Teresa steps up and takes Sorina's hand. "Come on, Sori. Your Dad needs to see her too. Let's say bye to Mr. Dresden and get settled on the plane."
I smile sadly at Teresa. She wipes a tear from her eyes, lightly touches my face and pulls Sorina away. Blake stops in front of me, his back straight, his face guarded. I look down and pull a black ring box from my pocket. My hands shake as I hold it out to him.
"What's this?" he says his voice shaking.
"I wanted you to have something from me. To remind you, that I said yes, and that with or without the legal part of marriage, I'm yours and I love you."
He takes the box and opens it, sucking in a ragged breath. "Lily," he whispers.
I take the ring from the box— a black and silver titanium band with a single diamond in the center, and slide it onto his left ring finger. Bringing his hand to my lips, I kiss the ring, and gaze at his face.
"I love you. Forever," I whisper.
He grabs my face and crushes his lips to mine. I break, pouring all my love and pain into this kiss. This may be the last time I ever touch him, and I can't bring myself to say goodbye. This is the only way I know how. He tries to pull away, but I grab his face and hold his lips to mine.
I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you, Blake.
His hands tangle in my hair and I slide mine down his chest, enjoying the flex of his muscles under my palms. I'm going to miss him so much. Everything I am or ever could be is dying the moment he steps on that plane.
He runs his hands down my back, cupping my ass. I jump, wrapping my legs around his waist, our tongues consuming each other. He walks forward, pressing my back against the car. I tug his hair, breaking the kiss for a moment.
"I love you, Blake. I love you so much," I say, breathlessly, bringing my lips back to his.
He squeezes my ass, grinding his erection into me. I moan into his mouth, wishing I could have one more night. He pulls away from me, pressing his forehead against mine.
"I love you, Lily. Please come back to me."
I whine, grabbing his face, kissing him again. I press my lips to his, repeatedly, trying to stamp this moment into my memory. We stay locked in this embrace for what feels like forever.
"Say something, Lily."
"You were so over my head, Blake. I'm still learning to love, but I don't think I could love you any more than I do now," I whisper.
"Oh, Lily, you're it for me. I love you, baby. This is killing me." He presses his lips to mine again.
Slowly, he sets me back on my feet.
"Time to go, Mr. Mason," Hyde says.
I let go of him. Slowly, he walks to the plane, stopping at the stairs to look back at me. Dresden leans against the car next to me, taking my hand in his.
"Goodbye, Blake," I whisper as the door closes.
We stand frozen as the plane moves slowly down the runway.
Keep me in your heart, my love. For in mine is where our love will never die. I love you, Blake Mason. Forever.
Epilogue
~Blake~
I roll over, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, the tightness in my chest almost unbearable. It's been there since the plane door shut— Sorina and me on one side, Lily on the other. I run my index finger over my lips, the power from her kiss lingering there.
I sit up and shuffle to the main area of the plane, running my finger over the wedding band she gave me. Sorina is asleep in one of the chairs. I halt— the air is too tense.
Something isn't right.
I glance around, my body stiffening as I take in the grave faces of my sister and Lily's team. They're standing around the television. Tears run down Shannon's face, her hand clapped over her mouth, muffling her sobs.
"What’s going on?"
Their heads jerk in my direction. Shannon darts to me, wrapping her hands around my waist, burying her head in my chest as uncontrollable sobs overtake her. I glance at Sorina as she sits up rubbing her eyes. She stares at me, confusion coloring her face.
"Say . . . say it isn't true . . . Blake . . . it . . . it can't be true!" Shannon cries into my shirt.
"What the hell are you talking about?
I glance up into Vlad's face. Tears run silently down his cheeks.
What the fuck?
"This is Jemma Michaels live outside the DC Interpol office, where we have confirmation that Director, Hyde Monroe, will be addressing the public momentarily, concerning the reports of an Interpol helicopter being shot down a little over two hours ago."
I disentangle Shannon from around me, stepping toward the television. My eyes glued to the screen, a sinking sensation in my gut.
"Dad," Sorina says, grabbing my hand in a death like hold as we both zone in on the television.
No . . . it's not possible.
Hyde walks out of the building and stops behind the podium. He wipes his eyes with a white handkerchief, clearing his throat.
"At approximately five o'clock pm, an Interpol helicopter carrying two special operative agents was shot down shortly after taking off. The agents, Lily Williams and Dresden Scholl, were pronounced dead at the scene. Agent Williams and Agent Scholl headed a special division involving human trafficking. Interpol is investigating the incident. We will bring their killers to justice. That is all, no questions."
"No," I whisper as my chest heaves, pain coursing through me.
"Blake," Vlad says his voice distant.
He touches my arm and I shrug him off, staggering against the tray of alcohol sitting against the wall. "Not my Lily."
Sorina lets go of my arm, screams and sobs erupting from her throat. I'm vaguely aware of Sammi rushing to her. Spots disrupt my vision, a burning sensation gripping my throat. I wrap my hands around the edge of the cart, choking on my breath.
"No . . . not my Lily," I scream, twisting and heaving the cart at the wall, angry tears streaming down my face. "Not My Lily!" I turn and slam my fist into the wall. My body convulses as I sink to the floor, sobs escaping my lips.
I squeeze my eyes shut and see her face. The way her hair sprawled out behind her, the sapphire of her eyes shining after we made love. The way she used to tremble when I first met her. The sound of her voice as she sat at the piano. The way she trailed her fingers along my skin all the times we lay in bed.
It can't be true.
Delicate, thin arms wrap around my shoulders. I tangle my fingers in my hair and lean forward as my sister's cries mix with mine. Sorina drops in front of me, her arms snaking around my neck as she shakes violently. I absently encircle her with my arms, rocking back and forth as waves of pain move through me.
No . . . no . . . take me . . . Not my Lily . . . Dear God . . . not Lily . . .
†††
~Lily~
Dresden and I sit, hand-in-hand, watching the security monitors. My knuckles are white from the force of my grip. There's a hole in my heart, growing bigger by the minute as Blake and Sorina crumble on the screen.
"What have we done?" I whisper, tears flowing down my cheeks.
"What we had to," Dresden says, sniffling.
This isn't any easier on him. I let go of his hand and push out of my chair. I lean against the desk, covering my face in my hands. This was the only way to protect them. The Taurus isn't after them . . . they haven't been for a while. They're after Dresden and me.
Our deaths brought us the one thing we need more than anything . . . time.
I'll never be able to make this up to them.
I sigh, the air stuttering as it crosses my lips.
Dresden looks at my left hand, his eyes widening.
"Is that an engagement ring?"
"Yes," I whisper.
"Oh, God. Lily, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because, this is hard enough as it is."
Dresden sighs. "I want to marry Shannon."
"Good. All the more reason for us not to fail."
"Let's go," Dresden says, standing. "We did this for a reason. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go
get them."
Our pain is nothing compared to what we've done to the people we love. As we focus back on the monitors, determination swells in my chest.
Don't give up, Blake. I'm still with you . . .
TO BE CONTINUED…
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank God. He gave me this gift, this ability to weave words in a way that makes a difference in my own heart, in the hearts of my readers, and hopefully anyone else that my books touch.
Thank you to my three beautiful children. For all your love and hugs, your patience in understanding how important is was for Mommy to get this book written. Thank you for being my reason for waking up in the morning, my reason for breathing. You three are my world, and without you I’d have no purpose in this life.
To my parents. Thank you for raising me to be the strong, resilient person I am today. Without your constant and unfailing love, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do in any capacity.
To my brother, Dale. I love you more than I can ever express. You’re my brother and best friend. Thank you for helping me work out my ideas, for giving me new books to read, and for just being the wonderful and amazing human that you are. You have always believed in my writing, and pushed me to follow this dream no matter how hard it gets, and for that I am forever thankful. No one is as blessed as I am for having the honor of calling you my big brother.
To the rest of my family: my cousins Angela, Alex, and Anthony, to Will and Laila, to my brother Stephen (Rest in Peace), my paternal grandparents, James and Edna (Rest in Peace), my maternal grandfather, Herman (Rest in Peace), and anyone I may have forgotten— Thank you for being sources of unfailing support and inspiration. I love you all, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
To my maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, who I always knew as Grammy or GG (Rest in Peace): You’ve been gone for years, and I know you’ll never read this, but thank you. Thank you for your love, and for inspiring my love of romance novels. For those big boxes of Harlequin books you’d give me every week that I devoured. You’re the reason I write romance. I miss you more than anything.
To my godfather, Olen, for being the person who didn’t believe books should be censored. Thank you for buying me Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley at the age of nine, and teaching me that through books I could travel anywhere in the world I wanted to. Thank you for refusing to let me get sucked into television and video games, and teaching me the value of a library.
Kara Leigh Miller, my beautiful, wonderful, talented, and amazing Critique Partner, who without, this book would’ve never happened. You inspire me with your determination and your own books each and every day, and I thank God constantly for bringing us together!
To Reggie and Michelle Deanching of RplusMPhoto, thank you both for all the help in finding the perfect model for Lily. It was the most stressful part for me when I started thinking about the cover, and the two of you came in and took all that stress and just made it disappear. I look forward to working with you both for as long as I’m both publishing and modeling in this industry.
Holly Wysong, you are my real life Lily. Thank you for allowing me to put your beautiful, stunning, and inspiring images on the covers of my Lily’s books. I hope you are as proud to represent this story and I am to have you representing it. Thank you so much, love, and keep being beautiful in every way.
The beta team— CJ Allison, Dani Piantadosi, Donetta Marie, Erin Clancy, Jackie Ziegler, Kat O’Nell, and Stacy Woods— there are no words to accurately thank you ladies enough. You fell in love with my work as much as me, and then you gave me real, honest, and sometimes brutal feedback which helped me take these books from ‘okay’ to ‘fucking badass’. I owe you ladies so much for your help, your love, your enthusiasm, and most of all, your undying support. You are my Tribe, my people. You are defiantly my people.
Laura Medeiros, thank you for the most real and perfect cover I could have ever asked for. You took the vision in my head and made it a perfect reality and for that I can never, ever thank you enough. You are a goddess among mortals, and I am so blessed and thankful to have you in my life, on my team, and in my corner!
And lastly, to my sister, the real Courtney Lynn, who passed away when I was only two years old. My pen name is my tribute to you. I pray you would’ve loved these books, and I love you with all my heart.
To anyone I may have forgotten, thank you for all the love and support.
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