Tate lunged forward. “No!”
Natalia squared her aim, and Liberty saw it coming.
Tate was right in the line of fire.
Natalia fired, but Liberty was already moving. She grabbed Tate and twisted him, swinging him to the side in midair.
The bullet hit her side, almost to her back.
They hit the ground.
Tate rolled, but Liberty couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe.
“Police, freeze!”
“Drop the gun! I said, drop it!”
“Hands up.”
“Federal agents!”
Liberty blinked and looked up at the ceiling, cobwebs in the corners. Her chest hitched with every breath as her body fought against the pain of movement.
Tate’s face came into view. “Liberty.” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “Why did you do that?”
She fought for breath, but it hurt. It hurt so badly.
“No, no. Just hold on, okay? We’ll get you out of here.”
“Tate!” Braden was alive?
“Somebody help!” Tate’s roar made her flinch. He saw it and touched her cheeks. “Everything is okay, just hold on.”
Liberty didn’t think everything was okay. But all she could say was, “Missed you.”
And then everything went black.
TWENTY
Tate sat in the chair, ate in the chair and slept in the chair until she woke up. The only break he’d taken was for the doctor to check him out. He’d jarred his head in the fall and then blubbered like a baby in front of basically everyone he knew until the ambulance doors closed.
Then it had been all about work until he could get to the hospital.
He’d almost collapsed when he walked through the door, but Dane had been there to catch him. Tate’s name had been cleared, and Dane had given back his badge. It was more of a symbolic move than anything else, but he’d been given back his position again and the respect that came with it.
Now all he needed was for Liberty to wake up.
Tate couldn’t believe she’d taken a bullet for him. He was the one who was supposed to have been protecting her, and there she went throwing herself in harm’s way to protect him. And it could have killed her. So easily.
He looked at her, lying in that bed. Pale face. Wires. Tubes. The steady beep of her heart on the monitor.
He didn’t know whether to throttle her for what she’d done, or just be extremely grateful.
If she let him, Tate intended on spending the rest of his life showing her how grateful he was. They’d proven they were miserable apart. And they’d proven they were a great team together.
Liberty had broken up with him because she loved him so much.
And because she loved him that much, Tate was never going to let her go.
* * *
Liberty swam to the surface of consciousness. Her body was numb, and not in a way she liked. Breath hissed from her mouth, and she heard someone say, “Uh-oh.”
Liberty blinked, and Tate’s face swam into view.
“You’re mad.”
Her thoughts coalesced like puzzle pieces, but she couldn’t see the image yet.
“You’re going to drive the nurses crazy, aren’t you?” That smile. She’d always loved his smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything is good. You just worry about getting better.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and Liberty slipped back into sleep.
* * *
Tate watched her eyes flutter, and then open. She’d woken up several times, but hadn’t spoken yet. Unless he counted the meds-induced babbling that made no sense. Although it had been interesting when she talked about how cute he was.
He smiled to himself as she came to, wondering if this would be the time he’d be able to tell her everything that had happened since she’d been shot.
“Hey.” Her eyes shut for a couple of seconds, then opened again.
“Hey.” Tate settled on the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Weird.”
He nodded. “They moved you from ICU to a regular room. You’re out of the woods, but it cost you your spleen.”
“I never liked that thing anyway.”
Tate smiled. “I love you. I’m glad you’re back.”
“So am I.”
He meant more than she probably knew. Not just the fact that she was awake, but that she was back in his life as well.
But he didn’t talk about that now. He gave her a drink of water, and the nurse got the doctor. They checked her out. Progression would be slow, but it would be evident. She wasn’t supposed to move a lot, or get stressed out. Just rest.
Tate nodded. “I’ll make sure she does.”
Liberty shot him a look, which he ignored. When the doctor left, she looked at him. He ignored that as well. “Want to hear what has happened?”
She scrunched up her nose, but he could see in her eyes that she wanted to talk about something else.
Tate started in anyway. “Braden explained what the Russians and the Venezuelans had been into. A big deal, monumentally big, actually. The Russians had been hired to safely get a container full of guns and drugs across the border. There was money and diamonds. But it gets worse. When we seized it, in conjunction with the DEA and state police, we found four girls and a boy in there as well. Hidden behind all the stuff.” His voice hitched. “Just kids.” That had been the hardest part, even given the victory of being able to rescue those missing children and start the process of returning them to their homes.
He went on, “The truck was leaving the country, bound for a plane just over the Canadian border, where the Venezuelans were going to transport all that stuff back home. The ransom demand for their man to be released from prison was supposed to be part of it, and when the feds rounded up everyone at my house, they were seriously mad that hadn’t happened. Of course, Natalia didn’t care, she just lawyered up and started naming names to get a lighter sentence.”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure it’s going to happen, when she orchestrated the hijacking of a plane transporting federal employees.”
Liberty said, “Wow.”
He nodded. “It was a victory for sure, and we have everyone involved. It’s going to take the Secret Service, DEA and state police some time to unpack it all, but it’s over.”
She bit her lip. “What about Braden?”
“Natalia threatened to kill him,” Tate said. “He’s talking to the US Attorney about a deal to get him and Tasha into witness protection.”
“But you’ll never see them again.”
Tate took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “But they’ll be safe.”
“Tate.”
He looked up. “Kids or no kids, I’m not going to let you walk out of my life.”
“I can’t walk, Tate. I’m in a hospital bed.”
He didn’t smile. “You know what I mean. We’re a great team, and we never stopped loving each other.”
“I love you, Tate. That’s never changed.”
“I’m going to be here until the day they let you go, and then I’m going to take you back to DC. We’ll make this work, Lib. Because I can’t bear thinking about the alternative. It’ll be worse than this past year.” He paused. “I love you so much. I want us to be together, and I’ll do whatever I have to to make that happen.”
“And if I was to resign from the Secret Service and join your private protection team?”
“You want to take the job?”
“I want to be where you are. And you love it here.”
He nodded. “I do. But I want to be where you are as well.”
“Good.” She tugged on his hand with her good one until he leaned down a
nd she lifted her chin. Tate kissed her gently, but for a long time.
“Good.” He smiled. “And I had Alana get something for me while you were out.” Tate stuck his fingers in his jeans pocket and pulled out the now-warm metal, which had been in his dresser drawer. He held up the engagement ring he’d given her the first time.
“Marry me, Lib. Again.”
“Again?” Her lips twitched.
He laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll marry you every time.”
“Whatever happens, whatever the future holds,” he said, “I don’t want to face it without you.”
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this book, look for the other titles by Lisa Phillips, including:
HOMEFRONT DEFENDERS
SECURITY DETAIL
DEAD END
SUDDEN RECALL
EASY PREY
Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from A KILLER CHRISTMAS by Lenora Worth. Book One in the CLASSIFIED K-9 UNIT CHRISTMAS anthology.
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Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for journeying with me through the craziness of Tate’s and Liberty’s lives. So often we feel like we’re not worthy, but thank God that He shows us our worth to Him with His amazing gift of grace and forgiveness—and His son.
My prayer for you is that you understand the richness of His love toward you, and open your life to see that love displayed in the many ways God blesses us.
I hope you’ll join me for future books! In the meantime, you can check out my other books at www.authorlisaphillips.com and contact me there as well. You can also write to me c/o Love Inspired Books, 24th Floor, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
God bless you richly,
Lisa
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A Killer Christmas
Book One of Classified K-9 Unit Christmas Anthology
by Lenora Worth
ONE
The full moon grinned down on her with a wintry smile. FBI Tactical K-9 Unit Agent Nina Atkins held on to the leash and kept an eye on the big dog running with her. Sam loved being outside, no matter the weather, no matter the crunch of snow underneath his paws. The three-year-old K-9 rottweiler, a smart but gentle giant that specialized in cadaver detection, had no idea that most humans were terrified of him. Especially the criminal kind.
Tonight, however, they weren’t looking for criminals. Nina was just out for a nice run and then home to a long, hot shower. Two weeks before Christmas, and after a harrowing year where one of their own had gone bad and lost his life, thankfully all was quiet around the Billings, Montana, FBI Tactical K-9 Unit headquarters. Special Agent in Charge Max West would be back before Christmas, but right now he was taking some time off with his bride, Katerina. Even tech wiz Dylan O’Leary had taken a few days away to spend some time with the parents of his wife, Zara. So many of her friends and fellow agents had fallen in love lately, Nina’s head was spinning. Which was probably why she’d felt the need for a quick run. She lived for her work. No time for romance. Okay, maybe she’d just given up on a love life since her last brief relationship had fizzled out like a mountain stream in a serious drought.
Nina lived about twenty miles from downtown Billings, in the quaint town of Iris Rock. Regardless of her single status, she loved going on these nightly runs through the quiet foothills near the Elk Basin.
“C’mon, Sam,” Nina said now, her nose cold. “Just around the bend and then we’ll cool down on the way home.”
Sam woofed in response, comfortable in his own rich brown fur. But instead of moving on, the big dog came to an abrupt halt that almost threw Nina right over his broad body.
“Sam?”
The rottweiler glanced back at her with his work expression. What kind of scent had he picked up?
Then she heard something.
“I don’t know anything. Please, don’t do this.”
Female. Youngish voice. Scared and shaky.
Giving Sam a hand signal to stay quiet, Nina moved from the narrow gravel jogging path to the snow-covered woods, each footstep slow and calculated. Sam led the way, as quiet as a desert rat.
“I need the key. The senator said you’d give it to me.”
Nina and Sam hid behind a copse of trees and dead brambles and watched the two figures a few yards away, standing in an open spot.
A big, tall man was holding a gun on a young woman with long dark hair. The girl was sobbing and wringing her hands out, palms up. Nina recognized that defensive move.
Was he going to shoot her?
Then Nina noticed something else.
A shallow, open pit right behind the girl. Could that be a newly dug grave?
Nina didn’t stop to ponder that question, but she knew to be careful, too. Giving Sam another “quiet” signal, she called out, “Hey, everything okay here?”
The girl gasped and stared at her with fear-filled eyes, but stayed frozen to the spot.
The man turned to face her. Nina used a hand signal to allow Sam to bark, hoping to distract the man so the girl could run. The dog did his job, his ferocious bark echoing loudly out over the winter woods. Since she didn’t have her weapon, Sam was Nina’s only hope right now in stopping the girl from getting shot. That could give her time to call for help.
The man stared at Nina, giving her a good view of his face in the eerie white light from the moon. He shot at her and just missed, and then pivoted back toward the girl, weapon in hand. Sam kept barking. The man looked panicked, so Nina motioned the rottweiler forward, all the while taking in the assailant’s appearance.
The big dog growled, but stopped when she signaled him. “My dog is trained to attack,” she said. “You should drop that gun now.”
The man shook his head and raised the gun, but Nina signaled Sam again. The animal danced and barked, causing a panicked expression on the man’s face. He started backing away, but in a lightning-fast move, pivoted and took one quick shot at the girl.
She screamed, grabbed at her shoulder and fell into the open pit behind her as the gunman disappeared into the woods.
Sam kept barking, eager for some action.
Nina pulled out her phone and hurriedly called in the crime, describing the scene and her location. “Suspect somewhere in the Iris Rock woods just off the Eastern trail.”
Jumping down
into the pit, she breathed a sigh of relief. The girl was still alive, though her pulse was weak. Nina almost sent Sam after the man, but instead ordered him to guard in case the killer came back. Because Nina knew in her gut that he would return. She hoped by then she’d have backup.
She’d need it, and she’d need to pray for protection. He’d left his victim alive, and the girl had seen his face. So had Nina. She and Sam had surprised the man and thrown him off guard long enough to defuse the situation. And because of that, he’d probably come back for all of them.
* * *
US Deputy Marshal Thomas Grant brought his big Chevy pickup to a halt just off the edge of the woods. Something was certainly going on. Several police cars and a few big black SUVs sat caddy-cornered off the narrow road ahead, lights flashing to warn any passersby. Official-looking people milled around, some dressed in black and wearing FBI vests. A couple officers had K-9s with them, sniffing here and there.
He decided to investigate, because his gut told him this was more than a traffic stop or an accident. This looked like an all-out manhunt in progress.
Dressed in civilian clothes as he was, he pulled out his ID as soon as he climbed from the truck, and flashed it at the first officer he came into contact with.
“What are you doing here?” the young patrolman asked with a skeptical tone.
“Looking for a wanted man,” Thomas replied on a droll note. “He could be in these parts.”
The cop nodded and let him through.
Then Thomas spotted her.
A female wearing heavy jogging clothes and a bright purple wool hat hopped up out of a dark, six-foot-long hole in the snow-speckled ground. A big, fierce-looking dog met her and wagged his tail, while she held up her hands to show the crime scene techs what looked like dirt and blood.
Thomas watched as the woman talked to an officer, her hands lifted in the air. Then he glanced to where an ambulance had backed up into the woods. Two EMTs pushed a stretcher carrying a young woman hooked up to an IV toward the waiting bus.
Before he could announce his presence, the jogger glanced over at Thomas and stalked toward him. “May I ask what you’re doing here, Deputy Marshal?”
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