Rules in Rescue

by Nichole Severn

“What’s going on?” Glennon dropped her hands to her sides, shifting her weight between both feet. Her attention ping-ponged between him and her son. “What are you doing?”

  “We love you with all our heart.” Anthony waited as the boy repeated every word, anticipation spreading through his chest. Every officer, Blackhawk Security operative and even the medicolegal investigator watched in silence. “We want you to be ours forever.”

  “We want you to be ours forever.” Hunter spun from side to side, clasping his hands.

  Anthony focused on the woman he’d never fallen out of love with—this beautiful, intelligent, caring, badass woman of his—offering her the gift in his hand. Slush worked through his pants as he tightened his hold around Hunter, but he didn’t give a damn. He’d kneel here all night if it meant spending forever with her. With the chain looped around his middle finger, he let go. Flickering patrol lights reflected off her engagement ring as it twisted at the end of the chain. “So will you make us a family?”

  One month later...

  DAWN BROKE OVER the Chugach Mountain range. Perfect and cleansing.

  Glennon reached out, a line of tears burning in her lower lash line as she squeezed her mother’s hand. She blinked the moisture back. Her engagement band spun around the oversensitized skin of her ring finger. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Was this really happening? The two most important people in the world waited for her near Campbell Lake’s shoreline, but all she could do was stand there.

  “Are you ready?” Helen asked.

  “Hell yes.” With both Mascaros behind bars, she’d submitted her discharge papers and left the army behind. She’d sold her house and moved her and her son across the country to a city she’d been determined never to step foot in again. All to be with Anthony. This was just the next step in that plan. She couldn’t wait to start a life with her weapons expert. Everything she’d ever wanted waited down the aisle lined with dozens of pinecones from the nearby tree line. Her future. Her family.

  The entire Blackhawk Security team rose as she got into position. Everyone except Bennett, who she wouldn’t see for twelve to eighteen months after his sentencing. She raised her toes to hit the inside top of her black rain boots. “I’m ready.”

  Music reached her ears as she and her mother passed a stack of fresh firewood lined with white candles. Tightening her hand around the collection of wildflowers, she set sights on the man she planned to spend the rest of her life with.

  Four days of stolen moments. Four days of near-death experiences. Four days of rediscovering why she’d fallen in love with Anthony Harris in the first place. That was all it had taken. Her fear of losing him to his overachieving sense of duty had vanished the second he’d dove into the lake to save her rather than take down Jamie Mascaro. The rules had gone out the window then. Hell, they might’ve gone out the window the moment she’d dialed his number for help. They seemed so...worthless now.

  He was a protector, and a damn good one at that. He’d done his job while she’d barely held things together. And wasn’t that what she needed most in the man she wanted to raise her child with? Someone she could rely on, trust? Someone who would protect her and their son with every fiber of his being?

  Glennon sucked in a deep breath. She’d never had a chance when it came to him. He was hers from the minute he’d walked in to teach her firearms class in basic training all those years ago. And she’d always been his.

  She studied Hunter, his expression full of anticipation. Her lips spread into a smile. Dressed in a black suit and shirt with a bright red tie, the exact same color as his father’s, her son held on to Anthony with everything he had. Her Ranger—their protector—held on just as tight.

  Gravel crunched under her boots as she headed down the aisle, Helen at her side. Sullivan, his significant other, Jane, Elizabeth, Vincent, Kate, even Elliot in his sling smiled and nodded as she passed. She fought to keep time with the music, but impatience tightened her fingers around the bouquet of wildflowers. The shoot-out with Jamie Mascaro hadn’t taken this long. She rolled her numb lips between her teeth. This was it. This was what forever felt like.

  Getting married in the middle of January had seemed ridiculous when Anthony had suggested it. But now? Glennon couldn’t wait another second without being married to her man.

  “Pick up the pace, Mom.” Tugging Helen along with her, she closed the distance between her and Anthony, the quartet scrambling to keep up with the change in pace. Laughter echoed off the pines surrounding them, but she pushed it to the back of her mind.

  A wide smile flashed across Anthony’s features, his beard speckled with fresh snowflakes.

  “Here we go.” Spinning into her mother, she kissed each side of Helen’s face. “Thanks, Mom. For protecting me. For giving me a safe haven.” She clasped both hands in hers. “For teaching me how to shoot a gun.” A laugh broke through the sudden burst of emotion bubbling to the surface. “And for being there for me when I needed you the most.”

  “Come on, girl, I ain’t dying. Not until I see my daughter married anyway.” A single tear raced down Helen’s wrinkled cheek. She wiped a strand of hair out of Glennon’s face. “But I will say one thing. I’m proud of you, baby girl. You turned out exactly as I hoped, and I’m gonna take full credit for that.” Laughter filled the clearing again as Helen turned her attention to Anthony. “And you. Don’t make me use my shotgun on you, you hear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Anthony clasped his hands in front of him and nodded. Laughter glittered in his eyes and Glennon’s heart skipped a beat. Even after all these years, he affected her in new ways every second she laid eyes on him. “You have my word.”

  Helen took her seat, leaving Glennon with her Ranger. Sliding his calloused hands into hers, he helped maneuver her opposite him. Blue eyes, the same color as the sky above them, settled on her, and the world faded. Everything—the flickering candles off to her right, the temperature—disappeared. Only she, Hunter and Anthony remained.

  “We gather here today to finally unite Glennon and Anthony in holy matrimony. And what a journey it’s been, from what I understand.” The minister’s words died on the slight Alaskan breeze coiling through the trees as she studied the man across from her. What seemed like mere seconds later, the priest turned to her weapons expert. “Do you, Anthony, take Glennon as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  “Before I answer, there are a few things I need to say. But not to you, sweetheart. At least, not yet.”

  Anthony squeezed her hand then quickly let her go. Suspicion rose the hairs on the back of her neck as he twisted to his left and knelt beside their son. “Hunter, I promise to protect you with my life. I promise to take you fishing even though I don’t know how to fish, to tell you funny jokes, to help you with your homework, to give you tips on girls when you’re eighteen and I can’t stop you from dating, and to watch any show you want to watch, however many times.”

  Glennon couldn’t stop the laugh rising up her throat. He was going to regret that last promise as soon as Hunter got home and forced him to watch every episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Her heart threatened to burst.

  “You deserve a dad who can always be there for you, the best dad you could ever ask for.” Anthony braced his hands on Hunter’s shoulders. “And I’m going to be that guy for you, okay?”

  Hunter nodded, biting his bottom lip with all his small upper teeth. Wait. She narrowed her gaze. Was that chocolate around his mouth?

  “Do I have your permission to marry your mom now?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Hunter crumpled his tie in one hand and gave his father a high-five with the other.

  “Thanks, buddy.” A single kiss to their son’s forehead sealed the deal. This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

  Anthony straightened, taking her hands in his. “Okay. We’re good to g
o.”

  The minister started over. “Do you, Anthony, take Glennon as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  “Not yet,” Anthony said. “I have two conditions.”

  Her shoulders sank. He had to be kidding.

  “Let me get this straight. You want me to marry you, but you’re negotiating conditions in the middle of our wedding.” She forced the tension to drain from her muscles, but even in the middle of the most perfect day, the day she’d been looking forward to for over a month, he was determined to make that impossible. “Don’t you think this discussion should’ve happened before the actual wedding?”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Anthony winked. “Glennon, I will never choose any job or anyone, except our son, over you ever again. You are my priority. You are my future. I will never do anything to put that at risk, and I will do anything to keep you safe. The first condition I’m setting is that we’re honest with each other for the rest of our lives. No secrets. And you’ll tell me you’re pregnant the next time.”

  She swallowed at the tightening in her throat as he winked. In vain. A smile pulled at her mouth as she adjusted her hands in his. He wanted more babies with her. “Okay. Second condition?”

  His quick glance at Hunter raised the hairs on the back of her neck. With a single nod, her son—their son—coaxed Anthony to go on. What were these two up to? “Second condition. You need to come work for Blackhawk Security. As one of our lead investigators.”

  “What?” Shock exploded through her. Her mouth dropped open. The entire reason she’d decided to quit the army was to spend more time with her son. Working for Blackhawk Security, starting a brand-new career... None of that would let her make up for the long nights and missed weekends. For four years, she’d relied on someone else showing up at his bedside when the nightmares came, making his favorite breakfast in the morning, taking him to the zoo when one of her and Bennett’s cases got too intense. Hunter deserved a parent at home, one who could be there for him to kiss the scratches and scrapes.

  Anthony didn’t get to take that away from her. Didn’t matter that they were having this conversation in front of the entire Blackhawk Security team.

  “Your timing sucks, Ranger.” Glennon lowered her voice, too many prying ears waiting for her answer. “I told you why I was resigning from the army. Hunter deserves—”

  “A parent at home. I know,” Anthony said. “Which is why I told Sullivan a few minutes before the ceremony that I will only be taking assignments when you’re home to be with our son.”

  The air rushed from her lungs. What?

  “I know for a fact you love your job, Glennon, and you’re damn good at it.” Rough fingers wrapped around her wrist then slid across the back of her hand. His body heat battled with the ice setting up residence under her skin as he took her hand in both of his. Goose bumps pimpled down her arms as he studied her, jaw slack, lips parted. “I’ve seen the way you work, the way you care about the victims in your cases. And I never want you to have to give that up. Not when you can help so many more people.”

  Truth resonated through her. She loved her job, everything about it. And he was right. She was damn good at it. But she loved Hunter more. She slid her hand over her son’s small chest, pressing his spine into her leg. His heart beat steadily under her palm as Anthony’s hand warmed her to the bone. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Say yes, Glennon,” Anthony said. “Then I’ll marry you.”

  Blood rushed from her head. She shifted to keep her balance, her black rain boots squishing along the shoreline. Too much. This was all too much. And he...he was willing to sacrifice his career so she could keep hers. How the hell had she gotten so lucky? She scanned the faces in the audience. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t need my job. I have savings. I have—”

  “I told you I would do anything to make you happy.” Diving into his pocket, Anthony extracted a second band, this one embedded with diamonds. “And I meant every word.”

  Her hand shook as he slid the wedding band onto her finger. She ignored the rush of excitement radiating from the center of her core. She wouldn’t have to give up her career. Because of him. A smile consumed the seemingly permanent darkness in his features, and her heart rocketed into her throat. “All right. Then, yes.”

  “Then it’s a deal.” He wrapped his hands in hers. Addressing the minister, he kept his attention locked on her. As though she were the only woman in the entire world. “Good to go.”

  “All right then.” The minister leaned in. “Do you, Anthony, take Glennon as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  “Hell yes, I do,” he said.

  The minister turned to her. “And do you, Glennon, take Anthony as your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  “Hell yes, I do.” Forget the dropping temperatures. With the way her Ranger looked at her now, her blood had started boiling. If he kept this up, she wouldn’t need her fur-lined coat during the reception.

  “Then I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said.

  Hollers and clapping echoed off the surrounding trees, but Glennon only had attention for her husband and son. Her heart started beating again.

  Hunter clapped along with the guests, jumping up and down.

  “And you said you’d never get involved with one of your partners.” Anthony kissed her then. The deep, desperate kind of kiss she’d been craving. The kind that told her he’d never choose his job over her or their son, that she was alive because of him and that fear wouldn’t stop them from being happy. Never again. “Any other rules I need to know about?”

  “Yeah.” She shivered as his beard tickled against her lips. “Don’t give my mother a reason to shoot you.”

  * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Marked by the Marshal by Julie Anne Lindsey.

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  Marked by the Marshal

  by Julie Anne Lindsey

  Chapter One

  Kara tilted her face away from the scalding July sun. It was the hottest, driest summer on record in Shadow Point, Kentucky, and she was eternally grateful for the misty breeze blowing off the fountain at Memorial Park. Her sleeping infant, Casey, on the other hand, seemed utterly unaware that her mother was slowly melting in the afternoon heat. Casey was like that. Naturally content, perpetually at ease. Not at all like the other moms h
ad warned Kara babies could be. Casey had slept through the night by eight weeks and continued to be as lovely and charming as ever at four months.

  Kara wiped the back of one sweaty arm across her forehead. A year ago, she’d run three miles before dawn. These days she was lucky to power walk half that before dinner. The heat wasn’t helping. She parked the three-wheeled jogging stroller in a berth of shade from an ancient oak and checked her step counter for time and distance. Already 10:00 a.m., and she was a thousand steps shy of her goal. She’d have to make them up indoors. The temperature was rising, and Casey would soon be ready for lunch.

  Kara inhaled the sweet scent of blooming flower beds and the busy vendor carts positioned throughout Memorial Park. She eased her backside onto the fountain’s wide marble edge and waited for her heart rate to fizzle back to a steady thrum before making the final trek to her car. She gulped the dregs of warm water from her bottle and let her eyes slide shut.

  “Beautiful day.” A man’s voice sprung her lids open. The brim of his dark ball cap was pulled low over his forehead, casting shadows over his wide, deep-set eyes. His dark blue jeans and shirt clung to his bulky frame, likely applied there by a dewy coat of sweat. He clasped his hands behind him and peered into Casey’s stroller. “Pretty lady you’ve got there.”

  “Thank you.” Kara set a protective hand on the stroller’s side. She concentrated on Casey’s sleeping face instead of keeping eye contact with the man, hoping he’d take the hint. Kara wasn’t interested in a conversation or anything else he had to offer. What she needed was to go home and take a shower. Maybe change into something that wasn’t soaked in sweat.

  “She looks like you,” he marveled. “Is her daddy at work? He must be missing her fiercely.”

  Kara’s gut clenched at the thought of Casey’s father. A man she’d thought was good and decent, one who’d claimed to love her until a small pink cross appeared on the pregnancy test. Suddenly, he wasn’t ready for a life with her. Certainly not prepared for fatherhood. He was sorry, but he just couldn’t do it, and how did this happen anyway?