“Come here, baby.” He opened his arms.
She dropped the weapon and hurried over to hug him. “Oh God, Jarrett. Are you all right?”
Fresh pain stabbed at his muscles. He stiffened.
“I’m sorry.” She drew back.
“No, no. I’m fine.” He clasped her close. “How did you escape that man?”
“I-I bashed the fire poker over his head.” Her throat expanded as she swallowed. “He’s unconscious. I couldn’t kill him. I just couldn’t. But then I saw Ackermann about to shoot you, and I—” She hiccuped and trembled harder.
“Shh. You saved my life. You’re amazing, baby.” He nuzzled her hairline and licked his dry, cracked lips. “I’m so fucking sorry this happened, but everything will be okay. How did they find you?”
“The blond one broke in through the back door. Harold was fighting with him when Paulo came up from behind and bashed his gun over Harold’s head.” She winced and climbed to her feet. “I have to check on your dad.”
He cursed. Why didn’t he figure Ackermann would bring back up? As she stumbled away, he pulled the tape player from his jacket, clicked thestopbutton, and rewound it to the beginning. Thank goodness the player survived the fight, or he’d have a helluva time explaining this to Whittaker. The proverbial dagger in his back twisted harder as Ackermann’s voice played from the speakers. The betrayal heating his face ripped through him all over again. He shut the device off and closed his eyes.
Marissa killed to save him. Could she accept this and move on? One thing was certain, though. Their lives would never be the same.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Thank goodness, you’rehome.” Marissa clutched a magazine to her chest as her husband walked through the doorway. The dark clouds on the horizon promised snow and ice, and though Jarrett’s new car had a kick-ass four-wheel-drive system, she needed him safe in her arms. “Is that the last of your things?”
“Yep.” He set aside his suitcase and closed the door behind him. “If I ever go back to San Francisco, it’ll be on vacation with you and the kids.”
“We’d love that.” Five months pregnant with their daughter, she patted her softly rounded middle and hugged him. Oh, yes. The strength radiating from him swept over her in a soothing wave. Butterflies launched in her belly. “I’ve missed you.”
With Jarrett dividing his time between California and Washington State, she and his parents had visited him as often as they could to grab his stuff from his storage unit and offer support during the trial. After a judge had slapped Consuelo with three consecutive life sentences, the nightmare media frenzy died down.
She gripped Jarrett tighter. Though he started his new job at the Seattle DEA field office in a couple of weeks, she didn’t want him to go. Who knew what trouble he’d run into? At least they didn’t have to deal with the trials of Consuelo’s cronies and business associates. Thank God for small favors.
“Marissa, what is it?” He cupped her face.
“Nothing. I’m just worried about the future, that one of your cases will go sideways again.” She blinked back tears and fiddled with her diamond ring.
