Bridal Armor

by Debra Webb

  Thomas peered through the windshield. Lucas stood at the top of the steps, as calm and steady as ever. Thomas pushed the car door open and on shaking knees, climbed the stairs to join his friend.

  “I—I don’t know what to say.” The enormity of what he was supposed to do suddenly crashed in on him.

  “We’ll work on it while you clean up.”

  “Is she furious?” Thomas didn’t want her to be angry with him but she had every right. “Has she turned into a bridezilla?”

  Lucas shook his head. “Resort is still standing,” he said, but his smile was reserved. “She’s been worried. We took turns distracting her.”

  “Her mother should do this.” Thomas shook his head. “I don’t want to screw up.”

  “That’s how they rehearsed last night but it isn’t really what Casey wants and it’s her day, Thomas. She wants you.” Lucas escorted him all the way to his room and when he fumbled with the key card Lucas plucked it from his fingers and swiped it, pushing the door open. “Seems a shame for you to back out now.”

  “You’re right.” He’d slogged through a frozen hell to clear his name and get here in time. “You’re right,” he repeated with more conviction. “There was a point when I wasn’t sure I’d make it at all, much less in time to fulfill my promise to Casey.”

  “That’s better.” Lucas’s smile lit up his whole face. “I’ll go let the bridal party know you’re here. I’m sure the wedding planner will be happy to coach you through the steps.”

  “Is there somewhere for Jo to wait or dress or...” He wasn’t sure he knew what he was asking.

  “I believe Victoria made arrangements for her.”

  “Thanks, Lucas.” His throat clogged with emotion. He knew this man had a hand in getting his name cleared. And the added bonus that they’d learned about Jo and made arrangements for her tugged at his heart. “For everything.”

  With a nod, Lucas ducked out of the room.

  Thomas indulged in a shower set just shy of scalding, washing away the physical and emotional grit of the past two days.

  When he emerged, he felt more like himself and ready to celebrate the wedding. He dressed, grateful for Lucas, who’d thought of all the necessities and accessories, beyond the tux delivered to the hotel, down to the cuff links that were in the luggage he’d lost to Whelan’s car bomb.

  Returning to the lobby, he found Lucas chatting with Levi and the other groomsmen. The wedding planner was all smiles as she directed the groom and his party to their places.

  Thomas glanced over the crowd, but he didn’t spot Jo. His stomach rolled at the thought that she’d left. If she had, he’d just cut the reception short and go find her. He had plans for her...for them. He was still reeling with the emotions he could no longer deny. He wanted to be with her.

  “You come with me,” the wedding planner said, taking his arm. “The bride will be so happy to see you.”

  When they reached the bride’s chamber Thomas’s breath caught at the sight of his niece. If it had been hard to choke out an answer when she’d asked him to walk her down the aisle, it was hopeless to try and form words now.

  He opened his arms wide and she gave him an exuberant hug. Over her shoulder, he saw his sister wipe away a tear.

  “Oh! Uncle Thomas,” she said leaning back, fighting tears. “I was so worried.”

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  “You’re just in time.” She linked arms with him and her mother. “Let’s get me married.”

  “If you’re sure,” he teased.

  “Please. I know you vetted him ages ago.”

  He grinned at her. “You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t faint away at the first sight of you.”

  Casey beamed at her mother. “Should we take bets?”

  Cecelia left a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “I hope Levi knows what he’s in for.”

  “A lifetime of happiness,” Casey said, sending her mother into the ceremony. Then she turned to Thomas. “It’s just you and me now. And Daddy,” she whispered.

  Thomas touched her cheek. “He’s watching, sweetie, you can count on it.”

  The wedding planner interrupted with a final review of his pacing, his line “her mother and I do,” and where to sit after putting her hand in Levi’s.

  He looked down at his precious niece once more. “Let’s do this thing.”

  Thomas got through it, though he wondered for a moment if he might pass out instead of Levi. For a man who’d spent his working life noticing details others overlooked, Thomas wouldn’t have been able to describe any of the guests. He didn’t see anything beyond Casey and her delighted groom.

  So the warm hand that cradled his after he took his seat was a surprise, until he recognized the way Jo laced her fingers with his. He slid a glance at her and thought he owed Victoria a serious debt of gratitude.

  Jo wore an amazing jade sheath that fit her petite body like a glove, and a soft, serene smile. He thought she’d never looked more beautiful and struggled to keep his eyes on the happy couple exchanging vows.

  He stood with the rest of the guests, applauding as the newlyweds kissed. As the other guests moved to follow Casey and Levi from the ceremony, his sister reminded him he needed to stay for pictures.

  With a gentle squeeze of his hand, Jo let him know she’d be waiting at the reception.

  * * *

  JO GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED a glass of white wine from the open bar. She hadn’t been sure how people—primarily Lucas Camp—would receive her here. The only thing she’d decided as they’d dashed up the mountain was she wouldn’t slink away into the shadows without a proper goodbye for Thomas. She’d been prepared to wait in the lobby until Thomas had fulfilled his promise to Casey, but Victoria had insisted on a different course of action.

  “Thanks again for the dress,” Jo said, still a little unsure how she’d fit in among this crowd.

  “The shopping made me feel useful. I was getting a bit bored.”

  Jo wasn’t sure she believed that. From what she could see, Victoria had been having a grand time celebrating another happy union with the family she’d made through the years with her Colby investigators and Lucas’s Specialists.

  “Lucas wasn’t sure which side you were on,” Victoria admitted.

  Jo nearly choked on the wine, but managed a faint smile. “Most people assume I’m the enemy.”

  “Oversight departments have that reputation.”

  “And few friends. I appreciate Lucas calling off the dogs.”

  Victoria raised an eyebrow. “Thomas is Lucas’s best friend. When he got wind of the accusations, he refused to sit back and wait.”

  “Your husband has good instincts.” It was as far as Jo was willing to go. Maybe someday the four of them could sit down over drinks and laugh about it. Right now, it was too fresh, the averted disaster too close to destroying Thomas.

  She didn’t want to revisit those tense, harrowing hours; she simply wanted to revel in surviving them. “Levi and Casey make a beautiful couple and are obviously deeply in love.”

  “They are. It’s wonderful to see love grow,” Victoria said, raising her glass to encompass the rest of the wedding guests. “For years I thought my only chance had come and gone. It was no small shock to discover I could have a second chance with Lucas.”

  “You make a good team.” Jo thought she’d never seen a couple more content and in tune with each other.

  “We like to think so. It helps that we’ve known each other since we were very young. We were friends first. I believe that’s immensely important to a relationship. Friendship and complete trust.”

  Jo didn’t know what to say. She had the distinct impression Victoria was trying to tell her something important. It was a sweet idea, but her situation with Thomas was different from what Victoria and Lucas had found. Wasn’t it? Certainly the trust part was, at least on his side.

  Her heart would heal. As much as it could anyway. The past proved that much. It wouldn’t be easy, but it
was possible. With enough time.

  “As the best friend’s wife, it falls to me to say what Lucas won’t,” Victoria went on. “We are enormously grateful for all that you sacrificed to clear Thomas’s name. Lucas would have been devastated if anything had happened to him.”

  Jo felt the same, but she simply couldn’t say such a thing out loud. Not without falling apart at this point. Despite her best efforts the tears brimmed and she had to look away.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Thomas was so relieved Jo had been waiting at the reception he almost couldn’t sit still until the dancing began. “You did a wonderful job giving her away,” Jo said as he escorted her onto the dance floor.

  “I also did a full background check on him months ago.”

  She smiled. “But he’s one of Victoria’s investigators.”

  “Which only made it more of a challenge to get his work record.”

  “I think you’re serious.”

  He didn’t bother to confirm or deny.

  “It was a beautiful ceremony,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

  “They’re good for each other,” he agreed. It was clearly a mutual devotion that went beyond the happiness and excitement of the moment. An affection that would get them through the tough times, too.

  Dancing with Jo in his arms, Thomas wondered how he’d resisted her for so long. And why. If he’d been asked, he’d say Casey and Levi—two strong people—were stronger together. Until now, he just couldn’t admit the same need lurked deep inside him.

  How would his life and career have been different if he’d come to this conclusion years ago? Understanding the value of the present, Thomas turned his thoughts toward the here and now. And what he wanted to see tomorrow.

  Both of them would have to get out of the game soon at least as far as Initiative was concerned. Just one more reason Grant had been recruited. But that was business and tonight was for family. He wanted to enjoy having Jo with him here in the moment and for all the moments they could share in the future. Years ago he’d walked away, with good reason. Her safety and his had depended on it.

  He’d done good work in those years, accomplished things for the greater good and protected his country’s interests. Enemies were a consequence of that, and after all his years working primarily alone, it felt different to have a partner. To have Jo.

  But would she want him that way? The fiery attraction was alive and well....

  “You know the minister is still here.”

  She glanced across the room and then up at him, her dark eyes full of laughter. “He seems to be having a grand time.”

  “Yes, he does.” He knew he should wait, but couldn’t quite remember why. They were surrounded by friends who had become family. His best friend, his brother in covert service, was across the room dancing with his own wife.

  In his mind, he saw it so clearly. Lucas and Victoria could duck out with the minister and in minutes they could be married. At least in spirit. They could legalize things later.

  “I never expected to feel this way,” he whispered against her ear, drawing her supple body a fraction closer to his. “I won’t walk away from you this time.”

  She looked up at him, frowned. “You didn’t have a choice.”

  “I think I did. But I’m making a different choice now.” He guided her to the edge of the dance floor and, taking her hand, led her away from the celebrating crowd. A waiter passed by and he snagged two flutes of champagne. Handing one to her, he tried to put all he was feeling into words.

  “What’s going on, Thomas?”

  “Johara DeRossi, you’ve been the best partner I didn’t know I needed.” His throat dry, he sipped at the champagne. “These past few days you saved me, not just from an old enemy but also from myself. For the job, I armored my heart against personal attachments. Against love. Until you slipped through those defenses.”

  God, he wished she’d say something, but she seemed frozen, the champagne flute pressed against her lush lips.

  “Marry me, Jo. Tonight. Right now.”

  She blinked, once, twice. “You’re serious?”

  It wasn’t the proclamation of undying love he was hoping for. He didn’t care. If someone walked away this time it wasn’t going to be him. And he was leaving no words unsaid. “I love you. It’s as simple as that. Whatever comes next, I don’t want to face it without you beside me.”

  “Thomas...” Her voice quivered. “Tonight?”

  His heart leaped. “If you want a big ceremony of your own we can do that, too.”

  She shook her head and his heart fell. A gun to his head would have been easier to face than her rejection.

  “I don’t need all this. I just need you.” She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him. Praise God for high heels.

  The spontaneous applause and catcalls surprised him into breaking the kiss long before he was ready.

  “A ring might come in handy,” Lucas said, joining them.

  “And a couple of witnesses,” Thomas replied.

  Victoria caught Jo in a warm embrace. “Welcome to the family.”

  Thomas glanced up to see his niece in all her wedding white dragging the minister over. “He’ll do it.”

  “Without a license it won’t hold up in court, but we can go through the motions if you like,” Thomas warned the woman he loved.

  “We can fix that later,” Jo said, smiling up at him, and Thomas felt like a new man. “Tonight’s about heart and family.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jason applauded with the rest of the guests as Director Casey and Agent DeRossi tied the knot. He was happy for the two of them, but vowed to get out of here before anyone else caught wedding-itis.

  He was a confirmed bachelor and intended to keep it that way.

  He spotted a flash of unmistakable red hair across the sea of wedding guests. Gin Olin. He knew her name now, thanks to O’Marron, who was convinced she was CIA. “Never a dull moment,” he muttered to himself. What had brought her so close to an event populated with agents who would happily toss her down the mountainside without the benefit of a pair of skis?

  He’d thought intelligence was a prerequisite for spies at her level. In the emerald-green dress with a sparkle of jewels at throat and wrist she wasn’t even trying to blend in. With the Initiative investigation trashed, he had plenty of time on his hands to find out what Ms. Olin was up to.

  Casey had been cleared of wrongdoing and his patriotism confirmed through official channels. The last communication Jason had received from Holt had been simply to make the most of his last few hours in Colorado. Jason was headed for Vegas for a lengthy surveillance assignment.

  He watched Olin for a time, hoping to catch her talking to someone, but she merely sipped at a flute of champagne and kept an eye on him. Drink in hand, he worked his way through the crowd to intercept her and escort her off the premises. It was like dancing, he thought. Every time he advanced, she would sidestep, keeping the milling crowd between them.

  Just as he decided to call in backup to corner her a waiter stepped in front of him. “Mr. Grant?”

  “Yes,” he replied, his gaze still locked on Olin.

  “I was asked to deliver this to you.”

  He sent her a look. She responded with that catlike smirk.

  “Thank you.” Reluctantly, he turned his attention to the waiter and traded his drink for the envelope embossed with the resort logo.

  The wax seal was a nice touch, he thought, sliding his finger under the flap to loosen it.

  The linen notecard inside held only two words, in block script: YOU’RE NEXT.

  Immediately his gaze swept the room for the sexy redhead with the killer smirk. Gone.

  Tucking the card back into the envelope and the envelope into the inner pocket of his tuxedo, he reclaimed his drink and tossed it back.

  As the Scotch burned its way down his throat he considered his options.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

&n
bsp; Victoria felt the small hitch in her husband’s step as they waltzed at the reception. Always too proud, she knew he would dance with her all night without a single complaint if she let him.

  “We really should take advantage of that cake,” she said as the song came to an end. “Everyone is talking about it.”

  With a smile and a knowing look that told her she hadn’t fooled him in the least, he tucked her arm in his and led her toward the dessert table.

  They hadn’t been in their seats long enough to have the first bite when Lucas touched her hand. “Did you see that?” He tipped his head slightly to a point across the room.

  “Jason Grant?” She watched the man in question toss back a drink. “Trouble?”

  Lucas gave her the smallest nod as he stole a bite of the delicious cake. “That’s my guess.”

  She let the chocolate melt on her tongue, reminding herself they were retired for all intents and purposes. Ian Michaels ran the office in Chicago and Simon Ruhl took care of the one in Houston. There were plenty of smart, younger people capable of handling any concerns.

  “I’m sure he’ll find a way through. He’s a Specialist after all.”

  “Hear, hear.” Lucas lifted his glass. “To the best.”

  Victoria smiled. And that’s what they were. Everyone in this room was the best.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Task Force Bride by Julie Miller!

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