by Dora Hiers
“So what’s the plan now?”
Gunner glanced around. Nobody swam in the pool, so it wouldn’t make good cover. They could sit with the lady watching a kid at the playground area, but two guys showing up suddenly might scare her off.
Gunner parked near the island with the mailboxes then thrust a couple of papers into his friend’s hand. “Here. You get out and act like you’re checking your mail.”
Chad pretended to open a mailbox then perused the mail with his back to the car.
From the rearview mirror, Gunner saw a vehicle pull up next to Jefferson’s. He hit the button to roll down the passenger window so Chad could hear and spoke into the radio. “Suspect believed to be in a black sedan just outside the front gate.”
“Yeah?” Chad didn’t turn around.
Gunner kept his gaze fastened to the rearview mirror. Without moving his head, his eyes drifted to the side mirror in search of the undercover agents. They’d worked their way to the sign at the front. Good.
“Make your move when the suspect exits the car.”
“Placement looks about right, don’t you think, Andrews?” The agent’s code for prepared.
Gunner’s gut churned with indecision. Too soon and he’d risk hurting Mina. Too late and he’d risk hurting Mina. And Regi? Gunner prayed that they weren’t too late.
The door to the suspect’s car opened. A man emerged.
“That’s our guy.” The agent draping a wreath on the front entrance sign confirmed.
“Go now!” Gunner commanded. When Chad flung himself into the car, he mashed the accelerator. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickled down the middle of his back. Please God. Please God. Help us get this guy and keep Mina out of harm’s way. Please don’t let us be too late to save Regi.
Brugman lay flat on the ground next to his car, his face in the dirt, an agent’s knee pressed into his back.
After handcuffing the thug, Andrews turned around and grinned. “So, Chapel, glad you decided to join the party. What took you guys so long?”
“What? And spoil your party? You guys had everything under control.” Smiling, Gunner opened Mina’s door and tugged her into his embrace. He pressed a kiss to her head. She was safe. Thank you, Lord! “You’re okay, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Jefferson emerged from the other side of the car.
Mina pulled her head back and looked up with wide eyes. “What about Regi?”
“Suspect in custody.” Chad relayed into the radio then grabbed Brugman by the arm and jerked him around. “What did you do with Regi?”
Spit landed at Chad’s feet.
The agent shoved Brugman into the back of a squad car then, in five steps, Chad jerked the keys out of the ignition and raced to the back of Brugman’s vehicle. His fingers shook until, finally, the trunk popped open.
Gunner shielded Mina, and, at Chad’s gasp, tightened his arms around her. She didn’t need to see Regi, with her legs curled, her wrists bound and mouth gagged.
Unconscious?
Dead?
Chad lifted Regi from the trunk and carried her to the grass.
One of the agents radioed for medical assistance.
Holding his breath, Gunner took a few steps back, pulling a terrified Mina with him. When a tremor racked her body and her teeth clacked together, he addressed her father. “Jefferson, Mina needs your coat.”
Jefferson tore his gaze away from the scene. Regi, prone on the grass, Chad bent over her checking for signs of life. “Oh. Sure.” He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around Mina’s shoulders.
Gunner held her in his arms, waiting for the verdict.
“She’s alive!” Chad yelled.
****
“Thank you.” Willow accepted the coffee from her father, took a shaky sip, then set it on the table, grateful that he’d made a trip to the local coffee shop, rather than the hospital café. “Mmm. That’s good.”
“Where’s mine?” Regi squawked a protest from the hospital bed.
Chuckling, Jefferson handed the extra cup to Regi. “I see you are still as impatient as ever, Reaghan.”
“It’s not impatience, Jefferson. I just know I won’t catch a wink of sleep tonight. I might as well enjoy a good cup of coffee.”
Willow smiled. It felt so good to hear Regi teasing her father. To hear Regi’s voice, period.
Willow brushed her friend’s hair back from her forehead. If only she could smooth away the hollows around Regi’s eyes and blot out the purple bruises on her face. “The nurses are going to have a rough time trying to keep a certain Deputy Marshal from visiting late tonight.”
Regi skimmed her swollen lips with her fingertips. “I wish I looked better.”
Willow regarded her friend, loving her even more for her suffering. “I’m quite sure that Chad won’t even notice the bruises.” She clutched Regi’s hand tightly in both of hers. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all this.”
“You’re my best friend, Willow. Whatever comes our way…”
As if that summed up everything. All the pain and suffering. A tear slid down Willow’s cheek.
Regi swatted her on the hip. “Stop it. No tears. I’m okay. A bit sore but alive and kicking. Where’s Gunner? Isn’t he supposed to pick you up?”
Willow swiped at the wetness matting her cheek with the back of a hand, smiling at Regi’s successful attempt to change the subject. “Gunner said they’d be here as soon as they got Brugman processed. He wants to make sure the guy’s locked up good and tight.”
Her heart skipped and stuttered. She could hardly wait to see the man. She had a thousand things she wanted to say to him.
“Honestly, Wilhelmina, I have never been so happy to see a police officer in my life,” Jefferson’s voice held admiration.
Willow smiled at her father’s admission, his way of relaying his approval of Gunner. “I’m glad, Dad, because I’m hoping this particular law enforcement officer will be a giant part of my life for a very long time.”
“As in ‘forever’?”
Willow jumped at Gunner’s deep voice. Her gaze jerked toward the door.
The marshal nudged a shoulder against the doorframe, his arms folded against his chest, openly listening to their conversation with an easy smile, his stance relaxed. Chad stood next to him, trying unsuccessfully to cover a smile as his gaze swallowed Regi whole.
Willow screeched and launched herself into Gunner’s outstretched arms.
“Excuse us.” Laughter rumbled from his chest. With his arms locked around her waist, he pulled her into the hall and tapped the door to Regi’s room closed with his shoe.
Willow was right where she wanted to be. Forever.
“I take that as a ‘yes.’”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
With a light grasp of her arms, he held her away from him, but only a few inches. The teasing lines faded from around his eyes. “Can you forgive me for the past?”
“Already done. Can you forgive me for the present?”
One side of his lips curved in that delicious way she loved. “I understand why you thought you had to go it alone. But you just made me lose ten years off my life.”
“Ten years? Is that all?” Willow giggled, enjoying every minute of his teasing.
“Ten years on the tail end. You’ll have to nurse me in my old age.”
Willow gasped at the implication, sliding over to allow a nurse to squeeze by in the hallway.
Gunner tugged her hand. “Walk with me?”
She slid an arm around his back and snuggled inside his leather jacket as he led the way outside to a secluded park bench. Once they sat, he slid his hand into his jacket pocket then knelt in front of her.
Willow sucked in a breath, held it.
With one hand, he reached for hers. The other opened to reveal a tiny velvet box, a diamond ring glittering from the center. “I love you, Wilhelmina Berkshire. You are the only one who’s ever held my heart. You’re the one I long to snuggle
with every night, the one I want to wake up next to every morning, the one I want to grow into forever with. Will you marry me, Mina, and allow me the joy of sharing your life and Tessa’s?”
Willow reached up to caress his cheek, love for this new man flowing through every cell in her body. “Yes!”
Gunner slid the ring onto her finger and stood, tugging her up with him. Sculpting her body against his, he teased her lips open with a soft, gentle touch, a promise of a lifetime of love. He broke away, his forehead touching hers, his breath tickling her lips.
“Gunner?”
“Yes, love?”
“Promise, no long engagements?”
A huge grin split his face as he cupped her face in his hands, his look tender and sweet. “Can you be ready before Christmas?”
Epilogue
“Mmmm.” Willow licked the whipped cream from her lips. She set the cup of hot chocolate on the side table and resumed her position on the sofa, her arms latched around her husband’s waist and her legs stretched out alongside his on the coffee table. “Do we have to go? Can’t we just stay here and admire the Christmas tree?”
She didn’t mind going. Not really. She was just so comfortable right where she was, cuddling her warm husband.
The door flung open and Regi breezed inside, bundled in a winter coat. Chad followed. The pair had been inseparable since Regi’s hospital stay. Either Chad flew to Florida on his days off, or he flew Regi back to North Carolina, like this weekend. “Aren’t you guys ready to go yet?”
Tessa bounded down the stairs, rolling her eyes. “I’m ready. But these two lovebirds have been glued to that same spot for at least the last hour.” Tessa tapped Gunner on the shoulder. “Come on, Dad. You promised the hockey game. Remember?”
Gunner laughed and eased off the couch, extending a hand for Willow. “All right, sweetheart. That we did. And I intend to keep that promise.” But the look he flashed her reminded her of another promise. One she’d gladly collect on later tonight.
Her breath snagged in her lungs, and a flush crept up her neck.
“Let’s load up then.” Chad ushered Regi and Tessa outside, stopping to issue a warning glare at Gunner over his shoulder. “You lovebirds have exactly two minutes to be inside that car.”
Her husband only grinned at his partner. When the door closed, he coiled his arms around her waist, the wicked smile still curving his lips. “Have I told you I loved you today?”
Willow breathed in his essence and soaked in the love glowing from his eyes. “You have, but you know I always like to hear those words. So tell me again.” She draped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, his lips a breath away.
“I love you, Mrs. Chapel. You and Tessa make my life complete. Thank you for becoming my wife.”
His head dipped, and their lips met for a toe-tingling, stomach-fluttering kiss.
When it ended—too soon—she whimpered. “That was nice. Are you sure we have to go?”
Gunner laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the door and the waiting carload. “Mina, you’re tempting me. But we promised Tessa a hockey game tonight, and I don’t want to disappoint her. Or you. Come on. Our daughter is waiting.”
Willow had loved the old Gunner, but this new Gunner?
Forever wouldn’t be long enough!
Thank you for reading A Marshal’s Promise! I’m so honored that you chose to read one of my stories. If you enjoyed it—and I hope you did!—please consider sharing your thoughts on Amazon. Positive reviews, even just a couple of sentences, help other readers discover new-to-them authors. Happy reading!
How about a peek at A Marshal’s Embrace, the third and final book in the Marshals with Heart series.
A Marshal’s Embrace
He was late.
Yeah, well, Steven would just have to forgive him for missing the ceremony. He was here, wasn’t he?
Ryker McLane stepped into the lobby of the posh hotel, laughter from a few hundred guests spilling from the ballroom doors. He gritted his teeth, not sure whether to massage the throb gaining momentum in his head or apply pressure to the general vicinity of where his spleen used to be.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the text messages to find the one Steven sent yesterday. While Ryker’s hospital bed and painkillers held him incarcerated.
Danae in trouble. Can you keep an eye on her while I’m on my honeymoon?
Yeah. He could do it. What was the alternative? Lounging around on a hospital bed contemplating his career options. Or lack of them.
What kind of trouble was Steven’s sister in this time? The Great Dane. That’s what they used to call her. Growing up, she’d had long muscular legs. Cute, but in an ugly duckling sort of way. And always in trouble or causing trouble. Maybe things were different now that she was older.
Ryker shook his head. Nah. The Dane probably hadn’t changed a bit. His gut tightened, from more than the emergency spleen surgery.
He loosened his tie and stepped into the crowded room, the scent of freshly brewed coffee calling him. His gaze roamed over the visitors, looking for anyone out of place, someone who didn’t belong on the guest list.
Just what he needed. All of Charlotte was here for Steven’s wedding. He scraped his fingers against the stubble on his chin, jaw clenching and shoulders tightening. Ryker would need to call in a few more deputy marshals if Steven expected him to protect Danae in this crowd.
Tilting the lever on the coffee urn, he allowed himself a brief sigh as the pungent liquid flowed into the cup. He turned around and scanned the crowd, practically inhaling the caffeine, willing the strength to course back into his body as easily as the liquid slid down his throat.
A familiar hand landed on his back. He glanced sideways at Steven, his best friend of almost two decades.
“Glad you could finally make it.” A smile glowed from Steven’s face.
Why did his friend’s joy rankle? Just because his wedding never happened didn’t mean he should wish the same for his friend. Steven deserved a chance at a real family.
Ryker grunted. “Yeah. You don’t want to know what I had to go through to get here.” No way would he admit that he skipped out of the hospital against the doctor’s orders. “Where’s the Great Dane?”
Steven grinned. “It’s been a couple years since you’ve seen her. She probably won’t like you calling her by that name now.”
“Once a Dane—”
“Danae is over there.” Steven pointed toward the exit. “Likely sneaking upstairs to our suite to change out of that dress. You know how she hates formal events.”
“Yeah. About as much as I do.” With a groan, Ryker yanked on his tie again and followed Steven’s finger to see a woman edging toward the double doors in a clingy turquoise gown. The kind of gown that made a man’s fingers itch to glide over the silky material.
The kind of woman who practically forced a man to take a second look.
The Great Dane?
He swallowed, almost choked on the coffee clogging his throat worse than a giant hunk of cotton.
Steven clapped him on the back. “Close your mouth, buddy. She’s still the same girl, just wearing different duds tonight than what you’re used to seeing her in.”
Ryker clamped his jaw tight, fighting the urge to deck his best friend for laughing at him. Was this one of his jokes? That lady couldn’t possibly be “The Dane.” Where was the flight med jumpsuit? The basketball shorts? The ponytail? Definitely missing. Granted he hadn’t seen Danae in a couple of years, but Steven should have prepared him for this, um, transformation.
“I don’t have time to fill you in on everything. I just can’t stand the thought that someone broke into her house while she was gone. With her coming and going at all hours, it scares the living daylights out of me.” A frown marred Steven’s almost-marital glow.
Ryker stared at this unknown version of Danae, only half hearing her brother’s words. Not a muscle worked, unless he counted the ticking in
his jaw or the stutter of his heart.
“She has her car here. You probably should go after her just in case she plans on ditching the party, don’t you think?”
No.
Yes.
“Ryker?”
He jerked at the amusement in Steven’s voice and gave himself a stern talking to. Dane was his best friend’s sister. Practically his sister. He’d known her forever, right? He shook his head to clear the cobwebs that had taken up residence in his brain during his short stay in the hospital.
“I’m on it. Listen, man, I’ll let her fill me in on everything. Don’t worry about her while you’re gone. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.” How much trouble could a one hundred and thirty-five-pound female get into?
Steven squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, buddy. I know you will. Just one thing, though?”
“Don’t tell her that you asked me to look out for her?”
Steven rolled his eyes. “You got it.”
“She still get mad at you for being over-protective?”
“Yeah. But that’s what big brothers are for, right?”
Steven’s words slashed Ryker’s heart deeper than the doctor’s scalpel to his side. He didn’t know about the big brother stuff, but he’d been a little brother once. A lifetime ago.
Ryker gulped, nodded, then followed Dane’s path through the double doors, tossing the empty cup in the trash bin on the way out.
Dane stepped into a glass elevator. A suit followed her in and mashed the button repeatedly. As if that would make the thing close faster. Still a good distance away, Ryker lengthened his stride.
He scowled. Was this a guest from the wedding? Someone Dane knew?
With her back to the open doors, Dane faced the glimmering lights from the tallest buildings in downtown Charlotte. The crazy woman probably got her thrills taking the elevator up to the top floor just to take in the views of the skyline after dark.
