The Reunion Mission: The Reunion MissionTall Dark Defender

by Beth Cornelison

  Annie dropped like a rag doll.

  A single blast shook the room, and Susan screamed.

  From the floor, Annie glanced back to see Susan clutch her shoulder, drop her gun and slide down the counter to the floor.

  “You bastard!” a male voice growled. “What have you done to my daughter?”

  A familiar-looking, silver-haired man stood in the door to the kitchen.

  Pop had arrived.

  * * *

  Jonah re-aimed the gun toward the new arrival.

  And his pulse kicked when recognition dawned. “Frank?”

  The gym owner snatched up the gun Susan had dropped and swung it toward Jonah. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to see you here, Devereaux. You’re one of my best sparring partners. I hate having to kill you. You’re gonna be missed at the gym.”

  “You own the diner? You’re behind the gambling and money laundering?” Jonah heard the disbelief in his voice and shook off the lingering shock to focus on the problem at hand. Namely, the gun in Frank’s grip.

  Jonah cut a quick glance to Annie. She’d grabbed a clean towel and pressed it to the wound on Susan’s shoulder. Ever the caregiver. Even though her patient had just held a gun to her head.

  Frank strolled closer to Jonah. “Folks were all the time wagering on sports at my gym. I saw a way to make a profit and took it. I’d bought the diner years back, and it proved the simplest way to clean the money, filter it into special accounts. But as an operation like mine grows, problems come up. People you thought you could trust turn on you to save their own skin.”

  “Hardin?”

  Frank jerked a nod. “Good riddance. The man had proved unreliable at best. He got greedy. Got careless. I should have taken him out years ago.”

  Jonah drew a slow breath for composure. “And Michael Hamrick? You fleeced him. Before he died, he told me the operation he’d gotten tangled up with had welched on paying him what he was owed on winning bets. That you duped him into investing his life savings on high-stakes games.”

  “No one held a gun to his head, if that’s what you mean.” Frank smirked. “He took care of that himself.”

  White-hot rage exploded in Jonah. Ducking his head, he charged at Frank. “You son of a bitch!”

  “Jonah, no!” Annie launched from the floor, threw herself at Frank.

  Grabbed for Frank’s gun.

  A flash. An earsplitting blast. A gut-wrenching cry.

  With a gasp, Annie collapsed against Jonah, the front of her apron marred by a bright red stain.

  “Annie!” Jonah sank with her to the floor, horror ripping through his chest.

  Frank reangled his weapon.

  Glass shattered. Men in uniform breached the front door. Guns at the ready, Lagniappe’s finest swarmed the diner.

  “Freeze! Police! Lower your weapon and lie facedown with your hands out!”

  As the police filed in, Frank sighed defeat, set his gun on the floor and lay down spread-eagle as ordered.

  Jonah shot an angry look at the man leading the charge. Joseph Nance. “About damn time! Annie’s been shot! Get an ambulance now!”

  Chapter 20

  “Mommy?” The sweet tiny voice cut through Annie’s drug-induced haze. A small hand touched her cheek, and she blinked Haley into focus. On some level she knew she was in the hospital. The beeping monitors and medicinal smells told her that much. But her daughter held her attention, made her heart swell.

  “Hey, darlin’. How’s my girl?” she rasped, her throat raw and aching.

  “I’m okay.” Her daughter snuggled closer, bumping her ribs. Annie gasped as a sharp pain ripped through her chest.

  “Say, princess, why don’t you sit here with me? Remember I told you your mommy didn’t feel good?”

  Annie angled her head, searching for the man who’d spoken.

  Jonah sat in a chair beside the hospital bed. Unshaven, clothes wrinkled, hair mussed, he’d never looked better to Annie. His eyes met hers, and she read the questions there. The doubts.

  “I don’t know if I can be what you need.”

  Fresh pain, unrelated to the bullet that had ripped through her, slashed her heart. Despite the dramatic events at the diner, nothing had been resolved between her and Jonah.

  Haley climbed onto Jonah’s lap, and he gave her daughter’s head a loving stroke and cuddled her close. “Don’t be scared,” he murmured to Haley. “Remember I told you how strong your mom is? She’s going to be fine.”

  Haley nodded and glanced back at her mother. “Mr. Jonah says you’re a hero, Mommy. You saved his life and helped catch a bad guy.”

  “He said that?” Annie raised her eyebrows and shot Jonah a querying look.

  “Don’t worry. I gave her the Saturday-morning cartoon version. I figured a well-filtered version of the truth was better than a lie.” He looked unsure of himself, and Annie tugged up a corner of her mouth.

  “You were right. Thank you for your discretion.”

  Jonah sighed, relief replacing a fraction of the tension lining his face.

  “Where’s Ben?” Annie croaked.

  Jonah whispered something to Haley, and her daughter slid from his lap to hand Annie a cup of ice chips.

  “Thanks, sweetie.”

  “Ben is with your friend Ginny. She offered to keep Haley, too, but nothing would do for Haley until she saw her mommy at the hospital.”

  A scuffle of feet drew Annie’s attention to her door. Ginny’s

  husband came in with two large cups of coffee. When Riley noticed Annie was awake, he paused and grinned. “Hey, welcome back, Sleeping Beauty. I don’t know what kind of drugs they gave you, but they sure knocked you out.”

  Annie wrinkled her brow. “How long was I asleep?”

  Jonah checked his watch. “About thirteen and a half hours.” He grinned sheepishly and added, “Thirteen hours and thirty-six minutes to be exact. Longest thirteen hours and thirty-six minutes of my life.”

  Riley handed one of the coffees to Jonah and tousled Haley’s

  hair. “So now that you’ve seen for yourself your mom’s okay, what say we let her rest and go give Ms. Ginny a hand with your brother?”

  Haley gave her mother a dubious frown, but with a few more reassurances, she allowed Riley to lead her from the room.

  Then Annie turned to Jonah, nailing him with an expression that was all-business. “You stayed with my children overnight?”

  He nodded. “I wanted to here with you, more than anything. But I knew your priority would be your kids, so I stayed with them. Burned up the phone line calling the hospital every five minutes to check on you, but...”

  Annie grinned. “My hero.”

  He pulled his eyebrows into a skeptical V. “I don’t know how you can say that. I let you down. You wouldn’t be here if—”

  “I’m here because I was dumb enough to try to get Frank’s gun away from him.”

  “No, you were brave enough to act when my life was at risk. I owe you one.”

  She shrugged carefully, but even the small movement caused her ribs to burn. “You’ve saved me more than once. Call us even.”

  Jonah’s cheek twitched in a weak grin, and he lowered his gaze to his hands.

  Annie broke the awkward silence. “What did my doctors say? Last thing I really remember is the EMT giving me something for pain. Then I passed out.”

  “The bullet’s angle was shallow, but it hit and broke a rib. You’ll be in some pain for a few weeks, and they want you to take it easy to allow yourself to heal.”

  Annie gave a soft laugh. “Did you tell them there’s no such thing as rest for the mother of two young kids?”

  Jonah shot her a warning look. “Annie...do as your doctor says. Ginny, Rani and I will help with Haley and Ben.”

  A seed of hope lodged deep inside her. “You?”

  He met her eyes warily, a heartbreaking sadness dimming his eyes. “If you’ll let me. I know I hurt you, Annie. Everything I said the other nigh
t... I...” His eyes closed, and he dragged a hand over his face, the picture of misery.

  “Jonah, before you tell me you don’t know how to be a husband and father, think about what we’ve already done together.”

  His gaze found hers again, and he cocked his head. “Go on.”

  “Every time I thought the worst had passed the other night, that the nightmare was over, something else would happen. Susan showed up with a gun. Then her father did. I didn’t know what to do, how to get us out of the pickle we were in, but I had faith. Between us, we got through it. We survived by working together, and the bad guys were caught.” She paused, frowning. “They were all caught, right? The whole mess at the diner is over. We don’t have to worry about anyone else popping out of the shadows?”

  Jonah nodded. “The four at the diner were arrested and taken in for questioning. Farrout and Pulliam, hoping to buy lighter sentences, started singing like birds. Names, addresses, the works. As we speak, the rest of Frank’s cronies are being rounded up.” He nodded. “It’s really over.”

  Relief washed through her, and she closed her eyes, replaying the moment the police had swarmed the diner. One face in particular stood out. “The smarmy businessman,” she mumbled. She jerked her gaze back to Jonah. “Joseph Nance? He’d been in the diner before. I recognized him, because he’d watched me so close every time he came in, it gave me the creeps.”

  “Hardin had contacted him but had been really vague about what he wanted with the police. So Nance got suspicious when Hardin was murdered. He’d started his own investigation by the time I called him.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “So that’s how the cops knew what was happening last night? Somehow I didn’t think that was coincidence.”

  “Naw. After going through Hardin’s files, I decided it was time to bring in the authorities. I called Joseph Nance, showed him what we had, and we made a plan. I was wearing a mic last night. They heard everything and knew when to step in.” He paused. “Detective Nance has offered me a job with the Lagniappe P.D.”

  Annie caught her breath. “Will you take it?”

  He nodded. “I plan to.”

  Annie sank back in her pillows, digesting it all. “I guess all this means I’m out of a job, though.” She chewed her lip, wondering how she’d make ends meet now.

  “Think of this as opportunity knocking. You can do whatever you want with your life, Annie.”

  She curled her fingers into the sheet, letting her deepest desires filter to the light. “Ginny told me once the women’s center offers scholarships for women who want to finish their education. Maybe I’ll go back to college. The local university has a student worker program and family housing I can look into.”

  Jonah smiled. “I like that plan.”

  One problem had been resolved, but the greater threat to her happiness remained.

  “Jonah,” she started again carefully, her heart rising to her throat. She had to convince him their love was worth taking a risk. “Considering all we’ve been through already, how can you doubt our ability to make a marriage work? And I say our ability for a reason. Because you won’t be alone anymore. We’ll be a team.”

  Jonah caught his breath, and she saw warmth flash in his eyes, chasing away some of the shadows darkening his expression. The seed of hope in her chest planted roots.

  He rose from the chair and sat on the edge of her bed. He stroked her face gently and held her gaze. “We do make a good team.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “I know the idea of family brings back painful memories, but I want to be there to help you face down those ghosts from your past...if you’ll let me.”

  He answered her by kissing her palm.

  Encouraged, she forged on, “I know that our life together will have bumps and potholes along the way, problems to overcome. Every marriage does. But last night—for the past several weeks, in fact—we’ve met every challenge we faced together and seen it through. We can do the same as a family, no matter what life throws at us.”

  He leaned close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Last night when Susan had that gun on you, I was terrified she’d hurt you and I’d lose you. Then I realized I’d already lost you, because I’d let fear rule my heart instead of my love for you, and I was ashamed of myself.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “You deserve so much more.”

  She tensed. “Jonah, don’t let fear keep you from being part of our family. I’ve seen how you are with my children. You’re kind and gentle and protective, but you’re also appropriately firm and instructive when you need to be. You have good instincts with them. You know what they need to hear to ease their fears without misleading them. The fact that you knew they needed you last night more than I did speaks volumes to me. You put them first. Trust those instincts, and you’ll be a wonderful father.”

  He dragged a crooked finger along her jaw. “I know you’re probably right, I...just have to sort some things out.”

  Annie stroked his face. “Jonah, what...what more do you need to know?”

  He squeezed her hand, and the vulnerability that flickered in his gaze stole her breath.

  “Only that you trust me.”

  She knitted her brow, concerned where Jonah was leading. “You know I do.”

  “Good. Then rest now.” He kissed her lightly and backed away from the bed. “And know that I love you.”

  * * *

  A few weeks later, Annie was putting the final touches on her hair, clipping the strands away from her face the way Jonah liked it, when she heard the doorbell.

  “It’s Jonah!” Haley squealed as she sped past the bathroom door.

  Down the hall, Annie heard Jonah greet her daughter and son, and her heart gave a little kick. Quickly she snapped her hair clip in place and smoothed her hands down her slacks before hurrying to join her kids and Jonah.

  When she rounded the corner to her living room, Jonah swept an appreciative gaze over her and smiled brightly. “Hello, gorgeous.”

  “You’re early,” she said with a teasing scowl.

  “I couldn’t wait any longer to see you again. And I had a surprise for you that wouldn’t keep.”

  “A surprise?” She noticed for the first time that he held one hand behind his back. Visions of boxed chocolate or cut flowers tickled her imagination. She lifted the corner of her mouth. “Do tell.”

  “I hope you like it.” Jonah drew a deep breath and produced from behind him...a kitten.

  Haley cheered. Ben giggled. “Kitty!”

  Annie gaped, and Jonah flashed her a devilish grin. “Way I see it, every new family should have a pet.”

  Ignoring the children’s outstretched and eager hands, he stepped closer to Annie and settled the tiny black-and-white tabby in her arms. Pinlike claws dug into her blouse, and a sweet fuzzy face peered up at her. Annie’s heart melted. “She’s precious, but—”

  “No buts. You said you wanted a cat someday. When you were safe from Walt, and your life calmed down, and your future looked bright.” He brushed his fingers along her cheek and lowered his voice. “I know you were hoping for a ring, but...for now, will April do?”

  “April?”

  “That’s what I’ve been calling the cat...to mark the month we started our new life with our new family.” Jonah’s eyes glowed with warmth and love. “A token of my promise to be the best husband and father I can.”

  She wrapped an arm around Jonah’s neck and kissed him soundly on the lips. When Haley reached for the kitten, Annie surrendered the fuzz ball to her daughter’s hands. “Gently, Hal. She’s just a baby.”

  “I’m gonna call her Pookie,” Haley cooed as she rocked the kitten in her arms.

  “Pookie?” Jonah pulled a face.

  Annie laughed as tears of joy sprang to her eyes. “Pookie, April, whatever... I love my surprise. And I love you, Jonah. You helped me find myself when I was lost.”

  Jonah drew her into the circle of his arms, smiling warmly. “And you gave me the courage to cl
aim a new family when I was drifting and alone.”

  “So are we partners? Can we tackle the future as a team?”

  “You’ve got a deal.” Joy lit Jonah’s eyes, and he rested his forehead on Annie’s. “Welcome to someday.”

  * * * * *

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  Chapter 1

  The Wyoming woods atop the tall mountains that cradled the town of Cold Plains were just beginning to take on a fall cast of color. This worked perfectly with the camouflage long-sleeved T-shirt and pants that Micah Grayson wore as he made his way through the thick brush and trees.

  Although a gun holster rode his shoulder, he held his gun tight in his hand. Despite the fact that he had only been hiding out in the mountainous woods for two days and nights, he’d quickly learned that danger could come in the blink of an eye, a danger that might require the quick tic of his index finger on the trigger.

  Twilight had long ago fallen but a near-full moon overhead worked as an additional enemy when it came to using the shield of darkness for cover.

  As an ex-mercenary, Micah knew how to learn the terrain and use the weather to his advantage. He knew how to keep the reflection of the moonlight off his skin so as not to alert anyone to his presence. He could move through a bed of dry leaves and not make a sound. He could be wearing a black suit in a snowstorm and still figure out a way to become invisible.