Page 132 of Protected By Duval
“Mama will stay,” McCrae assured the little girl. “When I come back, I’ll…botherher.”
He might have used innocuous words, but the meaning in his eyes and the mischievous tone of voice made his meaning clear.
“I’ll be here,” she told him, “looking forward to that.”
And she meant it.
* * *
DUVAL
Noelle was barely asleep when the morning sunlight fell over her back.
Duval traced his fingertips down her back, ending at the edge of the sheet that she’d pulled up before she’d fallen asleep.
It was a crazy day and thanks to West, they had a day off.
It would give them time to talk and figure out where they would go from here, but this?
In bed beside the woman he loved, her child in the next room, sleeping soundly.
He never imagined that he’d be here. Loving and loved.
He meant what he’d told her earlier.
He’d kill for her. He’d put himself between her and danger. He’d do everything to protect her and their family.
He chuckled and Noelle shifted in the bed beside him.
Duval peeled back the sheet and slipped under it to hold Noelle in his arms and he smiled.
Who would have thought, McCrae King, family man?
Now, he’d do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
Anything.
And everything.
EPILOGUE
NOELLE
The day she met Aracely's family, she hadn't been ready for it.
It wasn't something she planned.
The S.W.A.T. team got together and surprised her at Hemisfair near the Riverwalk. When McCrae had gotten them all up and dressed, there had been a sense of urgency unlike most mornings when they weren't working. Usually, when they woke up on the mornings neither of them didn't have to work, McCrae would check in on their daughter. If she was sound asleep, he'd wake Noelle up with his mouth, or his hands, or his-
"Come on, babe..."
Noelle rolled her eyes as McCrae opened up the back passenger door.
"Let's go,mi ciela."
Ciela giggled like she always did.
Most people would say 'Mi cielo' meaning My Heaven, but McCrae blended it using their daughter's name of Ciela... and Ciela? She loved it.
