Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  Trying not to melt into her seat as images of the things Zeke could do to her taunted her libido, she jumped when she heard her car door open.

  “Thinkin’ ‘bout what I said, aren’t ya?” Zeke asked with a wink and a mocking grin. “Don’t worry, Kitten. I plan to devote all kinds of attention to widening your horizons now that I can call you mine. There are all kinds of places I intend to take that delectable little body.”

  Taking the hand he held out to her, Honor hopped down from his SUV. “Oh, hush,” she muttered, quickly looking around to see if they were overheard. “We’re in public, Ezekiel. Somebody will hear you, and I don’t think the entire town of Paradise needs to know that the sheriff tries to regularly convince his future wife into illicit trysts in the unlikeliest places.”

  “If somebody has a problem with how much I love you, then it’s their problem. Not ours. I waited years to have you be mine and now that you are, I’m gonna relish every second of it.”

  Honor couldn’t help smiling at that. Because that was patently Zeke. He’d never been ashamed of how much he loved her or shy about saying it. And he’d never given a single crap that everybody knew it. She was a very lucky girl to inspire that kind of love and loyalty from someone. “You’re right,” she murmured, lifting on her toes to press her lips to the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go get these errands done and then you can tell me about just how badly we’ll be traumatizing those fish,” she suggested with a playful wink.

  “That’s my girl,” Zeke praised as he held open the door to the office to let Honor go in first.

  Quickly making her way to the reception window while Zeke took a seat in the waiting room, Honor waved at Cheyenne through the cloudy glass and waited for the other woman to see her.

  “Honor!” Cheyenne greeted with a wide smile as she slid open the window. “How are you, hon?”

  “Just fine. I’m here with Zeke for my 11:15 appointment,” she informed the other woman with a smile. “It’s supposed to be a joint session.”

  “Ah, yes. Bree mentioned she had a pre-marital counseling session this morning.” Looking over Honor’s shoulder, Cheyenne lifted her chin toward Zeke and shot him a pleased grin. “Finally got her locked down, huh, Sheriff?”

  Zeke chuckled. “I did. She fought it something fierce, but my charm eventually won her over.”

  “Ha! More like he showed up at my house and refused to go back to his own. I swear, the man is bullying his way toward matrimonial bliss,” Honor countered with a giggle of her own.

  “All’s fair in love and war,” Zeke returned, looking up from the magazine he’d grabbed.

  “Oh, y’all are just a hoot and half. I received your wedding invitation in the mail last week, and me and the hubby will be there with bells on,” Cheyenne informed them both. “We can’t wait to see you and Zeke tie the knot. It’s been a long time coming.”

  “You can say that again,” Zeke mumbled without looking up from the article he was reading.

  “It should only be just a few minutes, Honor. Just have a seat with your man and we’ll get ya back shortly.”

  Honor nodded and went to sit down next to her future husband, leaning against his arm as she looked over his shoulder at what he was reading. Surprised that he’d chosen a parenting magazine, she scanned the article he was reading, “This year’s 100 popular baby names?” she read aloud. “Is there something you want to tell me, Sheriff Monroe?”

  “Never hurts to be prepared,” Zeke murmured softly against her ear. “We haven’t exactly been careful these last few weeks.”

  Honor’s jaw dropped as she thought back to the last several times they’d made love. He was right. Neither one of them had been exactly diligent in making sure they were using protection. Pressing one hand to her flat belly, Honor dropped her gaze to her stomach. She didn’t feel any different. No nausea. No vomiting. Sure, she’d been more tired than usual, but planning a wedding while bein’ pursued by a psychotic stalker would drain anyone’s energy level, wouldn’t it?

  “Honor?” Zeke called softly as he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the shelter of his body. “Say something,” he ordered in a whisper.

  “D-do you think we’re…I mean, do you think I’m already expecting?” she breathed, staring at him with wide eyes.

  “I don’t know, but would it be such a bad thing?” Zeke asked, keeping his voice low. “We both want a family and I’m not getting any younger.”

  Would it be a bad thing? Sure, she and Zeke were a relatively new couple in a lot of ways, but in other respects they knew each other better than couples who’d been married decades. Most days, it felt as if they’d been together forever. Lord knows that she’d always wanted a big family. Before everything that happened to her when she was a teenager, she always assumed she’d have a houseful of kids just like her momma had. Closing her eyes now, she could just imagine a little boy with Zeke’s dark hair and impish smile running around the café getting into trouble. Or a little girl with her blonde hair and Zeke’s soft gray eyes curled up in her lap while he read bedtime stories to her. She already knew from watching him spoil her nieces and nephews that he’d be an amazing daddy. He was everything her own father had been. Patient, kind, and loving.

  Yes, Zeke would be a wonderful parent to any child they had, and God knew she’d love their babies with the passion only a mother could have.

  “”No. No, I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all if we made a baby, Zeke.”

  “Good,” she heard Zeke declare, his deep voice caressing her soul as he lifted a hand to cup the side of her face. “Because I can’t wait to see your belly filled with my baby.”

  “You need to quit bein’ so sweet before you have me cryin’ like a baby,” Honor admonished, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

  “As long as they’re happy tears, Kitten,” Zeke returned, pressing his lips to her forehead.

  “Honor? Zeke?” Cheyenne’s voice called from the corridor where she stood holding the door open. “Bree’s ready for you. You can come on back.”

  ~~***~~

  Honor followed closely behind Cheyenne as the other woman ushered them down the hallway. Walking into Bree’s office a moment later, Honor smiled as the doctor rose from behind her desk.

  “Well, hello there,” Bree greeted them. “It’s good to see you both looking so happy. I can tell by the way both your faces are beaming that being engaged agrees with you both,” she commended them. “Please, sit down,” she invited, gesturing toward the comfortable loveseat as she collected her notepad from her desk and moved toward the armchair where she normally sat during sessions. “How are the wedding plans coming along? You’re what…a month away from taking that stroll down the aisle?”

  “A little more than that,” Honor replied, rubbing her hands against the khaki skirt she wore. “But the plans are coming together. My sisters are making sure of that.”

  “Well, that sounds wonderful. Zeke, how are you feeling about all this wedding hoopla?” Bree asked, shifting her gaze to where Zeke had his arm curled around Honor. “You ready?”

  “Hell, yes,” he answered quickly. “I’ve been ready for six years, Doc,” he replied.

  “That’s a long time to wait,” Bree noted casually.

  Zeke looked down at Honor. “Worth every single second of it to have the woman I want.”

  “No lingering bitterness on either of your sides, huh?” she questioned lightly, tapping her pen against the pad in her lap.

  “I always knew that when Honor was ready, she’d let me into her heart,” Zeke answered softly. “It understandably took her some time….”

  “Some time?” Bree echoed with an arched brow.

  “Fine, it took her a lot of time, but I, for one, think we were worth the wait, don’t you, Kitten?” he asked as he moved his gaze from Bree to Honor.

  Honor looked up at Zeke with adoring eyes. “Absolutely,” she whispered before focusing her attention on Bree. “I thank God e
very day for Zeke’s patience and tenacity. Without it, I would never be as happy as I am right now. I wasted a lot of time dwelling on my doubts and fears instead of seeing what I had standing right in front of me, Bree, but my eyes are open now. I see the unconditional love I’ve been offered by Zeke, and I want it. All of it. And in return, I’m finally able to give him mine. I’m just grateful he never got tired of waiting for me to pull my head out of the sand.”

  “Well then, on that note, I say we should get this premarital counseling session started,” Bree announced with a wide smile of her own.

  ~~***~~

  An hour later, Honor felt as confident as ever in her decision to become Zeke’s wife. As Bree led them down the hallway back to the reception area, Honor could already see Maggie waiting for her through the open reception window. Lifting a hand to wave at her, she paused as she saw Maggie frown back at her and shake her head slightly as Bree opened the door into the waiting room and gasped.

  “David! What in the world are…” Bree began to ask.

  “Shut up! Just sh-shut up,” Honor heard a man growl as she stepped out into the waiting room with Zeke on her heels. Gasping as she stepped over the threshold into the seating area, Honor’s heart jumped into her throat as she saw a familiar man pressing the barrel of his gun against Maggie’s temple. “All of you, get out here and sit for a minute,” the agitated man demanded.

  “Zeke?” Honor whispered, pressing her back against Zeke’s chest.

  “Just do what he says,” Zeke urged his woman calmly, settling one reassuring hand on her hip and steadying her.

  Swinging the gun toward Zeke, the man ordered, “I know who you are, too, and you need to know that it’s not a good idea to even think about rushing me. You might take me out, but not before I pull the trigger and shoot this nice lady here in the head.”

  “No need for that,” Zeke soothed, shaking his head. “We all wanna come out of this alive. What do you want? Money? Drugs? What are you lookin’ to find here?” Zeke asked, his deep voice level and friendly.

  “I found what I want,” he said, nodding to where Honor stood. “Toss out your gun, S-sheriff. Do in now before you force me into doing something I don’t wanna do,” he warned, grinding the barrel of his gun into Maggie’s skin.

  “Ouch, Asshat! That hurts,” Maggie bit out between clenched teeth, her hands clenching around the strap of her handbag.

  “Mags, be quiet, darlin’,” Zeke’s deep voice urged. “Son, we don’t want any trouble. We can all just stay calm.”

  “David,” Bree tried to talk to her patient again. “What’s going on here? Let’s talk about this,” she urged, keeping her tone kind and level. “Put the gun down; you don’t need to hurt anyone.”

  Ignoring Bree’s plea, David shook his head as his eyes darted toward her. “I can’t. I’m s-so sorry, but I can’t, Dr. Daniels.”

  A chill slithered down Honor’s spine as she heard those words said in that tone. “Oh, God,” she whispered as the man Bree kept calling David shoved a hand through his unruly hair. God help her, she recognized that voice.

  “Just do what I s-say,” David ordered. “Drop the gun on the floor and kick it toward me! Do it now! And no funny business or I blow this lady’s brains out,” David threatened Zeke as he pushed the nose of his own gun more forcefully against Maggie’s temple.

  “David, no!” Bree denied. “You don’t want to hurt anybody.”

  “No, I don’t! But I will if I have to,” he warned, staring at Zeke. “It’s up to you, Sheriff. Am I gonna have to take this lady’s life to prove how serious I am or are you gonna drop your gun?”

  “No. I’m gonna take off my gun real careful-like,” Zeke said, slowly moving his hand to the holster strapped to his waist. “Just be easy, son,” he continued slowly as he flipped open the strap holding his gun in place and pulled his weapon slowly, bending to drop it on the ground.

  “Now kick it over here,” David demanded impatiently. “Hurry up!”

  Honor held her breath as Zeke did as he said, freezing when David’s gaze moved to her. “It just clicked for you didn’t it? You’ve figured out who I am, haven’t you?”

  Licking her lips, Honor shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “I want somebody to explain to me how it’s even possible that I’ve managed to be taken hostage twice inside of a year by a deranged whackadoodle?” Honor asked under her breath as she opened her eyes and stared hostilely at the man holding them at gunpoint. Eyeing him anxiously, she noted his shaking hands and sweaty face. Older than her, but younger than Zeke by several years, he appeared agitated and nervous, his dilated eyes darting from one person to the other.

  “You haven’t answered me, Honor. Do you know who I am?”

  “At the moment? You’re the man ruining my wedding dress fitting!” she babbled.

  “David, talk to me,” Bree urged, trying to distract his attention from Honor. “What’s happening right now? Did you have a fight with your brother again?” she asked gently.

  “You could say that,” David laughed humorlessly, his unhappy eyes sad as they stared at Honor. “I really am sorry for this,” he apologized again. “There’s just no other way.”

  “No other way for what?” Honor asked, talking to the man for the first time.

  “To save you,” David replied simply. “And I have to save you.”

  “David…” Bree called as David shifted the gun he had aimed at Maggie to point it at Zeke.

  “I promise, Sheriff, this time I’ll help her the way I should have helped her then,” David vowed. “But to do that, I can’t have you getting in my way,” he said sorrowfully.

  “Oh, my God,” Honor whispered as she began to tremble, her heart pounding against her chest. “It is you. You’re one of them!” Honor whimpered, pressing against Zeke’s side. “You’re the one that didn’t want to join in, but they bullied you into participating.”

  “I’m sorry. So, so sorry,” David almost whimpered. “They made me do it. They made me hurt you, but I won’t let that happen again. I’m gonna make things right, but you have to come with me. I can’t keep you safe unless you do.”

  Honor swallowed as Zeke moved his body in front of hers. “She’s not going anywhere with you,” he growled, his big body stiffening. “If you want to help Honor now, you need to put that gun down and make a full confession of the crime you committed against her. Tell me who else was involved in her assault and I swear to you, I’ll put in a good word with the county attorney.”

  “All that won’t save her from HIM!” David roared as he jabbed the gun toward Zeke. “She’ll never be safe from him as long as he knows where to find her.”

  “Who?” Zeke barked, moving a step forward.

  “Stay where you are,” David yelled back, pointing the gun at Zeke’s chest.

  “Tell me who else hurt my woman,” Zeke demanded as he took another step toward the man holding the gun.

  Everything happened so fast after that. One second Zeke was standing in front of her, acting as a human shield and the next he was on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound. Screaming as she watched his knees buckle, his big body falling to the floor, Honor started to step forward only for Bree to grab her and hold her back.

  “Zeke! Zeke!” Honor screamed as tears flowed down her cheek and she collapsed to her knees, her gaze glued to the still man on the floor. Reaching her arm out to touch his leg, she sobbed as his eyelids fluttered. “Open your eyes,” she begged, scooting toward him on her knees as she noted that not only did he have a bullet wound in his arm, but he also had a cut on his temple where he’d struck the waiting room’s coffee table on his descent to the floor. “Please, honey, open your eyes! Don’t you dare leave me!”

  “Fuck!” the gunman cursed. “I didn’t want to do that! This wasn’t part of the plan. He wasn’t even supposed to be here! He was coming toward me. I told him to stay where he was. I had to do it,” David rambled as he stared down at the unconscious Sheriff.

&nbs
p; “David,” Bree said calmly, getting on her knees beside Honor and pressing her hands over the bleeding wound, “We need an ambulance.”

  “No, not yet,” David returned, his voice growing panicked as he reached for Maggie’s arm and jerked her out of the chair. “Your receptionist can call for help when she comes back from lunch. He’ll be fine for that long.”

  “Gone?” Maggie echoed incredulously. “Where the hell do you think you’re gonna take us that the law won’t find you. You’re tryin’ to kidnap the sheriff’s woman, the richest woman in Paradise County, and a much respected doctor. Every woman in this room has someone who’ll miss her when and if she doesn’t come home. You should take off while you can and you should do it alone,” Maggie advised angrily as she tried to dislodge her arm from David’s grip.

  “Fine, it’s only you I need to keep safe anyway,” David said, dropping Maggie’s arm and reaching for Honor.

  “No! No, I’m not leaving him,” Honor screamed, frantically clutching at Zeke’s arm.

  “Would you rather see me put a bullet in his skull?” David asked, aiming the gun at Zeke’s head.

  “No!” Honor shrieked hysterically, lunging to cover Zeke with her body. “Leave him alone! Leave us both alone! Didn’t you hurt me enough eight years ago to last you a lifetime?”

  David’s face twisted with remorse as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I don’t want to hurt you; that’s why I’m doing all this. You have to come with me before he finds you. Trust me, he’s mad, and you don’t want to deal with him when he’s mad. He thinks you’ve been taunting him with the sheriff. He’s out of his mind! He’s so much closer to you than you think. We’ve gotta go! Now! And if I have to shoot your sheriff again to get you out the door, I’ll do it,” the desperate man warned her gravely as he cocked the gun again. “Or should I shoot one of the women?” he asked Honor. “Should I do that instead?” he asked, pointing the weapon at a pissed-off-looking Maggie.