Underground Fighters Trilogy Boxed Set
Page 47
“Don’t be sad,” he said. “You’re free.”
She shook her head and a bitter laugh escaped her. “Not without you. So you stay with me, okay?”
Stay with her? He couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more.
A dark shape loomed over them and Darrell came into view. Wyatt squinted up at him. “What took you so long?”
“Sorry, man. That warrant was a bitch to get. But it looks like I arrived right on time.”
Wyatt chuckled, then winced in pain. “I could have done with a few less bruises, but you keep telling yourself you’re the hero here.”
Darrell laughed. “I am the hero. I dropped McCready. More than you can say.”
Wyatt groaned. “Of course you’d steal the credit, when I was the one acting as bait. I got my ass kicked for you.”
“Whatever, man,” he replied playfully. “Hey, the ambulance is on its way, so hold on.”
With herculean effort, Wyatt reached up and gripped one of Kat’s hands.
“Yeah, I’ll hold on. Always.”
Kat laughed, then curved her spine to kiss him upside down, gentle with the split on his lips. “Don’t ever let go,” she whispered.
“Never.”
And he wouldn’t. Because he had something to live for.
Her.
Epilogue
The second Wyatt saw Darrell at his door, he knew.
“You found him,” he said by way of greeting.
Darrell gave him a long, searching look, uncharacteristically serious. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “We did. I’m sorry, man.”
Wyatt clutched at the doorknob a little tighter. Grief welled in him, but also a sense of relief. He and his parents could finally have closure. It might not have come the way they hoped, but it was still something, after all this uncertainty.
Kat slipped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He leaned into her, taking comfort from her touch. It had been a few weeks since the fight with McCready, and he was still recovering from his injuries. But Kat had been a rock through it all. As promised, she hadn’t left his side.
“Thank you,” Wyatt told Darrell. “Want to come in?”
Darrell’s gaze flickered between Kat and Wyatt. “You sure?”
In answer, Wyatt stepped back, taking Kat with him. Darrell came into the apartment, looking around. Wyatt had no doubt his cop’s gaze noticed the feminine things scattered throughout the living room. There was even more of Kat in the bedroom, where she slept wrapped in his arms every night.
The three of them sat around the kitchen table after Kat made them all coffee.
Darrell hesitated for a moment, then reached into his pocket to pull out a sealed plastic baggy. He slid it across the table. Wyatt didn’t touch the bag. He knew what was in it—his brother’s dog tags.
He exhaled an unsteady breath. “Thank you,” he said again. “When can we give him a proper burial?”
Darrell had been overseeing the excavation of the graveyard all this time. They were having trouble figuring out which remains were meant to be there and which weren’t. Darrell had previously confided in Wyatt during one of his many visits that he didn’t believe they’d ever be completely sure, given the state of most of the bodies.
He looked tired, worn. Wyatt wondered whether his old friend had been working overtime for his sake. If so, he hoped finding proof of Dean’s death would allow Darrell to step back for a while.
“Soon,” Darrell said. “I’ll let you know. I assume you’ll tell your parents?”
“Yeah,” Wyatt replied. He hadn’t told them yet about the mass graveyard. He didn’t want to grieve them unnecessarily, not until there’d been proof. But he couldn’t put it off any longer.
Darrell cleared his throat. “So, have you two made any decisions about what you’ll do now?” he asked in a clear bid to change the subject.
“Why?” Wyatt asked. “You angling to get me as a partner again?”
Darrell attempted to hide his smile. “Nah, you abandoned me once. I’m not making that mistake again.”
They fell silent, a sombre mood over the apartment. Teasing banter somehow didn’t seem right with his brother’s dog tags on the table in front of him. But Wyatt had already grieved for his brother. The sadness within him wasn’t new, it was a whole year’s worth.
Darrell shifted, distracting him. “Would you come back?”
Wyatt considered it. “Maybe. I haven’t really thought about it yet, but maybe.”
“Jokes aside, I’d have you back in a heartbeat. You know that, right?”
Wyatt grinned. “Yeah.”
Darrell turned to Kat. “What about you? Any big plans?”
“I think I want to set up some kind of support group, for all of us who were under McCready’s thumb. Help us transition back into the real world together. It’ll take a while.”
Wyatt gripped her hand, squeezing it to offer her support. “I think even the fighters will have trouble. All of them had their reasons for being there, and I’m sure they aren’t pleased their source of income is gone, despite everything else.”
“That sounds like a worthy goal.”
Wyatt did, too. More and more each day, his pride in Kat grew. Her courage humbled him, her love uplifted him. He thought he could spend the rest of his life falling in love with her.
Darrell left soon after. Wyatt and Kat got in the car and headed to his parent’s house to break the bad news. They were devastated, of course, having held out far more hope than Wyatt ever could. But they were pleased to meet Kat, and know their family, which had just lost a member, was gaining one, too.
A few months after the funeral, Wyatt and Kat were lying entwined together on a steamy summer’s evening.
Wyatt pulled her close to his chest. “You know how I said I wouldn’t be with you until you could say no?” he asked.
She shifted, and her mouth curved into a smile against his chest. “Yes. And I think I’ve said yes enough times by now.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Yes, but I have another question for you.” He tried to make the words casual, but something of what he felt must have leaked through, because she stilled in his arms. Kat levered herself up onto her elbow to stare at him, waiting.
Wyatt licked his lips, oddly nervous.
“What’s your question?” she prompted, nudging him with a smile.
The air around them grew thick. Wyatt exhaled heavily. “Will you marry me?” he asked, his voice strong and sure.
Kat’s face broke out in a grin. “Yes! Yesyesyes.”
She threw herself on him, kissing and kissing him. Wyatt felt lighter than he had in a long time.
He loved her, and he knew he’d keep loving her for as long as he lived. His heart belonged to her, fully and completely.
And he would spend the rest of his life saying yes to her.
Click here to sign up for Aislinn’s newsletter to receive a FREE short story!
Author Bio
Wounded Heroes. Action Movies. Happily Ever Afters.
These are a few of Aislinn’s favourite things, and you’ll find all of the above in her writing. Whether it’s the Soldiering On series – about wounded military veterans starting a security company together and finding love along the way – or her upcoming series about underground fighters.
If she’s not reading romance novels or watching action movies, you’ll find Aislinn writing like mad to get the next book out. She also loves to travel to new places around the world, forever in search of the perfect cottage in the forest that she hopes to one day call home.
Visit her at https://aislinnkearns.com/
Follow on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/aislinn.kearns.writer
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/ardentaislinn
And Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15428911.Aislinn_Kearns
/>