Dark Knight: A Loveswept Romance Classic

by Donna Kauffman

  “I’m an incredibly lucky man,” he said, looking into her eyes. “Very blessed.”

  T.J. said, “There’s a lot of that sentiment floating around this room today. Hard to believe all the changes.”

  “You can say that again,” Scottie said softly, still looking at Logan.

  “I’ve been trying to get her to agree to come to the ranch and spend some time with me and Jenna. Maybe you can have some influence in that department.” Just then a very tall, very striking woman made her way to T.J.’s side and ducked comfortably under his arm. Their size alone made them an arresting couple. But when T.J. looked down at Jenna and she smiled, Logan saw the true magic. He understood that magic.

  “I’ve got Blue and Diego and John and Cali committed,” Jenna said. She looked at Logan and Scottie. “How ’bout you two?”

  “Honeymoon suite is open,” T.J. said with an encouraging grin and a wink.

  Jenna nudged her husband’s shoulder. “Not everyone is as ready to race down the aisle as you were,” she said.

  “I recall it being a tie,” T.J. reminded his wife, who could only smile and shrug.

  “Well, you’re welcome to come visit whenever you can make time,” she said, smiling back at Scottie and Logan. “We’d love to have you.”

  John and Cali McShane walked up to the desk. “Good, are you talking her into taking a break?” John said. Handsome in a world-weary, Indiana Jones kind of way, he was one of the original Dirty Dozen. Scottie had also recruited his wife. They both worked on the internal side of the team now. “Give us a break from the slave driver,” he added.

  “Boy, I tell you, throw a party for your employees, and all you get is ragged on. Don’t expect a big check in your bonus envelope this year.”

  Everyone rolled their eyes in a collective “get real” expression. She laughed. Money, while better than decent, was the least motivating factor for this crew.

  Blue Santerra waltzed over and stood beside Scottie. “Don’t let them box you in a corner, Scottie,” she said, laying a hand on her shoulder. It was a measure of just how much she’d changed that Blue’s hand felt comforting there. Blue had made a point of contacting Scottie when they’d come back from successfully completing their assignment in Montana. She’d been facing a dilemma and had needed Scottie’s help. While they had talked, Scottie had actually opened up a bit herself and talked about her wildfire relationship with Logan. Blue had laughed and went on to explain how it had been similar for her and Diego. Blue was also a police officer with the Denver PD, and Scottie and she ended up talking shop as well.

  The groundwork for a solid friendship had been laid that day, one that Scottie intended to work hard at nurturing. Blue had already made it clear that she wanted the four of them to spend time together. Scottie was looking forward to it. Logan and Diego in the same room would make for interesting conversation at the very least.

  “Thanks, Blue. Always nice to have backup.”

  “Hey, it’s my job.” She laughed along with the rest of them.

  Diego joined the cluster. “Did you tell them?” he asked quietly.

  Blue looked at her husband and something in her posture seemed to melt. “Not yet. We should do that together.” She turned to Scottie with a questioning look.

  Scottie lifted a shoulder. “I did my best,” she said for Blue’s ears only. “All we can do is wait and see, I guess.”

  Blue nodded then turned to the group. “Okay guys, let’s back up and give the new couple some breathing room here.” She looked at a now wide-eyed Scottie and winked unapologetically. “Heavy breathing room.”

  Everyone laughed and little by little broke away into smaller clusters of talk and laughter.

  Blue winked at Scottie and Logan again, then pulled her husband over to a quiet corner.

  Scottie watched them go as Logan tugged her to stand. “I like her,” Logan said.

  “So do I,” Scottie said, with true affection in her voice. “She’s a good person. Diego is a lucky man.”

  Logan pulled her to his side and turned her face to his. “I’d say there are a whole bunch of very lucky people in this room. You have a good team, Commander. Good people.”

  “Thank you.” Scottie knew Logan’s full background now and took his comment as the respected compliment it was. He’d spent the past five years working for a deeply buried government task force whose job it was to pin down the globe’s worst criminals. Terrorists and international arms dealers were Logan’s specialty. “You still sure you want to do this?”

  Logan kissed her deeply, reveling in the fact that she didn’t pull away, that she didn’t view public displays of affection as a weakness. Quite the opposite. “If you’re talking about joining the team as an advisor on international threats, the answer is yes, I’m sure.”

  “And if I was talking about … something else?” She smiled softly when he kissed her gently on the lips, then blushed hotly when he whispered in her ear. He leaned away while he still could, but his devilish smile belied his casual tone. “Did you talk to Del?”

  A frown creased her forehead as she nodded. “For all the good it did.”

  “Then he’s not coming?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I tried everything I could think of.”

  Logan grinned and squeezed her. “Then he’ll be here. My woman always gets the job done.”

  Scottie’s laughter was interrupted by the appearance of Lucas. The resemblance still startled her, and when they stood side by side, the impact was almost visceral.

  “Hi.” In contrast to his brother, Lucas was a man of few words, generally remaining quiet. But Scottie knew that beneath his apparent shy exterior he was intensely alert, absorbing all the details around him without intruding on the scene. Scottie knew this was what made him so good at blending into any situation. She would miss him in the field. She’d tried to talk him into lending his expertise as a consultant, much as his brother was going to, but he’d shocked them all by announcing he was retiring from the profession altogether. He was going to head back to Michigan and take over Blackie’s Place. In the end, it had been Logan who’d argued successfully in his brother’s favor. Scottie lost the battle with grace. At least she liked to think she did. Logan still teased her about it.

  “Hi, Lucas,” she said. “I guess I should stop dominating your brother’s attention here and let you two have some time alone together. When do you leave for Detroit?”

  “Right after the holiday party for the kids,” he said.

  Scottie smiled softly. “I think that’s the greatest idea you two had.” All of the children from the Brethren compound, including several Scottie and Del hadn’t known about, had been rescued. After returning to Denver, Logan and Lucas had put theirs heads together and decided to reunite the kids, now scattered with various extended family members, for a holiday party. For many of the children, it would be their first such celebration ever.

  Lucas cleared his throat and looked at Logan for a second. He was clearly uncomfortable.

  Scottie touched Lucas’s arm—another change Logan had so quickly rendered in her life. Touching others came so naturally to her, she wondered how she’d stifled that part of her personality for so long. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad. Just spit it out.”

  He looked her in the eye. “I’d like to host the reception for your wedding to Logan at Blackie’s,” he said all in one breath. “That is, once I get back there and get settled in.” He looked at both of them. “You weren’t planning on doing anything soon, were you?”

  Truthfully, Scottie thought about marrying Logan at least every other minute of every day. All he had to do was nod at the closest justice of the peace, and she’d be there with bells on. Or a black catsuit. She stifled the private smile, not certain Lucas would understand. It was an odd feeling, realizing she knew Logan better than a man she’d worked with for a decade.

  But though she knew Logan was her life and would be forever, and felt confident in
his love for her, he hadn’t actually popped the big question. She had already decided to take matters into her own hands, but this wasn’t the way she wanted to do it. “We, uh, don’t have any real concrete plans at this point.”

  “I didn’t mean you had to marry there,” Lucas added quickly, misreading the sudden tension. He turned to his brother. “I know Detroit doesn’t hold the best of memories for you.”

  Scottie felt an emotion of an entirely different kind swamp her and tighten her throat as she watched the two brothers connect silently. Once Lucas had recovered from the shock of it all, their reunion had been highly emotional. She’d already told Logan that they would work something out for them to spend as much time together as possible. Family would be important to her, they would always know they came first. The team would have to adjust to her schedule.

  To that end, she glanced at her watch again.

  “I’m not sure what our plans are,” Logan said, smoothing the tension away with his easy warmth. “But your offer means a lot to me.” He glanced at Scottie. “To us. If we do anything, we’ll do it with family. Thank you. And anytime you throw a party, call us, we’ll be there.” He leaned over and clapped Lucas on the shoulder, then grabbed his hand and raised it in a joint fist. “The Blackstone brothers return to Detroit! The city will never be the same.”

  Lucas grinned, making Scottie swallow. It made the most amazing change. The man was devastating when he smiled.

  “Isn’t he, though?” a female voice agreed from beside her.

  Scottie turned to find Martina Gladiston standing beside her. She hadn’t expected to like the woman, but Marti’s personality was as short and sassy as her wild blond hair. She was a five-foot whirlwind. Scottie had ended up working behind the scenes to get a groundswell of excitement going over Marti’s insider piece on cults. Marti had ended up wowing them on her own and had landed a five-part series with The Washington Post. Newsweek and Time were now vying to get her as a staff reporter.

  Several television news shows had also been haunting her doorstep, but Marti was playing it straight and sticking with hard news over celebrity. She resolutely refused to discuss her father in any way and downplayed her instrumental role in rescuing the children. It had been Marti who’d discovered the additional children, all five of them infants. Scottie admired her as well as liked her.

  Scottie smiled down at her. “Was I that obvious?”

  Marti nodded, her flashy smile revealing perfect white teeth. “Yep.” She sighed dramatically. “One of those smiles and I was a goner.”

  “I didn’t know he was capable,” Scottie said.

  “Neither did he,” Marti said, then laughed irrepressibly.

  Lucas snagged her hand and tugged her to his side. “Hey there,” he said quietly.

  Marti smiled up at him and bumped his arm with her shoulder. “Hey there, yourself.”

  Scottie watched the byplay between them with unabashed interest. It was wonderful to see the quiet Blackstone brother try to hide his feelings. Especially when the other Blackstone brother made no attempt at all, much to her delight. And more to her delight, one kiss from Marti—a giant, noisy smacker of a kiss—and Lucas was forced to give up the pretense too.

  Scottie squeezed Logan’s hand and reached up for a kiss, seeing in his eyes the same warmth and delight over his newfound family as she had.

  Logan and Lucas drifted into another one of their many conversations about the bar, and her thoughts turned back to Del. She was debating on whether to track him down and harass him again, when the double doors to her office swung open.

  The silver-haired man that walked in was a complete stranger—to everyone in the room but her and Logan. She’d had her meeting with Del, several in fact, the last two of which Logan had sat in on. She was happy with the results, but she was thrilled that he’d decided to come there today. Only now did she really believe this was all going to work.

  She walked over to him and took his hand. If he was surprised by the gesture, he masked it quickly. He held her gaze and then surprised her in return by stepping in and giving her a brief hug. “Thank you for bullying me into this,” he said into her ear.

  The buzz in the room quieted as people spied the latest guest, and then it quieted altogether when Scottie turned to face them.

  “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to your new co-commander.”

  “Daddy?” Blue’s soft whisper traveled the entire length of the silent room. She pushed her way through the crowd until she stood before him.

  Scottie watched as Del turned and focused his attention exclusively on his daughter. He nodded.

  Blue looked him over. “Say something so I know it’s you.”

  “It’s me, mi cielo.”

  My sky. The name he’d called her at birth, the name that had resulted in her being called Blue. “It is you,” she said on a soft gasp. Her eyes grew glassy, and she threw her arms around him. “I thought you weren’t coming back.”

  Del had been reunited with Blue, whom he hadn’t seen since she was a child and who thought her father was dead, earlier that year, during the same assignment where she’d met Diego.

  Blue broke the embrace and engulfed Scottie in a tight hug. “Thank you, Scottie. For bringing him back. Again.”

  “He was already back,” Scottie said, returning the hug. “I just convinced him the world wouldn’t come to an end if he stepped out of the shadows a little ways.”

  Del cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. Amid murmurs coming from the rest of the group, he said, “Shouldn’t we get on with it?”

  “Not yet,” Blue interrupted. She turned and lifted her hand, signaling Diego. “There’s another reason we wanted you here today.” Diego came forward and tucked Blue to his side. They turned so they faced Del and the rest of the gathering. “I’ve been badgering Scottie for a month now, trying to get her to find me a way to contact you.” Eyes shining at Scottie, she said, “This is so perfect.” She looked back to Del. “You’re going to be a grandfather, mi padre,” she said with a soft smile.

  Whoops and gasps followed by applause filled the office with cheerful noise. Suspicious moisture in his own eyes, Del stepped forward and pulled his daughter into a hug that was only awkward for a split second. Only when the applause had died down, leaving a few audible sniffles, did they pull apart.

  Del laid his hand on his daughter’s stomach. “I will make this child a promise.” He looked into Blue’s eyes. “I will be here for him or her. Always. Just as I will be here for you from now on.”

  Scottie wiped at the tears now flowing down her cheeks. Logan moved behind her and pulled her back against him in a comforting hug. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I want that to be our future, too, Anunsciata Bernadina. That will be us.”

  Scottie nodded, no longer trying to dry her eyes. She tipped her head back and looked up at Logan. “As long as you promise me that I get to name her if she’s a girl.”

  Logan’s mock wounded expression dissolved into chuckles.

  Del cleared his throat and stepped toward the group. When the room was completely silent, he spoke.

  “I started this team ten years ago at the request of our government. The guidelines I set for individual performance were strict and necessary if we were to succeed at the difficult assignments that Uncle Sam was going to ask of us. And we were successful. More than anyone could have hoped for. Every one of you can be proud of the work you’ve done, and under the most extreme circumstances and personal sacrifices.” He paused for a moment and took time to look at each team member, new and old, individually.

  “I haven’t changed my stance on the requirements for a good field agent. But I have changed in other ways. I look at you, and I see some of the best agents I have ever had the pleasure to work with. I also look at you and see the beginnings of families.” There was a collective holding of breath. “And I give you all my blessing.”

  Scottie squeezed Logan’s hand and saw the other couple
s affirming their connections in their own personal way as well.

  “It is time to move this team in a new direction. The Dirty Dozen as it existed has fulfilled its original mandate. Unfortunately there is still much work to be done. In order to do it most effectively, we will continue to firmly establish an internal base of operations and training as Scottie has already implemented.”

  “You’re returning to the team?” This came from John McShane.

  “Always the impatient one.”

  John simply smiled.

  “An unrepentant lot,” Del grumbled, but it was followed by a good-natured chuckle. “Went and fell in love despite yourselves.” He bowed his head for a moment, as if composing himself, then looked up. “I consider it an honor to return to heading this team.” He looked at Scottie. “I also consider it an honor to be brought into this growing family. There is a strength here that, though it is unfortunately a weakness in fieldwork, will be one of our biggest assets internally as the Dirty Dozen moves into the twenty-first century.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for forging ahead and proving to an old man that amidst chaos there can be love.”

  He raised his hands to fend off the sudden clamor of good wishes. “Scottie will brief you all later on the breakdown of command,” he said gruffly, somewhat embarrassed by all the emotions running rampant in the room. “Essentially, she will continue to be in charge of setting up all ongoing training of current field agents. I will return to strategic command of our field operations.” He looked at Blue. “I will be based here in Denver as well.” He looked back to the group and said sharply, “So be prepared. I will be in these offices all the time. Look sharp, or you’ll be hearing from me.”

  His attempt at stern command was an immediate failure as everyone moved forward and crowded around him, Blue, and Diego. Congratulations and welcomes were interspersed with hugs and backslaps.

  Logan extricated Scottie from the throng and pulled her silently into the hall, easing the double doors shut behind him.