He noticed a patch of blood on Patience, but she didn’t seem too bothered by it. It certainly wasn’t stopping her from eating the grass around her.
“Luna?” He wedged his arms between the heavy branches and lifted them away.
“Boone?” She was sitting on the far side of the tree and leaned sideways to see around the base. Her eyes lit up, and her smile chased away all the ugliness and illuminated his world. “I thought it was Udall.”
She made no effort to stand, and that’s when he spotted the blood on her leg.
“Shit!” He rushed over and knelt down next to her.
“I’m okay. The bullet just grazed my leg.” Luna ran her hands through his hair.
Shewas actually comfortinghim.
He ripped her pantleg away to get a better look at her injury.
There was a gouge in her skin about two inches long and about a half inch deep that oozed blood. He tore off a strip of denim, and she winced when he wrapped it tightly around her leg.
“Jesus, Luna. I thought you were—” He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Boone held her face in his hands and kissed her.
“Luna! Boone!” Calliope called their names, and he could hear the sound of twigs snapping beneath their boots.
They broke their kiss, and Boone smoothed her hair back from her face.
“We’re here, beneath the willow tree,” he called out.
“Oh, man.” Luna stuck out her bottom lip. “Now they know about your special spot.”
“It’s even more special now because it hid you from danger.” He put one arm behind her back and carefully slid the other one beneath her thighs. “Hold on to me.”
“Always.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He stood, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Lucas and Eddie held back the branches, and Boone held the woman he loved close to him—never wanting to let her go.
EPILOGUE
Lunawasinthekitchen, loading the dishwasher, when she heard a vehicle rumbling down their driveway. She leaned over the sink and held back the curtain to look out the window.
A shiny, black truck with an extended cab and pulling an animal hauler slowly navigated the dips and ruts in their gravel drive and headed toward the barn. She recognized the Wind River Ranch logo on the truck doors and side of the matching trailer.
“Oh, my gosh! They’re here!” She clapped her hands, loaded soap into the little tray, and started the dishwasher.
She yanked her hair back into a low ponytail, tucked her feet into her Ariat boots where they sat by the door, and grabbed the cowboy hat Boone gave her for her birthday.
So much had happened in the eight months since everything went down with Udall. They discovered that Hashir Al-Shamrami, the scumbag they found hiding behind that dilapidated building, had been working with Udall to facilitate distributing the girls across the country. He was now serving a life sentence in a federal prison. Mackie, the pilot who helped Udall, did more than just tell him how to find Boone. After smuggling him back into the country, he gave him some cash and let him crash at hisapartment and use his car. He also disclosed that Udall laughed when he told him the note he sent to Luna was just a way to mess with Boone’s head. Mackie was court-martialed, stripped of his rank and benefits, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison at the same facility Udall escaped from.
Khalim and his family were doing well, and Luna made a point to touch base with them often. It was the absolute least she could do after he’d taken such a huge risk by helping them.
He told her that they’d stopped exploring the tunnels and caves beneath the ruins and had sealed off all of the entrances they could find to keep curious people out, especially kids who didn’t understand how dangerous they were.
Boone was back to full strength and had already completed two ops with the team. Watching him leave was never easy, but being able to support them in her own way helped a great deal.
Luna had to get a bunch of stitches in her leg and ended up with a pretty gnarly scar. It didn’t bother Boone, so it didn’t bother her.
The vet had rushed out to the ranch to check on Patience. Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury, and, like Luna, she’d ended up with stitches and a scar, only hers was on her butt.
