Smitten (23 page)

Chapter Thirty

Hunter-

The tiny crack in between the hotel curtains gave enough light that I could silently observe the beauty of my pretty wife while she slept. Nothing could’ve prepared me for how I felt at waking and seeing her there. I’d never known real love until I met Cami. The rest of my life seemed somewhat hollow by comparison, and I knew I’d do anything for her.

Memories of her tangled in my arms flitted through my mind, causing my body to respond instantly to the enticement. I couldn’t allow myself to be greedy enough to wake her
, though, especially knowing how long into the night I’d kept her busy. There had been some time spent sleeping or comfortably dozing, but most of it was spent exploring and re-exploring one another.

The pre-paid phone started vibrating on the nightstand
, and I quickly answered it. “Just a minute,” I whispered. Carefully, I slipped from the bed, determined not to disturb Cami and let her rest as long as she could. “Sorry,” I apologized to Chris after closing the bathroom door. “Cami’s still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her. She’s worn out.”

“Is she okay
?” Chris asked, sounding concerned.

I chuckled. “Yeah, she’s fine. I, uh, kept her pretty busy last night is all.”

There was moment of silence. “This information surprises me, since I’m normally the guy you’re telling to butt out and mind his own business.”

I grinned. “True, but there’s something else you need to know. I neglected to mention it when we spoke earlier.”

“Really? What’s that?”

“Cami and I got married last night.”

I heard him choke. “You’re kidding me!”

“Not even a little.” I couldn’t stop grinning. It was nice to share the news with someone who’d be happy for us.

“You realize your parents and sister are going to kill you, right? Her parents too, most likely.”

“Probably, but before anyone goes all crazy on us, they need to hear the story of how it came about. It certainly wasn’t planned, and it definitely saved us from being caught.”

“So, regardless of how it happened, I’m assuming neither of you want to put an end to this arrangement?”

“None whatsoever. I’m never letting this girl go. I love her too much.”

“Well, in that case, I’m very happy for you, bro. Congratulations!”

“Thank you. What’s the news this morning? I’m
slightly anxious to get this bride of mine to a safer location.”

“I can help you with that. I’m here in Las Vegas now with a couple of other officers who are going to help escort you safely home. We’ve already booked your flights
, and we’ll pick you up from your hotel at ten this morning to go to the airport.”

“What’s happening with the case and Ripper? Any news there?”

“Vegas PD is working on their end to plug their leak, and Seth and Nick have already been caught. Apparently, Ripper didn’t inform them of what had taken place. The police apprehended them when they returned to the Venetian last night. The cars had already been dropped or moved. They’re no longer in the parking garage. According to the valet service, all the tags were turned in, and the vehicle reclaimed by their owners.”

“It sounds like they successfully made the switch then.”

“That’s what we’re thinking.”

“Which means Ripper got paid
, and he has Seth’s and Nick’s money as well.”

“Yes. We’ve had officers from Vegas
PD running through the security tapes, but we haven’t found any footage of him yet. We don’t know where he’s headed for sure, but we have officers staking out the Tucson location.”

I snorted. “There’s no way in hell he’s going to return there. He knows that’s the first place we’ll be looking for him.”

“We figured as much but decided to watch just in case. His car is still there. We thought perhaps he might return for it.”

“I doubt it. He can steal another one easily enough, and he should have plenty of money stashed away somewhere. He could easily
leave and start again anywhere. I’m thinking he’ll lay low for a while. Try targeting Roberta. She’s the one who tipped me off. If she’s with him, or knows where he is, I’m sure she’d tell us. After all, it was her involvement that led us to him in the first place. She wants to bring him down for killing Manny.”

“Has she tried to contact you again?” Chris asked.

“I have no idea. Cami and I turned our cell phones off immediately after she texted. I didn’t want anyone to trace us with the signal.”

“Maybe you should check your phone—try texting her
, and see if she answers.”

“I don’t want to do that while I’m here with Cami. If the mob is involved
, they could get to us easily. Once I know she’s safe, then I’ll check.”

“Time is of the essence, Dylan. The longer we wait, the better chance he has of getting away.”

“So come get us now, then. I want him arrested too, but I won’t risk Cami getting caught in the crossfire again.” I hated to put things off when I knew they needed answers, but I was adamant about keeping Cami protected. She was my wife now. My first duty would always be to her.

“How long do you need to get ready?” Chris asked.

“Give us an hour.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

“Fine, we’ll meet you in the lobby in an hour.”

Chris laughed. “Boy, you sure are stubborn this morning.”

“Give me a break. It’s my first morning with my wife. I’d like to wake her nicely instead of starting our marriage by dragging her off to a new hiding place.”

Chris sighed. “Take your cell phone to the lobby and ask for an envelope. Leave it for me at the front desk. I’ll be by to
get it in a few minutes. The guys and I will try to contact Roberta from a different location and see what we can find out. We’ll come get you when it’s time to go to the airport unless something new develops.”

I grinned. “Thanks, man.”

“You owe me big time,” Chris replied. “Now go drop off the phone and enjoy your wife.”

I quietly slipped out of the bathroom—pausing briefly to make sure Cami was still resting peacefully. She was so beautiful. Smiling, I carefully
grasped the bag with my clothes in it from yesterday, trying not to rustle it too much as I carried it back to the bathroom. I quickly dressed and grabbed the key card so I could go down to the lobby.

“Good morning. Can I help you?” the smiling receptionist spoke.

“Yes. Do you have an envelope that can hold this cell phone? My brother-in-law accidentally left it in my pocket yesterday. He’s coming here for it in a couple of minutes.”

“Sure. No problem.” She sifted through a drawer before handing me an envelope and a pen. “
Write his name on there for me. I’ll have him show his ID when he claims it.”

I smiled as I wrote his name down. “Ask to see his badge too.”

She looked puzzled. “His badge.”

“Yeah.” I grinned, as I tucked the phone inside. “He’s a cop.”

“Oh, I see. Is there a reason I need to see his badge?” she asked, still appearing confused.

“No. I just like to hassle him.” I winked at her and she laughed.

“Got it.”

“Thanks for your help.” I turned away and headed back toward my room.

“Anytime,” she called after me.

I quietly slipped back inside and quickly undressed again before sliding into bed beside Cami. She gave a little moan and rolled toward me, stretching out her arm and draping it
across my waist. She stiffened and opened her eyes, blinking rapidly.

“Hey gorgeous,” I whispered.

She gave a half smile and relaxed. “Mmm. So I wasn’t dreaming then. I was worried I’d wake up and find out this had all been some crazy thing my mind concocted.”

“Nope. It’s real.” I ran my
hand through her wild curls. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

“It’s better than okay,” she muttered with a yawn, cuddling even closer. “I love you.”

I’d never get tired of hearing her say those words. “I love you too.”

“Do you think we can stay in bed all day together?” She ran her hand lightly
over me, causing every nerve to snap to attention.

“As much as I would love that, Chris will be here at ten. He has tickets to fly us home.”

She poked her bottom lip out slightly in a pout. “Well, that stinks.”

“Tell you what—you let me get you somewhere safe, and I promise to spend a whole day in bed with you.”

She giggled. “Gee, I really had to twist your arm, didn’t I?”

I laughed and kissed her forehead. “But as for right now, we’re operating on limited time this morning. I’m sorry.”

“Well, then I guess we better hurry and get with it. Huh?” She smiled as she pushed herself up so she could reach my lips, draping herself across the top of me.

I couldn’t stop grinning. What a fantastic way to start the day.

Cami and I were ready and waiting in the lobby when the car carrying Chris and the two other plainclothe
s officers pulled up. They quickly hopped out and helped us get our wedding attire loaded into the trunk before we all climbed back in and headed toward the airport.

“Cami, this is Officer Vincent and Officer Johnson,” I introduced. “Officer Johnson was initially supposed to be the undercover guy on this case.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a nod toward her.

“I’m sorry to hear about your appendix. I hope you’re feeling better now,” she said politely.

“I’m doing much better, thank you.” He smiled in a friendly fashion at her.

“Cami is my wife,” I added springing the news on them.

Vincent and Johnson both laughed. “We already heard the news. Congratulations. I don’t think I’ve ever seen ole Napier that surprised before,” Johnson spoke up.

I eyed Chris. “Who else have you told?”

He raised his hands. “No one. I swear. They were in the room when I was talking to you this morning.”

“Well, don’t spread it around to anyone else. That’s the last thing I need is for our parents to hear it through the grapevine. It wouldn’t be pretty.”

“No it wouldn’t,” Chris agreed. “I’ve already been imagining the talking down your mom is going to give you. She won’t be very happy about missing the wedding.”

“We’ll have another one for all our family and friends,” Cami said. “It’s true, things didn’t go the way we planned, but we still want to be able to celebrate with everyone who’s close to us.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that,” Chris agreed smiling as he glanced at me.

“Any news with the phone?” I asked.

“Yes. You had a text from Roberta asking if you were okay. I responded as you and told her you were fine and in a safe place. I asked if she was okay and if she knew where Ripper was.”

“Did she reply?”

He nodded. “She said she was with him, driving back to Arizona in a rental car. Ripper apparently has some money stashed somewhere, which he needs to get so they can leave. She said she would text more later, when they stopped. I told her you would be flying back to Tucson today, so if there was a delay in the response, it was because you were in the air.”

“Sounds good. Is there any other news?”

“Not really, other than Seth and Nick both backed up Roberta’s story about how Ripper and Manny fought on the night Manny disappeared. They’ve also confessed to the car thefts and have agreed to testify against Ripper in exchange for a lighter sentence. They’ll be extradited back to Arizona and face charges there.”

“Perfect. Now if we can just catch Ripper
, we can put all of this behind us.”

“What will happen to Roberta?” Cami asked.

“She was given immunity in the beginning for coming forward voluntarily and agreeing to testify against her brother. She wants him put away as bad as we do,” Chris explained.

“I hope she’s okay while she’s with Ripper.”

I glanced over at her. “I was under the impression you didn’t care for her much.”

She shrugged. “I don’t really—but only because I was sure she was after you. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” I replied, trying to reassure her. “Ripper has no reason to suspect her.”

“I hope you’re right. It sounds like he’s a very bad person.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Hunter-

“Hi, Mom.” I smiled widely
and silently prayed for strength from above when she opened the door.

“What a surprise!” she exclaimed, stepping
aside to allow Chris, Cami, and me to enter. “I wasn’t expecting to see the three of you anytime soon. Does this mean your case is finally finished?” She stepped next to me and grabbed my face in her hands, turning it carefully from side to side. “What are these bruises and scratches from?” she demanded with a frown before turning to face Chris with her hands on her hips. “Have you dragged my boy into trouble again?”

Chris swallowed hard
, and I wondered if he realized he’d reached to loosen his tie or if it was a reflex from knowing my mom was about to hang him.

“Is dad here?” I asked, trying to deter her.

She glanced at me briefly before turning back to Chris. “He’s at the office. Now what’s going on?”

“Why don’t we go sit down first
, and I’ll explain everything,” Chris suggested. “Cami and Dylan are exhausted. They’ve been through a lot.”

She pursed her lips together and led us down the hall to the arch
ed entryway of the sitting room. She gestured to one of the large leather sofas and sat across from us. “What’s going on?” she said again. “How did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine, Mom, really. I was in a
minor car accident. That’s all. As you can see, I got a few scratches and bruises. Nothing to worry about.” I cast a sidelong look in Cami’s direction, and she rolled her eyes.

“Actually, Mrs. Wilcock, Dylan was in quite a terrible car accident. He was drag racing against the suspect in the case he’s working on
, and he rolled his vehicle several time at an extremely high rate of speed. It was quite terrifying,” Cami said calmly. “We wanted to call you, but the police department asked us to wait, in hopes of keeping the case from being compromised. Thankfully, Dylan was okay and only required a few stitches to a cut on his head. He was unconscious for a while, though.”

I groaned out loud, knowing we were in for it now.

“Thank you, Cami,” my mother said evenly. “You have no idea how refreshing it is to be spoken to like an adult. These two,” she gestured between Chris and me, “seem to think I’m a fragile flower incapable of handling any kind of bad news.”

My eyes widened in shock. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“And you!” She jabbed a finger in Chris’s direction. “You should’ve known better! You can still have the decency to pick up the phone and let us know what’s going on!”

“Would you really have sat here waiting for news?” I asked, trying to defend Chris.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re your parents. We have a right to know what’s going on, whether it’s serious or not.”

I sighed. “You’re right, Mom. I’m sorry we didn’t let you know.” There was no point in arguing with her. She always won.

“And shame on you for being reckless in a vehicle! You know how dangerous that is!”

“Mom! I’ve been trained to drive
at a high rate of speed. It’s not like I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I know what training you’ve had, and they’re called
defensive driving
courses for a reason. It means you aren’t supposed to go out and
actuar como un idiota
!”

I knew she was really angry when she reverted to using Spanish to tell me I was acting like an idiot. “You’re right. I should’ve let you know,” I repeated. “It won’t happen again. There’s more I need to tell you
, though.”

She let out a huff and looked at me pointedly. “What now
?”

“We’ve been infiltrating a car theft ring. The case led us to Las Vegas this weekend
, and we were really close to making a bust, but my cover was blown before the deal went down. Thankfully, my contact managed to tip me off, and Cami and I were able to run before they came for us.”

“Cami was with you?” She looked positively horrified.

I waved her off before she could continue. “Yes. It’s more of me being an
idiota
, but I’ll get to that later.” I took a breath and plunged ahead. “We were spotted before we could make a clean getaway and ended up running into a wedding chapel to hide while they searched for us. We put on some costumes they had for people who are into themed weddings. Anyway, the men searching for us were right outside the door, so we posed as a couple getting married before escaping in a limo that took us to safety.” I reached over and squeezed Cami’s hand.

Silence. Her expression didn’t change
, and I winced. This was even worse than when she was speaking Spanish. She took a deep breath and stood, walking toward the archway before turning around suddenly. “Are you trying to tell me you got
legally
married?”

I nodded. “That’s what I’m telling you.”

“In costumes—in some shady wedding chapel—in the middle of the unholiest place on earth?”

“Yep.”

She made a sign of the cross and rolled her eyes heavenward. “
Perdonarlo, Padre,
” she whispered before crossing the room with her arms outstretched. “Welcome, Cami darling, to the family!” Cami stood and my mother hugged her close. “You poor dear. I know I’ve taught my son better than to get married in some sham of a chapel. You should’ve been married in a big church and had your union blessed by a proper priest.” My mother glared down to where I was sitting.

I gave an exasperated laugh. “What? It’s not like I planned for this to happen. I hadn’t even properly asked her to marry me yet!”

“Well, then you better do it now. This girl deserves to have everything she’s dreamed about.”

She and Cami broke apart and Cami laughed. “It’s okay, Mrs. Wilcock. It might not have been the ideal situation, but I’m very happy about it
all the same.”

My mom smiled at Cami as if she was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen. “Aren’t you just precious.” She patted Cami on the cheek and hugged her again. She stared hard at me again. “I hope you gave her a decent honeymoon.”

I stood and pulled Cami into my arms. “Mom, it was the best I could do on short notice—a nice room at a five-star resort.”

“It was perfect,” Cami said, leaning her head against my chest. “The best night of my life.”

I kissed the top of her head, knowing she was blushing without even looking at her.

“What are your plans now then? Will you take her on a real honeymoon?”

I sighed. “That’s why we’re here, actually. The guy we’re trying to catch is back in the area. He knows where Cami lives, so it’s not safe for her to go there. I was hoping she could stay here in my room while we get things wrapped up. I need to know she’s somewhere protected.”

“Of course she can stay. I’m assuming you will as well?”

“It depends on how long this thing drags on, and when I’m needed. As of right now, we’re waiting to be contacted by our informant.” I glanced at my watch. “I honestly thought we would’ve heard something from her by now.”

“I hope she’s all right,” Cami added.

“Me too. Let’s go get you settled in. You need some sleep. You hardly got any last night.”

She blushed to her roots. “Yeah, well neither did you,” she responded brazenly.

I smiled. “I’m aware of that—trust me—I’m not complaining one bit.” I grabbed her by the hand and started walking toward the door.

“You might want to get
ahold of your parents too, Cami,” my mom called after us. “Feel free to use the house phone if you need.”

“Actually, we talked about that on the plane. We’re going to wait and tell them in person. It’ll be easier to explain,” I responded.

“I doubt it. You’re here right now, and I’m still not quite sure how it all happened.”

“I’ll give you the play by play later on,” I promised her.

“Dylan, what costumes were you wearing?”

I stopped dead in my tracks, a huge grin crossing my face. “Elvis and Pri
scilla.”

She raised her hands to the heavens, speaking Spanish so rapidly even I could hardly understand her. I started laughing as I led Cami out into the hall
, and I could hear Chris laughing too.

“I like your mom,” Cami said with a smile.

“She’s great, isn’t she?” I released her hand and hugged her against me. “I’m glad you like her.”

“It’s nice of her to let me
stay unannounced.”

“Are you kidding? You’re her daughter-in-law now. She’ll treat you
as if you were royalty or something. Family is everything to her.”

“It seems so strange to belong to your family. I guess I never really thought about how it would be once I got married.” She started laughing. “It’s a good thing my dad decided to like you
, or your life would be a mess.”

“Yeah. It took me getting shot and crawling on my knees to beg for forgiveness before he was willing to have anything to do with me.” I chuckled at the memory. “They aren’t going to hate me now, are they?”

She sighed. “I hope not. They’ve both known we were serious, but I don’t think they ever imagined me married at eighteen.”

“Well, they’re going to have to get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.”

She wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me tightly. “You better not!”

Arriving at
my room, I waited for her to go in before following after and closing the door. I made sure to lock it this time. Cami didn’t miss the sound, turning to glance at me.

“I thought you had to leave.”

I shook my head. “I’m to keep watch over you until I’m needed again. Those are my official orders. Chris will call me when he hears anything. Until then, there’s just a bunch of waiting around.”

“Hmmm. What to do?” She cast her gaze around the room. “I guess you can play your video games or watch television while you wait.
Keep it down—I’m going to take a nap.”

She nonchalantly headed for the bed.

“Oh, no you don’t.” I grabbed her arm and yanked her up against me. “Nice try, but there’s no way I’m letting you get away that easily.”

She stared at me innocently. “Did you want to do something else?”

I chuckled as I began backing her toward the bed. “You know very well what I want to do.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was trying to hide her smile—unsuccessfully.

“Really? Well, that
is
disturbing. I guess all the hard work and effort I put into your training last night will have to be repeated again.”

She snorted. “Sorry. It must not have been very memorable. Maybe you’re a bad teacher.” She bit her lip
, and I was sure she was trying to anticipate what I’d do next.

“Did you hit your head this morning?” I asked,
running my fingers through her hair as I prodded her scalp, continuing to inch her backward.

“No. Why?” Her nose wrinkled in confusion.

“I was wondering how you got amnesia, because there’s no way you forgot how great last night was.”

She started laughing. “Someone is a little full of themselves. I didn’t realize how cocky you were.”

I grinned. “Not cocky—confident. There’s a difference. I’d show you the difference, but I’m not sure you’d remember.”

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but that
’s when the back of her knees hit the bed.

“We’re here,” I said softly. “So what’s it going to be—bedtime or video game
s?”

She paused as if considering it. I released her and turned to walk away, but she grabbed a fistful of m
y shirt and pulled me back. “Bedtime—definitely.”

I wrapped my arms around her
, and lowered my face to hers. “So you do remember?”

She giggled. “Yeah, the haze suddenly cleared.”

I kissed her mouth gently. “Well, let me remind you again anyway.”