Their bosses had left to fly the Conrad family home, with Mason accompanying them. Sawyer stayed to help Hunter home. He was currently sleeping in a hotel across the street.
Hunter shifted and she held her breath, waiting for his beautiful eyes to open, but he stayed asleep. He loved her. This strong, noble, handsome man loved her…Talia Cohen. How was that possible? She never saw hearts and sappy poems and holding hands in her future, but with him, she wanted it all.
Could she make him happy? Did he want her for more than a few days, weeks? Did he want a lifetime? She hoped so…she did.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
She jerked her head up to see those beautiful eyes gazing at her with affection, and yes, love.
“I was mentally writing up the report for the case,” she lied.
“Tell me how you found Robby…er Braden.”
She went over the details of the two women and how they tried to flee. She told him about freeing the other members of Elijah’s flock and how they refused at first to believe that their leader was an immoral criminal. As she and Margaret gave them the details, their denial turned to disbelief to anger.
“Speaking of the Lightkeeper, any news on his whereabouts?”
“No. He had help from a nurse. They were able to identify her from security video. We accompanied the police to her house and found her dead.”
“He killed her?”
“We think so, yes. Now he’s in the wind.” She sighed. “Technically, the mission is classified as a success. The target was retrieved and delivered to her family safely. But I can’t help but feel as if it is incomplete. Elijah is out there, on the loose, free to cause more havoc in the future.”
“I wish I could say he’ll make a mistake and get caught, but he’s managed to fly under the radar for years.”
“The authorities…and by authorities, I mean Tyler…was able to temporarily freeze his off-shore accounts. He’s been cut off from his millions.”
Hunter chuckled. “I’d hate to be on Tyler’s bad side.”
“I know, right? But, I do not know how long he will be able to keep him from accessing the money before the real authorities catch on. I hope they confiscate the funds and repay everyone who invested in the Church.”
“Me, too.”
“Why do you love me?” Talia cringed. She hadn’t meant to just blurt it out, but her insecurities were rearing their ugly heads.
“How much time you got?” he joked. She smiled, as she was sure he intended, but her heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings. Then his face turned serious.
“I love you because you’re strong and sexy and smart and you aren’t afraid to jump into battle to protect the innocent and those less fortunate. I worry about you, but I don’t have to because I know you can handle yourself in any situation. You’re the best partner I’ve ever had. And most importantly, you make me a better person.”
Tears stung her eyes. That silly byproduct of love, she supposed. “All of those things you just said, I feel the same way about you. To quote a cheesy movie line, you complete me.”
The doctor, a middle-aged man with a thin build and receding hairline, chose that inopportune moment to enter. “How are you feeling today, Mr. McGrath?”
Hunter drug his eyes away from her to greet the doctor. “Ready to get out of here.”
“Let’s just check a few things.” He gave Hunter a quick exam, signed the release papers, shook their hands and departed. A nurse came in and removed the wires and tubes, careful to keep from jostling his broken arm. After helping him dress, Talia called Sawyer, who informed her Wyatt would arrive with the plane in an hour to fly them home.
As she was about to step out of the room, Hunter grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a long, deep kiss.
“I’ve wanted to do that for days,” he said when they finally broke apart. “What do you say we get out of here and start our lives together? Partners on the job and partners in life?”
Her thoughts exactly. “I would say you have got yourself a deal, neshama.”
###
Notes
I hope you enjoyed the eleventh book in the COBRA Securities series. Several characters from previous books made appearances in Total Surrender. If you would like to read their stories, you can find them here:
Logan Bradley from The Fan
Luke Colton from Face the Music
Kai Costa, Sawyer Oldham and Wyatt Hollister from Hide and Seek and Kidnapped
Mason Rossi from Killer Cuisine
About the Author
Velvet Vaughn is the author of The List, The Fan, Committed, Violets are Blue, Trust No One, Hide and Seek, Killer Cuisine, Vigilante, Face the Music, and Tough as Nails, the first ten books in the COBRA Securities series, as well as Saving Santa, and Kidnapped, COBRA Securities Short Stories. In addition, two novellas: A Christmas Miracle and Flying High Christmas are available as stand-alone books or in the anthologies All I Want For Christmas and Yuletide Treasures, respectively. The twelfth book in the COBRA Securities series, Hunted, will be published soon.
Connect With Velvet
Website: www.velvetvaughn.com
Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/authorvelvetvaughn
Blog: http://www.velvetvaughn.com/blog.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvetvaughn/
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Email: [email protected]
From Velvet
Thank you so much for purchasing Total Surrender. I hope you enjoyed Hunter and Talia’s story. If you did, I would appreciate you leaving feedback at Amazon.com or Goodreads. Thank you!
The twelfth book in the COBRA Securities series will be out in early spring. Hunted is Sawyer Oldham and Harlow Duquesne’s story. Sawyer and Harlow first crossed paths in the COBRA Securities short story, Kidnapped.
If you would like to read the story of one of the characters from my books, let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website or my Facebook Fanpage. I'd love to hear from you. And be sure to like my Fanpage so you can take part in giveaways.
Thank you again for your support!
Total Surrender (COBRA Securities Book 11) Page 25