by Amy Olle
From Sloane’s expression, Luke knew he hit upon the truth. “I have evidence. I have the movie.”
“That doesn’t prove shit.” Luke’s grip tightened. “She had nothing to do with that movie.”
“It’s her house,” Justin wheezed. “She’s an accomplice, at least.”
Justin’s eyes bulged and Luke watched the fear stir in them.
“Luke.” Noah’s voice pierced the haze of his fury. “Emily needs you.”
With a hard shove, Luke knocked Sloane against the cement wall.
“Buzz me in.” He barked the order to Newberry over the sound of Sloane’s coughing.
The latch remained locked. Luke glowered at the rookie over his shoulder. “Buzz. Me. In. Now.”
The door to the station entrance swung open and Cynthia shuffled through with a chilly breeze.
Her serious dark eyes quickly assessed the gathered crowd before clamping on Luke. “Is there a problem here, Officer Newberry?”
“No, ma’am.”
With a harsh buzz, the latch gave way. Luke plunged into the jail.
“You can’t go back there—”
He ignored Cynthia and stalked down the row of empty cells until he found her.
She sat on the gray-covered cot, her legs folded in front of her. Her head came up when he said her name. Her eyes looked huge in her pale face.
He drowned in whiskey.
Her feet eased to the floor and she tipped forward, but didn’t stand.
He gripped the iron bars. “Are you all right?”
The cot creaked when she pushed to her feet.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
With small, hesitant steps, she crossed to him. Her hands came up and she wrapped her fingers around the bars, a fraction below his white-knuckled fists.
The sleeves of her sweatshirt drooped and exposed her wrists. No marks or bruises marred her skin. A slow hiss of relief slipped from him. “You’re not hurt?”
She shook her head.
He covered her hands, which felt cold and small beneath his. “You’re okay?”
She nodded.
“Then why are you crying, sweetheart?”
Her mouth moved as she struggled for words. “Y-you came. For m-me?”
The pain wrenching his heart pulled a groan from him. She’d thought he wouldn’t come for her.
He shoved both hands between the bars and gripped her head in his hands. “You are my wife.” His voice croaked. “You are my life.”
A broken sob tore from her.
“I will always come for you.” He wiped away her tears with the palms of his hands.
“B-but y-you said—”
“I know. I know what I said. I was lying.” He swallowed his heart with a painful gulp. “I can’t lose you, Em. I’m not strong enough. I thought if I could stop myself from falling in love with you, it wouldn’t hurt so much. But I couldn’t stop myself…”
He swallowed her sobs when he kissed her, a wholly unsatisfying kiss with the cell bars pressing into the sides of his face. Her tears tasted salty on his tongue.
“Detective Nolan,” Cynthia’s big voice boomed. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“That’s his wife.” Sloane nipped at her heels.
Cynthia’s steps slowed, and she glared down at Sloane. He squirmed.
Her gaze shifted to Luke, and then to Emily.
Luke straightened away from the jail. “She was not directly involved in the film’s production. I verified the film permits myself—”
“You knew your wife was making a porno?” Sloane crowed. “That makes you an accessory. I suspected you of a lot of things, Nolan, but not a pornographer. Never that.”
Cynthia rolled her eyes. “Stand down, Justin.” She fixed Luke with a pointed look. “I trust Mrs. Nolan’s lawyer will want to help sort all this out when he or she arrives.”
“He should be here any minute.” At least, Luke hoped Noah had called Shea. “But for the record, this whole thing is a mistake. Officer Sloane has a vendetta and he’s using my wife to try to get to me.”
“That’s a lie,” Sloane spat.
“Why don’t you go check to see if Mrs. Nolan’s lawyer has arrived?”
“But—”
“Do it now, Justin.”
With a scowl, Sloane slithered away, but when he pulled back the steel cellblock door, a surge of noise filled the jail.
“Oh, for the love,” Cynthia muttered.
Luke was aware of Sloane’s protests before the Mayor of Thief Island burst into the jail. A crush of bodies followed Drew Alexander down the hall toward them. Shea nipped at his heels while Honey and Mina hurried along behind them. Noah, his arm flung across Newberry’s shoulders, trailed at the rear.
Drew held his arms wide as he approached. “Chief Brown, I apologize for my obstinacy, but I wanted to make you aware of the discussions which took place at our last city council meeting.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, this is not a good time,” Cynthia said. “If you’ll wait in my office, I’ll be right with you.”
Emily squeezed his hand and Luke looked down into her face. His heart lifted, and unbelievably, a smile found its way to his lips.
“I won’t take more than a few minutes of your time,” Drew was saying. “It involves a change to city ordinance banning the production of certain salacious material.”
Cynthia’s expression turned wry. “Is that right?”
“Did you know this island had an ordinance on the books which was so narrowly written that several films honored over the years by the Academy Awards likely could not have legally been made here?”
“I can honestly say I did not know that,” Cynthia deadpanned.
“It’s shocking, isn’t it? To think, such censorship was allowed to crush artistic expression. Not to mention the missed opportunities for economic growth. With all our diverse little island has to offer, from beaches and sand dunes to forests and an idyllic downtown, we’re a desirable locale for many a filmmaker.” Drew slipped his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. “Anyway, I put forth a measure to immediately rectify this gross oversight, and after a spirited debate, the council voted to temporarily lift the ban. We’re gonna see how it goes. Even ol’ Thackery approved the measure.”
“What a wise action,” Cynthia said dryly.
Drew flashed a surprisingly charming smile. “You flatter. Which I’m sure has nothing to do with the fact that I appoint you to your post, Chief Brown.”
“You can’t do that,” Sloane seethed.
Drew sliced him with a look. “Actually, I can. That’s how governance works.” He lifted an eyebrow at Cynthia. “Maybe it’s time we reevaluate the officer continuing education program.”
Cynthia executed a weak smile. “I think everything here is under control. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Why don’t we talk in my office for a moment? I can update you on a few changes in our office.”
“You’re still going to give him that stupid award?” Sloane gaped at her. “He doesn’t deserve it. He’s not a hero, he’s a criminal.”
“That’s not t-true!” The words burst from Emily and all attention swung to her. She shrunk back. “No o-o-one wh-wh-who knows him w-w-would say something so b-blatantly untrue.”
The torturous stutter left a gash on his heart.
Her eyes darted back and forth in full panic for a moment, and then latched on to his face. “He’s a good m-m-man, and a good cop. He’s the b-best m-m-man I’ve ever known. B-because he cares about p-people, and-and-and he w-w-would do anything to h-help them.”
He understood how wounding the moment must be for her. “Emily, it’s okay.”
“He’s the b-best kind of m-man.” She cast a measuring look at Sloane. “A real m-m-man. He’d do anything to h-h-help o-others and I love h-him for that.”
Her declaration hit him like a punch in the gut, and as she stuttered and stammered her way through more horrid platitudes, something inside him shifted.
Changed.
His heart filled. There was no stopping the onslaught. It spilled over, drenching him in the knowledge of her love, and he realized if a woman as smart and sweet as Emily Cole Nolan thought him worthy of love, then he must be.
All the self-doubt and hatred that’d built up over the past year—no, over a lifetime—vanished like the stars at dawn.
“He gave a h-homeless m-man shoes.”
“Aw, how sweet.” Sloane’s tongue dripped with sarcasm. “He’s a cop, not a charity worker.”
“I know that,” Emily said. “B-but cops are supposed to serve and p-protect, right? Not only arrest people. He deserves that award, and-and he deserves to be Lieutenant.”
Disgust curled Sloane’s lip when he looked to Cynthia. “You’re giving him the job?”
“No, I’m not,” Cynthia said.
Emily flinched. “Please don’t punish him for my actions. We’re not staying married.”
Terror seized him. “The hell we aren’t,” he growled.
Cynthia covered her laughter with a cough. “Are you going to tell them or am I?”
Luke rolled his shoulders. “I didn’t get the job.”
“I offered the position to Detective Nolan,” Cynthia said. “He turned me down. Not only that, but he resigned from the force.”
“What?” Emily’s voice pitched to shrill levels. “Why?”
“I believe the reason given had something to do with you, Mrs. Nolan.”
Luke opened his mouth to protest.
“What was it you said, Detective?” Cynthia was enjoying herself now. “If I laid a finger on your wife you’d cut off my balls and feed them to the patrons at your brother’s pub?”
Drew snickered.
“Then he tendered his resignation, effective the moment I kissed his hairy white ass. Is that about right, Detective?”
Luke scratched a phantom itch on his collarbone. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I don’t understand.” Emily gazed up at him with huge brown eyes.
“I need to step away for a while.” He reached through the cell bars and stroked her cheek. “But you’re going to have to start paying me for my services.”
Cynthia clapped her hands together. “If any of you are Mrs. Nolan’s attorney, can you step to the front desk so we can resolve this matter? Officer Newberry, can you assist with the release?”
Newberry slipped out of the jail, and a moment later, the latch to Emily’s cell gave way. Luke swung open the door and she shot into his arms.
He cradled her head in both his hands and kissed the tiny freckle on her cheekbone, under her right eye. “We’re not getting a divorce. I’ll never agree to it.”
A watery laugh bubbled out of her as he dropped more kisses on her face, her forehead, and the tip of her nose.
She turned her face away, and to their attentive audience said, “His ass isn’t hairy.”
Chapter Thirty
The temperature climbed above fifty degrees and the rich, loamy scent of spring filled the air. Outside to greet their new guests, Emily shucked her sweatshirt and turned her face toward the sun. Only a few months ago, fifty degrees had hit her like an arctic blast. Now, warmth spread through her and eased the aching from her bones.
Luke bounded down the porch stairs. The shadows that’d stalked him seemed to have lifted.
One hand slipped around her waist while the other smoothed over her large belly. “How’s he doing today?”
“He’s active. I think he’s excited, too.”
An ultrasound showed the baby to be developing well and in perfect health. It also showed they were having a boy. With the news, the wonder-terror had returned with the intensity of a thousand white-hot suns. What did she know about raising a little boy?
But then she remembered she didn’t have to do it alone. Luke was there, and he had enough confidence for ten people. And she had Luke’s brothers, and Mina, and Isobel was becoming a dear friend very quickly.
One thing Emily knew for certain, her baby would be loved.
Luke took a long taste of her mouth. “And how are you today, Mrs. Nolan?”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m perfect.”
A car turned and ambled up the drive. When it rolled to a stop in front of the house, Luke went around to the driver-side door.
Leo unfolded from the car.
At his appearance, Emily’s heart squeezed. He was thin, gaunt even, and his eyes appeared sunken in his too-thin face.
He was the first of their weekend guests, though Leo would be staying with them after the others left next week.
It’d be their third time hosting the retreat. Luke had worked with Chloe Smallwood to plan the program and bring it to fruition. This weekend’s group was their most diverse yet and included military and law enforcement personnel, as well as rape survivors.
Warriors from every battlefield, Luke had said when he first told her about the idea.
The brothers stood at the car for a time, talking, until finally, they moved to join her on the front porch.
A light twinkled in Luke’s emerald eyes when he smiled at her. “You’ll never guess what happened.”
“What happened?” she repeated.
“They lost Leo’s luggage.”
Leo glowered at him, though his scowl held no bite. “He told me I’m lucky.”
Luke lifted one shoulder. “You could’ve found your things thrown all over the airport terminal.”
Heat rushed into Emily’s cheeks. “Speaking of, y-you still haven’t returned BOB to m-me.”
Luke slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close into his side. “You and BOB are through. I’m entirely too insecure to share you with another man.”
“Who’s Bob?” Leo asked.
Emily laughed and slipped her arms around Luke’s waist as they walked with Leo into the house.
It struck her then that her whole world, when snuggled tight, fit inside of her arms.
Luke lay in their bed, awaiting her return.
When finally she waddled back into the bedroom, her belly heavy and round in front of her, his heart squeezed.
He stretched, filching a prepackaged cookie from the plate she carried. “Hey, guess what? There’s a plot.”
“Really?” The mattress dipped when she climbed onto the bed and a wisp of her scent teased his nostrils. “What’s happening?”
“So Serena has made the tough choice to sell her virginity to the highest bidder.”
Emily’s pouty mouth twisted into a wry frown. “Tough choice, huh?”
“Her little brother has a rare form of cancer and she has to come up with the money to pay for his treatment.”
“Okay, that is a good reason.” She adjusted a pillow behind her back.
He bit into a cookie and hit play to resume the movie. “The highest bidder is some old dude named Roger and she’s arrived at his beach house mansion to make good on the deal.” He held up the cookie. “You know, these aren’t that bad.”
“I told you so.”
He placed one hand on her bare leg. “I’ve learned there’s a place for cheap and easy in my life after all.”
She slapped his arm. “What happened when Serena got to Roger’s mansion? Did they do it?”
Luke shook his head. “Not yet. Roger’s son, Chase, saw her first. Now he’s pretending to be Roger.”
Emily snuggled down under the quilt. “How stupid is Serena if she can’t tell the difference between a sixty-year-old and a twenty-year-old?”
The scene changed to a dark night on the beach.
Luke frowned at the TV. “They weren’t supposed to film on the beach. That’s a permit violation.”
“Max appealed and won. I think Drew may have used his influence on that one, too.”
“He’s a real servant to the public, isn’t he?”
On the TV screen, Honey emerged from the lake. Water sloughed off her naked body. On shore, a man waited for her.
E
mily peered at the TV. “Is that a boom mike?”
“You’re looking at the scenery?”
“I’ve already seen Honey naked. I gather from your familiarity with her resume, so have you.”
“Lucky for you, I don’t get tired of looking at naked women.”
Honey’s voice carried through the TV. “I seem to have misplaced my clothes.”
“You don’t need them.” Will snatched Honey to him and kissed her.
“I like this guy.” Luke took another bite of his cookie.
Emily frowned. “His delivery isn’t the only thing that’s a little stiff.”
With his bark of laughter, he choked on a chocolate chip.
Soft moans and grunts offset the slippery sounds of their kissing.
“Are they actually doing it?”
“Max told me Will’s wearing a skin-colored banana hammock.” Her nose crinkled adorably. “Knowing them kind of ruins it.”
Luke tilted his head to the side as the couple on the screen rolled in the sand. “Yeah, you’re right, it kinda does.”
He hit the Fast-Forward button until the scene changed. Honey and Will had moved to the library and were doing it on the desk.
“Do you think we missed a plot point or something?” he asked.
Emily flushed pink all over. “I thought the skinny dipping was just a coincidence.” She tucked a soft strand of her light hair behind her ear. “You don’t think…? Max didn’t… know that we… Did he?”
Luke frowned, chasing his memory. “Was he even here for your little skinny dip?”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I guess we just picked all the best places to have sex.”
She crunched on a cookie and a crease puckered her brow while she chewed. “I really need to clean that desk.”
“You’re thinking about cleaning?”
She winced. “Sorry. Fast-forward some more.”
Images rushed by, until Honey and Will emerged on the screen with their clothes on, and Luke hit the Play button.
They were arguing, as somehow Serena had found out Chase wasn’t Roger. Through tears, Honey told Will she didn’t care he lied because she was in love with him. Then they did it again.
