DRAGON SECURITY: The Complete 6 Books Series

by Glenna Sinclair

  “The thing is, once we get started on this, there’s no going back. So we need everyone on the same page.”

  There was some murmuring as spouse discussed with spouse and girlfriend turned to boyfriend for clarification. But Hayden didn’t need time to discuss anything with anyone.

  “I’m behind you,” he said.

  I smiled, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

  “Me, too,” Amy said. She hugged me tight. “I think this is what Emily would have wanted to see happen to her notes.”

  That meant a lot to me.

  Dominic and Marcus, Vincent and Cole…everyone agreed. Even my parents, even though I wasn’t sure they fully understood what was happening.

  Luke moved up behind me, his hand on the small of my back. Cole was still giving him the side eye when the priest came in and announced that his housekeeper had made us a meal in the rectory. Everyone wandered off, still talking among themselves. Dominic held back, watching Luke and me. I understood Cole giving Luke the side eye, but I didn’t understand it coming from Dominic. But I was about to understand.

  Dominic snagged my sleeve as I turned to follow the others.

  “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  I nodded, waving Luke on when he hesitated at the back door.

  Dominic led the way back to one of the pews, waiting for everyone to leave before he even looked at me.

  “There’s something about that night the hit man ran Amy and I off the road that I never told you.”

  “Okay.”

  Dominic looked down at his hands for a second, clearly trying to collect his thoughts. When he looked up again, there was deep concern in his eyes.

  “After the accident, the hit man and I exchanged fire.”

  “I know.”

  “And we talked.”

  “I know that, too.”

  Dominic frowned. “I didn’t tell you everything he said.”

  I touched his hand. “But know everything now.”

  He shook his head slowly. “That man told me that he was trying to keep Emily’s notes from me because he knew I would give them to you. He named you specifically.”

  “That’s not a surprise. They were convinced that Amber had given me something about them.”

  “He also said that we were interfering in an open investigation. That that’s why Peter got killed.”

  “He was lying, Dominic.” I touched his hand again and squeezed his fingers. “It’s only Garner and his people. That man worked for Garner. He would have told you anything if he thought it would draw you out into the open so that he could kill you.”

  Dominic nodded slowly. “But he told me something else.”

  I shook my head, not really worried about whatever it could be. I knew Luke. I trusted everything he’d said to me about this whole mess. It was really very simple. One CIA agent got greedy and he used his position to get what he wanted. Peter was a threat because he’d stumbled on a part of the truth. I was a threat because I was determined to know how my brother died. It was as simple as that.

  But the darkness in Dominic’s eyes, the graveness in his demeanor, worried me a little.

  “Megan, he named Luke, too. He said his name clearly.”

  “That’s not a surprise, either,” I said with a forced smile. “They wanted to turn me against him.”

  Dominic nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “I am right. And I know, when this is all over, you’ll see that.”

  I started to get up, but Dominic grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let me go.

  “He said that Luke was the one who killed Peter.”

  Chapter 15

  Luke

  I saw the way Dominic was looking at me. Cole’s anger I could handle. I’d known Cole since I was six years old and he was two. I knew what it would take to get him back on my side. But Dominic? He worried me.

  Nothing could go wrong with this plan. This was our last chance to end this thing. If Dominic got in the way…there were only so many choices a man had.

  Dominic and Megan came into the rectory, neither of them smiling or looking quite the way I had hoped they would. I expected relaxed expressions. I had hoped for something like understanding or the euphoria that came after a misunderstanding was cleared up. I didn’t see that.

  What had he wanted to talk to her about?

  Megan came over to me, curling up against my chest. I slid my hands down her back and pulled her even closer.

  “Everything okay?”

  She nodded. “Fine.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She looked up at me, the smile I’d been looking for earlier was now on her lips. “Are you worried about something?”

  “Me? Should I be worried? We just have these homicidal freaks after us.”

  Her smile widened. “Just that? I thought there was something bigger.”

  I groaned, swatting her playfully on the hip. “Funny girl.”

  She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “I like to keep things hopping.”

  We moved into the line for the food, heaping our plates with lasagna and salad, the smell making my mouth water. Everyone had paired off and was sitting around the living room, the priest watching us from the center of the room, delivering glasses of water where he could, clearly not used to having so many people in his home, but enjoying it like a grandfather whose grandchildren just suddenly descended on him.

  Megan’s father came over and sat beside me as I was finishing with my first helping of the awesome food.

  “It’s good to have you back, Luke.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I never understood how you could leave the way you did. But if you’re telling the truth, and it was to protect my little girl, then I owe you a debt of gratitude. And I’m sorry for all the terrible things I’ve said about you in the meantime.”

  I laughed because it just seemed appropriate. He smiled, but there was a serious undertone to his remarks.

  “Don’t hurt her again, son.”

  “I won’t.”

  ***

  “If you can do this for me, Edgar, I won’t ask for anything more,” I said into the phone.

  I was outside the church, pacing in the dim light coming from the streetlights. There were too many cars here in the parking lot that were easily identified. It was making me nervous, the idea that Garner’s men might be out canvasing places Megan might go. This would be one, and if they saw one of these cars…

  “I’ve got it. Check your email in about five minutes.”

  “Thank you, partner.”

  “Yeah, well, my partner out here is demanding that I remind you that this is your second chance and not many people get second chances.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, well, he would know.”

  “How’s it going out there?”

  “We’re making progress. Megan did what we thought she would do, though I’m not sure I like her methods.”

  “As long as word gets out.”

  “Yeah. Just another few days, Edgar.”

  “Good luck, brother.”

  I turned as I disconnected the call and found myself standing face to face with Dominic. His eyes were narrowed, his head tilted just slightly.

  “Edgar? You weren’t talking to Edgar Olsen, were you?”

  I backed up a little, feeling crowded by his stare. “Did you really think you were the only one he kept in contact with? You weren’t the only one working on that operation in France.”

  “Yeah, but my name doesn’t show up in Emily’s notes. She seemed to think that you were working the wrong side of the operation.”

  “Emily was a junior agent who didn’t know enough to figure out when to keep her nose out of things. That’s what got her killed.”

  Dominic’s eyes narrowed even more. “Emily is the only reason we have a way out of this.”

  “She is. But she got herself killed in the process. If she’d let the big boys handle it—”

  Dom
inic swung, nearly connecting with my jaw. I leaned back, just out of reach, and then landed a solid kick against his thigh. Dominic fell back, nearly falling on his ass. But he caught himself and came after me again. I landed a smooth punch in the center of his stomach. As he doubled over, I leaned close and whispered near his ear,

  “Don’t pretend you know what the fuck is going on around here, Dominic, because you don’t. And the lies you’re feeding Megan could get us all killed.”

  I let him go and walked off, rejoining the others in the rectory.

  ***

  Megan convinced everyone to go back to their motels, assuring them she’d be in touch in a few days. Vincent had gone to a gas station and bought out the prepaid phones so that everyone had one. We watched from the front of the church as they drove away en masse. I could feel the tension in Megan’s shoulders and the fear that burned inside of her. If this didn’t work the way it was supposed to...but it would. We had to believe that it would.

  I turned her around and led the way inside.

  “We should go, too,” she said. “We’re meeting with Julie tomorrow afternoon, but she would only agree to meet in Waco.”

  “I know. You’ve told me three times.”

  “It’s a bit of a drive, Luke. We should go.”

  “We have one more thing to do here.”

  Hayden and the priest, Father Jacob, came into the sanctuary as we slowly made our way up the aisle. It wasn’t quite the way I’d pictured it all these years, but it would have to do.

  I turned to Megan halfway down the aisle and dropped to one knee.

  “I don’t have a ring, and I know you wanted a big wedding, but—”

  “Luke!” Megan gasped, her hand pressed to her mouth.

  All I could do was smile.

  “Get on with it!” Hayden called. “It’s late and we have places to be.”

  “Marry me, Megan.”

  She nodded without moving her hand. I stood and she threw her arms around my neck, lifting herself off the ground with just the enthusiasm of her hug. I lifted her up and kissed her, more emotional in that moment than I ever imagined I would be. I’d waited so long for this and I came so close to it once that it killed a piece of my soul to walk away. I wasn’t going to do that again.

  She pulled away so suddenly, I almost dropped her.

  “But we can’t! What about a license? What about Momma and Daddy?”

  “I have a license,” I said, showing her the piece of paper Edgar had arranged and emailed to me. I wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but I knew it was legal. “And we can do it again sometime in the future, when everything settles down, so your parents can be here.”

  She hesitated briefly, but then she nodded, throwing her arms around me again.

  I carried her down the aisle and put her on her feet, tearing her arms from my neck. She was crying. I don’t think I’d ever really seen Megan cry before, not like this. It took her a second to get control of herself, but when she did, a smile like pure sunlight filled her face.

  “Since we have a lack of time, we’ll just get right to it,” Father Jacob said with an understanding smile. “Megan Bradford, do you take this man, Luke Murphy, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  She nodded quite enthusiastically, laughing as she finally spit out, “I do.”

  “And you, Luke Murphy, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  “I do.”

  Megan groaned, her smile never leaving her beautiful face.

  “You have to add all that stuff about sickness and health,” Hayden butted in. “And wealth. Don’t forget to mention wealth.”

  I turned and smacked him in the shoulder. But then I looked at Megan and the laughter left. I took her hands between mine and looked her in the eye as I gave voice to all the words I’d been holding back for too long.

  “I love you, Megan. I’ve always loved you. Everything I’ve ever done in my life I’ve done for you. If not for you, I probably wouldn’t have finished high school, let alone anything else. But because of you I graduated high school, I joined the Navy, I served as a SEAL. I worked hard to represent my country and to try to make it a place where we could raise children and instill in them the same pride and respect we’ve always had for this country, for family, and for each other.

  “I know I’ve screwed up. I put off this wedding far longer than I ever should have. I should have married you that weekend in San Diego after boot camp. I let my own pride get in the way and I regret it. I regret every bit of it. But we’re here now and I promise you that when this mess we’re in is over, I will make you happy. I’ll give you the life you deserve.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, her voice raw. “The last two years have been hell. I was so angry and hurt and confused…but it doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that we’re back together. And we’re going to be together for the rest of our lives.”

  “We will be.”

  Father Jacob cleared his throat. “Well, I guess this is the part where you kiss.”

  I was more than willing to fulfill that little requirement. I tugged Megan close to me and kissed her deeply, her tears brushing my face, mingling with tears I would never admit I’d shed.

  “What God brings together, may no man put asunder,” the priest said.

  From your lips to God’s ear.

  Chapter 16

  Megan

  “I was never really a fan of surprise weddings,” I said, watching him undress—much too slowly, if you asked me—from the center of our motel room bed. “But I think I’m starting to see the fun in it.”

  “Yeah?” He met my eye, one eyebrow cocked. “Have I won you over, Mrs. Murphy?”

  I sighed, falling back against the pillows. “Mrs. Murphy. Is that my legal name now? Or is it Mrs. Saladin?”

  “It can be anything you want it to be as long as you come home to me every night.”

  He climbed onto the bed, taking a position over me as he did. He brushed hair away from my face and kissed me lightly.

  “Maybe you should take my name. I’ve heard that’s gaining popularity in some places.”

  He groaned. “I’ve always wanted to be a Bradford, just not quite in that way.”

  “I think Daddy would be pleased. He was always concerned with the way the family name was being perpetuated.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s falling to Cole and PJ’s shoulders now, and with Cole’s reputation and his raising PJ…”

  “Maybe Amber will tame PJ the way she did Cole.”

  “Maybe.”

  He kissed me again, ever so gently, his touch almost not a touch at all. I leaned up, trying to capture him a little more intently, but he pulled back, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “You want something?”

  “I want my man to give me a proper kiss.”

  “Is that what I am? Your man?”

  “You’ve always been my man.”

  He seemed to consider that for a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

  I shrugged as best as I could in the position I was in. “What?”

  “Before Dante, before that whole thing, was there anyone else?”

  I sort of frowned, as if I was trying to remember.

  “Well, there was the mailman. And that guy at the dry cleaners. And Cole’s friend, Bradley, and—”

  He smacked my hip, the sound a ring that burst through the room.

  “Ow!”

  “I’m being serious.”

  “Was there anyone else when you were off turning into Dante?”

  “No one.”

  “Not even a pretty little nurse?”

  “No one.”

  I studied his face, pretending I was assessing the whole thing. But I knew. I knew deep in my heart that Luke wouldn’t cheat on me. We had a special bond, one forged over twenty years that would be difficult to break.

  “No one,” I said softly, running a finger over his bottom lip. “I couldn’t…not even w
ith Dante.”

  I knew he understood what I meant. He leaned close and kissed me, this time his touch more substantial, almost heartbreaking. I leaned up against him, pulling him harder to me, wanting him to swallow me up and me a part of him. I felt his arms relax as he leaned down into me. At just the right moment, I pushed his shoulder and forced him onto his back. I climbed on top of him, laughing a little as he stared up at me with this baffled expression.

  “I miss the quote,” I said, running my fingers over his tattoo. “Though I like the tree.”

  “I can have it removed and the quote put back.”

  I shook my head. “No. I think this is more symbolic of our lives together.”

  He reached up, snagged a few strands of my hair, trying to pull me down to him. I pulled away, straightening my back so that I was straddling him like a jockey on a horse.

  “You broke my heart. For a long time, I believed that there was more to your excuses than what was on that note, but my imagination went to places that were so far from the truth, you can’t even imagine. I kept seeing you in crowds and imagining you were sick and dying alone, or living the high life with some woman who didn’t make you feel less than you are—the way you said I did.”

  “Megan, I never said—”

  “You did. When we talked about our future together, you always insisted that you wanted to be able to provide for me and for our family. I must have made you feel less just with my name and my trust fund.”

  “That’s not true. It was just my pride getting in the way.”

  I bit my lip, the memory of it all washing over me. “You hurt me, Luke. You’re the one person I should’ve been able to trust above all others, but you shattered my heart into a million pieces.”

  “Then let me put it back together.”

  He sat up and wrapped his body around me, his arms encircling my waist, his hands on my ass, his legs bent to force me up against his chest. He held me like he was never going to let me go again. And then we began to kiss, and there was no longer anything between us to keep our souls from touching, nothing to keep our emotions from mingling. We were kissing as though we were two halves that had finally created a whole.