Right on cue, the sound of blaring sirens sounded from a few blocks away.
“What about your job?” Emmett sincerely hoped Lincoln wouldn’t lose his shield over this.
Boone waved the concern away. “Eh, it’ll be fine. What are they going to do, arrest me for stopping a bunch of corrupt government assholes who kidnapped an innocent woman?”
“Thank you, Detective,” Janie offered softly.
She was starting to get sleepy, and Emmett picked up the pace. “Stay awake for me, sweetheart. Just until we get to the hospital. After that, you can sleep for as long as you want.”
“Okay.” Janie blinked, but like a trooper, she kept her gaze on him the entire way back to the car.
When they got there, Jethro was already waiting. His expressionless stare immediately went to the woman in Emmett’s arms.
“How bad?”
“She has a pretty good cut on her arm, but other than that and some bruises, she’s okay.”
“Glad to hear it.” He dipped his salt-and-pepper chin.
“Thank you.” Emmett would have shaken the man’s hand if his weren’t already full. “I don’t really know what else to say aside from that.”
“Nothing more to say.” Jethro shrugged. “You get in a bind again, you’ve got my number.”
The two men shared a knowing look.
Jethro Barclay may not be interested in a full-time spot on Echo Team, but he’d have their backs again in the future, if the need arose.
The mysterious man gave the others a half-hearted wave before walking back to his car and driving away. With Lucas’ help, Emmett got Janie into the back seat first before climbing in and pulling her onto his lap.
Lucas took his place behind the wheel as the others filtered in. The doors slammed shut and they pulled away from the curb, speeding down the road on their way to get Janie the medical help she needed.
“I love you,” she whispered, seemingly uncaring of their audience. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance to say it before, and I thought . . .” She smiled up at him from where she lay cradled in his lap. “I just thought you should know.”
“I love you, too, Janie.” He leaned in and gave her a sweet, chaste kiss.
The moment was unconventional, and the timing probably couldn’t be worse. But for them, after all they’d been through to get here, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Unfortunately it didn’t last long because the next thing Emmett knew, Gwen was doing a fist pump from the front passenger seat and turning around with an ornery grin.
“That reminds me.” She held out a palm and wiggled her fingers. “Come on, boys. Time to pay up.”
Several groans and grumbles surrounded them, andit took Emmett a minute to understand why. His jaw dropped open wide when Lucas, Draven, and Blake all began digging their wallets from their pockets.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The three men begrudgingly slapped several crisp bills into Gwen’s awaiting hand.
“Don’t be so surprised, boss.” Gwen folded the cash and shoved it into a small pocket sewn into her vest. “We all knew it was only a matter of time with you two. I wanted to claim victory earlier, when you gave us that little speech about how important Janie was to you. But I figured the timing wasn’t exactly on par for a conversation like that, so…”
The smile she flashed his way was the most shit-eating grin he’d ever seen a woman wear.
Damn, I love my team.
They’d taken bets on him and Janie falling in love, and there were a couple of moments of frustration along the way, but those were nothing in comparison to the bravery, loyalty, and dedication they’d shown when the time came to step up.
“That’s fine.” He smiled back at Gwen. “I’ll just get my money back when your time comes.”
“Ha.” She snorted, turning back around in her seat. “Good luck with that.”
