Where Roses Bloom

Dallas woke up during the night and looked over at the woman sleeping beside him. She'd curled up against him without knowing it, right where she belonged. It'd been too long since they'd slept together like that and he hadn't realized until now how much he'd missed it…and her.

But when she woke up, he didn't know how she'd react. Would she be scared and pull away from him, would she leave the room and run away? He still didn't know everything because what she'd told him had been piecemeal so far. His mind tried so hard to fill in the gaps and that just led to ugliness that made him want to recoil.

Not from her but in a way that made him want to go hunt down Rodrigo and kill him. It's not like he didn't have enough reason knowing that out there the ruthless drug dealer was out trying to hunt them down. He'd never let him get close enough to hurt the woman lying next to him.

Only a few months ago, they'd been together in a way he'd never imagined would happen for them. He'd learned that what he thought he'd wanted in life paled next to the reality of what he'd found with her during that week spent together in Mexico before…

He felt her move closer to him and he put his arm around her to pull her closer. She placed her head on his chest, still asleep. His cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. He saw that it was Luke. He pulled away enough from Reese very gently as to not disrupt her sleep but he hated doing it. But he didn't expect Luke to call him.

"What's up cousin?"

"Not much…Dad and I were watching a movie…but it's almost lights out."

Dallas heard the humor in Luke's voice.

"So how's rehab been treating you?"

"Been kicking my ass…but I think I'm going to get out of her ahead of schedule…"

He heard the excitement in his voice and he couldn't wait until that day arrived but would he still be in a wheelchair or back on his feet? The doctors had been uncertain of his prognosis but they'd been hopeful more lately because of his amazing progress.

"You need to get it kicked Luke…and you need to talk to Deanna."

His cousin was silent a long moment.

"She cares about you Luke and I'm learning that when a woman cares about you, you don't turn your back on her."

Luke sighed.

"I don't know…I don't know what she wants or what she's prepared to face in case…"

Dallas knew he meant in case he remained paralyzed from the waist down the rest of his life.

"You got to let her make that decision herself and not make it for her."

"Yeah well, easier said than done…"

Something Dallas did understand.

"I get that Luke…I do…I treated Reese the same way and I had no right…"

"Damn straight you didn't," Luke said, "I can't believe what an ass you were to her."

Dallas sighed, knowing his cousin was right.

"I know that but I'm with her right now and she's okay…she's asleep."

Luke responded quickly.

"She's not okay…she's still reliving what happened to her that night…just like happened to me."

"I know…and I got to figure out what we're going to do about Rodrigo."

Luke sighed.

"He's pretty well connected," he said, "If he wants to remain out of sight, it's going to be tough to track him down…"

"He's going to show up here sooner or later," Dallas said, "We're both here and he's got his sights set on Reese."

"Then you got to get some guys down there to protect her…and you."

Dallas rubbed his forehead.

"Brock knew about what happened with her."

His cousin met him with silence.

"He didn't want her to say anything about it to anyone…worried it would jeopardize their case."

"How…how in the hell could what Rodrigo did hurt the feds' case against him?"

Dallas paused.

"They'd find a way to blame her for it," he said, "Rodrigo's lawyer would go after her and the feds…some kind of claim of entrapment."

Luke swore immediately.

"That's damn crazy…thinking he could get away with that."

"He might…if he's able to buy himself top legal counsel…at least that's what Brock must be thinking."

"You talk with him?"

"Not yet…but I'm calling him in the morning about it…and tell him what I think."

"He's your friend Dallas," Luke said, "I'm sure he's just thinking as a professional but he's wrong."

"Of course he's wrong… Reese didn't do anything wrong…something horrible was done to her and…and I couldn't do anything for her…or you."

Luke sighed.

"Dallas you can't talk like that," he said, "Bad stuff…horrible stuff happened and none of us could stop it. Not her, not me and not even you…what's important is how we go on with our lives…and not give those thugs any more than what they've taken."

Dallas looked down at Reese who wore a peaceful look on her face.

"I plan on doing that…after Rodrigo's taken care of so he can't come back and hurt her."

Reese woke up and opened her eyes listening to Dallas on the phone.

"If that means killing him myself…I Luke if it comes to that…and there won't be any second chance for him this time."

"Then if it does come to that…have a plan and don't go at it alone…my father Luke help you and others…I wish I could do more myself."

"You got to concentrate on mending yourself and getting cut loose from that place."

Reese started to sit up and Dallas looked over at her. Her eyes lit on him with concern.

"Dallas…what's this about killing Rodrigo…I don't want to lose you to him…"

Dallas sighed.

"Luke, I'll let you go and call you back later when I have that plan."

He clicked off his phone and turned to Reese.

"You sleep okay?"

She nodded.

"I meant what I said Dallas…I don't want to bury you over this…I don't want to tell your family that you're gone."

He stroked a tendril of hair off of her face.

"Won't happen Reese," he said, "I'm planning on being very careful."

"Dallas…it's not going to matter because if you make one mistake with him…"

"It's only if he shows up here," he said, "I'm more than willing to let the feds take care of him unless he pops into town. I'm not going to let him near you."

She nodded.

"Okay…but don't do anything without telling me okay…because then I'll be upset with you."

Dallas knew she meant it and he stroked her face with his fingers looking at her.

"Okay then but since it's not tonight…why don't we just relax a little bit…we both got to go back to the estate and do some work and you look like you need some rest."

She pursed her lips.

"You are planning on staying then?"

"If you want…then yeah I'm staying."

She slid her arms around him and hugged him closely, inhaling his scent. He hugged her back and they settled back down on the bed, her resting her head on his chest. She did feel awfully tired and she slept better in his embrace.

Dallas held her as she nodded off again. He felt more than a little restless but he'd keep his promise to her and not go looking for Rodrigo but…he knew that the man would spare no time and expense to hunt them down and he felt pretty sure the drug lord was closing in on them.

He hadn't heard from Brock, Enrique or any of the others. But he wasn't waiting for any alerts or help from them. When it came to Reese he wouldn't wait for danger to come knocking, he'd more than meet it up front.

Gunthor settled back in his seat as his Lear jet flew him to San Francisco Airport. He'd catered some steak and potatoes onto the plane which was luxuriously furnished almost like a hotel suite. Even a bedroom in the back of the cabin where he'd left to eat some late night dinner. He'd been flying from London and gotten a lot of work done while his mistress kept him busy relaxing in between.

Rodrigo had called him earlier to tell him that he and Milan would be at the party and he thought that they would both enjoy it. He didn't trust either one but he knew a good business deal when he saw one and buying that piece of merchandise from Rodrigo…it had taken quite a bit of capital but he could afford it. He'd called his assistant Carlos who told him that his estate would soon be ready for his arrival once he conducted his business in the Bay Area city. Then he'd fly the Lear to the small airport outside the town near his new estate and settle in for a while.

The room where he'd keep his prize had been finished and Carlos had emailed him photos to prove it was to his specifications. He would have a group of other young women from one of his stables to keep the men entertained after business had been completed.

A woman with long dark hair joined him, wrapped up in a blanket.

"Why did you leave me?"

He sat while she joined him on the couch and then he cupped her face with a hand.

"Because I have work to do before we land," he said, "My first meeting is an hour later and then I've got a conference call to China."

She shrugged.

"Sounds like all the more reason to relax while you can."

He perused her coolly.

"You want to help me relax?"

She tightened her hold on her sheet and nodded. He maneuvered himself so that he had her pinned to the sofa, unzipping his pants to pull out his erection. He thrust it inside of her while grabbing hold of her hair tightly pulling it so she cried out.

"Oh…ouch…"

He chuckled.

"I though you liked that edge of pain from me."

"I…I…god…"

He had thrust his hips pushing himself inside her wetness, the couch shuddering under their bodies. She sighed against him and he knew that it wouldn't be difficult to please her. He thought about what would happen in San Francisco and then after he completed his work there and headed to his estate.

Carlos told him that the woman had been working on his gardens, planting roses and other flowers. The photos looked impressive. But he hadn't paid a couple million for her landscaping scales …no he had other plans for her. Exactly what he wouldn't decide until the night he collected his property.

"Oh Gunthor…you're sooo….hot…"

She shuddered against him and he knew in a moment he'd join her…but as often was, his mind was elsewhere.