by Aleah Barley
“He is better,” Gina said.
“Too bad he’s not here.”
“I’ll always be here when she needs me.” Finn’s voice was rough and dark. Forget a knight. He stepped into the room like an avenging angel, wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a gleaming pistol in one hand.
Bang. The gun thundered once.
Bang, bang. Two more shots went off, one after another, slamming into Skippy and his friend. The shots hit the men low in their legs, making them stumble and fall.
His gun was trained on Howard. He must have figured out what his captain was doing and come back to catch him. “Next time you let your thugs in somewhere, you should lock up after yourself.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.” Howard’s gun was extended straight in front of him, pointed directly at Gina’s chest.
Gina’s head was aching. Her knees felt like they’d been ground to pieces, but her gaze never left the gun barrel pointed in her direction. The damn thing gleamed.
“I wasn’t going to do anything,” the larger thug groaned from where he was lying on the ground. “I swear—”
“Shut up,” both police officers snapped in unison.
It really shouldn’t have been funny.
She forced herself not to laugh. No sense surprising the man with the gun.
Her heart was slamming against her chest. Her lungs were screaming for air. She wanted to say something—to do something—but all she could manage was watching the two men facing off like feral wolves. Finn was younger, bigger, but with a gun in his hand, Howard looked mean.
“You’re the one who wanted Gina dead,” Finn said. “You knew what she’d seen when you sent me after her. Why?”
“I was curious.” Howard jerked his head toward the thugs on the ground. “I wanted to see what you’d do.”
“You were curious?” Finn demanded. “That’s why you brought me off leave?” His laughter was quiet, dark. “You never did bring me off leave, did you? You needed someone off the radar. Someone you could count on to follow orders.”
“You’ve always been good at doing what you’re told,” Howard sneered. “That’s half the problem. You know the book backward and forward, and you’re not afraid to turn in your fellow officers on trumped-up charges. Taub hated you.”
Blue eyes held steady, locked on his boss. “The charges weren’t trumped up. He was a dirty cop.”
“And you’re the incorruptible Gabriel Finn. You can’t be bribed, can’t be corrupted.”
“Maybe you just didn’t try the right bait.” Finn’s gaze darted to Gina. There was heat in that look. Lust and want…and need. Maybe he hadn’t just come back to catch Howard.
Maybe he’d come back for her.
“Really?” Howard laughed. “The priest and the showgirl? It’s like something out of a bad movie. Tell me, what does it take for a woman to get into your tighty-whities, Detective? Is she double-jointed?”
“She’s perfect,” Finn said. “I love her.”
Howard’s expression hardened. “That’s going to make this even better. I was going to kill her anyway, to make a point. You can’t protect everyone, but now? I can get rid of you both at the same time and call it a murder-suicide. Star-crossed lovers, that sort of thing.”
The Rollio had done Romeo and Juliet a year earlier, but with more G-strings and glitter. Gina hadn’t been one of the leads, and she had no desire to be recast. She didn’t want to die. Not tonight. Not when she could still feel the heat from Finn’s gaze on her skin.
Not when he was proclaiming his love for her in front of a homicidal maniac.
Her heart surged.
If they still had a chance…
She couldn’t let Howard kill Finn.
Not when she’d just figured out how she felt about him.
Gina shifted forward onto the balls of her feet. She forced air down into her chest, pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, and danced forward with a quick two-step. Her chin lifted high. Her hands reached up, providing balance. She turned to one side, lifted her leg, and kicked out hard.
Technically, it was a dance move she’d memorized her second year at the Rollio, but the trainer had claimed it was based on capoeira or some other martial art.
It didn’t matter.
The kick was more useful than anything she’d learned in self-defense class. It landed solidly in Howard’s side, sending his arm flying.
Bang. Bang.
Two gunshots went off, one right after another. They were too fast for Gina to figure out who shot first.
All she could see was the silver-haired policeman on the floor and Finn stumbling back against the wall of her kitchen. A plume of red flowered on his dark jeans from where he’d been shot in the hip.
Gina lunged forward to catch him before he could slam into the ground. All she could think about was protecting Finn. “Don’t die,” she ordered. “Don’t die. I need you to live.”
“It’s just a flesh wound. Just let me—” He tried to force himself up onto his feet and failed. He slumped back against the wall.
Sirens were screaming in the distance. One of Gina’s neighbors must have finally gotten off their ass and called the police. She just hoped whoever responded would wait for an explanation before arresting Finn for attacking a superior officer.
In a few minutes, they’d be invaded by men demanding an explanation and—hopefully—at least one ambulance.
For now, Gina’s shoulders strained under Finn’s weight as she helped him slowly to the floor. “Were you serious before?” she asked, leaning over him. “You love me?”
“More than anything,” Finn said. His eyes were still sharp, but his voice sounded weak. “I told you. I’ll always be here if you need me.”
She scrambled, trying to remember everything she’d ever learned in first-aid class. Unfortunately, she’d never taken first-aid.
The stain on his jeans was getting bigger. Her stomach rolled. It didn’t look good.
“Stay with me.” She needed to keep Finn talking, to keep him awake. “You love me—what does that mean? You want me to be your girlfriend?”
Finn’s face was pale. He was losing blood fast. He lifted his hand to stroke her arm. “It means I want you to marry me. I want you to be mine—forever.”
It wasn’t the proposal of Gina’s dreams. He wasn’t down on his knees with a bouquet of flowers and a shiny ring. But it was still damn romantic.
Frankly, she could have done with a little less romance if it meant never having the man she loved bleeding in her arms.
“Yes,” she whimpered. In the distance, she could hear the sound of wood splintering as someone broke down her door. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
“Does that mean you love me, too?”
“Enough to spend every Christmas at your mother’s house eating corned beef.”
Finn’s laughter was more of a croak than anything else. “Corned beef is for Saint Patrick’s Day. Ma roasts a goose on Christmas.” His hands fumbled at his chest, unclasping the long chain from around his neck. “Can I move in here and sleep in your bed? You’ve got a nice bed.”
“Every night,” Gina promised.
“Good.” Finn pressed the medal into her hand. It wasn’t a ring, but it meant so much more. “Keep this safe for me. For luck.”
The world was full of lights and noise. Men surged into the kitchen, filling the place. And someone tugged her backward, pulling her away from Finn. She started to object but bit back her words when an EMT knelt down in her place.
“Do I need to check you out?” a second EMT asked her, but Gina couldn’t concentrate on his words.
All she could think about was the man being wheeled out of the kitchen and the medal cutting into her hand like a promise.
Finn loved her.
He was her forever.
Epilogue
Bending neatly at the waist, Gina frowned as the doorbell sounded. “I’m sorry, we’re closed.”
Her arms spread o
ut as she stretched sore muscles after her last class of the day, teaching Pilates to soccer moms. The exercise classes weren’t her favorite, but they helped pay the rent on the small dance studio she’d opened up a few miles off the Strip. In the morning, she taught high kicks to showgirls.
“Don’t mind me.” A familiar deep voice filled the room, sending a tremble of anticipation down her spine.
Gina straightened up, turning to smile at her new husband. She’d married Gabriel Finn in a Las Vegas chapel two weeks after he got out of the hospital. His mother still hadn’t entirely forgiven them for not having a big church wedding, but at least she’d invited them for Christmas this year in Chicago. It was a step in the right direction.
“I never do, Lieutenant.” She double-checked the time on the wall clock. Finn was definitely early. His assignment to an interdepartmental task force—made up of police officers, FBI agents, and sheriff’s deputies—designed to clean up corruption in the LVMPD was important, but she could do without the long hours. Usually, he didn’t finish up until she was ready to go home for the night. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour.”
“The FBI agent in charge decided to wrap things up early. She’s a tough woman.”
“Just the way you like them.” Gina grinned, stepping forward to run her hands across Finn’s broad shoulders and bury her fingers in his rumpled navy suit. Her hero. She pressed herself up onto her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Should I worry about her stealing you away?”
“You know you’re the only woman for me,” Finn said. And then he was kissing her back, stealing her breath with those curved lips and lifting her up in his strong arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she let out a groan of contentment as their bodies notched perfectly together.
He pushed her up against the nearest wall, and his hand reached up to knead her breast through the soft material of her tank top and sports bra. His fingers were rough and callused. His actions were determined and well thought out, each rough stroke designed to make her gasp and moan in amazement. His hard erection throbbed between her legs, making her thrust back in eager greeting.
“I love you,” she murmured as she ran her fingers through his dark curls. “Forever and ever.”
“Forever and ever,” Finn repeated as he carried her out of the main practice room with its tall windows open to the street and into the studio’s cramped office. They’d christened the desk when she’d opened the studio a month earlier, but they hadn’t gotten around to making love on the small sofa yet. His mouth nuzzled against her shoulder blade. His fingers curved around her ass.
“I promise.”
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About the Author
Aleah Barley is a writer of humorous (she hopes) contemporary romance. After living all over the United States, she’s finally settled in the frozen north with a fluffy cat who doubles as a hot water bottle. She is hard at work on her next book.
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