“They told me you almost got shot.” His eyes were filled with concern.
Veronica nodded, but she couldn’t say anything with the lump that had formed in her throat.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
“What happened is that your girlfriend nearly gave me a concussion,” came Felsen’s voice at their side.
Daniel released Veronica’s face, but slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. It felt so good, the warmth and strength of his body supporting her. She could feel the tension in every one of his muscles as he turned to face Felsen. But Felsen’s words belied her intentions. She fixed Veronica with her glittering gaze, crossing her arms over her chest tightly.
“You saved my life,” Felsen said. It almost sounded like an accusation.
Veronica still couldn’t find anything to say, although the lump in her throat was dissolving under Felsen’s stare.
“I would say I owe you one,” Felsen continued, “but I can’t live with that. So I’m going to pay you back immediately. I’m going to go to the DA and tell him I made a mistake. I’ll tell him it was a case of mistaken identity. If he tries to push it, I’ll get the kid to back me up.”
“The kid who really vandalized the church, you mean,” Daniel said dryly.
Felsen cocked her head at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Whatever,” Daniel said.
“Anyway, I wanted you to know. So there’s no question. We’re even,” Felsen said, and then she turned on her heel and stalked away.
“I’ve never seen anyone so pissed about having their life saved,” said Daniel. He looked down at Veronica. “Did you really almost give her a concussion?”
“I knocked her down pretty hard,” Veronica said. “But Daniel, I think you should know, Eric’s part of the reason no one else got shot—just that poor man in the shoulder. Is he okay?”
“The man? I don’t know. I heard someone did get shot, but I’m still getting caught up,” Daniel said. “What did Eric do?”
“He disarmed Leopold Victor.”
“Victor was here?”
“He was the shooter.”
“And Eric took him down?”
“Yep.”
They looked around, and spotted Eric sitting on the folding chair Veronica had left behind. Together, they walked up to him, and Daniel stuck out his hand.
Eric stood and shook it.
“I want to thank you,” Daniel said. “Veronica tells me you saved her life.”
Eric turned the corners of his mouth down, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. “It was nothing.”
A laugh escaped Veronica’s throat and Eric smirked at her.
“Okay, maybe I was this close to pissing in my pants,” he said, holding up two fingers an inch apart. “But anyway, once I hit him, he fell down like he was—comment dit-on, comme un sac à patätes?”
“Like a sack of potatoes,” Veronica said.
Daniel grinned. “Well, I’m grateful,” he said.
“Me, too,” Veronica agreed.
“It was my great pleasure,” Eric said. “It’s not every day that I have the opportunity to stop a terrorist, and enjoy the Fourth of July.”
Chapter 27
As Veronica and Daniel drove back to her place, they discussed everything that had transpired.
“Did I tell you Sarah Berkovich came out of her coma this morning?” Daniel said.
“No,” Veronica said, closing her eyes for a moment and savoring the image of Jake Berkovich, and how happy he must be. She hugged herself and opened her eyes again. “That is wonderful. How is she doing?”
Daniel shrugged. “I’m not sure, to be honest with you. But I can tell you the DA is already talking about having her on the stand, so she’s probably doing pretty well, considering.”
“I’m so glad.”
“Yeah,” Daniel agreed. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“But you know, without her, I never would have gotten the first vision,” Veronica said. “And I never would have gone back to the hospital and gotten that vision off Posey, either. It showed me that Ivy knew Roeder.”
Daniel nodded. “That was a big break. Roeder is such a fanatic. You know he was practically foaming at the mouth when we arrested him. He was so pissed that his plan failed.”
Veronica suppressed a shudder. “He must have been crazy to go through with handing out bottles at the parade—he must have known you guys were watching him.”
Daniel said, “I think Roeder was just acting as a red herring. He sure got everyone’s attention when he started handing out those bottles. But the first reports from the lab say they don’t think the bottles he had were contaminated.”
“What about the bottles at the Auditorium?”
“Brenda, at the lab, said they found a strain of cholera in four of the ones they’ve tested so far,” Daniel said. “She said it’s too early to be sure, but she didn’t think it was any strain they’ve run into before.”
“Some lovely creation of Victor’s, I bet,” Veronica said. “I heard that some of the veterans were going to be at that celebration at the Auditorium.”
Daniel nodded again. “It was a celebration in their honor. It figured on at least three schedules on websites about the Sacramento Fourth of July celebrations.”
“Sounds like Victor and the rest of them must have decided to move the attack there.”
“You know we caught a couple of Shining Pathers, too?”
“You caught them!”
“Well, not me personally. By the looks of it, Victor must have set this up as a marketing demonstration.”
Veronica took this in. “Did you all confiscate all of the food and water at the Auditorium?”
“Damn skippy.”
“What about Scotty Haines and that woman?”
“Oh, he’s in deep ca-ca. Daddy’s got himself all in a tizzy about it, of course. He’s calling in the church’s lawyers and such. But I don’t think this one’s going to play out very well for the LCCP. And it turns out the woman’s a family member, too. A niece of Pastor Haines, or something. Her name is Pauline Nyeman.”
Daniel parked the car at the curb in front of Veronica’s duplex and hopped out, hurrying around to open the door for her. Veronica was grateful to have his hand for support. She still felt shaky and off. It was probably to be expected under the circumstances, but that didn’t make it easier to deal with. At least she wouldn’t have to be alone tonight. She thought of Eric, returning by himself to his hotel. She didn’t envy him.
Daniel held her hand as they walked across her yard to the gate in the fence that led to her side of the duplex. When they reached it, however, he stopped and rested his hands lightly on her hips.
“Ronnie, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now,” he said.
Oh crap, she thought. Now? He’s going to do this now? I’m not ready for this.
Daniel gazed down at her, his eyes black in the dim of the evening. “I know we’ve been through some stuff lately, but it hasn’t changed the way I feel about you. And I hope you feel the same way about me.”
Veronica bit her lip, her heart starting to thud again, a bird in a cage.
“I love all the time we’ve been spending together, and I love it when we get to spend the night,” Daniel continued. “I want it to be like that every night, Ronnie. And with your pets and my fish, it’s just not practical to keep going back and forth like we have, your place one night, my place the next.”
Veronica tried to take some deep breaths subtly enough so he wouldn’t notice.
“So I was thinking,” Daniel said, his expression soft, his voice betraying his uncertainty, “Why don’t we get a place together? I mean, if you feel like you’re ready.”
Blinking at him, Veronica waited to hear the proposal. It didn’t come. He didn’t add anything to what he’d said. “Uh, what?” she managed, confused.
“I’ve spotted a c
ouple of nice little houses in Midtown,” Daniel replied. “I mean, I’d say let’s move in to my apartment, because I have to be honest with you, the train drives me up a wall here. But the building doesn’t allow dogs or cats. And besides, it just seems better to get a new place, don’t you think? Like really starting a new chapter together.”
A laugh burst from Veronica, and in her own ears it sounded like a bark. She stepped back and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Oh my god,” she said. “I’m such a twit.”
“What?” he asked. “Are you okay? Are you upset? Did I say something wrong?”
Veronica just shook her head, putting a hand on her hip and the other over her mouth as she turned away from him. You’re such a silly goose. All this panic, and he never intended to propose. She found that she was disappointed.
“What, Ronnie? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Veronica said, trying to pull herself together. “I’m fine.”
“Please,” Daniel scoffed. “Don’t try to play it off. What’s the deal? You don’t want to move in with me?”
Shaking her head, Veronica moved back to face him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s just say I’ve been worried about something, and it turns out I’m an idiot, and I’d love to move in with you. And let’s leave it at that, okay?”
Daniel’s face broke into a dazzling smile. He leaned in and kissed her deeply, and Veronica thought, And if the day comes that you do ask me to marry you, Daniel, I might just say yes.
About the Author
Sophia Martin lives in Mount Shasta with her husband, son, dog, and three cats. When she’s not carving out an hour here and there to write, she’s usually playing with her little boy, reading a novel, hiking, cooking, or mucking about online. She is also currently finishing her masters in American history.
You can find all of Sophia Martin’s novels by visiting her page.
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The Plane and the Parade (Veronica Barry Book 3) Page 30
