carter and Garrett put their head in, accompanied byAgentGutierrez. Mallory tried to move out of Monroe’s arms, but he wasn’t about to let her go yet. She had stopped shivering, but she went back on high alert as the men entered the room. He offered a chin lift to the guys.
“Shh, baby. It’s alright. Carter and Garrett are two of the men on my team, and this man is Agent Gutierrez. We’ve already met.”
“We have, Mr. Merton, several years ago. Ms. Sasse, please call me Arturo. I wanted to make sure these men were okay to come in. Will that be acceptable to you?”
He waited for her response, and when Mallory hesitated, he eyed the men.
Mallory nodded. “I’m sure they are here because Monroe requested them so, I’m okay with them staying.”
Arturo nodded before addressing Monroe. “I’ve talked to your boss, and he seems to think his team is the better option to protect Ms. Sasse until we are positive there were no accomplices. We’re all out looking for the missing women and, therefore, understaffed. Unless Ms. Sasse disagrees, we have ok’d it.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Garrett.
Carter and Monroe replied in unison. “It’s not, but it will be.”
Carter, without showing a crack in his serious armor, said, “See what happens when you work with the same people for too long in a day. You turn into one melded mind.”
Garrett said casually, “I hear they’re working on a vaccine to cure that.”
Monroe watched Mallory as she glared at the two men, and then Monroe, who couldn’t keep his face blank for long, winked at her. The room, even the agent, cracked a brief smile. Monroe laughed out loud with Mallory.
Mallory said, “God, that felt so good. I need more of that. It seems so long… a lifetime ago.”
Monroe sobered, as did the others. His team didn’t know the entire story yet, but they could appreciate how horror and fear messed with the mind. They’d each been through it and understood the time it would take Mallory to find a new normal. Monroe intended on being there through it all if she let him. Mallory had crawled under his skin, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Ms. Sasse, is this alright with you? One or two of the Reynaud and Associates Security team will be with you 24/7 until we figure out what is happening, and you are no longer in danger. They assure us they have several safe houses and can keep you secured and protected.”
Mallory assessed Monroe for a moment, really looking at him, and Monroe held his breath. He didn’t want to influence her answer. Even though he wanted to step in and take over all decisions associated with her safety, he knew he couldn’t. Mallory had to make this choice. She took a deep breath, nodded, and exhaled.
“I believe that is a wise choice, ma’am,” said Agent Gutierrez.
Her inner strength came out in her next question. “Agreed. But I have a question.”
The agent looked at her warily. “Okay.”
“How will I know I’m safe to resume my life?” Monroe was proud of her question. It meant she intended to take part in her protection.
Gutierrez glanced around and said, “They will know, but practically? When we have the perpetrator in custody, have any accomplices he may have had, and cleared the family. Then you may be confident that you are safe.”
“Do you have a timeline?” she asked.
Gutierrez looked at Monroe, who gave a very slight nod of acknowledgment. “Baby, we don’t know that for sure, but we’ll try to find a new normal as soon as possible.”