Page 107 of Alonzo

And looks at me like… like the way he looked at me when I first showed up a couple days ago.

He looks at me like I’m a siren calling him to the rocks. And he’s a sailor heeding my call.

He looks at me like I’m his dying wish.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - ALONZO

I pull my hand out of my pocket and rap my knuckles on the screen door. “Uh… hello?”

Tara cocks her head at me. “Hello.”

“Yeah. So…” I hike my thumb in the direction of my cottage next door. “I live next door and noticed you just moved in. So you know. Yeah. I wanted to come over and introduce myself.” She smiles—that’s a good sign—then walks a few paces closer to the door, biting her lip. “I’m Alonzo Dumas. My parents, Silvia and Jack Dumas, they live at the house at the top of the street. I have a sister, she lives in the city with my new cool brother-in-law, Jesse Boston. You’ve heard of him, I’m sure. He’s kinda famous for being… smart.”

She laughs.

“And I know this is weird, but… my brother Luke lives over in that cottage with his boy toy, Zach Boston. Yes, same family. And my brother Tony lives across the street. Right next to my sister’s place when she’s in town. We’re kind of a close bunch because… well, there’s this insane curse on my family. Put there by a siren, of all things.” I point to my bare chest. “Hence my ink addiction to weird ocean warrior creatures. Anyway, I think you’re pretty. And I’d like to get to know you but… I come with some baggage.”

She walks to the screen door and places her palm on the wire mesh. “Everyone has baggage, Alonzo.”

“I know. But mine is beautifully dangerous. And I wouldn’t want to drag you into something that you didn’t think you could handle. So…” I shrug. “I dunno, Tare. I think you’re the love of my life, woman. I want to protect you and keep you safe. And if it was up to me, I’d lock you up in my bedroom and never let anything bad touch you ever again. But a wise man just told me it’s not my decision to make. So, before I really make a really bad decision for both of us by letting you walk away from me, I just want to know one thing.”

“OK.”

“Do you need saving?”

“What?” She chuckles.

“Do you need a prince, Tara? Because if you do, sunshine, I’m here. But if you don’t, then just tell me you got this. I love you. I want to marry you, and put my babies inside you, and be your best friend forever. And most of all, Tara, I don’t want to be Lonnie with you anymore. I just want to be me. And I want you to be you.”

And that’s it. That’s all I can say. The rest is up to her.

“OK.” She places her other hand on the screen door too. “First, I’d like to apologize for what I thought of you.” She shakes her head when I start to protest. “Just hear me out, OK? I know Lonnie would not sell children to bad people. But for about twenty minutes, during which time I didn’t have all the information I needed to make a good decision, I let my imagination run wild and thought the worst of Alonzo Dumas. And… I’m really, really sorry, Alonzo. I really am. I should’ve known better.”

“Can I come in?”

She backs away and I pull the screen door open. I stand in the doorway, unsure exactly what to do next. But I am very sure that she needs to know the entire truth before she signs on the dotted line.

“Tara, we smuggle orphans into the United States. And my family has been doing this for decades. My father made a deal with the FBI a long time ago and they’ve been protecting us. But I have to be honest here, we’re caught up in something that isn’t good. And the FBI is part of it. So before you make up your mind—”

“I do,” Tara blurts.

“What? But you didn’t hear—”

“Belinda explained. So I do. I get it. And look, I’m not gonna turn down a prince, Alonzo. I’ll be your princess. But I don’t want to sit at home and wait for you to come back to me like some siren stuck on a rocky island. I want to go with you, Lonnie. I want to do things. I’m tired of running. I want to fight big battles, but I want a family too. I don’t want to choose. I want it all.” She pauses to take a deep, deep breath. “I want you.”

I nod. And I’ll be honest, it makes me a little sick to my stomach to think of taking Tara on that smuggling run tomorrow night. But she’s her own person. This is her choice. “Hey, Tara?”

“Yes?” She blinks her eyes and smiles at me.

“Would you like to be my partner in crime?”

She giggles and wraps her arms around my middle. Then she rocks up on her tiptoes and kisses my chin. Because she can’t reach my mouth. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I lean down and kiss her back. On the lips.

She pulls away for a second.

“There’s a catch?”