Armed 'N' Ready

by Tee O'Fallon

  “He’s fine.” She pressed her hand against his cheek. “You didn’t let go.” She sniffled and took an unsteady breath. “Do you remember?”

  He closed his eyes, nodding as relief flooded his body. Saxon was alive. Andi was alive. Andi was—

  He snapped open his eyes.

  Pregnant? How can that be?

  The first two times they’d used a condom, but the third —when they hadn’t—had been only yesterday.

  He was about to try speaking again when a nurse with bright red hair walked in, smiling as she immediately began checking the monitors. “I knew you’d come back to us, Sergeant. How do you feel?”

  “Fine,” he rasped, although he didn’t. Not really. His limbs felt as if they had the strength of a baby’s. Less, perhaps. And speaking of babies… His gaze met Andi’s then lowered to her flat belly.

  “This is Patsy.” She wiped at her eyes and motioned toward the nurse. “Patsy’s been with us the entire time you’ve been here.”

  He tried to say thank you but couldn’t manage the words. He settled for a courteous nod.

  “I’ll call the doctor, then we’ll see about getting you some ice for your throat. Not talking for a month will dry up anyone’s vocal cords.” She rested her hand briefly on his shoulder, then left the room.

  He stared, shock coursing through him. A month? A whole fucking month? The ledge behind where Andi sat came into view, the entire length jammed with flowers and cards.

  Holy sh—

  “Welcome back.” Andi leaned down to kiss him again, and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and hold her until the end of time.

  Not happening.

  He wasn’t close to having the strength to move his arms, so he lay there, content to have the woman he loved kissing him again and again.

  “Are you all right?” he whispered against her hair, breathing her in.

  “Am I all right?” She pulled back and laughed. “You’re the one who was shot in the chest. You almost died. The bullet barely missed your heart, and you lost so much blood.”

  She pressed her lips together, and he could tell she was about to cry again.

  Patsy reentered the room and placed a cup of ice on a rolling metal bed table. “The doctor is on his way. He okayed you to have some ice for your throat. Think you’re ready to sit up?” When he nodded, she pressed a button on a large plastic remote and the bed gradually inclined.

  After re-checking his vitals, Patsy winked at him, then grinned broadly. “I’ll be back. I want to give the rest of the staff the good news that you’re awake.”

  The second she’d left the room he clasped Andi’s hand. “You’re pregnant?” he croaked, then couldn’t stop grinning.

  Her eyes went wide. “You heard that?”

  “Then it is true.” His smile faded. I’m going to be a father.

  “You’re upset. I can see that.” She pulled from his grasp, misery clouding her face.

  “No, it’s not that. I thought you couldn’t—” He stopped when his throat dried up so much he thought it would close in on his tonsils. Andi’s beautiful blue eyes glistened with more tears.

  Tears you put there, dickhead.

  “Oh my God!” a woman gasped.

  He turned his head to the door to see Trista with her hand covering her mouth, her green eyes as big as key limes. Behind her, Matt grinned. And were his best friend’s eyes wet, too?

  Trista practically ran to the bed and started raining kisses all over him. “You had us so worried.”

  “Sorry, little pixie.” She smiled impishly at his use of the nickname all of Matt’s friends called her by. “Guess I needed to sleep for a while.”

  Tears streamed down her face, reminding him of a leaky faucet. She laughed. “Hormones.”

  Matt came forward and held out his hand, which Nick managed to clasp. Matt’s face instantly sobered, telling him it had been bad. Really bad.

  “Good to have you back, my friend.” Matt cleared his throat and squeezed Nick’s hand tighter. “You have no idea.”

  From the seriously intense look on Matt’s face, he was beginning to.

  “You’re still as ugly as ever.” Nick grinned, knowing full well how many women would kill to have been with his best friend.

  “Same goes.” Matt released Nick’s hand.

  An hour later, after Trista and Andi had hugged and cried some more, Eric and Kade blew into the room, and damned if both men didn’t get all teary-eyed. Several doctors had come and gone to reexamine him and explain the extent of his injuries in excruciating detail. Bottom line was that he was looking at months of physical therapy to get back to where he’d been before the shooting.

  For several minutes, he closed his eyes, content to listen to his friends talk around him. Andi never let go of his hand, and he held on to hers like it was his lifeline. As much as he loved his friends, he was tiring quickly, and all he wanted now was to be alone with her. There were so many questions, and he wanted the answers to all of them before he fell into the exhausted sleep that was coming on fast.

  “Guys,” he said. “I need some time alone with Andi.”

  His friends understood, and several minutes later he and Andi were the only ones left in the room.

  “I’m sorry.” She tipped her head back and stared for a moment at the ceiling. “I know I said I couldn’t get pregnant, and I really thought that was true. The doctors said so as far back as when I was in grad school. I really thought it was impossible.” She began twisting her hands. “My dad would have said that I hadn’t been ready before, mentally or physically. He’d say that it took all these years for the stars and planets to align properly.”

  “You and your astronomical explanations.” He did his best to bob his brows, failing miserably. “You know how that turns me on.”

  “Be serious,” she chided. “I don’t want you to think I did this to trap you, and if you don’t want to be part of my baby’s life, I’ll understand. I won’t hold you to anything.”

  “Our baby’s life.” There was no way he’d let his child grow up without him. “I’m going to love our baby as much as I love his or her mother.”

  For several long seconds of agony, she stared at him with a blank face. Warning flags shot up in his brain. While he’d been semiconscious just before coming out of it—and in his dreams—he could have sworn she’d said she loved him. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “I love you, too.” Her smile broadened, and she squeezed his hand, lifting it to her lips. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I judged you by the actions of others in my life, and I shouldn’t have.”

  “Listen.” He wanted to tug her closer but didn’t have the strength. “I don’t blame you. I did use you. I still can’t deny that. I had my own personal vendetta, and I wasn’t about to let anything get in my way. I would have done whatever it took to convince you to let me work at the DPC. But everything that happened between us from that point forward was real. As real as it gets.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.”

  “Okay.” He grinned, then sobered. “And let’s be clear on exactly how you got pregnant. How I got you pregnant. It wasn’t the stars and planets aligning. It took the right man—me.” And he was damned proud of it. “Now come here.”

  This time he did manage to tug on her hand, urging her to sit beside him on the bed. When she did, he rested his hand on her abdomen where their unborn baby nestled in a cocoon of warmth and love.

  She covered his hand with her own. “Did I mention that I think Stray and Saxon are in love? They run and play together all the time. They’re practically inseparable.”

  He managed to arch a brow. “Is she spayed? Saxon isn’t neutered, and I know for a fact that he doesn’t carry condoms when he goes running.”

  She laughed, and he would have, too, if his chest weren’t so tight. Tight from his injury and from his emotions spinning wildly out of control.

  �
�Don’t worry,” she said, still laughing. “She was spayed as soon as I found her. There will be no more unplanned pregnancies in my house.”

  “Then we’ll just have to plan in advance.”

  And he was determined to set his new plan in action without delay.

  The time for putting his future aside was over, and he didn’t want to waste another second of his life. Getting shot in the chest and seeing the woman he loved with a gun jammed against the side of her head will do that to a guy. Even if there were no baby, his goal would still be the same.

  What he was about to do was miles away from how he would have liked to execute this operation. He had no champagne, no ring, and no romantic candlelit dinner, but the time was right, and the time was now. He knew it in his head and in his heart.

  He took her hands in his and locked his gaze onto her incredibly beautiful face. “I love you more than anything in the world. I’d get down on one knee if I could, but I’m pretty sure I’d fall flat on my face, or my ass.” He paused, searching her eyes, seeing all that he needed. Not only his future but theirs. “Andromeda Hardt, will you marry me?”

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  The lacy white fringe of Andi’s dress fluttered in the unexpectedly warm mid-November breeze. Her pulse beat rapidly at the two little words that were about to change her life.

  She looked into the eyes of the man she loved. “I do.”

  “Then I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The state police chaplain gave Nick a brief nod. “You may now kiss your wife.”

  Nick slipped his arms around her, pulling her close. Looking as handsome as he did in a classic black tuxedo, he took her breath away. But it was the unabashed expression of love in his eyes that had her heart melting.

  “I love you,” he whispered, then kissed her. His lips were warm, lingering on hers before pulling away. “I’ll finish that later.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.” Her belly tingled, though she didn’t know if it was from the promise of yet another night filled with his lovemaking, or from the baby. What she did know was that her hormones were flying in every direction, and she craved making love with him now more than ever.

  No sooner did they turn to face the crowd than the entire line of groomsmen—all of Nick’s friends—whooped and hollered like a bunch of rowdy teenagers. The rest of the guests cramming the DPC’s rear deck and grassy yard below clapped and cheered. Even Saxon and Stray, who sat obediently in a corner of the deck, began howling their congratulations.

  Saxon was decked out with a big, shiny white bowtie, while Stray twisted her head first in one direction, then the next, trying to nip at the small bunch of pink flowers Tess had tied to her collar.

  The reception passed in a blur, and over the next two hours, they greeted family and friends. Business had picked up over the last few months, and the guest list had included some of their regular patrons, old and new.

  After waking from his coma, Nick had spent another week in the hospital, then jumped right into rehab to regain his strength. Last week, he’d returned to work on light duty only, which was driving him crazy. His house was for sale, and he’d filled his time by moving his things into her house. Correction, their house. His latest project was to turn the spare bedroom into the baby’s room.

  Now they sat in a corner of the deck, waiting for a second wind. Nick leaned over and rested his hand on her mounded belly, splaying his long fingers across the lacy fabric.

  “Think it’s a boy or a girl?” He shot her a grin that was both cute and devastatingly handsome.

  “My mom says it’s a girl.” She nodded to another table, where Nick’s parents and hers were deep in conversation. “Yours says it’s a boy. Which do you want?”

  Nick shook his head. “I don’t care. But if it’s a girl, we’re never letting her bring a boy near that telescope.”

  She leaned over and punched his bicep. As she did, she caught sight of Nick’s friends knocking back beers. Raucous laughter came to her ears. Everyone was having a good time except Eric, who stood off to the side watching Tess fill Saxon’s and Stray’s water bowls. The look on his face was decidedly somber.

  “What’s wrong with Eric?” She’d come to know him well enough over the past few months to recognize something was bothering him.

  “He’s transferring to New Jersey.”

  “New Jersey?” She couldn’t contain the shock from her voice. “Intentionally? I thought he was happy here.”

  He shrugged. “Said it was time for a change.”

  “Change my ass.” Narrowing her eyes first at Eric then Tess, she took a long slug of sparkling cider from her champagne flute.

  “Such language,” he chided. “You’re going to be a mother soon.”

  “Congratulations.”

  They both turned at Joe’s voice behind them. He leaned down to give her a quick hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek.

  Knowing Nick still hadn’t forgiven her ex for putting her in danger, she glanced at her husband to see his eyes narrowed to gray slits.

  “Congratulations.” Joe extended his hand to Nick.

  She watched the interplay, still wondering if Nick would launch from his chair and tackle Joe to the ground the way he said he’d dreamed about every night since waking from the coma.

  “Felon,” he said, after making Joe sweat a few seconds longer before taking his hand.

  For a convicted felon, Joe had gotten off easy. A federal judge had sentenced him to only six months home confinement and a thousand hours of community service. The unexpectedly light sentence had been partly the result of his cooperation being taken into consideration, plus the fact that he’d been shot. A stipulation of the home confinement was that Joe’s location was closely monitored, and the only things he could leave his house for were work, doctor’s appointments, the wedding, and his community service.

  A little bird had leaked information to the judge regarding Joe’s distaste for dogs. As a result, the judge had assigned one hundred percent of his service to a local rescue shelter. Now Joe was doing something he hated: being around canines and picking up their poop.

  “How’s the community service coming along?” Nick grinned slyly, and she understood why.

  “It sucks.” Joe gave a disgusted snort.

  “Good.” Nick snorted back. “It’s not supposed to be fun.”

  “You’re never going to forgive me, are you?”

  “No.”

  Anyone else watching Nick would think he was composed and relaxed, with a champagne flute in one hand, and the fingers of his other hand idly tapping the tabletop. Andi knew otherwise. Her husband was itching for an excuse to lay Joe out on the ground. For now, he was getting a kick out of toying with her ex.

  “Thank you, Joe.” She reached out to squeeze his hand. “Nick and I were just having a moment alone.”

  Joe took his cue and wisely left.

  Nick downed the rest of his champagne. “You just saved his life.”

  “I realize that.” She gave her husband a knowing smile.

  Two hours later, Nick carried her over the threshold, somehow managing to hold her and activate the brand-new security system. A short time later, they were completely alone in their bedroom, and the house was blissfully quiet. Even Saxon and Stray were exhausted from all the noise and attention and promptly fell asleep in their side-by-side beds in the living room.

  Wordlessly, Nick and Andi peeled off each other’s clothes until they were naked and lying on top of the bedcovers. It had taken Nick nearly a full month of recuperation before he’d regained sufficient strength to make love to her, and when he had, it had been slower and sweeter than ever before. Tonight was no exception.

  He pushed inside her, kissing her and cupping one of her swollen breasts. When he flicked his thumb over the rosy, distended nub, she arched off the bed. He leaned down to suck on her nipple. Given how ubersensitive they were now, she let loose with a throaty cry, holding his head to her breast wit
h one hand and cupping his muscled backside with the other. His glute flexed and bunched as he pushed languorously in and out of her body.

  Their breaths came quicker. As she neared orgasm, her heart pounded against her rib cage.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured against her ear.

  She cried out, her body clenching as heavenly waves crashed over her. A moment later, Nick groaned, coming hard inside her.

  He lifted his head and pushed up from the mattress so that he could look down at her. His gaze lowered, and he rested his hand on her belly, rubbing her rounded abdomen in slow circles.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “Feeling our baby.”

  As she reached up to cup his cheek, a lone tear trickled from the corner of her eye—one born of infinite joy, love, and the beautiful family that was finally theirs.

  Did you love this book from Entangled’s Amara imprint? Check out more of our titles here!

  Don’t miss Tee O’Fallon’s next book! Sign up for our newsletter here!

  Author’s Note

  K-9s are a highly specialized component of law enforcement that few officers are blessed to experience, and pose challenges most of us never encounter on the job. I’ve done my best to accurately reflect this unique aspect of law enforcement. Any mistakes contained within this novel are entirely my own.

  Acknowledgments

  Once again, my thanks to Cpt. Joseph King, Lt. Patrick Silva, and Sgt. Gary Hebert of the Massachusetts State Police K-9 Unit. Your time is precious, and I thank you for allowing me an insightful glimpse into the K-9 world. My editor, Candace Havens—thanks for putting up with me! Last, but never least, special thanks to my fabulous critique team, Kayla Gray, MK Mancos, and Cheyenne McCray.

  About the Author

  Tee O’Fallon has been a federal agent for twenty-four years, and is currently a police investigator, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. Tee’s job affords her the unique opportunity to work with the heroic men and women in law enforcement on a daily basis. Tee is the author of the Federal K-9 Series: Lock ’N’ Load and Armed ’N’ Ready, and the NYPD Blue & Gold Series: Burnout, Blood Money, and Disavowed. When not writing, Tee enjoys, cooking, gardening, lychee martinis, and all creatures canine. If you’d like to contact Tee, please visit her website at teeofallon.com.