Pass Protection (Fair Catch Series, Book Five)

by Christine Kersey

  Olivia’s throat ached and her eyes felt like someone had pinned them closed. And her head. Why was someone jabbing an ice pick into her brain?

  Then it all came rushing back. Eddie holding her captive. Her saying things to rile him. Him choking the very life out of her. Her believing she was going to die. Why was she still alive? Why had he stopped?

  Using all the willpower she could muster, she forced her eyes to open. Ponytail was kneeling on the floor, talking to the man who had driven them there, saying something about Eddie bleeding out.

  What had happened? Who had shot Eddie? Had she done it? She remembered thinking she wanted to. But she didn’t have a gun. At least not that she remembered. Did she have amnesia again? Had she shot him and then forgotten?

  Did it even matter? The important thing was that he’d stopped strangling her, right?

  “I’ll find him,” Ponytail said, his voice filled with rage as he stood.

  Find who? Oh. So it wasn’t her. Someone else had shot Eddie. Who was it?

  Though unsure what was going on, Olivia knew one thing. Eddie was down and the other men were distracted.

  Olivia grabbed her crutches, which were on the floor beside the couch, then slid her feet to the floor before pushing herself into a sitting position. Dizziness swept over her and she bowed her head and closed her eyes as she waited for it to pass. After a moment, it did.

  Ponytail looked right at her. “Stay there.” Then, with his gun drawn, he walked to her left as if he was going to look behind the couch where she sat.

  What if the person who shot Eddie was behind the couch? Would Ponytail shoot him? What if Ponytail killed that person? What would happen to her? Would she be next?

  Terrified, she watched Ponytail as he reached the end of the couch. Then she heard a sound to her right. Swiveling her head in that direction, to her utter shock she saw Greg. He was crouched at the end of the couch.

  He was all right! But what was he doing there? And why was he hiding next to the couch?

  Their eyes met, and Olivia’s lips parted. She wanted to fling herself at him, tell him she loved him. Then it hit her. Greg was the one who had shot Eddie. Greg had stopped him from choking the life out of her. Greg had saved her. Even though he didn’t know she’d remembered him, remembered her love for him, he’d risked everything to save her.

  And now Ponytail was about to find him. And he’d shoot him right in front of her.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  A bolt of panic shot down Olivia’s spine.

  She couldn’t let Ponytail kill Greg. She had to stop him.

  Her gaze darted to the other man. He was still kneeling over Eddie, pressing his hands to Eddie’s chest. Trying to stop the bleeding.

  It was up to her. She had to distract Ponytail, stop him from finding Greg.

  “What’s going on?” she called out, though her voice was scratchy. “What happened?”

  “Quiet,” Ponytail snapped.

  Pushing herself to her feet, she balanced on her crutches. “What are you doing? Are you looking for someone?”

  He swung his gun around and aimed it at her. “Shut. Up.”

  The sight of the gun’s black barrel pointing right at her sent her heart climbing into her throat. Her mouth slammed closed and her eyes went wide.

  “Don’t talk to my wife that way,” Greg said, now standing at the end of the couch, his gun pointed at Ponytail.

  Ponytail shifted the aim of his gun to Greg.

  Olivia looked between Greg and Ponytail, and then her gaze shot to the man hovering over Eddie. The man who now was slowly standing as he drew his weapon.

  What was Greg doing? They were outgunned. Was he crazy?

  “Get behind me, Olivia,” Greg said, his voice low and firm.

  As fast as she could, she crutched her way to Greg, her heart bursting with love for him, although fear that something would happen to him was swiftly taking over all of her thoughts.

  “Drop the gun, Greg,” Ponytail said. He glanced toward the other man. “You’re outnumbered.”

  “Not gonna happen,” Greg said, his gun still pointed at Ponytail.

  Terrified that they’d both end up dead, Olivia used the crutches to balance herself while pressing her cheek against Greg’s back.

  The door to the warehouse banged open.

  “FREEZE!”

  Olivia couldn’t believe it. Men in SWAT gear poured into the warehouse. How had they known to come? How had they known where to find them?

  Then she knew. Greg had told them.

  Ponytail’s gun clattered to the floor followed by the gun held by the other man. Greg dropped his as well.

  The SWAT team swarmed over them, but they seemed to know that Greg and Olivia were the innocent people in the group. Maybe they recognized Greg from the Vipers. Olivia didn’t care, as long as they understood that she and Greg were not the bad guys.

  Ponytail and the other man were cuffed and hauled out of the warehouse.

  “Ma’am,” one of the officers said to Olivia. “Are you injured?”

  Overcome with relief, she stifled a laugh. “I broke my ankle earlier this week.” Then, while leaning on her crutches, she reached for her throat with one hand while pointing to Eddie with the other. “But he choked me until I passed out.” Tears rushed into her eyes as the memory clamped down on her. “I thought I was going to die.”

  Greg drew her into his arms and she lay her head against his chest, secure in the knowledge that he would do anything for her. He’d told her he had her back and he’d shown that he did. Her heart nearly exploded with love for him.

  The officer looked at Greg. “You shot him?”

  “Yeah. To stop him from strangling my wife. And from shooting me.”

  The officer nodded, then he looked at the paramedics who had entered the warehouse after they’d been given the all-clear. They were now kneeling beside Eddie. The officer called to one of the men, who looked at him and shook his head.

  Eddie was dead?

  Shocked, yet also relieved, Olivia didn’t know what to say, what to think.

  He’d killed a man. The thought made him sick. Yes, Eddie was an evil person who the world was better off without, but Greg didn’t want to be the one responsible for taking him out. But if he hadn’t shot him, Olivia would be dead. His sweet wife, the woman he loved with all of his soul. If taking Eddie’s life was what it had taken to save hers, then he wouldn’t allow himself to have regrets. He couldn’t.

  He watched as the paramedics checked Olivia’s neck and throat. She insisted that she’d be fine, that she didn’t need to go with them. That she just wanted to go home.

  Greg intended to get her out of there as soon as he could.

  “Sir,” the officer said. “We’ll need to get statements from both you and your wife.”

  “Of course.” He thought about Tom, hog-tied by the side of the road. “There’s another man you’ll want to arrest.” Then, without going into details of what had happened, Greg told him about Tom and where to find him.

  The officer told two of his men to pick Tom up, then he turned back to Greg and Olivia. “We’d like those statements asap.”

  “That’s fine, but first I’m gonna take my wife home so she can rest.”

  The officer allowed them to leave. Greg had Olivia wait by the door while he jogged to where he’d parked his car and drove it back to pick her up.

  When they got in the car, Olivia took his hand in hers. Pleased that she was making that move, he hoped that he’d proven to her how much he loved her, and that despite her not remembering him, that she would want to stay with him.

  On the drive home, Greg noticed Olivia twisting her hands in her lap and he wondered what was on her mind. Though he wanted to take her hand, he needed both hands to drive since his Ferrari had a manual transmission. Instead, he got them home as fast as he could.

  “Greg,” she said when he pulled into the garage, her eyes soft. “I have something to tell you.” />
  “What?”

  She smiled. “Let’s go inside.”

  At the look on her face, his hopes soared that it was good news. “All right.” He helped her out of his car and they made their way into the house.

  “Can we sit out back?”

  “Of course.”

  It was evening, and though it was still light out, the temperature had cooled and it was pleasant.

  When they were seated side by side on the back patio, the lake spread out below them, Greg took her hands in his. Before she told him what was on her mind, he had to make something clear. “I want you to know something.”

  Her blue eyes shone with emotion. “What?”

  “When I saw Eddie attacking you…” The image of Eddie leaping onto Olivia and throttling her was burned into Greg’s mind, and when he recalled it, the feeling of horror washed over him again. He shook his head. “I just…I couldn’t imagine my life without you.” He swallowed over the knot in his throat. “I know you don’t…don’t remember me or our marriage, but I want you to know that I love you more than words can say. I always have and I always will.” He paused. “I hope you’ll…well, that you’ll give me a chance to prove it to you.”

  Olivia’s heart couldn’t have been any fuller. Despite believing that she didn’t remember him, he was willing to do so much for her, risk his life for her. He really was the man of her dreams. And he was her husband, already bound to her. And she was bound to him. Now it was time to tell him.

  “Greg.” Her lips curved into a radiant smile and Greg’s heart hitched with overwhelming love. “I remember.”

  Did she mean what he desperately hoped she meant? Could it be possible?

  “What do you remember?” he asked, tamping down his deepest wish to avoid having it dashed.

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Everything. I remember everything.”

  Cautiously optimistic, he waited for her to explain.

  “When you told me I’m your everything,” she said, “it all came back. All of it. You. Us.” Her eyes filled with tears. “How much I love you.”

  Could it be true? At the look on her face, he knew it was.

  Soul-searing joy burned into his heart. She remembered him! He was hers and she was his. They had weathered a devastating storm, but they had survived and they were stronger for it.

  Cupping her face with his hands, he gently kissed her lips. “I love you so much.”

  Overcome with emotion, Olivia gazed into Greg’s love-filled eyes. She had no doubt that he loved her completely, and knowing that took away all the pain and all the fear of what they’d been through.

  “I love you,” she whispered, then she leaned against him, and when he put his arms around her, she closed her eyes, savoring the knowledge that they had the rest of their lives to show each other just how deeply their love ran, how much they would do for each other, and how much they meant to each other.

  He was her world and she knew she was his, and she knew it would always be that way.

  Epilogue

  Three Months Later

  “I have to admit,” Olivia said as she rode next to Greg in his SUV. “I’m pleasantly surprised.”

  His mouth tugged up in a half-smile. “Me too. But you need to have faith in her.”

  “I know.”

  Olivia stared out the window, a smile on her face. They were on their way home after visiting her mother in rehab. After they’d given their statements explaining exactly what had led to Eddie being shot and killed, Greg and Olivia had been cleared of any wrongdoing, and once Olivia’s mother had agreed to go to rehab—something she wanted to do anyway—she hadn’t been charged with a crime. The fact that there was no evidence against her probably had something to do with that as well.

  Her mother was doing better than she’d ever done before and Olivia had complete confidence that she’d be able to stay clean this time. In fact, that very day she’d earned her three month sobriety coin.

  “Thank you for agreeing to pay for her rehab,” Olivia said. “Especially after all she put us through.”

  He chuckled. “It was a lot less than the five hundred grand Eddie wanted. Anyway, she’s family. Of course we’re gonna help her.”

  Olivia grinned. “I still can’t believe you head butted that guy into submission and got away.”

  Giving her a sideways glance, he said, “You think it’s hot, don’t you?”

  She laughed. “Okay. Yeah. The fact that you were my knight in shining armor does make my heart go pitter-patter.”

  Greg smiled. “That’s why I did it.”

  Becoming serious, Olivia said, “I’m just grateful you found me when you did.” The memory of that day still haunted her, but when her thoughts went to what could have happened, she reminded herself of what did happen and light flooded her soul, chasing away the shadows.

  Greg reached out and took Olivia’s hand, glancing at her as he drove. “I am too. You’ll never know how much.” His lips curved into a smile. “And there you were, standing on those crutches, ready to take on the world.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “Those crutches.” Her ankle was still healing—it would take months to get fully back to normal. But she’d graduated from the boot to walking in normal shoes, although it would be a while before she’d be able to wear heels again.

  “And when your memory returned?” Greg shook his head. “It was more than I’d dared hope for.”

  She completely understood, because when she thought of how she’d lost all those years, all those precious memories, her heart stuttered with a feeling of frustration and loss. “You’re just saying that because you didn’t want to have to woo me all over again.”

  He laughed, a hearty, joy-filled laugh. “That’s right, beautiful lady, because I wanted to get right to the good stuff.”

  Grinning, Olivia said, “Good stuff? What do you mean?”

  “You know. Where you woo me—cook my meals, give me back rubs. And kisses. Lots and lots of kisses.”

  “I don’t know about the first two things, but I agree the kissing is nice.”

  At that, they arrived at their house, and once they reached the front door, Greg scooped her into his arms.

  Squealing with delight, Olivia said, “What are you doing?”

  Greg nuzzled her ear. “Just carrying my wife across the threshold. You know, today is the first day of the rest of our lives. And I don’t intend to waste a single minute.”

  Throwing her arms around his neck, Olivia breathed in the familiar scent of him, then held on as he carried her inside, eager to spend the rest of her life making him as happy as he made her.

  Thank you for reading Greg and Olivia’s story. The next book in the Fair Catch Series is Game On. To read the first chapter of Game On, turn the page. To get your copy of Game On now, click HERE.

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  Game On Chapter 1

  “Slow down,” Brielle said to the cream-colored Golden Retriever at the end of the leash she gripped with both hands.

  Luna ignored her, pulling hard as she sniffed everything in her path.

  They were at the park near the small apartment Brielle shared with her best friend Cara, and as Brielle blew a wayward strand of hair off of her forehead, she wondered if taking Cara’s beloved dog on a walk while Cara was at work had been such a good idea after all.

  It’s not that she didn’t love dogs—she did. Luna in particular
. It was just that she knew she should be spending every spare minute looking for a job. It was bad enough that the company where she’d been a receptionist had gone under without warning two weeks before, but if she didn’t come up with money for her share of the rent—which was due that very day—she would be forced to move out. Cara couldn’t afford the rent on her own, and Brielle didn’t want to be dead weight. Her savings weren’t exactly robust, and though she’d gone on two interviews, no job offers had come her way.

  Even when she was employed she lived paycheck to paycheck. Now the little money in her bank account was rapidly running out. To stretch it she’d decided to end the one luxury she’d been indulging in—getting her nails done every two weeks. The sad state of her nails could attest to that. And she’d stopped going out to eat as well. There wasn’t much else she could cut. Yes, she could sell her car, but it wasn’t worth much, and she needed a reliable form of transportation to get around Sacramento.

  Sighing with a mix of despair and frustration, she plodded on, wondering why she’d decided to take Luna on a walk in the afternoon. The heat of the August day was stifling. But she knew why. She needed a break from the desperation she was feeling. Better yet, she needed a vacation—from her worries. Shaking her head, she shoved down the sad laughter that wanted to erupt. A vacation was the last thing she could afford.

  With every step she took, the desperation she’d felt earlier notched higher and higher. If she didn’t get a phone call with a job offer in the next thirty minutes, she would have to tell Cara to find a new roommate. Not a great way to start the weekend. But hey, maybe Cara would have time to help her pack.

  Sighing in despair, Brielle did her best to control Luna as they marched along the pathway while at the same time thinking about what would happen if she had to move out. She would have to move in with her mom, that’s what. Something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Not only had she lived on her own for five years—since she was nineteen—but she knew her mom was barely making ends meet herself. Besides, she loved her independence and was loathe to give it up. Not to mention that her mom lived in Colorado. California was Brielle’s home now. In love with the sunny days and warm weather, she had zero desire to live in the snow ever again.