by Elle Kennedy
“He risked his life for me,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Finn squeezed her fingers. “He’ll be okay,” he reiterated.
It took two more hours before someone finally came. A doctor wearing a white coat greeted them with a tired smile, and Jamie jumped to her feet. “Is he all right?” she demanded.
“He’s going to be just fine.”
She sagged against Finn in relief.
“There was some internal bleeding caused by the bullet, and we had to give him three transfusions for the loss of blood, but he pulled through.” The doctor looked proud as he added, “Mr. Donovan is a fighter. A lot of patients display a will to live, but in this case, it was more than that.” He shook his head. “It was as if he simply refused to give up, as if there was no other choice.”
“Can I see him?” Jamie asked through her tears.
“He’s in recovery right now, and normally we only allow family members to—”
“I’m his fiancée,” she lied, ignoring Finn’s surprised gasp.
“Oh. Then I’m sure we’ll be able to accommodate you, Ms….?”
“Crawford. Jamie Crawford.”
“Come this way, Ms. Crawford.”
She followed the doctor down the fluorescent-lit corridor toward the elevator bank. As they rode up to the third floor, she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her blouse and uttered a silent prayer, this one thanking God for saving Cole’s life. Upstairs the doctor led her to a private room at the end of the hall and held open the door.
“He’ll be unconscious for a while,” he warned.
“I don’t mind. I want to be there when he wakes up.” She smiled, fighting a new batch of tears. “Thank you for saving his life, Doctor.”
“It’s my job.” His mouth tilted in a smile. “But it’s my pleasure.”
Unashamed of the tears sliding down her cheeks, she shook the doctor’s hand and walked into Cole’s room.
It felt like someone was hammering jagged nails into his stomach. That was the only thought Cole had as he navigated through a maze of unconsciousness and opened his eyes. Once the light assaulted his vision, he flinched and slammed his eyelids closed, growing nauseous as his head began to spin.
A husky laugh tickled his ear. “Seriously? You’re just going to open your eyes like that and then go back to sleep? You’re such a tease.”
His mouth lifted in a smile and this time he fought through the pain to pry his eyes open. And then there she was, her lavender eyes swimming with love and concern, that gorgeous auburn hair cascading over her shoulders like a silky curtain.
“Hey,” he said, wincing at the gravelly rasp to his voice.
“Hey yourself.” He felt her hand on his, and although her skin was cold, it brought a rush of warmth to his throbbing abdomen. “You had me worried there for a while. How dare you lose so much blood?”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’ll try to lose an acceptable amount next time.”
“Next time? I don’t think so, Donovan. You’re never getting shot again, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, as the teasing faded away and a serious air crept in.
“Ian?” Cole asked, closing his eyes in anticipation.
“He’s gone. Finn shot him.”
Despite all the turmoil Ian had caused, Cole still experienced a flicker of regret at the loss of his assistant. Ian had been invaluable to him for so many years, at least before Teresa had lured him to the dark side and corrupted his mind.
“I need to notify his mother.”
Jamie replied in a firm voice. “That can wait. Right now, you need to worry about getting better. You almost died.”
“You almost died too.”
“But you came to my rescue,” she said, her eyes glistening as she squeezed his hand again. “That was a dumb thing to do, by the way. Killers 101—never antagonize the person holding a gun.”
He laughed, and was rewarded by a jolt of pain. “I guess I missed the class.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything I know.” She cast him a faint smile. “In case you didn’t read between the lines, that means I’m not going anywhere.”
Something shifted in his chest. “No?”
“No,” she said softly. “I love you, Cole, and I don’t care how many issues you still have over your ex-wife. I’ll help you work through them.”
“There’s nothing to work through.”
She stared at him in puzzlement.
“During the confrontation with Ian…I realized something.” He struggled to sit up, ignoring the agony that sliced into his stomach. “Teresa was a spectacular liar and she fooled me, just like she fooled Ian. I can either kick myself for it for the rest of my life, or I can let the anger and insecurity go. Right now.”
“Do you really think you can do that?”
“I don’t think I have a choice.” The corner of his mouth lifted wryly. “If I want to start a life with the woman I love, I can’t be harping on the past. I have to focus on the future.”
Jamie’s breath hitched.
“You heard me,” he said with a hoarse laugh. “I love you, Jamie.”
He gripped her hand and brought it up to his heart so she could feel its rapid beating. “And I don’t want you to quit your job,” he added. When she blinked in surprise, he gave her a pointed look. “Don’t tell me you weren’t considering it. I can read your mind, sweetheart.”
“I just don’t want anything to come between us,” she confessed. “I want a husband and babies and a gloriously happy future—with you, Cole. But I don’t want you to think my career or anything else comes first for me. If we’re together, you’ll always come first.”
“I know that now. But I also know your work is a part of you, and I would never ask you to stop doing it.” He suddenly grinned. “But how would you feel if I stopped doing mine?”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“I keep thinking about that offer from Lewis Limited,” he admitted. “Not sure it’s even legit, seeing as Ian was the one who told me about it, but if they’re truly interested in buying Donovan Enterprises…I think I might sell. I never thought I’d ever say this, but I’m exhausted. I’ve worked myself ragged trying to build an empire, but these past weeks, I’ve been in Serenade, and the downtime has been nice…more than nice, actually.”
“So you’re just going to sell out? Give it all up?”
“I only got into the business to spite my father. And the more I think about it, the more I realize I don’t want to be like him. A workaholic, a businessman first.” He sat up higher, the pain in his body fading as an awe-inspiring thought hit him. “I think it might be fun to be a stay-at-home dad.”
Jamie’s jaw dropped. He was actually quite surprised it didn’t meet the floor. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope.” He grinned again. “My dad was never around for me when I was a kid. I don’t want to be an absentee father, and since you want to have a ton of babies…”
More tears spilled from her eyes. “God, Cole, I didn’t think it was possible to love you any more than I already do, but now…”
“Now you pictured me as a sexy dad and couldn’t control yourself?”
She laughed through her tears. “Something like that.”
“Good.” He moved a little bit closer to her. “Now come here and let me kiss you. I’m feeling kind of sleepy and don’t want to pass out until we seal this engagement with a kiss.”
“Engagement?” She raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss the proposal?”
“Oh, that.” He paused for effect. “Will you marry me?”
“I’ll need a few days to think about it,” she said primly.
“You’re not serious, right?”
“Of course I’m not serious.” She slid toward him, lowering her head until their faces were inches apart. “And of course I’ll marry you.”
Then she bridged the distance between their
lips and sealed it with a kiss.
Epilogue
Finn left the hospital torn between breaking out in a grin or a grimace. He was a tad pissed at himself for being so damn happy that Donovan had survived, but he couldn’t stop the annoying burst of joy. Maybe he and Donovan would never be the best of friends, but the man had taken a bullet to save Finn’s closest friend and that was something Finn would always be grateful for.
As he stepped out into the cool night air, he tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket and stared up at the inky sky. Christ, what a night. Firing his weapon wasn’t something he did often, and his hands still shook with regret as he thought about the life he’d taken tonight. Ian Macintosh hadn’t deserved to die. He should’ve been punished for his attempts on Jamie’s life, but for falling into Teresa Donovan’s web? That was something Finn wouldn’t wish on anyone.
The killer’s still out there.
The obtrusive thought slipped to the forefront of his brain, bringing a sigh to his lips. Jamie had told him that Ian had confessed to leaving her the note, messing with her car and taking a shot at her, though how Ian had procured a gun to shoot her with was still a mystery. But Cole’s assistant hadn’t murdered Teresa. Ian had been so overcome with grief that he’d needed to blame someone—and so he’d blamed Cole, believing the meager evidence against his boss meant Donovan was the killer.
Finn had believed it too, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. Now that Gideon had grudgingly backed up Cole’s alibi, and after seeing Donovan risk his life for Jamie, Finn’s conviction in the man’s guilt had wavered. No, not wavered. Disappeared.
Damn it, he didn’t think Cole was a killer.
Which meant the real culprit was still on the loose.
But how the hell could he catch this guy? This case was nothing but a damn headache. A murder weapon that had mysteriously made an appearance. A mayor breathing down his neck to close this case.
If only he had what he actually wanted—a lead.
As if a higher power had picked up on his distress, the cell phone in his pocket started to vibrate, making his hand tingle.
He glanced at the caller ID, then lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey, Anna, what’s up?”
“Is Mr. Donovan okay?” was the first thing she asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Finn assured her. “The surgery went well, and he’s in recovery as we speak.”
“That’s good news.” Anna’s voice grew serious. “That’s not actually why I called, though.”
Finn was instantly on guard. “What’s going on?”
“Um, well…”
“Quit stalling, Deputy Holt. Tell me.”
“The forensic reports came in.”
He blinked. “At midnight?”
“Well, no, the lab tech faxed them this afternoon, but I only checked the fax machine now. With all the commotion, you know, the murder weapon at the dump, Cole’s interrogation, the false emergency call…I kind of forgot.”
“It’s all right, Anna, you don’t have to explain. Just tell me what the reports say.”
“Um…”
“Anna.”
A heavy breath sounded in his ear. “Okay, well, the DNA under Teresa’s fingernails was inconclusive. There wasn’t enough of it to get a clean sample.”
Finn hid his surprise. There goes that. Cole and his attorney would be pleased to know that there was no DNA evidence linking Cole to the crime. In Finn’s book, that meant Donovan was officially cleared. With an alibi and lack of forensic evidence, there was nothing to indicate Cole’s guilt.
“What else?” he asked his deputy.
“Most of the fingerprints and hair samples belonged to Teresa, except…” She halted abruptly.
Apprehension curled around his spine. “Except what?”
“There was a match on the partial print on the coffee table, and one of the hair samples near the body.”
“Spit it out, Anna.”
“Sheriff…the print and DNA belonged to Sarah Connelly.” Another shaky breath. “I’m so sorry. I know that Ms. Connelly is—”
But Finn had already hung up the phone, and then he just stared at it for several heart-wrenching seconds.
Sarah?
His Sarah?
Oh Lord.
And just when he thought things couldn’t possibly get worse.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8225-4
MILLIONAIRE’S LAST STAND
Copyright © 2011 by Leeanne Kenedy
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at [email protected].
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
* Small-Town Scandals
