Shot Through the Heart

by Diane Benefiel

  They also grilled her about the evidence planted in Kyle’s car. John had convinced her to tell the truth, and she recanted her confession of the night before. After a couple of hours, the DA arrived. That conversation hadn’t been nice, but in the end, he agreed that no charges would be filed against her. She was acutely relieved when he indicated that, based on his conversation with Douglas Smith’s doctor, it did not appear her father had the mental capacity to be put on trial. By the time she was allowed to leave, she felt like every working brain cell she possessed had been fried.

  Nathan gave her a ride home, telling her John had her purse and clothes from the safe house and would touch base with her later. Once home, she took a nap, sighing in frustration when, on waking, she found she’d missed a call from John. When she tried to call him back, his cell went straight to voice-mail. The phone rang an hour later, and she grabbed it only to find Nathan on the other end.

  “What? Disappointed it’s me? That’s cold, Rane.”

  “Of course not, Nathan. You’re so fun to talk to.”

  He gave a bark of laughter. “I know when a woman’s placating me. Actually, I have orders to pick you up for dinner tonight.”

  “Dinner tonight? I thought John and I would stay in. You could join us.”

  “Nope. Little brother says he’s sorry he can’t pick you up himself, but asked me to do the honors. We’re going to meet the task force and a couple of others from the department, kind of a celebration that the DiNardos won’t be polluting our streets with their brand of death any longer.”

  “I can get behind that.”

  “Great. Johnny’s organizing the thing and says it’ll be a little upscale if you want to dress up.”

  Rane was surprised, figuring the cops she knew would be more comfortable celebrating at a bar or a pizza place, but she was ready by the appointed time, glad she had something to wear that didn’t require a lot of fussing with. She’d decided on a short dress of deep green, topped by a trim black jacket. She didn’t usually wear heels, but since the weather was clear, she decided she could risk the black Jimmy Choos she’d found at a super sale price.

  Nathan pulled up in his sports car, and Rane got in. “You’re wearing your uniform? Where are we going? What’s happening?”

  “Uh-uh. I’m not supposed to say.”

  “Nathan.”

  He cast her a look from the corner of his eye. “You sure you’re not a mom? That’s exactly the tone my mom used when I was in trouble.”

  “I bet you heard it a lot. Why the uniform? Why the secrecy? If this is a dinner with cops from the department, it shouldn’t matter if I know where we’re going.”

  “You’d think.”

  When he wouldn’t say anymore, Rane grumbled in frustration.

  “Just sit back and relax, darlin’.”

  Since it didn’t look like she would get any more information from him, she did just that. But when he turned onto the street of her father’s facility, she frowned. The street was lined with police cars. “What are we doing here? Is something wrong with Dad?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with your dad, Rane. Don’t worry.”

  “But what—”

  He interrupted her. “You sure do ask a lot of questions. All I can say is we’re paying your old man a visit.” He smiled at her. “You’ll have to take this as it comes.”

  Nathan parked the car and, completely at sea, she got out. He came around and offered her his arm to escort her into the building. They passed the nurses’ station where the men and women she’d seen so many times when visiting her dad all had grins on their faces. They turned down the hall toward her father’s room, and Rane stopped. Both sides of the corridor were lined with officers, all standing at attention in their dress uniforms. Denton was there, as was Ben, who gave her a wink as she passed. Bewildered, she let Nathan guide her through her father’s doorway. She looked into the room and suddenly couldn’t catch her breath.

  Her father stood in his police uniform, the awareness on his face telling her he was cognizant of what was going on. Lily stood to the side, beaming widely, clutching a camera. And, next to her father, impossibly tall and broad shouldered in his dress blues, stood John.

  Nathan released her as she stepped forward. “Dad! John, what’s going on?”

  Doug Smith looked at John, met his gaze, and nodded. John approached to lead her to the center of the room, where he dropped down on one knee. Realization dawned like a thunderclap, and Rane felt her heart take a giant leap. Her hands clenched nervously, and she felt her eyes widen when John pulled a box from his pocket, lifting the lid to reveal the sparkling ring inside.

  John cleared his throat, expression intense. “Rane, sweetheart, light of my life. I love you.”

  “John, oh God, I love you, too.”

  He smiled broadly. “Good, because that makes the rest of this a whole lot easier.” He breathed deeply, as if gathering his courage, and reached for her hand, speaking in a clear voice. “Rane, would you do me the great honor of marrying me? Will you be my wife, my partner for life, make a family with me, grow old with me?”

  Rane felt like she would burst with happiness. Here was the man she loved offering himself and a future she’d only dreamed of. Fighting back tears, she let go of all the worries, the what-ifs, the fear of losing love, of not being worthy of love.

  “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you.” She drew in a shuddering breath and continued, smiling into the blue eyes gazing at her so intently. “I want you. I want a family. I want a future with you.” She gripped his hands to pull him to his feet.

  Taking the ring, an emerald surrounded by small, glittering diamonds, he slipped it onto her finger and then bent his head to kiss her to the claps and whistles of the crowd that had gathered at the door. Rane curled her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her to swing her off her feet. When he set her down, he pulled back to look into her eyes. “You’re sure about this? Because there’s no going back.”

  She placed her hands on either side of his face and pressed another kiss to his lips. “I don’t want to go back. I want the future with you.”

  He kissed her again, and Rane felt her world settle into place. John held her close, and she was exactly where she needed to be.

  Epilogue

  “What the hell are you doing up there? You’re scaring the crap out of me. Will you come off the ladder?”

  Rane looked down into sharp blue eyes. “I want to finish this window.”

  “I’ll finish the window. Come down, Rane.”

  “John, really. You’re overreacting.”

  “Down, Rane.” He paused. “Please.”

  She heaved a sigh and set the can of sealer on the ladder shelf before carefully starting down. When her feet were once again planted on terra firma, she turned to her husband, hands on hips. The news she had to tell him was bubbling up, wanting to spout out of her mouth. But she wanted to tell him right. Not when he was tired and edgy after a tough shift. She tried for placating. “You can’t wrap me in cotton wool for the next six months, John. I have good balance, and I was being careful.” Winter had put her project on hold, but now that it was warming up again, she was determined that the house would be done before her due date.

  “If wrapping you in cotton wool is what it takes, I’ll do it. Why don’t you go get some of that decaf iced tea I made this morning, and you can sit on the porch. I’ll finish the window. Besides, you should put your feet up. The doctor said it’s good for you to put your feet up. And to go for walks. Before we go to visit your dad, we’ll go for a walk this evening when it cools down.”

  “You’re going to make yourself a nervous wreck if you obsess during this entire pregnancy, you know.”

  “In this case, obsessing is good. And when you’re sitting down, you can tell me how your doctor’s appointment went today since I couldn’t make this one. You should relax until Nathan and Lily get here.”

  “Okay, okay, you win. I’ll be back in a se
c.” Rane went into the house and returned with two glasses of tea, ice tinkling as she walked. She’d wanted to finish the window, but now that she was out of the sun, she had to admit the cool of the porch felt good.

  Dressed in jeans torn at the knee and a faded red T-shirt, John climbed to the top of the ladder. He and Nathan had been undercover for the past week, and she knew they were close to breaking a case. He probably just wanted to get a beer and relax. Yet here he was, putting sealer on the window frame. She wondered suddenly if maybe she should wait to tell him, wait until he wasn’t under so much stress. But there was no way she could keep such a big secret, and he deserved to know.

  Sitting in a wicker loveseat, she watched the play of muscles in his arms as he plied the brush with easy strokes. “It would go faster with both of us working on it.”

  He shot her a look and continued to apply the sealer. “If you don’t agree to take it easy, I’m going to cuff you to the bedpost.”

  She thought about that. “I don’t suppose you’re talking about cuffing me to the bedpost in the fun way, are you?”

  This time, the look he sent her was slightly wicked, but he said nothing. Rane drank her iced tea and waved to Mrs. Kershaw and Honey Pumpkin strolling down the sidewalk on the far side of the street.

  John finished with the window and put the lid on the sealer before descending the ladder. He climbed the porch steps and sat heavily next to her, reaching out to take a glass and drain the tea. He leaned back in the love seat, draped an arm behind her, and gave her the grin that melted her heart every time. “How ya doin’, sweetheart?”

  She smiled back as he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “Just fine and dandy.”

  “Good. Me, too.” He reached out a hand to cover the swell of her belly, massaging gently.

  “We’re having twins.” The words just popped out of her mouth. And from the look on John’s face, she didn’t think he’d have been more stunned if she’d told him she was birthing a litter of guinea pigs.

  “What? Twins? That’s not possible.” He looked down at her belly as if he could somehow see the truth there.

  “It is absolutely possible and is actually pretty much a certainty.” She turned toward him and gripped his hands. “I heard two heartbeats today.” Rane waited. She’d had much the same response when the nurse had said she thought she could hear more than one heartbeat.

  John’s expression was still stunned when he looked back at her. “Twins? Really?”

  “Yep, twins.”

  His grin dawned brilliantly. “We made babies.”

  “That we did.”

  “We made two babies. We’re getting a two-fer. Two for the price of one. Twice the bang for the buck.” He sat for a moment, expression dazed, then abruptly took her face between his hands to deliver a searing kiss. He pulled back to look her in the eyes, his fingers lingering in her hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. I love you. I love our babies. You make me happy, Rane.”

  Rane wrapped her arms around her husband’s shoulders and held him close. She thought of all that had happened in the past six months, all the changes in her life, and through it all, he had been her center. “I love you, John.”

  The roar of a motorcycle had them pulling apart. John laughed. “Here comes my bad-ass brother. The guy went weak in the knees when he found out you were pregnant and started treating you like you’d break if you so much as lifted a pinky. When he hears it’s twins he won’t let you feed yourself, let alone climb a ladder.”

  “I never knew the Garretson men were such worriers. Lily will just have to run interference for me.”

  “It’s because we love you, sweetheart.” John helped her to her feet as the motorcycle pulled into the driveway with two riders on board. Waiting for Nathan and Lily to join them, Rane leaned back against John as he stood behind her on the porch, his arms crossed in front of her, his cheek resting against her hair.

  Rane had given up wondering how she had gotten so lucky and silently vowed she would never take what she had for granted. Her life had taken a wonderful turn, and she would embrace it and her new family with everything she could. She had married an amazing man, his family had welcomed her with open arms, and now, with the expectation of children, her babies tucked safely in her womb, her world was complete.

  ~A Note from Diane~

  Welcome! I hope you are snuggled in at your favorite reading spot, have something warm to drink, and are ready to enjoy a fast-paced romantic suspense as you go on a journey with Rane and John. Experience with them the smokin’ hot sexual tension as they take on a nasty villain in a deadly game of cat and mouse. I loved writing this novel and getting into the characters’ heads was great fun, sometimes they made me feel like I was just an observer as they led the story. My favorite secondary character is Nathan and he really served as a catalyst for many of the events in the book. Without giving anything away, I hope you think he has met a good match. I set Shot Through the Heart in Seattle after visiting during a gorgeous fall week a few years ago, and I tried to bring in elements of that beautiful city almost as another character. The hardest part of writing this novel was letting the characters go at the end, it’s almost like leaving your family. Please feel free to tell me how you experienced Shot Through the Heart. I can be reached at dianebenefielromwriter@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

  Box of 1Night Stands: 17 Sizzling Nights

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