Redemption River

by Lindsay Cross

  Evie felt her heart melting as she searched his gaze.

  “Please, you have to believe me.” Hunter dropped to a knee.

  Evie touched his cheek, his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “Okay.”

  Geez. She needed a new brain. But her heart screamed for him. Was drawn to him.

  Hunter looked up then, his expression filled with hope, and Evie nodded.

  “I love you, Evie. I’ve loved you since I’ve known you.”

  “I love you too, Hunter.”

  Epilogue

  A few months later, Evie and Hunter stood on a sandbar of the Mississippi, holding hands in the very spot where they’d first kissed. The sunset cast warm hues of gold and amber on the crowd gathered behind them.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife.” C.W., it turned out, was not only a POW, but an ordained minister. For the first time that Evie could remember, he wasn’t wearing camo pants. The pressed jeans looked good on him, if not weird.

  “I love you.”

  Evie tilted her face up to her husband, Hunter James. The fierce possessiveness in his dark gaze stole her breath, but not as much as the consuming kiss that followed his declaration.

  When they broke apart, her husband’s lips broke into a huge grin and he turned her to face their friends and family. “My wife.”

  Everyone clapped and cheered. Maxine stood with Hank, his arm anchored around her waist. Ever since that night, Hank had barely let her mother out of his sight. The only family member absent from the crowd was Hayden, Hunter’s little sister.

  Maxine strode forward, her arms outstretched and pulled Evie into a fierce hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

  Hank approached and held out his hand to Hunter. Evie stepped back, just as he pulled Hunter into a hug. Evie’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

  Ranger came next, squeezing his brother tight. He leaned down and kissed Evie on the cheek. When he stood, she caught his quick glance away and followed it. Amy stood off to the side, her arms wrapped protectively around her middle.

  Evie felt a pang of regret. Amy had buried her husband, Shane Carter, not long ago. If it hadn’t been for Hunter’s insistence on such a quick wedding, Evie would have put if off longer. But her man gave the word stubborn a new meaning.

  Amy’s gaze caught Ranger’s and a blush stole through her cheeks. A scorching look passed between them. What the heck?

  Evie didn’t have time to question her new brother-in-law, though. The rest of Hunter’s team filed through, offering their congratulations. Even Greer and Rayland Wilde, her cajun cousins, were here to give their congratulations.

  Cheri marched up, her short dress drawing the attention of Hunter’s entire team. “Remember what I said about fish bait?”

  Confusion sliced through Evie. “What?”

  “Ask your husband.” Cheri grabbed Evie into a hug and turned to Hunter.

  “You don’t have to worry. She is my life.” Hunter held out a hand.

  “As long as we’re straight.” Cheri slid right past his hand and hugged Hunter.

  “Would you two tell me what you are talking about?”

  Hunter let go of Cheri and pulled Evie into his embrace. “Just a little conversation about fish and balls. Nothing important.”

  “Time for the party!” C.W. said. “Hoyt, hit it.”

  Hoyt started the music. Hunter and Evie shared their first dance together as husband and wife. “How can he do that with that little speaker?”

  Hunter shrugged and then dipped her. “I have no idea.”

  Evie swayed with the beat, warm sand squishing through her toes and the man of her dreams in her arms. Her friends and family joined in, forming a loose group around them. “I love you, husband.”

  Hunter leaned down and rested his forehead to hers.” I love you too, wife.”

  *

  Sherriff Lee Brown lay limp in the river. The dull roar of the boat barely registered as Evie sped away, leaving him to bleed out in the river. Brown floated on his back, staring up at the night sky, waiting for the blackness to swallow him whole.

  His whole life he’d been a follower. He’d followed his brother and nearly ended up in jail. He’d followed his friends and nearly ended up addicted to drugs. He’d followed Marcus, and all for the promise of money. And now he would die. Alone.

  Two boats sped by, not ten feet from where he floated. Brown saw Hunter James in one, surrounded by his friends. Another boat followed, full of more reinforcements. Good. At least Marcus would die too.

  Leaving nearly ten million dollars worth of weapons to rot where no one would find them.

  Ten million. What he could do with that kind of money. Fuck, he could do anything with half that. But he’d never get the chance.

  Or would he?

  How was he still alive?

  Brown lifted a hand to his neck, feeling the hot sticky blood there, dripping into the water. Dripping, not squirting out.

  Realization dawned. She’d missed his artery. Fucking hell, the bitch missed.

  Steeling his resolve, he turned his head to the side to take in his location. Pain, white hot and burning seared across his neck. His heart thudded hard in his chest, working overtime to deal with the surge of adrenaline. He was almost to the shore. The current moved swift, carrying him along the shoreline.

  Slowly, testing his strength, Brown struck out with one hand, the other held tight over his wound. He dipped below the surface, but forced himself to come back up for air. He could do this. He could survive.

  His hand hit solid ground. He pulled himself out of the river, collapsing face down onto the muddy bank. His feet remained submerged, but he couldn’t move another inch. His arms and legs were numb, cold seeming to creep into every pore of his flesh.

  But he was alive.

  And he knew where the weapons were.

  THE END

  I hope you enjoyed Redemption River. To ensure you don’t miss the next Men of Mercy book, receive excerpts and be entered for monthly $50 gift card drawings, sign up for exclusive emails click here

  Want to see what happens next with Ranger and Rachel? Keep scrolling to read an excerpt from Resurrection River.

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  From the author: If you enjoyed reading Redemption River, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too.

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  Resurrection River: Men of Mercy Book 2

  Ranger James accepted his best friend’s death like a good soldier. With guilt. Regret. Vengeance. But a forbidden desire keeps pulling him from his mission…

  Desire for his best friend’s widow.

  Killed in Action. That’s why Amy Carter’s husband wasn’t coming home.

  A war widow, alone and broke, Amy struggles to revive her family’s crop dusting service to survive. Now she takes to the skies to find escape. Escape from the pain. From the guilt. From the earth-shattering desire for her husband’s best friend.

  Amy and Ranger can’t fight the attraction between them any longer. But one fateful night cleaves their new found love in two…

  Can they find the will to fight for true love? Or will an evil so shocking destroy their lives for good?

  Chapter 1

  Amy’s day started at sunrise and ended after midnight. Feed the chickens. Feed
the cows. Feed herself. Then, after five, feed the alcoholics.

  The rest of the time she spent pretending her husband hadn’t left for deployment with a good-bye fight instead of a good-bye kiss.

  Six months was a little long for a stand-off between husband and wife. And if Shane were home, that time would shrink to hours. But the damn man hadn’t called. Hadn’t written. She’d gotten nothing but a cold shoulder from a third world country. And Shane should have been home from deployment two-weeks ago.

  She paused painting the new nursery pink and put a hand to her aching back. She’d been on her feet for five hours straight trying to finish painting before her shift at the bar. Over three hours ago her feet had swollen past the confines of her tennis shoes and she’d switched to flip-flops. Now she just had to make it through the night without some drunk stepping on her feet and mashing her bare toes. Amy probably should have taken a break, but she was determined to make a place for her daughter.

  Someone knocked on her front door. Eight o’clock. Who would be knocking on her door this late? Most of the residents of Mercy, Mississippi considered this bedtime. Her hand immediately went to her belly, covering her unborn child. Amy was seven months along, only finding out about her condition the week after Shane left. If he were regular military, she could tell him. Let him know he was going to be a father. But when Task Force Scorpion, TF-S, an elite branch of Special Forces deployed, they went off grid.

  Nothing and no one could contact them.

  They knocked again. Amy carefully balanced her wet paintbrush on the open bucket at her feet and headed to the front door, stopping for a quick peek in the mirror. A few smudges of paint dotted her cheek and her ponytail sagged a little. They knocked again. This time more forceful. Two-weeks late.

  Could be someone needed help or her best friends wanting to drag her out of the house and make her pretend to be happy.

  Could be an all-together different reason. One she never wanted to know.

  Don’t answer it.

  Don’t answer it.

  Don’t answer it.

  “Amy, it’s me.”

  Ranger James. The man she should have married.

  Why was he on her front porch and not her husband? They were both in the same unit. If Ranger was home and not Shane…

  Her unborn daughter, Chloe, shoved an elbow into her ribs and Amy rubbed soothing circles over the skin. She took a calming breath. Her doctor told her no undue stress. It’s okay. He’s just letting me know Shane had to stay in the country longer than expected…

  She pasted on her I’m-sure-it’s-nothing-important smile and opened the door.

  The roar of the battering rain immediately surrounded her. A drenched and dripping Ranger stood on her front porch, his truck headlights shining through the downpour. His blond hair plastered to his head. His t-shirt plastered to his chest.

  Do not look at his chest.

  “Amy.” Ranger’s voice still had that edge, the one that always managed to scrape across her nerves. But right now his voice had something else. Something frightening.

  She stepped onto the porch. Lighting flashed, highlighting his expression, and she jerked like she’d been struck in the chest. The raw pain in Ranger’s gaze made her tremble. “No.”

  “Shane.” His voice slammed through her with the force of an eighteen-wheeler.

  Her heart stopped.

  “Shane. He’s…”

  Ranger’s words faded under the roaring in her ears. Her hands went numb. He kept talking, but she couldn’t hear. Couldn’t process anything but the oxygen seeping from her lungs in horror. Just because she hadn’t talked to Shane recently didn’t mean something had happened to him.

  Didn’t mean he was dead.

  She wanted to run. To close the door, curl up in a ball and sob. Instead, Ranger’s eyes filling with tears trapped her. “I’m so sorry. The condolences officer showed up at headquarters. I beat him here. I thought you should hear it from me.”

  No. No. No.

  Not her. Not him. Not her husband.

  Shane. Shane hadn’t failed to call because of their fight. Not because they were flirting with separation. Not because he didn’t love her. He hadn’t called because he was dead.

  Oh God.

  Her stomach twisted, and sharp pain ripped across her back. Amy doubled over and Ranger grabbed her arms, barely keeping her from falling. “Amy, holy shit. You’re… you’re…”

  Pregnant.

  A stabbing cramp ripped through her stomach again. She gasped out loud. “Something’s wrong.”

  To read the rest of Ranger and Amy’s story click here: Resurrection River: Men of Mercy Book 2

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  Also by Lindsay Cross

  Resurrection River: Men of Mercy Book 2

  Reckless River: Men of Mercy Book 3

  David: Men of Mercy Book 4

  Raylan: Men of Mercy Book 5

  Ravaged River: Men of Mercy Book 6