When it felt like his lungs would explode, she broke the kiss and nuzzled his neck. “I’m sleeping in a very large, very comfortable bed, and I was wondering if my husband might like to join me.” She leaned back. “I love you, Rowan. I love you so much.”
“And I love you, my lovely, sunshine-filled Isabeau.”
Epilogue
One Christmas later…
Isabeau giggled as Rowan hugged her from behind, pressing a kiss to her neck. “Oh, that tickles.”
“I know, but I can’t resist that laugh.”
Rowan had planned something special and secret, and she’d just finished getting dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, which seemed odd for something special. The past year with him had been incredible, and every day she loved him more. His smile, his sweetness. Every day she fell deeper in love with him.
He’d held her hand in the courtroom as new charges were brought against Steven. She’d told the judge how he’d made her life a living nightmare. How badly she’d hurt after he’d attacked her, and that he’d turned her childhood home into a place she struggled to look at.
The best part was the judge who lit into him Judge Judy style. She’d sentenced him for as long as was legally possible. His father was also recalled and found himself not only in trouble for helping his son escape, but he was charged as an accessory to stalking.
And while she still struggled at times, Rowan was patient and kind, giving her the time and support she needed to deal with the trauma she’d suffered. She’d also joined a support group. It helped to talk about what happened with other women who’d shared a similar experience.
Overall, the time they’d spent together had helped them heal, and Izzy couldn’t imagine being happier.
“Will you please tell me what you have planned?” she asked.
Rowan shook his head. “You’ll see soon enough.”
She turned and palmed his chest. “I can see by the twinkle in your eye that you are positively ecstatic.”
“Because it’s not just for you.”
“What does that mean?”
His laughter filled their bedroom. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“All right, I’m ready.”
Rowan’s laughter died, and he took her face in his hands. “You are absolutely lovely today.”
“I’ve told you, you can use beautiful.”
“No, lovely fits you. It’s light and graceful.” He touched his lips to hers. “And you are lovelier today than you were yesterday.”
“Take me to this surprise, Mr. Masters.”
He dropped his hands from her face and tangled his fingers in hers. They left their bedroom, walked through the house, and out onto the veranda where Retta and Ulysses were waiting for them. Her mouth dropped open. Kids were running everywhere. “The children from the hospital burn unit?”
Rowan had taken to visiting them regularly. In the past year, he’d grown so comfortable that he’d cut his hair, and he didn’t shy away from anyone any longer. He used what happened to himself to help others, and it made her love him even more.
Then she gasped when she saw several of the ladies from her support group. “And my support group?”
“I wanted the kids to have a special Christmas. But I also wanted the ladies from your group to be able to enjoy their Christmas without fear. They know my home is gated and no one is getting in.”
That’s when she noticed Noah and his team standing guard around the garden. “You hired them just for my group?”
“I wanted them to feel safe.”
Izzy hugged him around the neck and kissed him. To her, Rowan Masters was beautiful inside and out. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You gave me something I thought I’d never have. A life with someone. And you helped me fulfill my mother and father’s dream of filling this house with children.” He smiled.
She cupped his cheek. “Maybe next year we could add one more.”
“I would love that.” He winked.
“Me too.” A home filled with their children made her heart skip a beat. “Merry Christmas, Rowan.”
“Merry Christmas, my love.”
* * *
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Interested in the Guardian Group’s stories? Turn the page to start from the beginning with the first chapter of The Ranger’s Chance.
Sneak Peek! The Ranger’s Chance Chapter 1
Worst assignment ever. Those three words had been set on repeat the moment Noah Wolf had stepped inside the Miami Beach dance club an hour ago, hoping that the woman he was tracking would show up. It wasn’t so much the club but the seizure-inducing flashing lights and the deafening music that he hated. If he’d known his assignment would take him to the most popular destination for spring break, he’d have passed on it. This was more Gunner’s speed.
Now that he was in Miami, there was nothing he could do but stick it out and hope the woman he was assigned to stick close to wouldn’t stay in town very long. What was a twenty-six-year-old computer geek doing in Miami on spring break? He was only thirty himself, but even when he had been in his twenties, this sort of place didn’t appeal to him.
His phone vibrated against his thigh, and he pulled it out. Pam? She must have a good reason for calling. He put it to his ear. “Hold on.”
Hopefully, Pamela Williams, his soon-to-be former boss, would have something for him. Noah still couldn’t wrap his head around this being her last time calling the shots. The Guardian Group would be under his leadership as soon as they brought down Tom Harrison—a known middleman for human traffickers. To be more accurate though, the disgusting man didn’t discriminate against what he shipped. He’d ship anything as long as he was paid for it, including guns and drugs.
After a year of Noah being undercover in Harrison’s trade, they thought they had the guy, but a technicality had set him free. Noah had disguised himself by dyeing his hair and letting it grow longer than he liked, sporting an itchy beard and mustache, and wearing contacts. And it had all been for nothing.
Shoving a twenty into the lanky bartender’s hand, Noah ducked outside and walked toward the surf so that he could hear. “Okay.”
“I think I have hearing loss,” Pam joked.
Pam had just started the process of assembling a team for the Guardian Group when she’d hired Noah and his team of ex-Army Rangers—Gunner, Ryder, Kolby, Elijah, and Mason. They’d taken on clients ranging from single moms with abusive ex-husbands to women with stalkers to celebrities in need of protection.
His current detail was a favor for the district attorney, and, admittedly, when Noah was first asked, he’d jumped at the chance for something different. After dealing with the spring break crowd, however, he was regretting even thinking it.
“I think I should get hazard pay,” Noah replied. “What did you find out?”
“She’s worked for Harrison for the last three days. After being referred by Galen White.”
Ryder Whitlock, the Guardian Group’s resident computer genius, had found out through chatter between Harrison and another known shipper, Galen White, that Mia Milan had been hired to work for Harrison. Mia was a computer security specialist out of Dallas, Texas. Ryder had also said to presume she knew exactly what Harrison did for a living, which, in Noah’s mind, made her an accomplice. Noah was in Miami to get to her laptop, if possible, and to stay close to keep her safe in the hopes that she’d come to trust him and testify against Harrison.
“Anything new?” Noah asked.
“Yeah, and we’d have called sooner, but this was the first bit of new chatter we could pull. They’ve been uncharacteristically quiet.”
That wasn’t good. One thing White and Harrison were good at was talking. For bad guys, they didn’t keep their mouths shut. They trusted their security too much. “Do you think they’ll kill her?
We need her to testify.”
“Based on their previous referral track record, there’s no doubt. Harrison will wait until she’s out of Miami before going after her by using goons that aren’t tied to him. That’s his typical M.O.”
Noah swore under his breath. “Do we know where she is?”
“Yeah, Ryder used her cell phone to finally get a location. She’s about a mile down the beach at a club called Buzzed.”
Buzzed? “Great name.”
“Isn’t it? What is a smart girl like her doing in a place like that?”
He snorted. “I think we’ve established over the last few years that just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you can’t do dumb things.”
“True. Go find her. If we’re right, she’s in trouble.”
“Are we certain she knows who Harrison is? What he does?” It was Noah’s experience that the least likely people worked for scum like Harrison.
“No details on that yet. Ryder wants you to get close and find her laptop. He’s on standby to access it remotely and copy the hard drive.”
“All right.”
“Keep an eye on her. If you make contact, don’t let her know who you are until we get that laptop. This time, we’re going to make sure we get Harrison.”
“Gotcha. Out.” He ended the call and stalked down the beach until he got to the club, where he walked into the throng of party goers.
The club Mia Milan had picked was on the very edge of “club row,” as Noah liked to call it, and it wasn’t nearly as large as some of the other clubs. There were maybe two hundred people. Most were dancing, several were holding up the walls and making out, and others were sitting and drinking at tables scattered around the dance floor.
It wasn’t the cleanest or classiest, either. To Noah’s way of thinking, based on the photos he’d seen of Mia, he was surprised she’d pick a disgusting place like this one.
He swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyebrows drawing together when he couldn’t find her. It was possible she’d left, but Pam or Ryder would have sent him a message telling him that. When he was certain she wasn’t in the crowd, he found a corner spot by the bar where he could keep watch of who was entering.
The song that was playing came to an end, and the dancers stopped, booing with the sudden quiet. Before it could get ugly, an oily guy with slicked-back hair jogged to the DJ booth sitting back from the stage.
“Hey, guys!” The guy held up his hands in a time-out signal as louder boos started. “I’ve got something special! We’re having our very first swimsuit contest.”
Noah’s lips curled. Disgusting. After what he’d seen during his year with Harrison, he was no fan of this type of thing. The objectification was more than he could stomach. Surely Mia wasn’t going to do something like that.
Of course, the crowd cheered. Didn’t these people know the dangers that lurked in places like this? Hadn’t they seen the videos of passed-out girls on the beach and what happened to them? Heard of missing people? Did they really not think through things because they thought it was a public place so it must be safe?
The slimy guy announced the first girl, and she walked across the stage in a bikini that made Noah look away. Girl after girl pranced across the stage. Yes, they were technically women based on age, or he hoped so. Mostly, they looked like kids, and he couldn’t bring himself to watch. They were old enough to make their own decisions, but that didn’t mean he had to participate.
“And next, we have Mia Milan.”
Noah jerked his gaze to the stage as she tiptoed across. She flashed a thousand-kilowatt smile, wearing a one-piece suit with a sarong tied around her waist and a small clutch dangling from her wrist. The one picture of her Ryder had managed to find on the web did not do this woman justice at all. With dark hair bouncing around her shoulders, a heart-shaped face, perfectly proportional lips, and upturned nose, she was downright stunning. And there was no way their information was correct about her height. She wasn’t five-eight, even on her tiptoes.
There was something about her that had him off his chair and walking toward the front of the club before he even realized it. He stopped midway and scanned the crowd again, a weird feeling settling in his gut. When he didn’t see anything, he returned his focus to the stage.
For now, he’d have to assume Mia knew who Harrison was and what he did and that she was an accessory. It was Noah’s job to get the info they needed and hopefully convince her to testify. If she didn’t know who Harrison was, well, then he’d work that out later.
* * *
Being on a stage was not what Mia had planned when she’d agreed to take the dare. If her grandma was still alive, she would’ve killed her if she saw her in a bathing suit being howled at by college boys. What was she thinking anyway? She didn’t even know those people on the beach earlier. At first, it had been so much fun hanging out with them. If she’d known they were going to trick her into doing this, she’d have bowed out early.
Of course, she knew she didn’t have to do it. It was a stupid dare. What were they going to do? Call her names? So what if they were hanging out at the bar waiting to see if she’d go through with it. Big deal. But it wasn’t that. This trip was her chance to step out of her comfort zone. To be spontaneous and live carefree. It was a public place, so how much trouble could she get into?
“So, sweetheart, where are you from?” the man holding the microphone asked. She wasn’t sure what cologne he’d bathed in, but it was so overpowering that her eyes burned.
With a smile and a couple of blinks, she answered, “Uh, a little town in Texas called Hill Vale.” Them knowing her hometown wasn’t a big deal since she didn’t live there anymore. And good luck finding her. With zero social media presence, Mia was a needle in the information haystack.
The creepy guy smiled. “Did you hear that accent? How cute is that?”
She chuckled nervously as someone in the crowd whooped. “Thanks.”
“How about a wet contest?” someone yelled.
Mia shook her head as her pulse jumped. This was taking a bad turn. Another thing she hadn’t expected when she’d accepted the dare. Why had they picked her to start yelling stuff at? “Oh, no. I’m fine.”
The announcer lifted an eyebrow, and in an instant, it felt predatory. “You know, I wish I’d thought of that. Who else thinks we should add a little water to the mix?”
The entire place erupted with whoops, cheers, and fist pumping.
She shook her head again, this time more vehemently. “No, really, I don’t want to do that.”
“Aw, come on, sweetheart.” His thin lips stretched into a wider smile.
“No.”
He put his hand over the mic. “Sweetheart, I’ve got a crowd wanting to see you doused in water. Just play along, all right?”
“I—” Before she could finish her statement, a body curled around her, and then she was lifted off the ground by the waist. What felt like seconds later, her feet hit the sand as the man set her down and stepped back.
Her heart raced as she let her gaze roam over the tall, muscular man. With the little bit of light coming from the strip, if she had to guess, he was either a bouncer, a bodyguard, or a weight-lifting champion. Or maybe all three. He was huge. Not a vein-popper type, but if this guy wanted to throw down, you would know you’d been thrown…after you woke up in the hospital. If only she could make out his features, but there wasn’t near enough light for that.
He shook his head, and droplets of water hit her on the cheek. “I’m sorry.” He took a few more steps back. “Two guys were coming up behind you, about to throw water on you. You’d said no.” As he turned his back to her to shake out more water from his hair, she could see that the back of his shirt was soaked.
“You didn’t have to rush in to rescue me. It was just water.” He didn’t, but, man, did he leave her twitterpated.
He faced her, his eyebrows drawn and his gaze not quite meeting hers. “I know. I’m sorry. I hate those kinds of con
tests, and when you told them no, I rushed in without thinking. It was an automated response.”
In a way, it was pretty chivalrous and not something she’d experienced before. “Well, I could’ve handled myself, but thank you. Still, next time, the woman you think you’re rescuing may not be as forgiving as I am.” She stuck her hand out. “I’m Mia Milan.”
“Noah Wol—andry. Noah Wolandry.”
“Nice to meet you, Noah.” Mia took a second and readjusted the sarong tied at her waist. It had loosened as he carried her, and now she was glad she’d worn it. On stage, she’d felt exposed, and now, in front of this beast of a guy, she would’ve felt even more so if she was just wearing her swimsuit.
“I guess I’ll get out of your way.” He waved in the direction of the club. “If you want to go back, I’ll make sure to avoid it,” he said, not hiding the frustration in his voice. Still, it was deep and swirled around her like the aroma of coffee. Deep and rich.
Part of her wanted to go back just to see if he’d keep his word, but the other part of her wanted to keep him talking. That voice was ear candy. “As tempting as that is, I think I’ll pass.”
“What were you doing in a swimsuit contest anyway? You’re a grown woman. Not a college kid.”
She lifted a single eyebrow. “Oh, so I’m not young and attractive enough to be in a swimsuit competition?”
He blinked. “No. I mean, yes. I mean…” He took a deep breath and raked his hand through his hair. “Actually, you’re breathtaking, and anyone low enough to participate in judging a contest like that won’t have the class to appreciate just how beautiful you are.”
Her brain sputtered. Breathtaking and beautiful in the same sentence? That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. Her cheeks warmed almost uncomfortably. “Uh, well, thank you.”
The Beast's Fake Marriage (Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book 5) Page 17
