Protector (31 page)

Mark the wall.

And again.

Just a brush of red here… and there… like she’d seen spies in movies marking a post to leave a sign for another agent. It had worked for Hansel and Gretel, damn it. Such a long shot, but they were in a casino and Chuck was the best bet she’d ever been lucky enough to come across.

Now she just needed to keep Hebert distracted so he wouldn’t notice what she was doing. “Why, Bear? Why are you betraying my family this way?”

“I’m a businessman, little girl. It’s all about making the best deal and this one’s the best I’ve ever come across. You’re not going to mess that up for me. When you let it become personal, that’s when things get screwed up. I’m in control of your father’s dealings. Always have been. No one gets in the way and you’re in the way now.”

Realization iced the blood in her veins. “You. It was you all along. Your back may have been to me the whole time when Uncle Simon was murdered, but you were the one who shot him.”

And all these years she must have blocked out the possibility, any sense of recognition. She thought of her dream the other night, of being in the garden, of gunshots. Had the full memory been working to the surface even then?

His beefy shoulders rolled with a careless shrug. “Simon was a threat to my power. He wanted me out so he had to go.”
He stroked the gun down her aching cheekbone. “Consider yourself lucky I let you live that day. You were a smart girl to keep your mouth shut when your daddy told you to, not that anyone would have believed you. But once your father got so sick before I finished gaining control, I couldn’t risk you inheriting everything,” he said, confirming her suspicions as to why he’d called her here, pretending her father wanted to see her. Hebert pushed through the final door onto the casino’s upper deck. The humid night air felt sticky and heavy with danger. The muted outdoor lights reflected off the water. Wind roared overhead with a helicopter circling. The police? Could she be that lucky?

Hebert laughed lowly. “Sorry, little girl. That’s my ride. Your ride, too, if you behave. So much faster and unreachable than making a getaway in a boat, don’t you think?”

A rope ladder rolled down from the helicopter, still too high up to reach, but the chopper angled against the windy night gusts.

Jolynn considered flinging herself over the side. After gauging the distance between herself and the rail, she wasn’t sure she could make it before being shot. And if she hit the deck below rather than the water… She shivered.

Not much time left and she was running out of options—

“Hey, Benoit. Over here.” Chuck stepped from the shadows, his air casual, his hands stuffed in his pockets. The wind from the helicopter whipped his clothes around his muscled body, but his feet stayed planted as steadfastly as he’d stood by her this past week.

She’d known he would come, but grieved all the same. Her worst nightmare unfolded. Chuck’s life was in danger because of her.

Bear pushed the gun deeper into Jolynn’s already tender side. “Aw, look. The cavalry’s come to save you. Except wait, cavalry’s
with the army, and your hero boy here’s an air force man, right? Regardless, it’s a shame he has to go, but at least he’ll die a hero’s death.”

Chuck! She tried to reach him with her gaze.

He looked at her. His mocha brown eyes flamed with determination— and love.

Why hadn’t she seen it before? Had she truly pushed him away for his safety, or because she’d been afraid to trust him? Too afraid to trust the love that coursed so forcefully through her body that it hummed with the power of it?

Chuck took a step forward, the rope ladder twisting in the wind just overhead. “We’re both fight-to-the-death kind of guys here, so let’s not make this any more painful than it has to be. I just want Jolynn. That’s all.”

“Then toss your gun away, real slow, and don’t pretend you came without one.”

Chuck withdrew his hands from his pockets. He held both palms up and reached under his tuxedo jacket. With two fingers, he placed his 9 mm on the ground and presented himself unarmed to a gunman. For her.

Repeatedly, Chuck had shown her his love. He had never said the words, but he’d protected her. He’d fought for her. He’d given her the answers her father had withheld for years. And when she’d asked, Chuck had let her go.

Chuck offered her what no man had before. He gave her choices.

“Not good enough, Tomas, or whatever you’re calling yourself these days,” Bear shouted over the roar of the chopper, sliding the gun from her side to under her chin. The cool metal bit into tender flesh. “Kick your weapon over the side where you can’t get it back while I’m climbing up.”

Chuck nudged the gun with his toe. Jolynn watched it slide across the deck, stopping at the rail then toppling over. A
dismal thud sounded on the deck below. She reminded herself to trust him, but she sure hoped he had another weapon tucked somewhere.

“Hmmm,” Bear growled. “Now take off the jacket and turn around.”

Chuck shrugged off the white tuxedo coat. The cummerbund hugged his lean waist without a gun in sight to mar the effect. They were out here alone and open. Where was everyone else? She didn’t dare look left or right with the gun wedged under her chin.

“Well, Tomas or Tanaka or whoever you are tonight, it’s been fun bringing down one of the big boys.” Bear’s smile faded. “Game’s over and it looks like you lose.” He swung the gun away from Jolynn. Extending his arm, he pointed the weapon at Chuck.

No! Rage, fear, and a strength she could have never imagined filled Jolynn. She shoved hard, knocking Bear’s shot wide.

Chuck launched across the deck.

Two more shots reverberated, echoing in the night.

Chuck’s weight slammed her against the running track along the deck. Their bodies tangled and rolled, jolting to a stop against the railing. Had he shoved her or fallen on her? Panic twisted within her.

He slid from her. Muggy night air blanketed her, replacing the warmth of his body. She struggled to breathe. Could they have both survived unscathed? Relief she almost feared acknowledging blossomed within her.

No one moved.

Scooting to sit up, she peered around Chuck at the bizarre scene before her. Bear clutched his gut, blood pouring between his fingers.

How? Chuck didn’t have a gun.

But the colonel standing behind him did.

Horror and confusion and a sick relief swirled inside her. Gasping, Bear stumbled as the helicopter peeled away overhead. His knees hooked on the railing, and he flipped backward. The hollow thud of him hitting the deck shuddered through her. She buried her face in Chuck’s chest.

Deadly silence echoed as loudly as his heart thumping against her ear for seven solid, blessedly alive beats. Then the drumming of approaching footsteps sounded up the stairs. Pandemonium exploded onto the upper deck. Agent Mike Nuñez led a group of men in dark suits, who pushed past the colonel.

Livia raced behind them, nearly tripping over her se quined evening gown as she threw herself into Rex Scanlon’s arms. Two of Nuñez’s guys blocked the stairs, keeping anyone else— especially any of Bear’s so-called security force— from coming any farther. No doubt, her father would have his hands full sorting through his employee list, weeding out those corrupted by Hebert.

Chuck eased to his feet and extended one of his beautiful, strong hands to Jolynn. No more hiding. No more protecting her heart. Time to face life and take a chance on hap pi-ness.

She knew for certain Chuck was a sure bet.

Twining her fingers in his, she stood. She fell into his arms and held on, still hardly believing they were both alive.

“Are you okay?” He brushed a knuckle across her tender cheekbone where Bear had smacked her.

She would probably have a real shiner by morning. Who cared? They were alive. She would awaken in Chuck’s arms.

“Yes, I’m fine.” And she truly was. For the first time in eighteen years, she felt whole. “What about you?”

“Not a scratch. Nice job with the lipstick. God, you’re amazing.”
Pulling back, he cupped her face in his hands. “We’re going to talk soon.”

“Yes.” Her hand gripped his as they turned to the crowd.

Her father cleared the top step, shaky and pale, leaning on his niece.

Lucy looked from Jolynn to Chuck and back again. “I guess only one of us has bad taste in men.”

“I got lucky.”

“You sure did.” Lucy furrowed her brow. “For what it’s worth, I really didn’t have a clue what was going on.”

Jolynn offered her a nod, not a hundred percent sure if she believed her right now when she’d been so wrong about Bear. No doubt, her father’s business and everyone in his employ would be under some serious scrutiny.

The colonel tucked his gun inside his tuxedo jacket and turned to Chuck. “See you soon?”

Chuck’s arm tightened around her shoulder. “We’ll be down shortly. Okay?”

“Take your time. The Italian police have everything under control in the casino. The contessa and her accomplice should already be secured for questioning.” The colonel slid his arm around Livia’s shoulders and started down the stairs as police boats roared up from three sides.

Tucked against Chuck, Jolynn eased away from the remaining officers who were sealing the area and marking evidence, Agent Nuñez issuing orders as he peeled off a fake goatee. Once they reached a far corner, tension seeped from her body.

The silence echoed after the mayhem. Only a short time had passed. Such life-changing moments. She could feel the slight trembling of her body as aftereffects of the shooting rocked through her.

Leaning back against the rail, the familiar sea breeze lifting
her hair, Jolynn faced Chuck. “This has been a surreal evening, to say the least. I guess I need to know if this is a dream. If you are a dream, or if you’ll be gone when I wake up.”

“I am real, what I feel for you is real, and God knows, if you’ll have me, I’m not walking away from you again.”

He spoke with such conviction she believed him, trusted the love in his eyes.

“I do want that so very much.” Her voice hitched. “I want what we have to be more than some moment-in-time affair. I want it to be solid. Lasting.”

“Then it is.” Simple words, from a logical man.

And she believed him. She trusted in her judgment, in what she felt when she was with him. “Just so you know. You’re stuck with me. Forever. No short-term commitment or maybes.”

He pulled her close, a sigh of relief shuddering through him. She would make it up to him. Somehow. With a smile, she realized she had all the time in the world.

“Forever,” he repeated. “We’ll make it work. Nevada, or Dallas, we’ll put the pieces together.” Chuck palmed the back of her head and pinned her with his intense gaze. “I love you.”

Before she could answer, he breathed the words over her cheek. “I love you.”

Then he sighed them against her lips. “I love you.”

Her heart caught somewhere in her throat. More than the words, she heard the depth of emotion behind them, a determined forever declaration from a man who didn’t fail.

“There!” His chest heaved. “I said it three times. Did you hear me, Jolynn? Three times.”

“I heard you.” She brushed her fingers across his furrowed brow. “Why is it that love scares you more than bullets?”

“
Good Lord, woman, bullets are commonplace. Being in love, well…” His voice grew hoarse. He cleared his throat. “This is a first for me.”

“Me, too. I love you.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“You told me already, back at your father’s house when you trusted me with that thumb drive.”

Peace settled over her. He’d understood. Yes, Chuck had given her an ability to trust in herself as well as him. But she had the feeling he’d learned something from her, too. He was learning to look with his heart. “I did, didn’t I?”

“Loud and clear. You took a big risk handing that information over to me, not knowing who would be implicated.”

“I trust you.” She meant it. She’d trusted him with her body. She was ready to trust him with her heart. “For a guy who likes things nice and neat, you took a bit of a risk here yourself.”

“And I’m ready to take one more.” He stepped back, her hand clutched in his. Without breaking eye contact, he knelt before her just as he’d done the night she’d met him. Moonlight rather than chandeliers reflected off his gleaming black hair. The air, clean and pure, swirled around them. She stared into his unguarded eyes and saw straight into his heart.

His dark, infinitely intense eyes flickered over her with a passion she trusted would never wane. “Jolynn, Lynnie, Red, will you marry me?”

She gave him her answer in one of the simplest, most beautiful words of all. “Yes. Yes, and yes.”

She loved his dimples.

Chuck lifted her hand clasped in his and pressed a kiss to her palm, sealing his commitment with a reverent kiss… a kiss that slowly changed. He took the tip of each finger
between his lips, paying additional homage to her thumb. His teeth nipped the sensitive pad. He journeyed over her wrist, pausing at the tender crook of her elbow. Standing, he finally reached her mouth.

They kissed as if they had all the time in the world. He kissed her as if they were simply enjoying a lazy afternoon picnic. She kissed him with an ease that spoke of years’ knowledge of each other. The beautiful connection of a couple blessed with forever to return for more.

Jolynn had considered herself down on her luck coming across the world to see her father. The whole trip had bad odds with the potential for massive losses.

But when she’d bet everything on Chuck, she hit the jackpot.