It was clear that Mr. Park had believed the Secret Service agents had endangered Mi Cha’s life by dragging her into a dangerous situation. One that ultimately resulted in her death. He had come to the US to exact revenge on the agents he believed most culpable. He was responsible for the deaths of Jared Smith and Michael Weaver, as well as the attempted murders of Gil, Zane, and Luke.
The saddest part in the transcript was when Mr. Park had said, “I killed them. For nothing! How could you let me kill innocent men?”
Those were the last words he’d spoken.
They could all go home now—all except Zane, who had nowhere to go. Instead, they picked up takeout and drove to Luke’s house, convening in his spacious den. Gil and Zane claimed the recliners. Tessa curled up on one end of the sofa, her concerned gaze flickering around the room but resting most often on Zane. Luke settled Faith into an oversized chair and then squeezed in beside her. She wasn’t complaining.
They ate their burgers and shakes and talked about the case and what the days and weeks ahead would look like if either of the men survived their injuries.
“Can we do this again? Not the getting shot at and blown up parts.” Gil closed his eyes. “I mean the dinner at Luke’s part.”
“I think that could be arranged.” Luke spoke the words against Faith’s hair. “Assuming you do the cooking.”
“Excellent.” Gil smiled. “It’s a date. Friday night. Does that work for everyone?”
Zane and Tessa grunted agreement.
“Faith?” Gil grinned but didn’t look at her. “I’m assuming you’ll be here too?”
Luke turned to look at her, Gil’s question mirrored in his eyes.
“Definitely.”
“Excellent. Then I’m going to get Tessa to give me a ride home, and I’ll see y’all tomorrow.” He popped the recliner back into a sitting position.
“I’m already tired of being everyone’s chauffeur.” Tessa grumbled the words, but she jumped up and stretched out a hand to help Gil to his feet. “I guess since no one has a car, you’ll need me to pick all of you up in the morning. I expect payment in coffee.”
Zane clambered from his recliner and said good night to everyone before shuffling up the stairs to what Faith assumed was one of Luke’s guest rooms. Gil and Tessa left a few minutes later after Tessa gave Faith directions to her house. Faith was going to crash at Tessa’s place since Faith’s house was still a crime scene.
Luke kept an arm around Faith as he walked her to her car. “I’m going to miss having you around tomorrow, being all bossy and argumentative. It’s going to be boring.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Special Agent Powell.” Faith leaned against him. “We’ll have hours of debriefing, you’ll have to give official statements, who knows how long this will drag out.”
Luke wrapped both arms around her and pressed his lips to the tip of her nose. “I never imagined I would say this, but it would be all right with me if you dragged this out forever.”
She knew she should respond, but she couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“I’ll leave the details up to you. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He traced her cheek with his index finger, then moved his finger to her lips. “I don’t care, as long as we’re together.”
She forgot that she wanted to tell him she loved him too. That she trusted him. That she’d never imagined anyone would literally try to give his life for hers and she couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to have someone like him in her life. She wanted to tell him she was scared and excited, and she was sure she’d get it wrong some of the time, but she would never, ever stop fighting for them and she would be the safest place for him to leave his heart and she would cherish every moment.
She grabbed the sides of his shirt and pulled him against her. “Shut up and kiss me.”
Luke Powell was very good at following orders he liked.
She would have to remember that.
38
FOUR MONTHS LATER
It hadn’t been the longest Monday ever, but she wasn’t sorry to see it come to an end. Faith opened her garage door and spotted Luke’s car parked on one side. He was back! He’d been called in on Wednesday to support a protective detail in Charlotte, and she hadn’t seen him since.
Her heart rate sped up as she parked, grabbed her bag, and jogged inside. She found him in the kitchen, paintbrush in hand, humming as he cut in the new paint they’d picked out last week. He had his back to her, and she paused a moment to admire this man who had captured her heart so completely.
The last few months hadn’t been easy. There’d been many nights when she’d awakened in a cold sweat, David Lee’s laughter ringing in her ears. There’d been long days filled with paperwork and interviews and filling in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
They’d been able to conclusively tie the bomb that killed Thad and Mi Cha to the bomb maker in Seattle, and they’d found evidence that David Lee had killed both the bomb maker and Jesse Thomas.
