His hands ached from being tied behind his back, his knees were in his chest but he couldn’t bring himself to care about any of it.
Bliss had turned his fear into nothingness. But there was also clarity for the first time in a long time.
Funny how dying had a way of clearing away the cobwebs.
His thoughts went unerringly to Poppy.
He still loved her.
He’d never stopped.
It’s why he hadn’t been serious about anyone else since Poppy had left. He’d blamed it on the job but, honestly, he’d had plenty of opportunities to make something happen with someone else. The interest just hadn’t been there.
His ambition had been a convenient shield for the pain that he couldn’t forgive.
And now, he felt nothing.
No pain.
No worry.
No regret.
Just a blinding clarity that made him smile sluggishly.
Poppy had been The One.
And he’d probably always known that, but his stupid pride hadn’t allowed him to bare his soul and just admit his fear of losing her, whether it was to the job or to his own ego.
If he could do it all over again, he’d resist the urge to make demands for her safety; he’d ignore that wild fear of losing her and man up to support her when she’d needed it the most. He would’ve told her parents to shut the hell up, or at the very least, made sure Poppy knew that he didn’t agree with those idiots.
The fact that he’d sided with people he didn’t even like because of fear was embarrassing.
If given the chance, he’d tell Poppy what a moron he’d been to even suggest that she get a desk job.
And he’d spend every hour given to him to simply savor their time together.
But second chances were in small supply.
Especially when you’re stuffed in a drum about to meet your maker.
A drunken smile found his lips even though there was nothing funny about the situation.
There was no dignity in dying this way.
His only hope was that Poppy was okay. If he had to die but she got to live...that would make his death bearable.
As he drifted further down a black tunnel voices echoed around him.
Shots fired.
A scream.
Silence.
And then...there was truly silence.
Because Shaine was gone.
* * *
Miami PD, DEA and FBI flooded the warehouse. Mateo Hernandez went down by Ramirez’s hand, Poppy took out Raquel as she reached for her gun and then she punched Angelo out, the crunch of his nose under the butt of her gun very satisfying.
But she didn’t see Shaine.
She grabbed Angelo and shook him conscious again. “Where is he?” she yelled, shaking the shit out of the man.
Angelo just grinned a bloody smile and Poppy shoved him to the ground. The room was empty except for a drum in the corner.
No.
God. No.
She sprinted to the drum and struggled to yank the cover off. Shaine’s dark hair was matted to his head from sweat and he was crumpled in a heap at the bottom of the barrel.
Oh, my God!
Poppy yelled, “Help! Medic!”
Emergency personnel filed in and immediately began working to pull Shaine free.
He was too pale, too still.
Ramirez pulled Poppy away. “Let them do their work,” she urged, but Poppy didn’t want to leave Shaine’s side. Ramirez was more forceful. “Agent Jones, step away. You’re not helping him. You’re just in the way.”
Somehow Poppy managed to listen to Ramirez, but her eyesight was blurred. It took her a minute to realize she was crying.
“I should’ve realized something was wrong, something wasn’t right. I should’ve known that it was too easy,” she said, mostly rambling to herself, but she couldn’t stop. “I should’ve picked up on the signs that Stapp was dirty. How’d I miss it?”
“Stop!” Ramirez shook her hard. “Knock it off right now. Mistakes happen. People screw up. Stop carrying this on your shoulders. None of us saw it coming. Even the best people can miss clues.”
But that wasn’t a consolation.
Shaine was dying because she hadn’t seen the clues. She’d been too focused on her own issues to realize they were all being played.
“I lied when you asked if I could be objective on this case with him. I wanted to prove something. I was hellbent on showing Shaine that I could handle this job. My ego got in the way of the investigation and now Shaine might die because of my mistakes. You should’ve taken me off the case the minute you discovered we’d lied about knowing each other.”
Ramirez took a deep, steadying breath as she gripped Poppy’s shoulder. “Enough. He’s strong. He’s going to make it.”
Poppy had to cling to that assurance or else she might never pull herself together. As it was, she was already rambling, the fear of losing him all she could see or taste.
“I love him,” she choked out, finally saying the words out loud. “I’ll always love him.”
By Ramirez’s expression, she’d already figured that out.
Ramirez released her, saying, “When this is all said and done...you’re going to have some paperwork to fill out.”
Poppy didn’t have the strength to smile. Her gaze was on Shaine as they loaded him into the ambulance.
And then her gaze tracked to the officers taking Angelo into custody.
Her jaw hardened as her fist clenched.
The only thing she wished she’d done was put a bullet in that asshole’s face.
If Shaine died...she might do it, anyway.
CHAPTER 28
Shaine’s eyelids fluttered.
Sunshine filled the room.
His eyes adjusted slowly until he could make out the utilitarian forms of medical equipment.
Hospital, his brain supplied.
He wasn’t dead.
He slowly turned his head to see Poppy asleep in the chair beside him, looking as if she’d been sleeping in that chair for days, maybe even weeks.
It couldn’t have been weeks, but she looked rough.
Tears filled his eyes as he lifted his hand to clasp Poppy’s.
She awoke instantly.
“You’re awake,” she said, her voice raspy. Suddenly, tears filled her eyes, too. “Thank God, you’re awake.”
“How long have you been sitting there?”
“It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t leaving.”
Warmth filled his heart. She hadn’t left his side. That meant more than he could articulate. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’ll never leave your side again.”
He blinked back tears, her answer cracking his heart in two. “I shouldn’t have made you leave.”
Poppy kissed him gingerly as if he might break, but her hands were trembling as she held his face. “Never again,” she promised through her tears. “Never again.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t support you when you needed it,” he said, his voice rough.
“Stop,” Poppy pleaded, smiling even as she cried. “I understand it now. That fear of losing the very person you would do anything for...it takes over your brain. I would do anything to keep you safe. Even if that meant doing something stupid. Knowing you almost died... I understand why you did what you did. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same.”
“Are you going to ask me to get a desk job?” he joked weakly.
“Tempting.” Poppy laughed, wiping away her tears. “But I know that you behind a desk would drive everyone crazy. So...no, I would never ask that of you.”
Shaine swallowed the lump in his throat. The love he felt for this woman was bigger than anything he could possibly put into words.
“And I’ll never make the foolish mistake of asking it of you ever again,” he said.
“Sounds like a deal,” Poppy said, then whispered for his ears only. “Now, you need to focus on getting out of t
his hospital bed because I have plans for you, Kelly.”
He grinned, knowing exactly what she had in mind.
“You really know how to motivate a man, Agent Jones.”
Poppy smiled and Shaine let his eyes close.
Knowing that Poppy would be there when he woke up...that was true bliss.
* * *
“Angelo Costa struck a plea bargain,” Ramirez told Shaine and Poppy a few weeks later. “He’s turning over the details of the operation and testifying against Mateo Hernandez in exchange for a lesser sentence.”
“Disgusting little worm,” Shaine muttered, still not able to say Angelo’s name without wanting to curl his lip. “Prison time is too good for him.”
“Yeah, well, with that pretty face, I’m sure he’ll be popular in prison,” Ramirez said with a grim smile.
“Selena Hernandez was found not guilty of her brother’s crime. Apparently, she didn’t know anything about his extracurricular activities,” Ramirez said.
“So, in a way, your hunch was right,” Poppy said.
“Yeah, it was,” Ramirez said, proud. “I was worried I’d lost my touch. I knew something wasn’t right about them. Selena is distancing herself from her brother, trying to save her company from becoming contaminated by the stain of her brother’s actions.”
“Good luck with that,” Poppy quipped. “I don’t care what she says, I say she had to know.”
“Maybe, maybe not. She considered herself the alpha of that relationship,” Ramirez said.
“I still don’t understand why Capri was killed,” Poppy said. “Angelo said that Capri was messing around but with who?”
“Mateo swung both ways, but apparently, he took quite a shine to Capri. When he found out she was playing with others, he had Bear overdose her so it would look like an accident.”
“The prick,” Poppy growled. “I hope he becomes the belle of his prison block.”
Shaine grinned, sharing Poppy’s hope.
Ramirez added, “However, I think Shaine’s theory was correct in that Mateo was cleaning house. Eventually, he would’ve snipped that loose end either way. Capri was living on borrowed time, the poor kid.”
Poppy fell silent. Shaine reached for her hand beneath the table just so she would know that he understood.
“I know we can’t save everyone, but that one...will always be the one who haunts me,” Poppy admitted.
Ramirez surprised them both by saying, “We all have a Capri in our past. All we can do is try to learn from their loss.”
It was good advice. Capri would be Poppy’s Walter and she’d be a better agent for the sadness their loss left behind.
Ramirez paused and then said to Shaine and Poppy, “It was a pleasure to work with you on this case. I had my reservations, but you both proved that sharing a past doesn’t have to mean that it’s doomed to fail.”
Poppy smiled. “Thank you for taking a chance on us.”
Ramirez nodded and gathered up the final paperwork. “I’ll make sure Agent West is honored for his work on this case. His was the ultimate sacrifice.”
Shaine caught the bright sheen in Poppy’s gaze, but he was proud when she nodded stiffly, accepting Ramirez’s way of dealing with shared loss.
Shaine murmured, “He was a good agent. I wish I’d known him better.”
Poppy nodded and they both stood, shaking hands and preparing to close this chapter.
It was time to go home.
Together.
EPILOGUE
Shaine carried the last of Poppy’s boxes into the new house they’d purchased together and dropped onto the sofa alongside Poppy, exhausted but happy.
“You sure you’re not going to miss all that sunny California weather?” Shaine asked just as snow began to fall outside their window. “Just think, right now it’s probably a balmy seventy-five degrees in Los Angeles.”
Poppy shuddered. “No, I definitely won’t miss that. I like true seasons. And, to be honest, I really missed the snow.”
Although Shaine had been willing to relocate to Southern California, Poppy took a position with the Washington, DC, DEA office, which included a promotion and a raise.
“You missed bad driving, sloppy roads and shoveling driveways just so you can get to the mailbox?” he asked, not quite sure he bought that story.
“Okay, maybe I don’t miss that part,” she confessed, laughing. “But I did miss this.”
She snuggled up to Shaine, wrapping her arms around him. A fire danced in the fireplace and filled the small living room with cozy warmth.
They’d found the older home in an established neighborhood on the first day of house hunting. Shaine and Poppy had fallen in love the moment they saw it.
And to be honest, they would’ve been willing to pay more than the list price if pushed.
But they’d lucked out and the house was theirs after a short escrow.
“I missed this, too,” Shaine said. “I’ll even shovel the driveway if you promise not to be too harsh on my housecleaning skills.”
“Babe, I know you’re a slob and I still love you,” Poppy said, her eyes twinkling. “But I will take that deal, only because I like to watch you work up a sweat.”
“Oh, do you know, now?” Shaine leaned over to nuzzle her neck. “So what say you...should we christen the living room now or later?”
“Actually...I was thinking we should, you know, wait until we get married to seal the deal.”
“What?” Shaine drew up, his brow knitting. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Don’t you think it would be romantic to wait to make love until our wedding night?”
“That’s in three months,” Shaine groaned. “That’s inhuman.”
Poppy giggled and trailed her finger down his chest. “Oh, c’mon, it won’t be that bad... I said we couldn’t make love...but we could do other things...”
Shaine swallowed as he abruptly rose and pulled her into his arms.
“I’d do anything for you,” he said with all seriousness. “Even if it meant keeping my hands off my beautiful bride-to-be for three months.”
Poppy led him into their bedroom with a mischievous smile, saying, “We’ll see...”
And then the little vixen put him to the test in the sexiest way possible.
Shaine couldn’t wait to be married!
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781488005022
DEEP COVER
Copyright © 2016 by Kimberly Sheetz
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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