“Mr. Orr, thanks for coming over,” she said, as if they’d been lifelong friends. “We’ve been wanting to speak with you.”
“I’m not in the mood to talk, bitch.” He shoved Antonio forward with his gun. “I’m making a special delivery.”
“That so?” In her periphery, she saw her officers drawing away the bystanders a few at a time. “Please turn over your weapon,” she said. “It’s unlawful to fire a gun inside city limits.”
“Come on down and take him,” Orr shouted. “Wendy Paxton’s killer, ready to confess.”
“You can’t mean Mr. Ruiz.” She caught sight of Troy across the street, escorting one of their best marksmen, armed with a rifle, into city hall. She couldn’t let it get that far. “We have his prints on file and they are not a match to the evidence on Wendy Paxton’s body.”
“He did it.” He gave Antonio another little shove.
“Lower your weapon,” she directed, pulling her own gun. “Let Mr. Ruiz go. We can get to the bottom of this together.” She had a shot, as did several of her officers by now. “This is no way to resolve anything.”
“He’s been spreading lies about me. He killed Wendy and ran me out of town.”
“Okay. That’s upsetting.” She tilted her head. “Hey, is that the gun you used to fire at me on Saturday night?”
The tactic worked. Orr shifted to look at the weapon in his hand and she used the distraction to advance. He recovered quickly, though, raising the gun and taking aim at her.
Everyone moved at the same time. In a blink, Orr pulled the trigger while Antonio slammed into him and the bullet went wide, missing her and the glass doors, and lodging in the stone facade. He and Antonio were twisting around in the snow and the gun slid out of reach. Her officers closed in from both sides of the street, separating the men and guiding Antonio away.
Her heart had stalled during the scramble and seeing Antonio safe, she felt it beating again. The surge of relief would have brought her to her knees if she didn’t have unfinished business with Orr.
Someone collected the gun while others brought Orr under control. She walked over and snapped the cuffs on his wrists herself. “You are done.”
He screamed in outrage, making vile threats and promises of vengeance.
She let his anger roll over her, squeezed the cuffs another notch tighter as she stared him down. “Did you fire a weapon at me and Mr. Ruiz on Saturday night?”
“I was shooting at him,” he snarled, looking around for Antonio.
“Good start.” She stepped back, hands on her hips. “Did you try to run me over with a stolen truck?”
“Would’ve been two for one,” he said. “Ruiz and a cop for a spare.”
The spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth had her taking a half step back. “Did you kill Wendy Paxton?”
“Hell yes!” Orr shrieked.
“Take him to County,” she said.
The officers aimed him toward the patrol car that had just pulled up.
“She had it coming!” Orr did everything in his power to shake off the officers to no avail. “Cheating on me like that. She didn’t know anything.”
“County,” she repeated, turning away.
“You can’t hold me,” he screamed. “I have great lawyers. I’ll be out by dinner.” Orr laughed, and the maniacal sound slithered down her spine.
Why wreck his fantasy? They had him dead to rights for attempted murder today, and they would pile on with the other attempts he’d made on her life and Antonio’s. Wendy’s parents would have justice at last.
She started up the steps, baffled by the horror on the faces in front of her, when the sounds of a fight registered behind her. A grunt, a shouted warning and another gunshot.
Whirling around, Melissa saw one officer down, clutching his thigh, and Orr, hands cuffed, with a service weapon in his grasp, taking aim at her again. She fired, twice, center mass.
In slow motion, she watched the gun fall from his hand, watched the man crumple to the ground. Blood pooled under the lifeless body, following the bumpy pavement and staining the snow along the way.
Then, abruptly, the world snapped back to reality. She handed over her weapon, then let the paramedics confirm Orr’s demise and tend to her injured officer.
Orr was dead.
Given a choice, she would rather have Orr behind bars. She looked down at her empty hands, feeling utterly disconnected and slightly out of step with everyone around her. She’d shot him in self-defense, but it was more to protect her community than herself.
Reeling with a strange sadness, she instinctively looked for Antonio, but he was gone.
* * *
Antonio’s heart pounded against his ribs and his only coherent thought was to go to Melissa. He wanted to hold her until he was certain she was safe and whole. But she was surrounded by GGPD personnel and was being ushered away for whatever had to happen after an officer fired a gun.
In a fatality.
“Take it easy.” Troy guided him away from the scene, around the corner of city hall. “You’ll be able to see her soon,” the detective said.
“Should I give a statement?” He craned his neck, hoping to get a glimpse of Melissa. Surely with so many witnesses she wouldn’t be in trouble for taking lethal action. “She didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s why I’m here. For your statement. Relax, Antonio. Walk me through it.”
It took another few hard heartbeats to absorb the words, the meaning. He cleared his throat and explained how Orr had traded one hostage for Antonio at the hotel. “I saw Chief Colton do what was necessary to prevent further loss of life,” he said to finish. “Can I see her now?”
But he had to fill in more details as Troy questioned him, until finally the interview was complete.
“We appreciate your help,” Troy said. “You’ve been an asset to the department, to the chief in particular, and that helps all of us. Thank you again for helping us rescue my nephew.”
Antonio gave a nod, but trailed after Troy. “What happens next? For Melissa, I mean. They won’t force her out, will they?”
“Every officer-involved shooting is investigated and she’ll have to speak with a psychologist before she can return to duty.”
“But she’ll return?” Antonio couldn’t bear it if Orr killed her career. Melissa lived for the job, for the opportunity to serve the city and people she loved.
“I can’t just say yes, because we have to follow protocol,” Troy explained. “But the takedown was a group effort and there were plenty of witnesses to her necessary actions.”
Nothing he could do. The helplessness burned through him. He needed a minute with her; that was all. Just enough time to make sure she was all right, but they’d led her somewhere he couldn’t follow.
Returning to the hotel, he went straight to his office, making it clear Melissa was the only interruption he would allow. It seemed to take forever for his heart to find a normal rhythm again. He pressed his fingers lightly to the tender spot on his jaw where he’d taken another punch from Orr. It was begging for ice.
Would’ve been nice to sit beside Melissa, watch the fire together while the ice relieved the ache. Would anyone take care of her tonight or would she be dealing with all of this alone?
Their last conversation hadn’t gone well and she hadn’t returned his calls. Still, she had to know she could come to him, that he would be a friend, even if she didn’t return his feelings. More than anything else right now he regretted that she’d gone up against Orr, unsure of how much Antonio believed in her and the GGPD. And she had no idea how much he loved her.
CHAPTER 16
The next morning, her coffee in hand, Melissa tucked herself into her office. She wasn’t in the mood for much chatter today, but she needed to be here. The department psychologist had helped her through the i
mmediate turmoil of the shooting. Together they decided her officers and detectives needed to see the normal routine, as close as she could manage anyway, despite the questions that remained unanswered.
Studying her desktop, she searched for a silver lining amid the stacked-up files and overflowing email inbox waiting for her attention. Well, she was still the chief of police, still had her dream job, even if she had to ride a desk after firing her weapon and ending a man’s life.
That hadn’t been her ideal outcome, taking a life never was, although in this instance she didn’t harbor any regrets.
Orr would’ve killed Antonio and anyone else within reach if she hadn’t taken swift, decisive action.
She shied away from thoughts of Antonio. Last night, alone in her own bed at home, had been unbearably lonely. That scared her more than a little, since the beautiful peace she’d found with him had to be over. Her house had felt awkward rather than welcoming and it went beyond the differences in decor, food options and security. How many times had she started to call him last night, only to change her mind?
She wanted something he couldn’t give. A clean break was for the best. Look at that, she’d found a silver lining.
She sipped her coffee and picked up a file, only to toss it back down, unread, as her concentration fractured. What was truly regrettable was that Bowe’s actions had left Orr free for too long. She supposed the subsequent desk duty gave her plenty of time to review Bowe’s old cases for any other signs of manipulation. What messes would they be cleaning up next?
And maybe not so silvery, but riding a desk gave her ample time to think about the next steps. For herself. Though she loved her work, she was tired of settling for only professional satisfaction. Being chief was demanding and definitely unpredictable, but her heart yearned for balance.
Swiveling in her chair, she picked up the framed photo of Desiree and Danny, a gift her cousin had dropped off after the kidnapping ordeal. Desiree was raising a child alone and doing it well. That little boy had Melissa wrapped around his tiny finger. Her heart ached in her chest as she imagined raising a child of her own. Maybe it was time to take that leap, even without a husband and partner in place. She couldn’t stop the fantasy of playdates with Danny and Desiree, trips to the park, family traditions, as she and her cousin raised the next generation of Coltons.
In her mind, though, her little one had Antonio’s dark eyes and mischievous grin. On a shaky breath, she returned the picture to its place of honor on her desk. Desiree’s path wasn’t for her. She wanted it all. Husband and children and a career. She craved that balance, but no longer with a faceless partner.
With Antonio. The man who didn’t trust her department. The man who’d vowed—with good reason—not to travel a family path again.
There were some things “I love you” couldn’t cure. Her career. His past. Her obligations. His doubts.
Swiping a tear from her cheek, she turned her attention to the slew of emails she’d been ignoring during the recent chaos and set to work. She had no idea she’d left her desk to stare out her office window until someone knocked on her door.
Turning, she saw Antonio. It took every ounce of willpower not to rush forward, expecting him to catch her in that warm embrace.
“Can I come in?” he asked. “I’ve been worried.”
“Of course.” She tried to smile and gave up. “Close the door.” Just in case she lost it, no sense upsetting the entire department.
He did as she asked, but didn’t sit down in one of the chairs facing her desk. With his hands in his pockets, he stood there and studied her.
She assumed he saw it all. The dark circles under her eyes, the tension in her jaw, the badge that represented a system he didn’t trust.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
That smooth, deep voice was a balm to her frayed nerves and she shamelessly soaked it in. “I am. It won’t take them long to confirm the shooting was justified.” Her gaze locked with his. Until right now she hadn’t thought that maybe he disapproved of what she’d done.
“You were remarkable out there,” he said, pride radiating from his eyes. “The whole department was absolutely remarkable.”
She bit her lip. It was hard to accept his praise, after killing a man he’d once considered a friend.
“What do you do while waiting for the process and protocols?” he asked.
She gestured to her desk. “Plenty of work and enough time to get it done for a change.”
“I see.” He tipped his head. “No time off?”
She resisted the urge to fold her arms over her chest to shelter her heart from him. “Not really. We are looking into all of Bowe’s cases. It will take time, but we’ll figure out why he did what he did. And where he’s hiding.”
“That’s good.”
There was an awkward silence that she couldn’t bear. “Antonio…” Then the words started tumbling out. “I love you. I want more time with you. But I can’t settle.” Her pulse steadied as the words resonated. “I want my career and everything else that makes a life full.” He was going to walk out any second and she braced for the pain even as she rushed on. “I want a husband and children. I want family chaos and jammed-up schedules.” She sucked in a breath. She wanted it all with him, despite the furrow pleating his brow. “I’m not going to be completely me, not completely happy, until I’m on that track.” She stopped just short of apologizing for her dreams.
“You love me,” he said.
“Yes.” For all the good it did either of them.
“Do you see that love for me changing? Fading out with a fling? Maybe you’ll get tired of me and the demands of my work.”
No. That was the worst piece of this entire situation. She’d fallen in love with the wrong man. “No.” She wouldn’t lie. “Never. But that doesn’t change that everything I want is at odds with what you need.”
She wished she could be the one to leave, but she wasn’t about to run out of her office, an emotional wreck, in front of the officers who looked up to her as the example.
Unable to read him, she turned back to the window. Just because he would leave, didn’t mean she had to watch him go. She listened for the squeak of the doorknob so she knew when it would be safe to let the tears fall.
* * *
He stared at the elegant line of her back and realized just how far he’d come. She expected him to walk out. He’d given her every reason to come to that conclusion.
“I’m not leaving, Melissa.”
She didn’t turn around.
“I love you, too.” He stepped up behind her, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders. When she didn’t shrug him off, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Their image was a faint reflection in the window, but it was enough to confirm he was doing the right thing. For himself. For her. For their future.
“I’ve been scared for years. Two decades, really. Until you.” He brushed a soft kiss to her cheek. “Although I suspect I’ll have more reason to be scared for you in the years ahead, I am absolutely terrified of the years ahead if you’re not in my world.” He shifted so she was facing him. “I’m done running from a full life, as long as you’re in it.” He dropped to one knee, smiling when she gasped at the ring he held for her. “Melissa Colton, will you marry me and help me fill the hotel with beautiful redheaded children?”
“You can’t be serious.” A slow smile illuminated her face, lit up the room like a sunrise. “It’s a big hotel.” She caught her lip between her teeth. “Are you sure? I know what this—”
He cut her off. “I’ve never been more certain of anything. Marry me, Melissa.” He watched her face as he pushed the ring into place on her finger. She bounced on her toes and tugged him to his feet. His heart was bursting with happiness when she wrapped her arms around him. “Is that a yes?”
She leaned back, her smile filli
ng him with a joy he hadn’t allowed himself in far too long.
“Yes.” Her hands trembled as she touched his face, pulled him close for a kiss. “You’re everything I’ve always wanted and so much more than I dared to hope for.”
He felt weightless and full of light as he held her close. She was his future, his heart. He didn’t want to let go, but they both had work. “I’ll have the champagne on ice in the suite,” he said, kissing her once more.
She beamed, her eyes sparkling brighter than the diamond on her hand. “I’ll call when I’m on the way over.”
And there it was, he thought—the first day of the rest of their lives.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488071324
Colton’s Dangerous Liaison
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Regan Black for her contribution to The Coltons of Grave Gulch miniseries.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense January 2021 Page 45