Wait for me.
Maura’
Callie closed the note as tears of joy filled her eyes. Immediately, Luke pulled it from her hand to clutch it to his chest.
“You’ve got it bad,” she said, sniffling.
“I’ve never loved anyone like this before,” he replied. Then, he knew there was something he needed to do. If he’d learned anything from this, it was that secrets were a bad thing. It was time to let his only one go, in hopes that it would open the way for his heart to find its new path.
“Can I tell you something?” he asked.
“Absolutely. You’re family.”
He took her hand in his. “Remember that one date we had?” he asked. “You know, the one that ended where you laughed and told me we weren’t compatible.”
Callie hated that he thought of it like that. “Yes.”
“The minute I kissed you, I thought you were the one. For all these years, I thought you were. Then, I met her. She healed me, and I’m ready to move on.”
“Since you’re being honest with me, I guess I should return the favor,” she offered, willing to heal his heart for the pain he’d carried all these years.
“Yeah, you’re family,” he said, handing her words back.
“Well, there are actually two things. The first is that night, I did feel something when you kissed me goodnight. I felt emotions that I couldn’t let out. I knew that if we had sex, or started something bigger than both of us, we could lose this.”
He stared up at her.
“I didn't want to lose the man I adored if we fell apart. I loved you too much to let sex get in the way, Luke. The second you kissed me, there was a spark. Only, I couldn’t risk my best friend. I thought it would be easier to pretend that I felt nothing. I never wanted to hurt you. I hope you’ll forgive me for that.”
He was surprised by her words. “Really?”
“Yes, really. When I found Quinn, I had my confirmation that I did the right thing. If we were meant to be together, then I never would have found love. Now that you have, too, fate didn't want us as a couple. It wanted us as a family. This is who we’re meant to be.”
“I love you, Callie. I hope I don’t screw this up with Maura. She’s the one.”
She dropped a kiss to his cheek. “You won’t. She’s meant to be yours. I can tell by looking in your eyes, darlin’. Now, you hold on as tight as you can, and do whatever it takes to love her.”
Luke was grateful he had family. After what she told him, his old wounds were healed.
He wasn’t unlovable.
It just wasn’t his time.
“What else did you have to tell me?” he asked, remembering that she had said ‘two things’.
“When I had Susie, we made you her godfather. Well, I’m pregnant, and there’s no one else I’d trust my child with than you.”
He looked up at her. “Really? I get to be the godfather to this baby too?”
“Yep.”
“Today’s a pretty great day.”
Callie couldn’t agree more.
Love had a way of making everything work out in the end.
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
Three Days Later
Thursday
Luke felt like a caged tiger. It had been three long days since he’d gotten Maura’s note. In the back of his mind, he was beginning to believe that she was just trying to not break his heart.
Doubt was settling in, driving him insane.
Maybe the note was bullshit, buying her time to escape.
He hated that his brain was going there, but Luke was helpless to fight the fear.
Inside, he was dying.
Since coming home, he’d never felt this lonely before in his life. There was no trace of her there. He couldn’t smell her soap, or hear her laughter.
It was making him stir-crazy.
Worst of all, he had no way to contact her. The only number he knew was now disconnected. The military was erasing any remnants of her team.
Now that her cell was gone, and she was off doing only God knew what, he wanted to be with her.
Luke would do anything at that point to be with her.
At any minute, he was going to get in his Hummer and hunt her down. In fact, he’d crash the gates at the military base and run down anyone who got in his way.
If she didn't call him soon, he was going to contact the Blackhawks and beg for their help.
He wasn’t above crawling.
Just as his thoughts were becoming more and more irrational, Luke heard his doorbell. Racing to it, he didn't look before he flung open the door.
That’s when he saw her.
Standing there, she looked different.
Maura wasn’t in black.
There was no camouflage.
In fact, she was wearing a dress. It was so very different than what he had pictured her in. There were bruises on her face and a healing wound on her cheek. She looked dangerous, rakish, and sweet all at once.
“Maura!”
“Can I come in?” she asked.
Luke couldn’t believe that she was even asking him that! Of course she could. Instead, of speaking, he stepped backward, allowing her to enter his space. “Where were you?”
She headed into his living room before she prepared for what was coming. It seemed like a year since she broke into his place to hide out, and not the one week that had passed.
“I left you a note. I had to go in and brief my bosses. They aren’t located out of this military base, so I was in transport.”
Luke wanted to ask a million questions, but there was only one he could think of. “Now what?”
“My team is dead. Bravo Ghost is gone. It’s been decommissioned and is in the process of an FBI hand off.”
“And that means?” he asked, holding his breath.
“Well, the missions are over. I’m simply Major Maura Gaines from here on out until my next assignment,” she said. “BUT, there is one thing on the horizon for me. It just popped up, and I plan on taking it.”
His heart sunk. There was that sick feeling in his stomach that she was going to slip through his fingers again.
“What is it, and how far away are you going to travel?”
She wanted to grin, but held it in. “There’s only one job I want from here on out. I want to be Mrs. Lucas Mars. Will you marry me, Luke?”
There was silence.
“What?”
Now she did laugh. It was the nervous laughter that made her worry that he was going to think she was absolutely insane.
“I want to marry you. Be my husband.”
His mouth dropped open and he stared at her. “Are you serious?”
She snorted. “Apparently, this is why men do this part. I think I messed it up somehow. I think you’re supposed to answer either yes or no. Not, ‘are you serious’.”
Again, he stared.
“I fell in love with you. When I met you at the hospital, standing over Callie’s bed, I knew. I tried to run from it, and fate wouldn’t cut me a break. I’ve been crazy about you since that fateful day. At my brother’s wedding, I wanted to run off with you, but didn't have the courage to take that first step. Now I do. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
“And work?”
“You’re my team now, or at least that’s what I want you to be. I don’t know what’s coming for either of us job wise, but we’ll face it together. Then, we’ll make that decision. Right now, I want to marry you.”
“Yes. I’ll marry you. Where’s my ring?”
She started laughing. “Do you not remember me beating the hell out of, and killing, a man four days ago?”
“On second thought, I’ll get you a ring.”
Maura went into his arms and against his body. “I love you, Lucas. You’re going to make an amazing husband.”
When their lips touched, his heart was whole once more. Here was his woman and finally, he was at peace.
Luke got
the girl.
And what a girl she was!
Slowly, he pulled away. “You’re going to make a great wife,” he stated. “You were meant to be my soldier. This is the battle we’re meant to fight, side by side.”
She didn't doubt it. Nothing before him ever mattered. The day she met Luke, life began.
Staring into his baby blue eyes, she found happiness. No matter what, she’d never be going back--not without him.
“I hope you’re right.”
“About you being a good wife or my soldier?” he asked.
“I’m referring to the wife part. I’m used to being a Marine. Soldier I can do. It’s the domestic stuff that’s up in the air.”
“There’s nothing to worry about, especially since I’m scared shitless of you.”
Maura patted his ass, grateful for his ability to make her smile. “Ah, I can see that this is going to be a perfect marriage.”
For once in Luke’s life, there wasn’t a doubt.
They were going to live happily ever after.
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
FBI West
One Month Later
Ethan Blackhawk hung up the phone. The look on his face said it all. “We have a problem.”
His wife stopped smiling. “I hate when you say shit like that,” she stated. “What now?”
“There’s definitely been a breech with Oracle. Gabe was just notified. Someone hacked the system and downloaded all the information.”
She didn't understand what the problem was. “Okay, so have the military move her. Hasn’t Maura Gaines rebuilt her team yet?”
“They decommissioned Bravo Ghost because of the previous leaks. It looks like the military has opted to pass this off to us, and early. All Oracle has now is one lone Marine to keep her safe. We’re under the gun to build a team.”
“Shit, Ethan! We’re not ready for her yet. We still haven’t found a unit to handle it. What does Gabe want us to do? It’s not like I can hide her out in our house.”
Ethan began pacing. This was the worst-case scenario and what they absolutely didn't want to happen. If Oracle was compromised, and data downloaded, that meant one thing.
The shit was about to hit the fan.
“You know we have no choice, right?” she asked.
Ethan was well aware.
“We’re going to have to bump up the timeline and drop him head first into the pool of sharks. I hate doing that to our people. Whenever Gabe did that to me, I swore I’d never be like this if I ran a division.”
Crossing to him, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ll take her until you can get it ready.”
She’d make the sacrifice. In their line of work, sometimes there was no choice.
“No.”
“I’ll take her and get her hidden. You build the team and go from there.”
He wanted to be sick. “Lyzee, baby, you’re pregnant with our child. You can’t. I can’t…”
She touched his cheek before pulling his lips down to hers. After the kiss, she stared into his eyes. “It won’t be for long. I’ll be okay. Who better to babysit the most powerful weapon the government has, then a crazed pregnant woman and a dangerous Marine?”
“Get Director Carter, his partner, and the new team ready for the assignment. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be safe. I know where I can take her. You just get the groundwork laid, and I’ll be home before you know it. Nate is going to have to hit the ground running on this one. We have no choice.”
Ethan knew it. His wife, out alone with Oracle was a bad idea. He could feel it in his gut. “You’ll have to head out ASAP. She needs transport.”
That was her cue. “I love you, cowboy. Hold down the fort while I'm out on the range.”
“You won’t be able to contact us. You’ll have to keep silent,” he warned, not knowing if he could handle her being away from them. This was the biggest test of their marriage, and lives.
He held her hand in his, afraid to let go.
“We’re stronger than this, Ethan. I’ll be safe. Don’t think of me as a pregnant woman. Think of me as someone who has everything to lose. That makes me dangerous.”
He swallowed.
“I’m going to go say goodbye to Callen. Take care of your brother and our family. You’re now the protective raven in my absence.”
With that, he watched her walk away. Now, he had more incentive to work fast. Ethan Blackhawk wanted his wife home, where she was safe.
Walking to his desk, he hit his intercom button.
“Yes, Mr. B?” came Ginny’s voice.
“Get Elizabeth anything she needs. She’s going out in the field.”
There was a pause.
“Alone?”
His gut twisted. “Yes, for the time being. Also, I need you to call up everything you have on Nathaniel Carter. He’s getting a promotion. I’ll need the standard paperwork by tonight. I want everything handled by Monday next week.”
“Yes, sir!” she stated before hanging up.
Ethan Blackhawk dropped into his chair and wanted to be sick. Not only was he feeding a decent man to the wolves, he was risking his wife. At the sound at his door, he glanced up. It was his brother.
“Are you out of your mind?” Callen stated. “You’re letting our woman head out with some freak to fend for herself, while pregnant?”
There could only be one answer.
“Yes.”
What choice did he have?
Meanwhile:
Oh, the truth was out.
It gave him a perverse joy to know that she wasn’t some made up fable. Just that knowledge filled him with such joy.
She was alive.
There was always speculation, but now the truth was there staring him in the face.
Avalon Miller was the one he needed to make all his dreams come true. With her at his side, nothing would stop him. She had a gift, and it was meant to be his.
He’d known that from the second he heard about her.
At any cost, he would have her. He found it ironic that they named her Oracle. The United States government had one hell of a sense of humor.
She was the teller of fate.
The decider of futures.
He’d wanted her the second he heard the gossip.
Now, she was destined to be his.
All it would take is tracking her down, bringing her to him, and then making the people who stole her away pay.
There would be no peace on earth until she was his.
Until she was his to use.
Abuse.
Control.
Sitting back in his chair, he sipped from the delicate china cup. It was time to watch and learn.
Before long, he’d be the most powerful person in the world.
Others would want to be him, but they couldn’t.
He was on his way to total domination. All it would take was one woman who was destined to be…
The Sinner Reborn.
Coming Next:
The final Chapter
Sinner Reborn
Nate’s Story
Coming Next:
Heaven is Weeping (book 5)
Croft & Croft Romance Adventures
January 2015
&
Unthinkable Games (book 3)
Littlemoon Investigations series
Feb 2015
&
Dead Shall Speak (book 10)
FBI Romance/Adventures
March 2015
Other books by Morgan Kelley:
Standalone books
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
Romance/FBI Thriller Series
Elizabeth, Ethan, and Callen
The Killing Times (book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (book 2)
True Love Lost (book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (book 5)
Darkness of Truth (book 6)
> Devil Hath Come (book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (book 8)
Redemption is Here (book 9)
Dead Shall Speak (book 10)
Pledging to Die (book 11)
Slay Bells Ring (book 12)
Past will Haunt (13) Flashback Book #1
Choices will Destroy (14)
Blood shall Run (15)
Act of Blood (16)
Stalked by the Past (17) Flashback book #2
Dying to Love (18)
Kiss of Souls (18.5) a Littlemoon/FBI crossover.
Revenge has Come (19) June 2017
Discarded by Fate (20) Oct 2017
Dawn of Evil (21) Flashback book #3 Jan 2018
Dead are Forgotten (22) Jan 2018
Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Series
Greyson and Emma Croft
Celestia is Falling (book 1)
Vegas is Dying (book 2)
Christmas is Killing (book 3)
Love is Bleeding (book 4)
Heaven is Weeping (book 5)
Hell is Burning (book 6)
Justice is Dying (book 7)
The Croft Mob Series
Greyson and Emma Croft spinoff series
Dark Justice (1)
Lost Justice (2)
Paid Justice (3)
Wedding of our Dreams Novella (3.5) Steele and Dante
True Justice (4) March 2018
Mob Justice (5) August 2018
Sinner Realized Page 44
