“One move, and I’ll pull the trigger,” she warned. She glanced up to find Eddie had moved too. His gun was pressed to Nolan’s temple.
“You’re lucky she ducked, asshole. If you had touched her, you’d be dead.” Eddie pulled out his cell phone, pressed numbers and brought it to his ear. “Come and get him, Agent Ross. Rod, open the garage door then check on the Kincaids.”
The garage door lifted as Rod disappeared inside the house. Nolan’s eyes were narrowed as he stared at Eddie then Amy. He tried to create some distance between him and Amy’s gun, but she wasn’t letting him.
“Amy—”
“Shut up, Nolan. Eddie?”
“Yes, baby.”
“How soon before the FBI gets here?”
“Two minutes. I left them at the gate.”
“I really want to shoot him. Just once. For Charles. I’ll say it was in self-defense.”
Nolan made a sound like a constipated pit bull.
***
Eddie knew she was deliberately torturing the man, and played along. “Go ahead. After what he put you through, the jury will know it was self-defense.”
“No, please,” Nolan begged.
“Is a groin wound fetal?” Amy asked as though Nolan hadn’t spoken.
“Depends on your precision and how close you are. From your position, it might be messy.” Cars pulled up behind him, but he didn’t glance away from Nolan’s face. The stench of urine filled the room. Eddie glanced down and saw why. A dark stain was spreading from Nolan’s crotch.
Within seconds, Agent Ross had Nolan in cuffs and in the back seat of her car. Her partner tried to take the gun from Amy, but she refused to relinquish it.
“I don’t think I can,” she whispered.
Eddie knelt by her side and wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking. “Yes, you can, baby. You did it.”
“We did it,” she corrected, her fingers relaxing around the gun.
“Yes, we did.” He took the gun and handed it to the agent. Then he helped her to her feet and pulled her into his arms. Tears rolled down her face and drenched his shirt, but he didn’t say anything. He just held her. Agents milled around the front of the house, an ambulance arrived along with several police cars. No one bothered them. When she was calm, he lifted her chin and kissed her.
“Ready to head back to the hotel?”
She nodded. “But first, I want you to meet my parents.” His reluctance must have shown because she added, “Forgive them, baby. For me.”
It was going to be tough. “Okay. What about you?”
She sighed. “They’re sorry for everything and I must find it in my heart to forgive them because I love them. I only hope things between us get better from here on out.”
“If they don’t, you have me. I’m forever yours,” he vowed.
Her eyes welled up again and she reached up and kissed him. “Just like I’m yours forever.” Together they entered the house.
The kitchen looked like a hurricane had swept through it. Most drawers and cupboards were open, broken glassware and utensils everywhere. The dining room and living rooms were in equally terrible shape, the contents of the china closet smashed, books thrown off the shelves, furniture overturned and broken, and pictures frames cracked and the pictures ripped. Nolan’s last attempt to fake another burglary was obvious. Sick bastard.
Amy’s parents—father with facial bruises and her mother in tears—appeared oblivious to the chaos as they rushed to her side.
“We’re so sorry…”
“Will you ever forgive us?”
“We love you so much.”
Eddie leaned against the wall, watched and waited for a distress signal from Amy. If she needed to be rescued, he was the man for the job. He didn’t know how she could forgive her parents so easily, but like she’d told him, she loved them and they were sorry. Just like his mother loved him and was sorry for the past.
“Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Eddie Fitzgerald. Without him, we would never have caught Nolan.” Amy extended a hand toward him. Eddie pushed against the wall and approached his future father and mother-in-law.
“Then we owe you a debt we can never repay,” her father said.
Actually, he planned to make them pay for all Amy’s pain and suffering. He’d make sure they doted on her, attending every book release event, never missing a birthday or an important event in Amy’s life. He hoped his expression didn’t give him away as he shook their hands.
“How was Saint-Noel?” Jade asked, taking the chair beside Amy.
“Amazing.” Amy glanced across the wide pool deck at her husband of three weeks. They’d come back from their honeymoon on Saint-Noel—a group of islands in the Caribbean—a week ago and she still couldn’t believe how lucky and happy she was, how her life had changed. A year had gone by since that horrific day at her parents’ house when Nolan had tried to kidnap her at gunpoint. Even though she had testified at his trial, Jeremy Blackwell had been the star witness after turning himself in and cutting a deal with the D.A. in Charlottesville. Blackwell got a year, but Noel would never be a free man again.
As though Eddie felt her eyes on him, he glanced her way and flashed his bone-melting smile, his eyes heating up. As usual, her heart melted and her heart skipped. Amy smiled and sighed.
“Oh no you don’t,” Faith said, taking the chair across from her. “You’re not going to spend the entire afternoon making goo-goo eyes at your husband and sighing, Amy Fitzgerald. You’ve had two weeks to do that. Now we must discuss your launch party.”
Amy dragged her gaze from Eddie’s and stared blankly at Faith. “What?”
“Remember? We are throwing you a launch party for the release of your new book next Friday and you have your first book signing gig on Saturday,” Faith said. “Have you seen the reviews? Five stars.”
Amy groaned. With all the pre-wedding jitters, her honeymoon then moving to Eddie’s place, she’d completely forgotten about her new release and the book signing tour. The book she’d released six months ago had done great, but the latest one was going to be an even bigger hit. Having two famous authors in the family—Vince Knight and Iona, Eddie’s mother—helped a lot. Not only did they use their star power to smooth things over with the bookstores across the state, they planned to feature her and her book on their blogs. Her parents were flying in on Wednesday for the party and Lauren was coming in on Friday.
“We have to make sure everything is in place,” Faith added.
“How can it not be? You planned it,” Jade teased. Faith made a face.
“Besides, we have four days to work out the kinks,” Ashley added, “I want to hear about Saint-Noel. We’ve been meaning to visit, but with the new baby and everything.” She glanced at the playpen, where her baby boy, Cian, was napping. In the next playpen, Faith’s seven-month old son Ronan was busy bonding with Neil, Baron and Kara’s son. The two were born a week apart.
“Did you get to visit the general?” Jade asked.
The general was Jade’s husband’s relative on Saint-Noel. “He gave us an amazing guide who took us to the best waters for scuba-diving, beaches off the tourist grid and the best restaurants and clubs in town. We used his sailboat, which was an adventure in itself.” Amy glanced around at the three women, “Thank you guys for the launch party and for taking care of Raelynn while we were gone. I know she can be a handful.”
“No, she was a joy and good for Ella,” Ashley said. “My daughter, if you haven’t noticed, tends to be bossy. She and Raelynn knocked heads a few times, but they always made up. They’re best friends now. Look at them.”
Ella, Raelynn and Jade’s twins, Siobhan and Sean, were splashing in the kiddie pool a few feet from the men’s table, where Eddie, Lex, Baron, Chase, Vaughn, Ron and Ken lounged while sipping beer. The older generation sat a few tables away and the younger ones—teens to early twenties—were in the big pool. The Fitzgeralds were big on Sunday picnics and today was no exception. Amy had met Aunt Viv, the matriarch of the family, at her first Sunday picnic. Scary woman. She’d grilled Amy about her background, until she learned that Amy’s parents were professors. Apparently, educators ranked high in Aunt Viv’s acceptable careers. She had been very cordial to her parents when they came for Amy and Eddie’s engagement party. But the best surprise was the way her mother had clicked with Iona, Eddie’s mother. Because of that, the wedding had gone very smoothly. Eddie was still on the fence when it came to her parents though.
“Daddy…Daddy, watch me,” Raelynn called out and waited until Eddie looked at her, then she threw a toy shark under the water and dived for it. She jumped up and waved the toy. “How many seconds was that, Daddy?”
“Ten seconds, Princess,” Eddie fibbed, clapping. “Way to go.”
The other men joined him. Not to be outdone, Ella waved her toy dolphin.
“Look, Daddy. I’m going to go under for ten seconds too.” When she jumped out of the water, she received accolades from all the men too.
Sean and Siobhan had to show off too. Amy traded another smile with Eddie. As soon as he’d slipped an engagement ring on her finger, Raelynn had claimed him as her daddy, and her daughter never once mentioned Nolan or the past.
“Can we discuss the party now,” Faith asked, giving Ashley a pointed look.
Ashley made a face. “Fine, Miss Anal.”
“Someone has to stay on top of things,” Faith retorted. “That is Ms.
Perfectionist
to you, Miss Bossy.”
Ashley stuck her tongue out at her. Faith ignored her and placed the electronic planner in front of Amy. “I’ll be quick. While you were gone, I got a call from Aunt Iona’s marketing people. They took over the promotion of the tour and want to meet with you tomorrow. For the release party, we,” she indicated the others, “sent invitations to all our friends and coworkers, so plan on reading to a large crowd. Aunt Iona will be at the local bookstore on Saturday to offer support and so will we.”
“Vaughn will be there too,” Jade added.
“Thanks, Jade. Yeah, Vaughn too. We’ll need to sit down later in the week and go over everything. Maybe after you meet with Aunt Iona’s people,” Faith added.
“Is Faith giving you a hard time?” Eddie asked from behind Amy, surprising her.
Amy glanced up just as he lowered his head. He took his time kissing her then added when he eased off the kiss, “I love you.”
Whistles and applause erupted from the guys’ table.
“Told you he’d do it,” Ken said, his voice carrying.
“Okay, he’s a changed man alright,” Chase added.
“Was kissing me a bet?” Amy asked, grabbing Eddie’s hand.
“No, baby. I came to get you. Come sit with me.”
Within minutes, tables were joined on the patio near the playpen and everyone sat next to their spouse. Amy leaned against her husband’s shoulder and listened to the conversation around the table. Chase winked at her from across the table. She grinned. He was such a flirt. He had been disappointed that she hadn’t accepted his offer, but he’d found someone; a shy, quiet woman who made the most mouthwatering tofu dishes.
Amy’s thoughts went back to her book tour. The current tour was across the state of California, but when her next book was released, she planned to go across the country with her husband’s full support. In fact, he was the one who’d suggested it. How had Eddie put it? “I’ll be able to travel with you and Raelynn.”
Eddie was full of surprises. The good kind. She hadn’t known he planned to retire from the police force in a few years or that he would inherit some money and use part of it to jumpstart a custom motorcycle business with his cousin Lex. She was living her dream as an author, wife and mother. And he was starting his, creating one-of-a-kind motorcycles. Life couldn’t be sweeter.