by Jenna Night
Stunned and confused, it took her a second to remember the phone in her pocket. But before she could even reach for it, Harry was already shouldering his way through the crowd of panicked people still trying to exit the coffee shop. Bergman and a couple of plainclothes officers with badges hanging from their necks rushed in behind him with guns drawn.
Harry saw Ramona first, and while the cops hustled to check on Darrin, Harry ran to Ramona. He holstered his gun and wrapped his arms around her so tightly that her face was shoved into his shoulder.
“Are you all right?” he demanded, still hugging her. “Are you injured?”
She could barely draw in a breath to answer, but this time it wasn’t due to fear or asthma. It was the tight grip of a man who, it seemed, had dared to let himself care about her more than he wanted to.
“I’m fine.” Her voice came out muffled because she was forced to speak into his jacket. And then she made a point of hugging him as tightly as she possibly could, so he’d get the message that she felt the same way about him.
The coffee shop patrons who hadn’t left were already giving information to the officers about what had happened. They pointed toward the back door, the direction where the shooter had escaped, and they gave descriptions of the black clothing and mask he was wearing.
“What did you see?” Bergman demanded of Ramona, putting an end to her embrace with Harry. “Who was the shooter?”
“He was wearing a mask,” she said. “And he didn’t speak. I have no idea who he was.”
In the distance she could hear the wail of approaching sirens.
“We’ll start scouring the neighborhood looking for the gunman,” Bergman said. “You did good.” He patted Ramona on the shoulder. “Right now, I think you better get back to the ranch and stay out of sight until we catch the shooter.”
Emergency medical personnel arrived to tend to Darrin. One of the officers stayed with them as they got him packed up and ready for transport. Ramona could hear the officer trying to get Darrin to tell him where he’d stashed Caleb Petrov. The other plainclothesman went out the back door with Bergman.
Ramona turned toward the door, thinking she and Harry were going to leave, too, when he reached for her hand and brought her in close for another hug. Finally, he loosened his embrace, but he didn’t entirely let her go. Instead, he gazed down at her with those deep blue eyes.
Her heart fluttered and her stomach begin to twist itself into nervous knots. She knew exactly what her problem was. She’d fallen in love with this man.
And she hoped he’d fallen in love with her in return. His actions seemed to indicate that he had...but she was still afraid that the next words out of his mouth would make it all fall apart—that he’d say he couldn’t love her, that he wasn’t ready. She understood why he was afraid to love and lose again. She couldn’t imagine the heartache he’d been through. She couldn’t help feeling empathy for him.
The longer he gazed wordlessly at her, the more she was worried that he was going to start emotionally withdrawing from her all over again.
Instead, he leaned forward. So, she leaned forward, too. And the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, his breath mingling with her breath. The world around them, and all its threats and dangers, fell away. She felt warm and safe and delighted. Being in his strong arms felt like she was right where she was meant to be.
Finally, Harry pulled away. But not completely. He still held her hands as he looked into her eyes and said, “I guess we both know life can be dangerous.” He let out a deep sigh. “I’ve stayed on the sidelines long enough. And if I’m going to take chances on getting my heart broken again, I want to take those chances with you.”
Gratitude coursed through Ramona like a waterfall. Gratitude that so many prayers for Harry’s healing had clearly been answered. And gratitude that this man she’d come to love so much had finally found a way to use the courage he relied on to take care of other people to do something for himself.
And for her. The strangest feeling of crystal clarity about her life overcame her, along with a sense of awe from all of the events required to bring them to this moment together.
“I love you,” Harry said softly.
“I love you, too.” Ramona felt her eyes start to burn, but she held back the tears. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on Harry’s cheek. “Don’t worry, big guy,” she whispered into his ear, “I’ll keep your heart safe.”
Harry still had a slight smile on his lips as they walked back outside, hand in hand, toward Jasmine’s car.
Looking over, Ramona spotted a familiar face. It took her a few seconds to figure out where she knew him from.
It was Alex, the property developer. The man who built the condos where Jasmine lived.
His hair was matted, as if he’d recently taken off a hat. And his cheeks were flushed, as if maybe he’d been jogging. He was tossing a daypack into the back seat of a car. And when he withdrew his hands, Ramona saw the blue gloves.
“It’s him,” she whispered to Harry. “Alex. He’s the shooter!”
Harry disengaged his arm from Ramona’s and walked up to Alex with a friendly greeting and a smile. And then in an instant Harry had Alex flipped facedown on the sidewalk with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Ramona immediately called Sergeant Bergman, who ran up in seconds to arrest Alex and cart him off to jail.
* * *
That evening, Sergeant Bergman took a few minutes away from his long list of duties and met Ramona and the staff of Rock Solid Bail Bonds at their office in town.
“I’m going to let you fill in your family members on what I’m about to tell you,” Bergman said to Ramona as soon as he stepped into the office. “I’m a little short on time right now.”
Ramona nodded her understanding, while Harry stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Now that he’d finally admitted his feelings to himself and to her, he was in for the long haul, no matter what. He had her back, always. He would protect her, always. And he wanted to make absolutely certain that she knew that.
Bergman gestured at everyone to sit down. Harry and Ramona moved toward the couch, while Martin and Leon each sat in a chair. Bergman dropped down into a chair, looking impatient and exhausted. Cassie handed him a mug of coffee and he offered her a rare smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she responded before sitting down on the couch beside Ramona. “Now, what can you tell us?”
“Caleb Petrov has been rescued. He was treated at the hospital and released. He’ll have some nasty-looking bruises for a while and he had to get a dozen stitches in his chin, but he should be okay. Apparently, his younger brother, whom I met at the hospital, had made the mistake of dabbling in drugs. But while I was there, he was promising his family that he’d start drug counseling immediately.”
Thank You, Lord, Harry prayed silently while Ramona squeezed his hand.
“Darrin Linder and Alex Ferrano are already ratting each other out, each trying to get the best plea deal.” An uncharacteristically bright smile crossed Bergman’s lips briefly before he took a sip of coffee.
“It turns out you weren’t the only person wearing a bulletproof vest while visiting the coffee shop,” Bergman said to Ramona. “Paranoid Darrin was wearing one, too. So, he survived the shooting, though the gunshots did cause some impact damage. And just before he was wheeled into surgery, he told me that some of the funding for his criminal business had come from Alex.”
“Alex? But why?” Ramona asked. “He was already successful developing properties like Jasmine’s condo.”
“I’ve had to listen to both Darrin and Alex,” Bergman said. “And, of course, I don’t completely believe either one of them. From what I can piece together, it looks like Darrin was making good money selling heavy equipment, but he wanted more. He met Alex when he started dating Jasmine. He
admired Alex’s success, and eventually the developer shared his secret, which were the drugs he sometimes used to work nonstop and get ahead of his competition.
“Alex is one of those very rare individuals who could use the drugs now and then but still keep things under control. Darrin could not. He was immediately hooked, and he shared his discovery with Jasmine.”
Ramona nodded. It made sense. Darrin changed so drastically and so suddenly. Jasmine had been vulnerable to anything that might help with the depression she’d battled for so long. What a blessing that she walked away from the drugs, and Darrin, when she did.
“Darrin was stunned by how much money he could make selling the drugs. And then he somehow got the idea to diversify into selling guns. Alex fronted some of the money for that in return for a percentage of the receipts.
“In the midst of all this, Jasmine broke up with Darrin. He started to fixate on Ramona and her family as his biggest problem and the reason why Jasmine wouldn’t take him back. His instability and recklessness got out of hand, and he got arrested for the first time in his life.
“He thought he could buy his way out of trouble, so as soon as he was out on bail, he set up his first big deal to sell the guns. That was when Ramona found him at the cabin at the Western Trails Resort. Chasing after her and trying to kill her in the woods afterward was an impulse decision. He sent his thugs to follow her the next day and grab her at the train trestle. He thought if he forced her to meet with him, he could scare her into butting out of his relationship with Jasmine—and intimidate her enough that she wouldn’t testify against him for shooting at her in the forest.”
“What about the fire trap in Bridger?” Harry asked. “How did Darrin know about that? Was he even there?”
“Alex happened to overhear Jasmine talking on her phone and telling someone that Ramona was heading up to Bridger. She didn’t mention that you were looking for Darrin,” Bergman said, directing his comment to Ramona. “But Alex knew Darrin was hiding out up there and warned him that you might be coming. Darrin set the fire trap. And fired the rifle shots.”
“Why did Alex shoot Darrin in the coffee shop?” Cassie asked.
“He could tell that Darrin was spinning out of control. When Darrin murdered his accomplices, Alex decided things had gone too far. Alex was already worried about Darrin’s criminal activities would get tracked back to him. He wanted Darrin out of the picture, but Darrin would not tell Alex where his new hiding place was.
“Alex knew Darrin’s weak spot was his obsession with Jasmine, so he played that up and helped Darrin devise his plan. All with the intention of drawing Darrin out, killing him and putting an end to it all.”
“And his plan almost worked,” Cassie said.
The sergeant stood and Cassie walked him to the door. Leon and Martin grabbed their coats and headed out the door to go capture another bail jumper.
“Well, I guess this means the nightmare is over and life can go back to normal,” Ramona said as she turned to face Harry, who’d remained by her side.
Harry stood there, holding her hands. He didn’t want to let her go. Ever.
“I’m very happy these horrible events have finally come to an end, and that two dangerous men have been taken off the streets,” she added. She looked up at Harry with her beautiful hazel eyes. “But I’m also a little sad that I won’t be staying at the ranch any longer. I’ll miss seeing you every day.”
Harry let go of her hands to wrap his arms around her. “I hear you did a good job mucking the stables, so I’m sure you’ll be welcome at the ranch anytime. And you’ll be seeing a lot of me for as long as you want to.” He loosened his embrace and went back to holding her hands. “And as far as life going back to normal is concerned, you can pretty much assume that’s not going to happen. Not after you’ve gone and gotten yourself hooked up with a bunch of bounty hunters.”
Seven months later
Ramona took a deep breath, blew it out, and then leaned back against the broad, muscular chest of her brand-new husband.
Harry, who was standing directly behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her even closer toward him.
Her heart swelled with joy.
The happiest day of her life was heading toward evening. She and Harry were at Kitchen Table, finally taking a moment to relax and enjoy their wedding reception. She’d been a little hesitant to suggest the diner as the location for the post-ceremony event, but by that time, Harry had tasted just about every kind of pie Eric could bake, and he was thrilled by the idea of wedding pies instead of a wedding cake. “Everybody loves pie,” she’d told him. And he readily agreed.
Having all of her family and friends come here to help them celebrate just made sense. This diner was her home away from home. It had been for a very long time. And it was where she wanted to focus her work energy. Among the many things she’d eventually realized after having her life endangered was that she was exactly the person she was intended to be. Of course, she was a work in progress, like everyone else, but choosing the simple life of working in the diner rather than the corporate world was right for her. And ultimately, her parents agreed.
The afternoon wedding had been held at the church Ramona’s family regularly attended. Several of her relatives who lived on the coast had made the trek east to be there.
Harry’s family had been warm and inviting from the moment he first introduced her to them. His sister and a couple of his cousins had done a beautiful job decorating the church with the autumn harvest colors Ramona loved. Everybody from Rock Solid Bail Bonds plus everyone from North Star Ranch had been in attendance, and it was a remarkable sight to see them all so dressed up.
Harry had asked his dad to be his best man. Ramona asked Jasmine to be her maid of honor.
Ramona smiled at the sight of her cousin, dressed in a pale copper-colored dress, walking around with her head held high, chatting and making sure everyone felt comfortable. Staying sober and working on nearly lifelong emotional issues wasn’t easy, but her cousin was proving it could be done.
From behind her, Harry leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Ramona’s cheek. Followed by several more. “Considering the extreme conditions that brought us together, I’d say things turned out pretty well,” he said.
People thought her husband was brave because he chased bad guys. But Ramona knew it also took real courage for him to be willing to love again.
She turned so that she was looking over her shoulder and planted several kisses on her husband’s cheek.
And then she turned around for a real kiss.
Sometimes you’re at a dark bend in the road and you can’t see forward to the light. But it’s still there. You think you’ve lost everything, that you can’t let yourself hope again because the pain of opening your heart again is too great. But the day will come when you can.
That’s one of the many blessings of faith.
* * *
If you enjoyed this bounty hunter story by Jenna Night, be sure to read her bounty hunter novella, “Twin Pursuit,” in the anthology Colorado Manhunt.
Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Forgotten Secrets by Karen Kirst.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining the chase and reading the first book in my Rock Solid Bounty Hunters series. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be two more books with bad guys to be captured, faith to be strengthened and love to be found.
Working through deep grief, like Harry has to do, is a tricky process. Suffering a profound loss in your life is certainly not something that you ever “get over.” But if you press on in faith, one small step at a time, the day will come when you realize you can live with that experience and you’re able to ease back into the flow of life. Things do get better and there’s a path ahead for you. That path can be a good one, even if it isn’t the one you imagi
ned you’d be following. I have firsthand experience with this and I know it’s true.
I invite you to visit my website, JennaNight.com, where you can sign up for my mailing list. You can also find me on my Jenna Night Facebook page. My Twitter handle is @Night_Jenna. My email address is [email protected].
I’d love to hear from you.
Jenna
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Forgotten Secrets
by Karen Kirst
ONE
The hollow crack of a gun discharge pulled Sergeant Catriona Baker off her screened-in porch, across the yard and onto the short dock. This section of the river formed a natural cove, and her rental cottage had an unobstructed view of the sprawling town park. Old-fashioned lampposts stationed around the bathrooms emitted enough light for her to make out a violent scene. Multiple armed shadow figures converged on their chosen victims—a man and woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. They seized the woman and began propelling her toward a waiting sedan. Her screams reached across the water and clawed at Cat’s conscience, urging her to act. The man’s valiant attempts to prevent the abduction were unsuccessful. The first blow from a crowbar knocked the gun from his hand. The second one felled him.
Cat flinched. Had that been a fatal blow?
The men shoved the woman into the back seat and climbed in beside her. The tires burned against the pavement. Where were they taking her? Would they let her live?
Cat’s tennis shoes became unglued from the dock, and she bolted into the cottage. Her gun was in the safe in her bedroom closet. It seemed to take ages to punch in the code. With her Glock in hand, she sprinted outside to her ’72 Chevelle. The trip to the park entrance usually took five minutes. She made it in two.