Sabrina found proof that while Mi Cha had flown home fromtheir trip to Washington State, David had decided to drive home, which explained how he got the bomb back to North Carolina. They would never know exactly what he took, but he must have taken enough explosive material for several bombs, because the chemical signature of the bomb used on Thad’s car matched what Mr. Park had used on Luke’s and Zane’s cars, as well as what David had used on Mrs. Lin’s house. They could only guess at his reasoning, but assumed that he’d taken advantage of the opportunity to procure the bomb ingredients in case he ever needed them, and then he’d offered them to Mr. Park to use against the Secret Service.
Sabrina had also found a gold mine with David Lee’s computer. Between what they knew for sure and what an FBI profiler had surmised, the going theory was that David Lee had been infatuated, not with Mi Cha, but with her father. Mr. Park had been his mentor and father figure, and when he’d asked David to watch over Mi Cha, David had decided this was his chance to insert himself into the family.
But Mi Cha hadn’t cooperated. She hadn’t fallen in love with him, so he’d gotten more possessive and intrusive in her life. Sabrina located a screenshot that he’d taken of Mi Cha’s phone where she was gushing about how excited she was that Thad was in her life and how she couldn’t wait to introduce him to her family.
Taken out of context, it could easily have been misconstrued to be a text between a romantic couple. Thad was killed two days later. The profiler believed that in David Lee’s twisted mind, killing Thad would have been the logical step to ensuring his own happiness and place in the Park family.
Even after killing Mi Cha, he had been determined to fill the role of son in the family and had stayed behind in the Raleigh area to help Mr. Park on his mission of vengeance.
Janice Estes had admitted that David Lee threatened to torture and kill her mother if she didn’t drag her feet on the investigation. Janice had been moved to an FBI office across the country, and Faith could honestly say she wished her well. She wouldn’t have made the same choices Janice had made, but she could understand them.
Zane had moved into Luke’s house and was still waiting on his transfer to Phase 2. Jacob had been made the resident agent in charge, and a new assistant RAIC had been assigned to their office. Gil had made a full recovery and taken over most of the electronic crimes investigations.
Faith and Tessa had become good friends, but Tessa continued to struggle with some personal issues that she remained unwilling to share. Faith couldn’t help but wonder if Tessa’s tense relationship with Zane was part of the problem, but she didn’t think that was the whole story.
When Luke introduced Faith to his mom and his sister, he made it clear that if they had a problem with Faith being an FBI agent, then they would have to get over it. Luke’s sister had been easy. And his mom was coming around. Luke’s stepdad was a sweetheart, and he and Faith had hit it off immediately. Faith suspected he was the real reason Luke’s mom was softening.
Luke had gone with her to Georgia to see her dad, Gail, and the boys. He’d sat on the sofa beside her until he was sure she wasn’t going to lose it, and then he’d cajoled Gail and the boys into showing him around the large backyard, giving Faith some time alone with her dad. Faith had accepted that it was never going to be an easy relationship. Some hurts were too deep to heal properly. But she didn’t ignore her dad’s calls anymore. And her younger brothers weren’t all bad. Gail was ... tolerable.
Of course, Hope adored Luke. He’d even won over her mom, who now thought he could do no wrong.
“When you get done staring at my butt, could you bring some more paint?” Luke hadn’t turned around, but she could hear the laughter threatening to break free.
She couldn’t resist teasing him. “Happy to, but it may be a while.”
He balanced the paintbrush on top of the ladder and climbed down, then stalked toward her.
“No way.” She backed away. “You have paint all over your hands.”
Luke didn’t stop. He backed her into a corner, and without laying a hand on her, he kissed her senseless. “I missed you.”
She might have thought that he’d been too busy to miss her, but he’d sent her a bouquet of flowers on Friday and they’d made her smile every time she saw them—and made her blush every time she reread the note.
“I missed you too. When did you get back?”
“Around two. I started some laundry and changed clothes at my place. Thought I’d surprise you.”
“You did.” She reached for another kiss, and he complied. When he pulled away, she grabbed his shirt. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped his hands. “Go change clothes. I have something I want to show you.”
“Okay. Five minutes.” Faith hurried to her room, curiosity spurring her to pull on some old yoga pants and a T-shirt and rush back to the kitchen.
She froze in the doorway.
Luke was on one knee, holding a ring. “Faith.”
She didn’t give him a chance to say more. “If you promise to say my name like that forever, then I say yes.”
He smiled his slow smile, the one that was just for her, and stood. He rested the ring at the tip of her finger and squeezed her hand. “Faith.” He winked and stage whispered, “Did I say it right?”
At her nod, he continued. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!”
He slid the ring on her finger and kissed his way from the sparkling diamond, up her arm, to her earlobe, and down her chin, until he finally found her lips.
She only kissed him for a moment before she pulled away. “How do you feel about short engagements?”
