Her voice still cracked with emotion.
“I can’t tell you, how happy … I am to see … that you survived.”
Her eyes darted to Bryan’s and pleaded.
“He’s not to blame. He can’t be arrested. Morris was bullied, and beaten, and threatened by Corbat, Bryan. He –“
“Breathe, Jessica, breathe. We know, honey. Morris told us everything. We just were waiting for you to confirm, and you just did. We believe you, and we’ll make sure he’s not prosecuted.”
He directed his attention to a man in the room and she recognized him.
“You’re … you’re Bryan’s friend, the detective.”
The man nodded and stepped forward.
“Yes, mam, Det. Ayden Tyler. Mr. Levitt, won’t be arrested. I promise you that.”
“You helped Bryan, didn’t you … to find me.”
Bryan interjected. “I couldn’t have done it without him either.”
She reached out her hand, and the Detective moved swiftly to accept it.
“Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”
And then, it was like a movie began to play out in her mind.
Her hands flew to her mouth, and she moaned painfully, as her eyes glazed with horror.
“No! No!,” she screamed, as tears streamed from her eyes and she shook her head wildly. “My, god. Dear, god, Bryan,” she gasped loudly. “I … I … killed him. I killed, Hal.”
Bryan ran to her side, and pulled her into his embrace.
She clung to him desperately, her body convulsing from the heart, piercing sobs wracking her body.
“No, baby, no. You didn’t.” He rocked her tenderly. “He didn’t die, Jessica. You didn’t kill that bastard.”
Slowly, she pulled back from his embrace. She looked deeply into his eyes.
He nodded, smiling softly. “He’s where he deserves to be … behind bars.”
Tears still streamed from her disbelieving eyes, and she looked up at Ayden for confirmation.
Ayden nodded too, and added.
“He’ll be spending the rest of life in a six by eight-foot cell.” He directed his attention to Bryan and winked. “I’ve got a lot of paperwork to fill out, because of you,” he replied jokingly. “Once you’re on your feet, mam, and ready to sit down with me, I’ll need a deposition from you about everything that happened, so we can close this case.” He looked at everyone in the room, nodded respectively and exited.
She sighed deeply, content in knowing, that all would be well again.
Bryan directed his attention to both Morris and her Aunt.
“If you two don’t mind, I’d like to spend some alone time with my girl.”
Florence walked over to Morris and laid her arm across his shoulder. “Come, dear. Let’s go back to your room for a short while, and we can discuss your future.”
The moment they exited, Bryan closed the door to her room for more privacy, and returned to sit on the edge of her bed.
“I’m sorry your association with me, pulled you into one horrifying situation. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Forgive you. You can’t blame yourself for what happened. This was all, because of Hal. He concocted this whole scheme. I certainly don’t blame you. I … I just want to get back to normal.”
He chuckled lightly. “You call, what we do, normal?”
“Well,” she shrugged, “maybe, what I really mean is, you and me.”
“I like that answer, even better.”
She reached for his hands, drew them to her lips, and kissed them tenderly. She couldn’t stop the tears that misted her eyes. She knew she wasn’t going to cry … outright sob anyway. She was just overwhelmed by the emotion she felt for this man.
“When I was alone, in that cave, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. The thought of my time spent with you played over and over in my mind. Those thoughts of you kept me going and gave me strength, and made me smile, and want to get through it all. It also made me realize, how much I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His eyes misted like a beautiful, blue ocean, and she knew in her heart, he felt the same. She wanted to hear the words … words she had never heard spoken before. At that very moment, she needed all he could give. And, he did not disappoint her, or keep her waiting long.
“I want to feel the breath from your lips caress my skin forever. I want to lie with you in my arms at night, in a home we create as our own. I want to be the father of our children, your lover, your husband, and the only closest friend you’ll ever need.”
Her breath hitched in her throat at his words and she gasped, as he pulled a tiny, velvet box from his pants pocket.
He opened the lid, and she saw the embossed name ‘Neal Lane’ at first and then the most gorgeous Emerald-cut yellow diamond. She didn’t give him time to ask the question. The look in his eyes spoke volumes. She threw her arms tightly about his neck and lathered his face with sweet kisses as she lyrically spoke, “Yes. Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.”
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading ‘A Pawn for Malice’. If you would, please write a review on the site where you purchased it. Not only do I so, so enjoy reading your comments, it will help promote more sales, and for others to discover it as well. You’ll note from the genres listed below, I’m a pretty diverse author and pen all my titles under the same name. When an idea comes to mind, I just run with it and so far, I haven’t run out of any yet.
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My Other Books – Click the Genre to Check Out My Titles
Historical Romance ~ Iroquois Series
Wind Warrior ~ Book 1
Captive Heart ~ Book 2
Captive Warrior ~ Book 3
Contemporary
This Too Shall Pass
Suspense Thriller
Keeper’s Watch ~ The Wind
Contemporary – Love Song Standards Series
Unchained Melody
Strangers In The Night
For Once In My Life
Can’t Help Falling In Love
At Last
Chances Are
Upcoming Titles for 2016/2017
All The Way
It’s Impossible
Sincerely
Unforgettable
Praise for Her Novels
“If you are looking for an enthralling story with plenty of heat, humor and adventure, look no further!”
~ Romance Junkies for Iroquois Series
“Roberts’ writing is solid, flows well, her angle is thought-provoking and descriptive details keep the pages turning. Roberts’ literary contributions may be worth following.”
~ IndieReader for Keeper’s Watch
“This was a very sweet novel. There is no other way to describe it. Unchained Melody is a clean, passionate, and very good romance that you will love to read again and again. Pamela's journey is honest, something that every working woman can relate to. She is a great character, and Gavin is a very cool guy. This is perhaps the first romance novel I have read this year that is smooth, well- conceived, and very well written.”
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