Page 92 of Cavern of Silence

I chuckle. "A temple?"

"Mm-hmm. A shrine I should pay homage to."

"Now you're just teasing me."

She pecks me and jumps off my lap. "Let's go. You need ice. And anti-inflammatories."

"I already took some this morning."

"All right." Julieta takes my hand, and we go downstairs. I lay on the floor, and we create several ice packs and position them on my body. She lies in my arm, curled on the side I'm not icing.

I stroke her ass. "I missed you last night."

"Can I make a confession?"

"Go ahead."

"I hated not being with you and not because of what happened. I just didn't like it."

My heart swells. I didn't think I would ever feel close to anyone again, and hearing her admit she missed me, too, isn't something I expected, especially after my actions. I lean over and kiss her forehead. "Did you have any night terrors?"

"No."

"I worried all night I might have caused you to have them."

She tilts her head up. "You didn't."

"I was enjoying my night with you until I had to ruin it."

She traces her finger over my lips. "No more talking about the fight."

I stare into her gorgeous eyes I can't seem to get enough of. "I wish I could have a redo of last night."

"But you can't, so stop beating yourself up. It's over."

Silence.

She slides up and kisses me so deeply, I get aroused, but she pulls back and says, "Tell me what else is on your bucket list."

We talk about different places and activities I haven't done before but want to. And her face lights up with every new thing we discuss. She rotates the ice on my body as we talk, and I have no doubts I want to check off my bucket list with her.

It's something else I never thought was possible, even when Maureen was alive. She was constantly sick, so traveling and doing even the lightest physical activities often overwhelmed her system. I assumed I would accomplish these things alone. But now, I want Julieta by my side when I experience all this.

When the ice melts, we get up and go into the kitchen and continue our conversation. Vanessa and Hunter join us, and we are discussing his place in Australia when Andre's voice booms, "What on earth happened to your faces?"

"Nothing," Hunter and I say in unison.

"Doesn't look like nothing."

An uncomfortable silence fills the air. Naomi's eyes are wide. Andre crosses his arms, and his face is red with anger.

He isn't a fool. It's pretty clear Hunter and I almost killed each other. Andre has the same training we do. All day, my thoughts were on how to make things right between Julieta and me, and I never once thought about having to explain this to Andre.

He has every right to be pissed. We may have gone rogue from Interpol, but he's still our leader, and what I did is inexcusable. One thing you don't do is attack one of your brothers. But I also know Hunter isn't going to let me take the fall for last night alone.

Tinker cracks open a beer and saves us from having to explain what happened. "Have a drink." He hands it to Naomi, and surprise crosses his face.

He didn't think Naomi would drink beer, either.