Page 87 of Rogue (Mike Bravo Ops 2)
“You’re still going?” Domino asks. “I thought you finished hours ago.”
“Figured I’d get something else while I had him here. You’re paying him by the hour for this, aren’t you?”
Domino swears. “How much do I owe?”
“Finally take me on a date?” Tully asks.
Everyone snickers.
“Sorry, but if this guy can’t turn me”—Domino squeezes my shoulder—“no one can. He even has my name tattooed on him and everything. Still …” He waves his hand in front of his junk. “Nothing.”
“Worth a shot. I’ll send an invoice.”
Domino walks Tully to the door, and when he gets back, I stand.
“Now, was this whole thing really worth the amount of money you’ve spent on refurnishing my ranch and paying for my tattoos?”
Domino pretends to think about it. “Yep. Because now we’re brothers for life. And when I was redecorating this place, I might have done something too.” He lifts his shirtsleeve up to his shoulder, and on the circular Ranger tattoo on his upper arm that he’s had since we served together is a fresh addition. The skull with wings and machine guns behind it is our unit number, and the words Rangers for life make up the old tattoo. But the words that make my throat dry are underneath that.
Forever brothers: Trav and Andre.
I bring him in for a hug and squash down the emotion in my throat with a joke. “Only you would need to get your own name tattooed on you in case you forgot it.”
Dom laughs, but there are echoes behind us of “Domino’s real name is Andre?”
When I pull back, I turn to the others. “Seeing as there’s nothing actually wrong with the ranch, you’re all free to do whatever you want.”
“Who wants to play poker?” Zeus yells out.
The group all head for the games room, and Dylan goes to follow, but I grab his wrist and pull him toward me.
“I have other plans for you.”
“You sure sex won’t hurt? I can’t promise not to run my hands all over you.”
I touch my forehead to his. “As much as I love that idea, it’s not that. Now that we have a chance to breathe, I thought … well, I dunno. Don’t couples usually have a ‘talk’ before deciding they’re it for each other and blah, blah, blah?”
“Is this where you’re going to tell me you’re more upset over me staying with the DEA than you let on earlier?”
I’m quick to shake my head. “Not at all. Would I love having you around every day and get to work with you and see you all the time? Sure. But I’m not going to ask you to give up everything you’ve wanted since you were a kid. If you want to stay an agent, fine. If you want to come work for me, I’ll welcome you with open arms and a snarky comment whenever you complain about the morals of the jobs I take on.”
“It’s good to know I have options.”
“You have all the options with me. I want to support you. And I want to show you how serious I am about us.” I carefully peel back the bandage over the tattoo on my chest. His tattoo.
There it is in blocky, rough text. R-O-G-U-E.
Dylan’s eyes widen when he sees it, and his gaze ping-pongs between the tattoo and my face. “You … and …”
“Aww, you’re speechless.” I cover it back up.
“I love you.”
His words hit me so hard, they send me into a state of shock where I don’t have anything to say because I can’t speak. There are no words that express how I feel for him because it’s so much bigger than love.
His face falls. “Did I mess everything up? I wanted to—”
The doubt in Dylan’s eyes makes me snap out of my mute shock.
I hug him and hold tight. “You didn’t mess anything up. I wasn’t expecting it, but fuck, I love you so much. I got a tattoo for you. If that doesn’t indicate love and permanence, I don’t know what does.”
“You also got a tattoo for your best friend, so …”
“Yeah, but that was a bet. I chose to do this.” I take his hand and place it over my heart. “I choose to be with you, to give you my heart, and to love you.”
Dylan smiles. “I think I just thought of a way we can fix the whole seeing each other more often thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Let me move in with you.”
I try to contain my excitement, but it comes out as sarcasm instead. “Oh, I see. You’re using me for my real estate.”
“Well, you have gotten rid of your tacky decor here, so yeah.”
I love that he can give it back to me. “Move into HQ with me. I have my own wing, so the guys won’t bother you.”
“What about cameras?” He gives me a pointed look.
