Cheyenne McCray - Point Blank (Lawmen Book 4) (34 page)

“I meant what I said.” A light shone in her eyes. “I love you, Brooks.”

He felt as if light shone from him, too. “I love you, Natasha. When I asked you if you believed in love at first sight, I meant it. When you were in Christie and Trace’s wedding with me, I wanted to get to know you more than anything. It just didn’t work out then.”

She studied him for a long moment. “I wonder how different things would have been if I hadn’t broken my leg.”

“I would never have let you near Okle.” His smile turned into a frown. “That’s one thing I know for sure.” He didn’t bring up the fact that she had promised that she would not go after Okle herself. There was no point in it. What was done was done, and she probably saved lives in the process.

Her own smile slipped away and he saw darkness start to creep in as if the pain meds no longer clouded her memory. “How is everyone?” Her expression tensed and her throat worked as she swallowed. “Is all of my family okay? What about my friends?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Your grandparents are on their way here from Florida. Christie and Jessica left with Trace last night. They were here during your surgery but had to take Jess home afterward. We’ve been checking with everyone on the list we got off of one of Okle’s men, and so far so good.”

He wasn’t sure he should bring up Gary Orson.

“Thank God everyone else seems to be fine.” She glanced down at her hands then looked at Brooks. “Mark said he killed Gary.”

Brooks sighed. “I’m sorry, honey.”

Natasha wrinkled her brow. “There was a list?” she asked, as if just realizing what he’d said.

He nodded. “I didn’t mention it when we acquired it because I didn’t want to worry you.” He went on, changing the topic before she could respond. “You’re going to be in pain for a while, and you’ll be in the hospital at least a couple more nights. You were lucky—no serious damage. You will be scarred from the acid.”

“I don’t care about the scars.” She brushed it away with a wave of her hand. “All that matters to me is that everyone else is fine.” She shifted in bed and winced. “What about Selena? Is she all right? Is she really a DEA agent?”

“Careful.” He leaned closer and stroked Natasha’s upper arm. “You don’t want to pull your stitches.” When she stilled, he said, “According to the doctors, Selena is in stable condition. She is with the DEA and it turns out she was the individual who called the ICE office with the tip that you were in danger.”

Natasha looked thoughtful. “I wonder if she’s the one who wrote the letter.”

“Yes, she is,” he said. “Dylan talked with her earlier and she told him what she could.”

Selena had given them a lot. Her “record” had been a part of her cover, which Brooks had assumed when it had been confirmed that she was an undercover agent. It turned out that each time she wasn’t around Okle, when certain individuals disappeared, she was helping most of them go into hiding or WITSEC.

She had also saved Mrs. Faderic, who was the mother of the snitch Okle had murdered in the boiler room. Selena had been ordered to dispose of the woman, but got her out alive instead. Selena had searched the house and found Okle’s missing drugs and the cash that Faderic had stolen. She returned the coke and money to Okle to avoid suspicion.

“I’m glad Selena was there.” Natasha gave a little smile. “Kind of like having a guardian angel.”

Brooks answered her smile. “Selena wanted to warn you without compromising the case she and the DEA were building against Okle and his affiliates.”

Natasha cocked her head to the side. “How is it that your agency didn’t know about the DEA’s involvement? Or did you?”

“We didn’t.” Brooks shook his head. “Sometimes agencies cross paths and end up unknowingly working on bringing down the same organizations.”

She stared at the ceiling for a moment before meeting his gaze again. “Mark is dead, isn’t he?”

“Yes.” Brooks studied her. “Okle won’t ever put anyone you care about in danger again.”

She blew out her breath, her features tight. “I killed him. I’m sure of it.”

Brooks didn’t want to respond, but he knew there was no putting her off. “Ballistics still has to confirm it, but yes, we believe your shot was the one that killed the bastard.”

She was quiet for a long moment. “I agonized over that from the time he started the threats. I wondered if I could kill Mark to save my family and friends.” She looked lost in thought before she came back to Brooks. “I can’t regret it.”

He took her hand in both of his. “I have no doubt you saved a lot of lives. You have nothing to regret.”

“I do have one regret.” She narrowed her gaze. “That I didn’t kill him before he had Gary murdered.”

“Don’t carry that on your shoulders.” Brooks rubbed her shoulder as if making sure she wasn’t. “That was all on Okle.”

“I know.” She sighed. “But I feel bad for him and the people who loved him. I’ll miss him.”

“Natasha!” Christie’s relieved voice came from the doorway. She practically ran to the bed before coming up short. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

Brooks got to his feet. “I’ll let you two talk.” He bent and brushed his lips over Natasha’s forehead then drew away. “I’ll be back in a bit, sweetheart.”

She raised her hand that didn’t have the IV taped to it, and trailed her fingers over his stubbled jaw. “I love you.”

A delighted sound came from Christie, but he couldn’t take his eyes from the woman he loved.

He caught Natasha’s hand and held it against his face. He knew now what it was like—to have the feeling that his heart was swelling with love. He’d heard the expression and read it. Now he believed it. “I love you, Natasha.”

She smiled at him. He gave her a smile before he released her hand. He looked at her for one long moment before he pulled on his Stetson and left the room, leaving her for some time alone with Christie.

~~*~~

“Okay, where are we going?” Natasha looked at Brooks as he drove the rental car from the Auckland port and through the gorgeous New Zealand scenery on their way to some secret destination. “We’ve been driving for over an hour.”

He flashed her a grin. “Almost there.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been saying that for the past half hour.” She really didn’t mind his teasing or secrecy, or the time they had spent in the car. She drank in every bit of this wonderful country and couldn’t get enough of it.

The cruise from Melbourne to Sydney had been incredible, but she thought she’d died and gone to heaven when they started visiting New Zealand ports. Auckland had been their seventh port and she still hadn’t tired from all of the traveling. It had been seven months since she had been shot, so she didn’t tire easily any longer.

“This has been the most amazing trip.” She smiled, feeling happier than she had in her life. “Our stateroom on the cruise ship is fantastic and it seems like every destination gets better and better.”

They reached the historic town of Thames before driving some two miles out of the town limits.

Brooks was grinning as he pulled into a lot and parked the rental car next to several other vehicles. “And we’re here.”

She looked directly in front of them and caught her breath when she saw the sign:

Butterfly and Orchid Garden

“Brooks!” She laughed and flung her arms around him. “You brought me to a butterfly garden.”

He laughed and kissed her. “I though you might like it.”

“You are probably the most thoughtful man ever.” She scrambled out of the car, not waiting for him to come around and open her door like he preferred to do. She shut the door with a hard thump and bounced on her toes like a schoolgirl. “Hurry up, slowpoke.”

He shook his head, his pleasure in her joy clear to see.

It wasn’t long before they had their tickets and were in the building with its incredible exotic orchids, the numerous finches flying around, and of course countless gorgeous butterflies from all over the world.

She was delighted with each and every part of the garden. When she’d explored it from one end to the other, she and Brooks settled on a bench, each enjoying an ice cream cone while they watched shimmering butterflies in an array of colors.

With a happy sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder when she had finished her ice cream cone and had wiped her fingers on a napkin. “You are absolutely the best, Brooks.”

“I know,” he said in a tone that made her laugh.

She smirked as she looked up at him. “And apparently big-headed.”

He chuckled. “My hat isn’t going to fit my head by the time we get back to the States.”

“You truly are wonderful.” She kissed him, tasting the sweet flavor of the vanilla ice cream he had just finished. “Someday I might even ask you to marry me.”

He gave her an amused look. “Might?”

She grinned. “We’ll see.” She placed her hand over her heart. “No matter what, we’ll enjoy every precious moment together.”

“We will.” He pressed his lips to hers, his kiss sending a thrill skittering through her belly. “But I can only be patient for so long.”

She tilted her head to the side, considering his words. “You know what? You’re right.”

He watched her with interest as she slid off the bench and knelt on one knee.

She took his hand, and in all seriousness said, “Brooks, will you marry me?”

He laughed, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what she’d just done and said.

She cocked her head. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He took her by the shoulders and brought her to her feet as he stood. “I would marry you right this second.”

Joy so sweet and wonderful flowed through her, almost surprising her with its intensity. “We’ll find the closest marriage celebrant and see what we need to do.”

“Marriage celebrant?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve already been studying up on marriage in New Zealand?”

She shrugged. “I happened to run across it when I was reading up on New Zealand in our stateroom.”

“Uh-huh.” He drew her into the circle of his arms. “I can’t wait to make you mine.”

“I asked you first.” She tilted her head and smiled at him. “I love you, Brooks Allen.”

“You are so precious.” He brushed his knuckles along her cheek. “I love you more than I could ever have imagined.”

Happiness bubbled up inside her as she grabbed his hand and led him toward the garden exit. “Let’s go found one of those celebrants.”

~Romantic Suspense~

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~Young Adult ages 11 to adult~

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“Lawmen” series

By Cheyenne McCray

Almost absently, he rubbed his thumb along Tori’s delicate jawline while they both remained quiet. He liked the way she fit in his arms. It felt…right.

It was the right time to tell her about what happened with Brian. Landon knew he should do it now.

And then every good intention vanished as she tipped her face up to look at him. Her eyelashes glittered from the remainder of her tears and her brown eyes seemed even darker than normal. As their gazes met and held, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to look away from her again. She drew him to her in so many ways and he was helpless to stop himself from wanting to get closer to her.