Brave Love

by Allyson Simonian

  Anger rippled through him. Mark had planned to hold Paige here, to do God-only-knew-what to her. Closing his eyes, he forced in a breath.

  He’d thought Mark was a good cop, a normal person. He hadn’t suspected him of anything. It was terrifying how wrong he’d been.

  The flash from a camera went off as an FBI agent began taking pictures.

  Agent Perez stepped up to Ethan and placed a hand on his shoulder. “This must be what the other bunker looked like.”

  Ethan closed his eyes for a long moment. “Yeah.” He took another look around before saying good-bye to Eric. Then he climbed the ladder.

  Captain Robinson was standing next to Ethan’s truck when Ethan made it back to the makeshift parking area.

  “I want you to know I sang your praises to Captain Liu,” Robinson said. “Both mayors too.”

  Ethan had been told as much by his own captain. “Thank you.”

  The captain shrugged, then gave Ethan a pointed look. “Least I could do. You really need to take that exam.”

  The detective’s exam. His own captain had also recommended it. Robinson stuck out his hand out a moment later, and Ethan shook it before saying good-bye and getting into his truck.

  A copy of USA Today sat on the passenger seat. Ethan had read the front-page article that morning, glad to see prominent coverage of Donald Naughton’s innocence. There had also been a tribute to Sam, the bodyguard, who hadn’t survived Mark’s attack.

  But Bennington’s police department was being skewered, not just by that newspaper, but by the media in general. The department had hired a killer, even though Mark’s ruse had been elaborate. Somehow he’d managed to switch his fingerprint card before it had been entered into the database. His prints hadn’t matched those on his card from Pennsylvania.

  With a shake of his head, Ethan started up his truck. He had an important stop to make before he picked Paige up at home so they could head to the airport.

  • • •

  “You’re sure?” Ethan said when his mother handed him a vintage black velvet box. “I could get her something else instead.”

  But Debra shook her head. “It would be an honor if Paige would wear it.”

  Ethan stayed with his mother for another fifteen minutes. When he walked outside, David was pulling up to the curb. Ethan watched the other man get out of his car.

  Walking over, he shook David’s hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  David nodded. “Me too.” He released Ethan’s hand and started up the walkway to meet Ethan’s mother, who had stepped outside. Not wanting to intrude, Ethan got into his truck. Before he drove away, he smiled as he saw Debra and David embrace.

  Ethan headed for home and when he arrived, Paige was already there. He crossed the living room in long strides and pulled her to him.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “I had some stops to make.” Holding her in his arms, he inhaled a breath, unsure of what her reaction would be. “One was to the bunker.”

  He searched Paige’s eyes, but saw no signs of panic. When her breathing remained normal, he held her gaze and said, “I should have known, you know. I can’t believe that my own partner was a stone-cold killer, and I didn’t know.”

  She shook her head. “No, Ethan. Serial killers are able to hide things from their own families. Even his ex-wife didn’t know.”

  Ethan had training, though. There was no excuse.

  “He managed to fool everyone,” Paige continued. “You were the only one who figured it out. You saved my life.”

  Her voice broke and he pulled close, snuggling her against his chest. “As I remember,” he said softly, “it was you who saved mine. Even though I specifically remember telling you to run.” He kissed the top of her head. “What would you call that? Stubborn, maybe?”

  She pulled away and stared up at him. Then her lips broke into a grin, and the sauciness in it warmed his heart.

  “I have something for you.” He dropped one hand and took the black box from his pocket. “It’s a family ring,” he explained as he opened it. “My great-grandfather gave it to my great-grandmother.”

  Originally, Ethan had planned to wait until he’d asked her father’s permission. But he and Peter had turned a corner during the investigation, and he was pretty sure Paige’s father would understand. After seeing the bunker, Ethan couldn’t wait a moment longer. With all he and Paige had been through, he wanted this ring on her finger as soon as possible as a concrete reminder of their commitment to each other.

  As Paige looked on, her eyes wide, he removed the ring from the box and held it up. “Will you marry me?”

  She drew in a little breath as her eyes grew misty with tears. “Yes.”

  He picked up her left hand and slipped the ring on. It was a little big, but that was something they could easily have taken care of.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she stared at the ring on her hand, then she looked up at him. “You’re sure you want me, panic and all?”

  He used his finger to nudge her chin up so that he could see into her eyes. “You’re sure you want me, dyslexia and all?”

  “I can’t believe you’d even think that.”

  “Well, the same goes for me.”

  She stared at him for another moment before she nodded. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss.

  When he broke away, she asked, “But what about children? We haven’t even talked about that yet.”

  That morning, Ethan had finally remembered the fleeting vision he’d been having, the one he’d originally had in the hospital as he’d woken up from surgery. The same image had haunted his dreams ever since, but each time had slipped away. It was always the same, two dark-haired, green-eyed children—his and Paige’s.

  “We’re going to have a girl,” he said as he pulled her back into his arms. “And then a boy about three years later.”

  Paige swiped at her tears before grinning. “That’s, um, pretty specific.”

  He smiled. “Trust me on this.”

  • • •

  Thank you for reading! Please read on for a sneak peak of Meeting Danger, book one in the Danger Series (cowritten with Caila Jaynes).

  Sneak Peek of Meeting Danger

  Outside Charlottesville, Virginia

  Camden Taylor coughed, choking on the black smoke roiling around him. Fire that only moments ago was licking at the cabin’s ceiling had now engulfed it, and the exposed beams above him crackled as they were consumed.

  His heart raced, its beats pounding in his ears as he tried to calm himself and think. Time was running out. If the kidnapped boy his task force was searching for was being held here, he was probably in one of the bedrooms in the back of the house. The mountain cabin was small, so they were surely only a few feet away, but the smoke was so thick that Camden couldn’t see past his own hand, which was outstretched as he tried to feel his way through the living room.

  Overhead, something snapped. His head whipped up just as the beam overhead collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the floor. Dazed from the blow, he lay facedown on the floor and shook his head as he tried to take a breath, and pushed back his panic when his lungs wouldn’t inflate. Heat scorched his face, and as flames licked at his back, he thrashed, trying to free himself from the crushing weight on his back so he could breathe.

  “Camden!”

  His teammate’s hazy form came into focus as he stepped through the thick, rolling smoke. Grayson lifted the beam a few inches, allowing Camden to scramble out from underneath. He struggled to his feet, his lungs heaving with relief until Grayson shouted at him.

  “Your back’s on fire!”

  Camden’s federal academy training kicked in and he dropped to the floor, rolling back and forth to extinguish the flames as he yelled, “Try the bedrooms!”

  Grayson nodded and disappeared into the smoke. A moment later, he hurried back to Camden’s side, his eyes bleak beneath the black Phoenix Task Force cap pulled low over his
brow.

  “He’s gone. Caleb didn’t make it.”

  No! Gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore the pain searing his back, Camden took Grayson’s offered hand and stood up, using the momentum to stumble in the direction of the bedrooms.

  Grayson coughed hard and moved to block his path. “He’s gone, Cam. And we need to get out of here!” When Camden shook his head and tried again to push forward, Grayson gripped his arm. “I’ll knock you out if I have to!”

  As they staggered out of the blazing cabin into the bitter winter air, three SUVs emblazoned with the Phoenix logo screeched to a halt on the dirt road out front, blue lights flashing, with a couple of fire trucks and an ambulance in their wake. A few neighbors congregated in a small group in the yard of the cabin across the road, whispering amongst themselves as the leaden sky began to spit snow. Camden wondered which of them had made the call that had led to this raid, and wished they’d called just an hour earlier.

  Too late.

  Camden’s eyes burned from the smoke as well as the emotion, and he pressed the heel of his hands against them as Grayson led him toward the ambulance that had just pulled up. He looked back at the house, now a roaring inferno, the acrid bite of smoke in his mouth and throat not nearly as bitter as the taste of failure.

  • • •

  Meeting Danger is available now at Amazon.com. Click here to learn more.

  Acknowledgments

  A heartfelt thank-you to my amazing editor, Pam Berehulke, who puts equal parts hard work and tender loving care into each project. You added your own writing into this book and enhanced the heck out of it. There is now emotion in the story I would never have been able to convey, and I’m so incredibly grateful for everything!

  To Debra from Tugboat Design: I’m just in love with this cover. You are so, so talented. Thank you! And to my incredible beta readers—Amanda, Sheila, and Stephanie, avid readers who are kind enough to include my books on their reading lists—I’m so very grateful for all of your feedback. Congratulations also to Stephanie on her marriage this past summer.

  While researching the world of law enforcement, I’ve found the most incredible resources.

  At Realpolice.net, police officers volunteer their time to answer questions. Questions are often answered by multiple officers across the country, showing how things vary from state to state. I’ve learned that Oregon is one of the states where police have jurisdiction throughout the whole state. That was important to the end of this story, and it’s why I set the story there. To make sure I didn’t get details wrong on any one city, I made one up.

  Broadcastify is a great resource that one of the officers at Realpolice.net noted. It allows the general public to hear police dispatches from across the country, and was an excellent way to pick up police dialogue.

  Lastly, I used an online name generator and it provided the names Garvin and Arden Hills. I’m so grateful that amazing resources like these exist.

  About the Author

  Originally from the East Coast, Allyson Simonian now lives in California with her husband and children. Inspired by the emotion in the Fifty Shades of Grey series, she began to write in 2012. It had been a while since Allyson had even read a romance novel, but now she’s obsessed with the genre—especially the sub-genre of romantic suspense. She’s currently at work on her first series.

  Allyson is an independent author, but she still works with incredible people—a fantastic editor and a talented graphic designer, along with three amazing beta readers. You can learn more about her work at allysonsimonian.com.