Just A Little Bit Dangerous Part 26

Looking quickly from side to side, Jake unholstered his sidearm. "Are you sure you're okay? They didn't hurt you?"

"I'm fine. I'm just...really glad you got here when you did."

As if he wasn't quite sure he believed her, he ran his hands over her shoulders, down her arms. Abby could feel his hands trembling against her.

"I'm okay. Do you think you could get these cuffs off me?"

The whine of a police siren filled the air as a sheriff's vehicle sped into the clearing and ground to a sliding halt a few yards away. Jake watched two deputies disembark, then turned back to Abby. Vaguely, she was aware of him reaching into his pocket, of using a knife to cut through the nylon bands around her wrists.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," he said.

"They were going to kill me."

"I know, honey." He took her hands in his and rubbed the feeling back into her wrists. "You're cut."

She looked down at where the nylon had cut into the flesh of her wrists. "It's okay."

"It's not. I'm so d.a.m.n sorry."

She glanced through the broken winds.h.i.+eld at the flas.h.i.+ng strobes beyond. In the distance, the rat-tat-tat of a chopper's rotors sliced through the night air.

Jake's radio crackled as two deputies located Reed and his two goons hiding in an outhouse by the pumping station. He smiled at Abby. "Talk about appropriate setting."

"What's going to happen to him?" she asked.

"He's going to prison for a long, long time." Jake listened to the deputies' voices crackle over the radio for a moment, then glanced at Abby. "I got a full confession from Donna Sullivan."

The meaning behind the words jolted her. "Donna knew?"

"Reed had threatened her children. She's held this inside her for more than a year because she was afraid he'd murder her two little girls."

"What a terrible thing to live with."

"I offered her police protection and promised her immunity if she testifies against him." He looked beyond the truck where several deputies were tussling on the ground with one of Reed's thugs. "That will exonerate you."

The meaning was almost too overwhelming to contemplate. She would have her freedom back. Her career. Her life. The emotion that followed made it difficult to speak. "Oh, Jake..."

"Abby, I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I shouldn't have turned you over to D.O.C."

"You're here now. That's what matters."

Leaning close, he kissed her once, hard on the mouth. It was a powerful kiss, full of tangled emotions and urgency and the jagged remnants of fear. "I've been wanting to do that since I left you," he said.

"I didn't know if you'd come. I didn't even know if you-"

His arms tightened around her, silencing her. Abby looked at him, surprised to see the glimmer of tears in his eyes. She thought he would look away, shamed by the display of emotion, but he met her gaze head-on and let the tears fall unnoticed. "I'm sorry I didn't believe in you, that I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I let you down."

"I know this isn't what you want to hear," she said. "But I need to say it-"

He silenced her with another kiss. It wasn't a s.e.xual kiss, but one filled with high emotion and unspoken promises. A kiss flavored by the salt of their mingled tears and the burden of all the things they'd left unsaid. "I almost lost you."

"You didn't. I'm here. Jake, we're together."

"I love you," he said roughly. "I do. I love you more than the air I breathe, more than my next breath."

"Oh, well..."

He didn't pause and the words kept tumbling out of him. "I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to admit it sooner."

"You were in a tough position."

"You were the one in a tough position. I knew you were innocent. I knew it. I just...couldn't put my past aside. That thing with Elaine and Richie. G.o.d, Abby, I almost got you killed."

"With all due respect, Deputy Madigan, you just saved my life."

Using the back of his hand to wipe at the tears on his cheeks, he pulled back and scowled at her. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to argue with a cop?"

Abby choked out a laugh. "You love it when I argue with you."

He smiled at her, but quickly sobered. "Did I mention that I love you?"

"You mentioned it."

"You didn't say anything back." His gaze faltered. "Look, Abby, I screwed this up. I mean, I don't blame you if-"

"Jake, you were talking a mile a minute and didn't give me the chance to...."

He looked at her, waiting.

"I love you, too," she said after a moment.

Closing his eyes briefly, he reached for her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "You renewed my faith in love, Abby. You taught me how to trust when I was so cynical I didn't think I could ever trust anyone ever again." His jaw flexed as he fought back emotion.

"I think I've loved you since that first day up on the mountain," she said.

Tightening his arms around her, he grinned. "I fell for you right about the time you gave me that black eye."

"Oh." She choked out a laugh. "Jeez, that really was an accident."

"Sure it was."

He laughed outright. She joined him and their laughter mingled. A musical sound that spoke of life in the face of death, and hope for a future that was as brilliant as a mountain sunrise.

"How do you feel about marrying a cop?" he asked after a moment.

"I'm pretty mouthy. I hear cops hate that. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Honey, I love your mouth." He kissed her to prove it. "I plan to keep that mouth of yours too busy to do much arguing for the next couple of decades."

"Same goes, Cowboy Cop."

"I'm counting on it." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Does that mean you're going to marry me?"

"That's an unequivocal yes. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it." He kissed her again, deeply, his mouth trembling against hers. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving you."

Abby leaned close to him, her heart so filled with love she thought it would burst. Their noses touched, and they grinned at each other. "You make me incredibly happy," she said.

"Honey, you ain't seen nothing yet," he said and swept her into his arms.

ISBN: 978-1-4592-0394-5.

Books by Linda Castillo.

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Remember the Night #1008.

Cops and...Lovers? #1085.

A Hero To Hold #1102.

Just a Little Bit Dangerous #1145.