by Clarissa Yip
Relief stretched his mouth into a grin. “I knew you would understand. You’ve always understood me. Once I clear everything up, I can go back to work and go back to my routine. I can’t wait.”
Her anger rose. His carefree attitude irked her. How could he act as if innocent lives were not taken or not feel any remorse about the people he’d hurt? Kerry certainly needed to be stopped, but she didn’t deserve to be lied to and manipulated or forced to give up her baby because Daniel hadn’t wanted any complications. She felt sick. She pasted on a smile. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You have no idea.” His hand lifted, and he brushed his finger along her cheek. She forced herself not to grimace. “I’ve missed you. A lot. Lauren, I know I made a mistake in letting you go. I need you. We can be a great team again. All my clients loved you, and my associates thought you were the perfect wife. Let’s try again.”
Of course she made him look good. She’d done nothing but change herself to be what he wanted. But he’d never once thought of her. She saw red. Lauren moved in closer. Her arms rose, palms settling on his shoulders as she looked up at him. “Let’s try this instead.”
Her knee jerked upward with force. Daniel’s mouth dropped open, his breath rushed out, and his eyes widened. A deep pink rose to his hairline; his lips turned white. She quickly jumped back as he bent forward, clutching his privates and staring at her accusingly. She dropped the sweet girl demeanor and glared at him. “I want the money I gave up to help you start the practice as stated in your will and my divorce papers signed or you’ll see a lawsuit for the shit you just put me through.”
Satisfied at his pain, she whirled around only to come to an abrupt stop. Her heart jumped to her throat. Kane leaned against the wall, amusement lighting his eyes.
Embarrassment stung, but she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist, careful to not disturb his bandaged shoulder. “Are you okay?”
He hugged her back, his chin rubbing her hair. “Yes.” He shook. “Dammit, I was so scared.”
The aftereffects finally caught up with her as she felt herself quiver. After he’d carried her downstairs, the medics had taken them to the ambulance and then to the hospital. They’d barely had a moment together since Kerry had been taken in. “Me, too.”
She heard Daniel groan behind her and a loud thud. Turning around, she saw her soon-to-be-ex-husband fall to the bench. She bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t have kneed him so hard.
Kane gave her a squeeze before settling his arm around her waist. “Let’s get out of here.”
She smiled and nodded, allowing him to lead her past Daniel down the hall.
“I guess he didn’t see that coming,” Kane said, his tone amused.
Lauren swallowed hard. “I didn’t mean to…”
He laughed, carefully digging into his pocket. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
She stopped and stared up at him. What did she want? After all they’d been through in the past few weeks and the case was finally over, shouldn’t there be some sort of epiphany or turning point in their relationship? Where did this leave her? Where did this leave him? “I guess that depends on if you plan to stick around for that to happen.”
His head cocked to the side. “What did you have in mind?”
A million thoughts rushed through her head. She wanted him to stay with her, laugh with her, cook for her, go through all the stresses in life, share his family with her, but most of all, love her. Drawing in a deep breath, she said the only thing she could think of. “I love you.”
His eyes softened. “I know.”
Disappointment speared through her. Not the words she was hoping for. “Well, I guess everything is over.” She glanced at his bandaged shoulder and her senses stung. She’d just given him her heart, and he didn’t care. “You should probably rest.”
He nodded. “I’m going to be out of work for a few days.”
“Yeah.” Hope slowly withered away. Did that mean he expected her to live with him and continue as if nothing had changed? That she hadn’t almost been killed, and he could have died trying to save her? She moved past him. “I need to go home.”
Kane caught her hand before she could walk off. “Slow down. I have to catch up with Ryan, then we can go.”
She swallowed hard. Tears burned her eyes. She needed to get away. “I think it’s time I went home to my house. Daniel’s here, Kerry is caught, so I’m no longer in any danger.”
He frowned. “Okay. I’ll go with you.”
A hole opened in her heart. She didn’t need for him to drop her off and check that she was safe. “I can get myself home.”
She started to pull away, but he tightened his hold. “No, we can go to your house, but I’m your home.”
She stilled. “What do you mean?”
“You know I need you.”
It wasn’t enough. She drew another breath. “You remember what I told you that one time?”
His eyebrow lifted. “The whole marriage, two point five kids, and picket fence thing?”
She nodded, annoyed at his tone.
“Okay.”
Tugging her hand from his grip, she glared at him. “What do you mean ‘okay’?”
Kane chuckled. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her. She stood stiffly. He gave her a chaste kiss, then cupped her cheek. “I need you because you keep me in line and remind me what I have to live for. You make me laugh, you make me happy, and you promised you’d protect me.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So…I was thinking about hanging around here for a while.”
“How long?” She waited. Her heart thumped in her chest, anticipation choking her when he didn’t continue right away.
“Oh, you know…forever.”
She gasped.
Kane pressed his forehead against hers, their noses touching. “I love you. Always have. And always will. And believe me when I say I’ll never leave you.”
She smiled through her tears. It was a big step for him, and she couldn’t ask for more. “It’s okay. I’ll just hunt you down and drag you home.”
His lips brushed over hers. “Deal.”
Epilogue
Eight months later
“It’s not going to be the same.”
Kane settled his palms on the counter and faced his mother. Maria Bradley held the same glare he did. He wasn’t backing down.
“The taste is going to be off if you put in the cumin first. You have to mix in the salt with the curry powder before that.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Kane threw his hands up. “Fine. We’ll do it your way, but next time I’m making the pork chops.”
Battle won, his mother grinned. “We’ll see. This is my house.”
He frowned. “You won’t win every time.”
Maria let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. I’ll let you cook once your new house is set up and you decide to throw a housewarming party, but until then, I own this kitchen.”
Kane had to smile. Since they’d patched up their differences, they’d become closer, even as far as visiting Lily’s grave once a month together. They spent more and more time with each other as Maria reintroduced him back into the family. And he had Lauren to thank for that.
Looking around, he noted everyone had disappeared since he and his mother started to argue over how to marinate the pork chops. “Where did everyone go?”
Maria chuckled. “Probably ran off to make sure they didn’t get shot if they tried to take one of our sides.”
Kane laughed. “I’ll go see if Bill needs help manning the grill.”
“You do that, and stay out of my kitchen.” Maria took out the cumin and added two teaspoons.
Shaking his head, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to his mother’s soft cheek before heading out to the backyard, where they were having their weekly barbecue. He saw Bill by the grill, but at the sight of Lauren lying on the lounge chair under the sun by the pool, he changed course
and strode toward her. Her eyes were closed as if napping. Concern ran through him.
“Lauren.”
She didn’t answer. Sitting down next to her hip, he touched her cheek to see that she had indeed dozed off. He studied her face, noting the paleness in her cheekbones, and frowned. The past few months had taken a toll on her. They both got rid of their houses and bought a new one not far from his mother’s. The bridal store had been insanely busy with summer weddings, and after closing the Pearl Killer case, he’d been thrown into many more homicides. It was never-ending.
The only reprieve they had was their honeymoon in Hawaii.
They’d gotten married six months ago, exactly sixty-one days after she’d received her divorce and had her money reinstated by Burke. Once Lauren was free, he wasted no time in proposing. Their love made everything possible.
“Baby,” he said softly.
Lauren’s eyes fluttered open. “Hi.”
“You okay? You fell asleep.” He cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
She nodded and sat up, looking around. “I’m just tired. Who won this time?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Whose recipe are we having today?”
Kane growled. “Mom’s.”
Lauren laughed. Lightness wrapped around his heart. His gaze trailed leisurely over her in her loose strapless maxi dress. Heat ran down his spine and he leaned in, brushing his lips over hers. His hand settled at her hip, slowly working its way up to her breast. He loved touching her, loved waking up with her every morning, and loved returning home to find her waiting for him. And she was all his.
“One day, you’ll win,” she murmured.
He nuzzled her neck. “I’m not worried. Once our house is done and all the rooms are furnished, we’ll throw a party and I’ll keep Mom out of my kitchen.”
“About that…”
“What? You still want a bigger closet?” Fixing up their house himself gave him a sense of pride and accomplishment. He’d never had a real home, and having Lauren by his side, he liked owning his own place and having her to share it with him. He hoped they lived a very long time.
“Can I?” She pushed at his shoulder.
Kane laughed at her sudden excitement. “We’ll see. I’d have to knock down that wall that connects our bedroom to the other room.”
“Maybe we should leave it.”
“If you want.” He breathed in her perfume, the light scent teasing his nose, and he hardened. He pressed a kiss to the area below her ear. A shiver ran though her body. “Maybe we should tell them you’re tired and go home early.”
“We could, but I actually want to tell you something first.” Lauren drew in a hasty breath, instantly alarming him.
He sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong really…”
He frowned. The nervous energy radiating from her was almost palpable. A quiver of fear ran through him. He’d do anything to keep her safe, protected, and happy. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I’m pregnant.”
The announcement drew him back. He waited for panic to grip him. Nothing came. He swallowed hard. His heart threatened to burst. “When? How?”
She gave him a pointed look. “Probably one of those mornings you ambushed me in the kitchen, and the how part…”
He laughed and kissed her.
She took his hand and hesitantly settled it over her stomach. “You’re okay with it?”
“More than okay.” He thought of his own father. It didn’t matter. He’d be the best dad in the world. With Lauren by his side, anything was possible. “I love you.”
“Good, because you’re stuck with me forever and we’ll probably have to train Ryan in diaper changing since he practically lives with us now.”
He grinned. His partner had been hanging around a lot. Ryan probably needed his own woman to keep him busy. Standing up, he pulled Lauren off the chair and whirled her around. She laughed, the joyous sound ringing through the backyard.
“What’s going on?”
Kane hugged Lauren to his side and saw his mother standing in the doorway along with his siblings, stepfather, and Ryan—his family. His heart threatened to burst. He looked down at the woman who had given him everything.
“We’re having a baby.”
Shock, then joy, tinged the air as they embraced in a group hug. He wished Lily was with them, but he knew she was watching over them all.
Life was perfect.
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Acknowledgments
Lots of thanks.
I was very fortunate to have been given such wonderful opportunities, support, and faith from all my friends, family, and publishers. Especially Entangled Publishing. It’s been awesome working with such a great company.
I thank my new editor, Shannon Godwin, for taking a risk on me and pushing me to strive for my full potential as an author. I forewarned her about what a pain I am as an author, but she hasn’t given up on me yet.
I thank my fabulous critique partners from Passionate Critters for their support and encouragement to keep pushing forward, even though there were many times that I was ready to chuck my computer out the window. I thank them mostly for taking me back and not letting me give up.
I thank my best friend, Judy, for helping me plot His Last Redemption and giving me pointers on how to make it such a great book. And also for giving me a wonderful place to write this story with open blue skies, surrounding hibiscus, and the gentle sound of waves filling my ears.
And most of all, I thank my readers for letting me share my stories.
If not for you all, I wouldn’t be here.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
About the Author
Contemporary romance author Clarissa Yip leads a life of adventure and mischief. Constantly on the run, she’s always hanging out with her muse, plotting the next best story, and looking for anything that will fuel her imagination. Besides being an avid reader and writer, Clarissa enjoys scrapbooking, playing video games, immersing herself in addictive TV shows, and engaging in anything that will challenge her mind. A lover of food and languages, she also loves to try new things. Her dreams involve finding the ultimate way of sharing her world with yours. From the Hawaiian island of Oahu to the beautiful changing seasons of New York, you never know where she’ll be. Find Clarissa on Facebook and Twitter or drop her a note at http://www.clarissayip.com.
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