Benny swung the axe over the top of the table as Jesse plowed into him. The axe cleaved downward, but Jesse was already on his way to the ground as he grabbed Benny’s ankles and threw the man off balance. He heard the axe hit wood and he heard Alexi scream.
“Get the hell out of here,” he yelled at Alexi. Benny and the table crashed to the side into the bookcase. Glass shattered and Benny screamed with rage, drawing back on the axe and slashing sideways. Jesse let go of Benny’s legs and rolled from the slashing blade.
He expected Benny to be on his feet and swinging by the time he rolled into a crouched and ready position. Benny was up, but he wasn’t aiming for Jesse. The bastard was heading toward the door Alexi had just run through.
Son of a bitch, NO! Jesse’s mind shouted as his heart thundered with terror. He grabbed the closest weapon he could find, an iron lamp and jerked the plug from the wall as he ran after Benny. Just as Jesse crossed the threshold, Benny suddenly turned and swung the axe at Jesse’s head.
Jesse blocked the blow with the lamp and front kicked Benny in the crotch. Benny managed to twist to the side as he swung around and it wasn’t until the axe left Benny’s grip that Jesse realized the bastard was aiming right for Alexi’s back as she raced for the car.
“Duck, Lexi!” Jesse screamed as he prayed to God she’d follow his command first instead of looking back. His blood turned to ice in the seconds that axe flew end over end right at Alexi.
Alexi dropped to the ground and Paul appeared out of the dark, covering Alexi with his body as the axe smashed into the car window. Glass exploded and the axe bounced away from the car, where Paul deflected it away from Alexi. Jesse slammed the iron lamp into the back of Benny’s skull. Benny dropped like a dead man and Jesse used the lamp cord to tie the bastard up, disappointed that Benny still had a pulse and was breathing.
The sound of police siren’s filled the air.
Paul was standing but Alexi still lay on the ground. Jesse ran to her. “Is she hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” Paul said.
Jesse dropped to his knees in the glass. “Lexi, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
She grabbed his hand. “I am so mad, that I swear if I move a muscle I am going to get your gun and unload it into Benny’s black heart. All those people. Dear God. I can’t live with the fact that all of those people are going to die because I didn’t listen to you. You kept telling me that what was going on was more serious and I didn’t believe you. If I had, maybe we could have stopped him sooner.”
“You don’t know that,” Jesse said, pulling her into his arms. “And let’s hope we’re not too late to stop the plane.” Jesse dug out his phone. He glanced at Paul as he dialed Washington. “How did you get here so fast?”
“Call it a hunch. You told me to chill tonight, but I just had this feeling that it was all going down too easy. A man doesn’t spend that many years obsessed just to hop a plane. I decided to come watch your back.”
“Damn good hunch.”
“Who are you calling?” Paul asked.
“Deputy Director of the FBI. He owes me. If anybody can save that plane, he can.”
Epilogue
“Miss Lexi! Mr. Jesse! Did you see me dance?” Lucy came running up still wearing her blue angel ballerina costume. Karin and Lucy’s father—now going by Kevin instead of Jonah because facing his family had freed him from the whale of his self-imposed prison---smiled proudly as they waved from where they stood.
Karin was more relaxed around her ex, less guarded, and over the past eleven months, Kevin had proven himself a changed man. Karin also carried Amanda Lee in her arms. Lucy had insisted the doll be at her first dance recital.
“We saw you. You danced beautifully.” Alexi bent down and hugged Lucy tight, still amazed at how quickly the little girl had recovered from her kidney transplant—thanks to her father’s donation of a kidney. Lucy had grabbed a normal life with both of her hands and wasn’t going to ever let it go.
Lucy looked at Jesse and giggled. “Mr. Jesse, what are you hiding behind your back?”
Jesse grinned. “Something special for a dancing girl.”
“A balloon!” Lucy’s eyes sparkled!
“This little girl is getting way too smart.” Jesse handed Lucy the helium-filled, red balloon and settled his gaze on Alexi’s for a loving hot moment then looked back at Lucy and lowered his voice. “We have an announcement to make and you’re the first person we are telling. We’re going to get married and we want you to be our flower girl.”
“For real?” Impossibly, Lucy’s eyes became even brighter as Jesse nodded. “Yes, yes, yes!” she cried, pirouetting with her balloon dancing above her head. “When?”
Jesse tapped the balloon with his finger, making it bob up and down.
Alexi smiled. “How does next month sound to you?”
“Wonderful.” Lucy danced in another circle then stopped, her expression solemn. “Miss Lexi, can I carry Amanda Lee with me down the aisle?”
Alexi’s breath caught and a sudden sting of tears burned the backs of her eyes. She hugged Lucy again. “Yes, Lucy. That would be wonderful.” It would be like having her mother at her wedding, Alexi thought as she stood. She would never forget last night as long as she lived. On his knee, last night beneath the stars, Jesse had asked her to marry him, to make their love a forever thing. Alexi already knew where she wanted to marry him. She wanted to marry at night, under the stars, those twinkling light of angels who caught all of her dreams and made them come true.
“I’m going to go show my friends my dancing balloon, okay?”
“Okay,” Jesse said as he slid his arm around Alexi.
She leaned into Jesse’s warmth, breathing in his scent, feeling his nearness.
“It’s good to see the world right side up,” he said.
She angled back to frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“Everything is as it should be. Lucy well and dancing. The delayed plane saved and bomb diffused. Benny in jail for life. Roger’s reputation ruined when the Sugar Girl prostitution ring was exposed. It all makes a man believe in justice after all.”
Alexi lifted her brow. “And?” she prompted.
“And miracles,” he said, the gleam in his eye let her know he was deliberately holding back the answer she was fishing for.
“And?” she urged.
“And love,” Jesse said with a smile. “Especially when a woman is willing to rough it for a week-long fishing trip for her man. It’s going to be great. Nothing but you, me, the woods, a tent, and fish over a campfire.”
Alexi groaned, wondering how she had let him talk her into it, several weeks ago. There’d been melted Godivas involved.
Jesse examined Alexi’s expression with amusement. She was in for a big surprise. Enjoying her discomfort, he laughed and dangled a set of keys in front of her nose. “You are packed and ready to leave tonight, right?”
He had to bite the insides of his mouth to keep from telling her where they were really going. Her pained expression was so pitiful.
“Can we wait until morning?” she said. “I mean. It won’t hurt to start at daylight will it?”
“Nope. We’re leaving tonight. By morning we’re going to be digging up worms and rolling in fish.
Alexi lifted a brow. “You might be. I’ll be licking my Godivas and reading a hot book.”
Jesse’s body reacted immediately as he remembered the last time Alexi took Godivas fishing. From the satisfied look on her face, she knew it too.
He smiled back. Two could play at that game.
* * *
Fishing trip! Ha. For a week now, Jesse had been the shark and Alexi was bait. She owed him one and today she was going to collect her dues. She quietly picked up her camera and tiptoed outside. Jesse slept; the sun glistened off his tanned, oiled skin in a rich bronze sheen. Dark stubble shaded his rough jaw, and lent a dangerous air to his sleeping body. They were back in France at the villa by the pool and gloriously bac
k into the nude precedent they’d set the last time. She couldn’t remember if she’d worn any clothes at all this week which, considering all she had brought with her was stuff fit only for worms and mud fishing, was a good thing.
She had another charity auction planned and she knew just the thing to make it a resounding success as well as an excellent way to commemorate their “fishing trip.” A way that neither he nor she would ever forget.
Situating herself at the right angle from the sun, she lifted her camera and focused on Jesse’s nude body. He was hard and smooth all over, she thought as she closed in on the broadness of his chest and the nuances of light and shadow playing upon muscle and flesh. Her gaze drifted lower, following the dark line of silky hair as her fingers tingled with the need to touch. Her body thrummed to the vibrant, sensual display of maleness before her.
“Jesse,” she called softly.
“Hmm,” he slit his eyes open to a sexy, dangerous level and she took his picture.
“Lexi!” he shouted rolling to his feet and coming at her. “What are you doing?”
“Just captured the perfect male on film for the upcoming charity auction.” She turned and ran through the villa. Tossing the camera into a bag hidden behind the curtain, she ducked out a side door and made it to their secluded beach. She had just enough time to position herself so Jesse wouldn’t be able to resist her before he gave up looking for the camera and came running after her. He jumped on top of her.
“Where’s the camera, Lexi?”
She smiled. “I’ll never tell.”
“Yes, you will.” He leaned down and lashed her nipple with his tongue mercilessly.
“No I won’t.” And she didn’t, no matter how many times her wild Irish devil made her come.
Author Note:
I love telling stories whether they are a simple, sexy read, a complex paranormal thriller, a historical murder mystery, or an edge of your seat romantic suspense. To me, mutual love, respect, and acceptance are the very heart of relationships and life. So I hope you’ll take a chance and enjoy all of my stories and the beauty of love that unfolds when my hero and heroine meet and learn how love can truly conquer all.
Happy Reading!
Jennifer Saints
USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer Saints
This bewitching Georgia Peach is anything but ordinary. She’s a mother, nurse, thriller writer, award-winning paranormal/romance/contemporary author, passionate patriot, event planner and more! She’s also home schooled three children and is the Vice-President of a charitable foundation which helps women and children’s causes and in her spare time she writes screenplays!
Jenni, in her own words:
Under a barrage of nagging by BFF’s, I’ve been told my bio was boring, not at all a reflection of just who I am beneath the surface, which is a compliment…I think. So, I promised to rev it up a bit. Thus the reason why I’m sitting here staring at the computer screen with nothing but crickets in my brain. I’m totally into making up wild and interesting stories with a lot of heart thrown into the mix, but telling people about myself isn’t so easy. What can I tell you about me?
I don’t play video games or watch horror because I can’t take the heat, but give me a kickass thriller every minute of every day and I am there. Be prepared for a Hoover Dam meltdown if you’re with me and the movie is sad. So, to avoid disaster, I love romantic comedies.
Never coffee. Always tea. Never beer. Always champagne. There’s more, but hey, gotta save some secrets until after the first date, right?
I grew up in Miami. Went to nursing school in Georgia, where I now reside. I raised and home schooled three great kids. I wrote for nine years before I sold a book, which made me a firm believer that a person should NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP ON THEIR DREAMS.
I remember my father’s remark after a particularly scandalous story about one of my ancestors, a story that involves a conspiracy, treason, betrayal, murder, and execution, a story that after a drink or two in the bar, I might be enticed to share. Anyway, what my father said was, “You can’t keep a good man down.” And I kind of see that in myself. Not that I am necessarily good, because the definitions of moral words are often relative, but I do persevere, and I am resilient. Nothing in life has ever worked out the way I planned for it too. In many areas of my life, I have yet to reach the level I thought I would, of where I envisioned I would be, but I haven’t given up. I won’t give up. I continue to work hard and do everything I can to help who I can and to make my dreams come true.
Besides great kids, family, and friends, that perseverance has so far garnered me a USA Today Bestselling tag and twelve plus books on the shelf in a number of genres (contemporary romantic suspense, historical suspense, paranormal suspense, and contemporary romance). I’ve won a number of writing awards, two National Choice Awards, three Maggie Awards, a RT Book Club Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the Marlene Award, and the Golden Heart Award to name most of them. I work with several amazing women in a charity to raise money for a shelter that helps abused and homeless women and children. I’ve revived my nursing career after a long hiatus, have renewed my license, and will find the right job for me.
I know there are many more great things ahead.
I write romance because I believe that when you boil all of life down to its essence, if you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm’s quote, I choose to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate.
I hope you enjoy my stories.
Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
Jenni (J.L. Saint, Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints)
PS. Writers don’t develop split personalities. They develop pseudonyms.
Website: jenniferstgiles.com
You can e-mail her about her Jennifer Saints novels at [email protected].
Books:
Writing as Jennifer St. Giles
The Mistress of Trevelyan - 8/04
His Dark Desires - 11/05
Midnight Secrets - 5/06 – Re-released 4/11
Touch A Dark Wolf - 9/06
Darkest Dreams - 12/06
The Lure of the Wolf - 7/07
Silken Shadows - 12/07
Kiss of Darkness - 4/09
Bride of the Wolf - 5/09
Point of No Return: Mammoth Book of Vampire Romances Book 2 - 9/09.
Writing as Jennifer Saints
Wild Irish - 5/09
Smooth Irish - 5/09
Writing as J.L. Saints
Collateral Damage – 12/10
Tactical Damage – 11/11
Between Your Sheets Publishing, LLC
betweenyoursheets.com
Wild Irish (Book 1 of the Weldon Series) Page 26
