“Seek,” she commanded again. And they took off. They moved so fast, they weren’t able to follow them with the meager light from the flashlight, but they heard the moment the bomber was cornered by the dogs. He was cursing and yelling as the dogs tried to detain him. If he tried to move, they would attack. From the sounds coming from the area, he was trying to evade them, and they were attacking him.
As they came upon the man and her dogs, he was pulling his gun from the back of his pants. Deeogee made a leap at the hand, knocking the man down. The gun, however, was still in his hand and he lifted it intending to shoot one or both dogs. Bryce already had his gun out and lifted it.
“Freeze!” he shouted.
“Spike, Deeogee, heel,” Paige called. Both dogs returned to her side while Bryce kept the gun and the flashlight on the man. Behind him, Deputy Blake came through the brush and had his gun pointed at the perp as well.
“Bryce, I got this if you want to get Paige and the dogs back to the house.”
“Thanks, Blake. Yes, I want her and the dogs secure.”
Other officers were coming through the woods to where they were, and Bryce pointed them in the direction of Blake.
Once they were back at her yard, she sent the dogs up to the house, and went in to check on Jamie and his mom, while Bryce went to help clean up the investigation.
Sheriff Markham spoke to her when she went in. “I waited until he calmed down, and then took his statement.” He proceeded to fill her in on Jamie’s involvement.
They knew who the explosives expert was now, because Jamie told him how his brother met him in prison, how Ramon had threatened to kill their mom if he didn’t cooperate. He’d been living in terror for months. His brother had been running drugs with his gang for the last four months. They were getting pressure from another rival gang that had the backing of a wealthy European. All the players now fit—from the crooked cop, George, and his work with Libby, and the Blades, and Ramon and the Dragon’s gang working from Jamie’s house.
Paige went out to sit on the front porch step, looking once again at the chaos in her yard. “Maybe I should move,” she thought out loud.
“I’ve got a great place for you to move to. It’s not far from here. Needs a new house, but it has plenty of room for dogs,” Bryce said as he sat down beside her.
She glanced sideways at him. “Is it over now? Really over?”
“This case? Yes. Us? Never.”
“There is no us. Remember, it was a mistake. I’m not the girl you want except in bed,” she reminded him.
“Paige, how could you think I’m not serious about you? I took on your whole family.”
“My whole family, Bryce? Are you that intimidated by my brothers?”
“Your brothers? Hell, I took on the dog mafia, and the Dog Father himself, Deeogee. When they were done with me, I felt violated. They stuck their noses where no self-respecting heterosexual male allows males to stick their faces. They got dog hair all over my house. They cleaned out my fridge. They slept in my bed and they drank out of my toilets. I took on your whole family. And your brothers were nothing compared to your dogs. The timing was wrong, but not the night.”
“Bryce, what do you want from me?”
“Everything. I want all your mornings, all your evenings, and everything in between. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children. I want a home where we can raise hell and raise kids and raise dogs. I want you, Paige, for now and forever.”
She started crying. All the things of the past didn’t seem important when he said that. There were still unresolved issues, but he wanted her.
“I love you,” he said and gathered her into his arms.
She sobbed in earnest. All her dreams were coming true. “Really?” she asked, taking a swipe at her tears.
“Yes, really! Now tell me,” he demanded.
“I love you too, Bryce.” It came out as a watery sob, but it was finally out in the open and they were talking about it. That’s all she’d wanted to hear that night. It was four months, three bombs, two kidnappings, and a batch of mixed breed puppies later, but he’d finally said what she wanted to hear.
From the author:
Dear Readers,
I am grateful to all my readers and truly hope you enjoyed reading Darke Heat. There is nothing that means more than hearing from you, so please consider leaving a short review on Amazon. Thanks again for spending time with Paige and Bryce. I appreciate your feedback.
Kind Regards,
Nese Ellyson
Author Bio:
Nese Ellyson lives in a small town in rural Ohio with her own Prince Charming, two sons, and a cat they rescued. She's an avid fan of romance, particularly when it has a suspense element. She's always brimming with ideas and loves getting her thoughts down on paper. The day Nese released her first novel, Escape to Sanctuary, (an inspirational romantic suspense) was one of the most exciting days of her life.
She loves conneting with her readers and you can find her at the following links:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/nese.ellyson
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NeseDenise
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