by V. E. Avance
James rolls his eyes as Maryanne lets out a laugh. “Yeah, he is and he listens a lot better than that friend of his,” she nods over to Wyatt. “Glad you picked the one that needs little training.” Maryanne half-jokes.
“Hey now, I don’t need any training,” James tries to defend himself but only makes the situation worse. The girls hoot and holler as James looks toward the guys signaling for a little help. They just shrug their shoulders and laugh as Travis fishes for his cell phone to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
They all lay low until the FBI arrives to do their investigation. James holds Leanna close to his heart and lets a tear fall on top of her head. He almost lost her today and he knows he couldn’t survive without her by his side. She’s the one he wants to marry and have a family with. He wants her face to be the first face he sees when he wakes in the morning and the last one at night. He needs this woman more than he needs his next breath.
Twenty Nine
The little dungeon, as everyone in Danville called it, was swarming with FBI agents. The sheriff was in hot water for not upholding the laws and they were asking everyone questions, up to and including Travis, Wyatt and James. The three men could easily lose their jobs and face jail time for what they had done but none batted an eye at the threat. They all knew that they would do it again in a heartbeat.
“You know what you did was stupid and could have cost us this case,” an agent with salt-and-pepper hair chastised the three men. “All the evidence we have could be thrown out in a court of law and these two men could get away with their crimes.”
James takes the agent’s words to heart. He knows that he—they—could’ve jeopardized the entire case. He also knows that Leanna could’ve been psychologically damaged or worse, murdered, before the government got all their ducks in a row to make entry on the property. “We’re well aware of what we did and how it could affect your case. I’m sorry for that, but I don’t regret what I did.”
If the agent had been a cartoon character, smoke would be bellowing out of his ears right now. “You don’t regret what you did?”
“No, sir, I’d do it all over again. I’d love to see Mark and his crazy-ass father prosecuted for what they did to Leanna, but I prefer having my woman alive and in my arms and no criminal charges than to have criminal charges and a dead woman.”
James shrugs his shoulders to the agent and smiles an accomplished grin. Yes, he knows that agent, what-ever-his-name, could easily have his badge stripped from him and he’d never work in law enforcement again but seeing Leanna’s smile day in and day out is worth it all.
Agent Chesterton, that’s his name, breathes a sigh of frustration and defeat. “I get it, Officer McMullen. We’ll try our best to get charges on them that will stick and get them behind bars. If you have any questions or any further information, don’t hesitate to call,” Chesterton hands him an FBI official business card. “You and your friends are free to leave.”
***
5 days later
The guys stayed in Danville for another day to help Maryanne pack her things. Maryanne was having no part in Leanna going back to Austin without her. James had suggested that she stay with them in one of the guest rooms until she was able to find a job and save up for a place of her own.
The girls were excited and no one had to beg or plead with Maryanne to take James up on his offer. Of all the people and things that Leanna left behind in Danville, Maryanne was the only one worth a damn and James knew that both women would need each other in the days, weeks and months following this ordeal.
“Come on ladies,” James yells from the bottom of the steps. They’re meeting Wyatt and Travis at the Double Deuce Bar and Grill for dinner and drinks.
“Hold your horses,” Maryanne says as she descends the stairs with Leanna trailing behind her. “Beauty takes time.”
James rolls his eyes and kisses Maryanne on her cheek as she steps down. He wraps Leanna in his arms and kisses her lips passionately, leaning her back. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers as he nips at her earlobe.
“Okay you two, go get a room,” Maryanne pokes fun at them as she heads toward the front door.
James and Leanna laugh as they follow her out to the truck. Maryanne climbs in the back and steps over her small overnight bag and kicks it further behind James’ seat. James looks at her and she smiles like a woman holding a huge secret—and she is.
The Double Deuce Bar and Grill is packed tonight. Wyatt and Travis are located at their favorite booth in the back of the bar. James, Maryanne and Leanna push through the crowd making their way toward them. Wyatt jumps up and pushes his way toward the three. “Hey Maryanne,” he smiles at her. James knows that Wyatt wants Maryanne but she’s the hard-to-get type of woman.
“Hey Wy, you gonna buy me a drink?” She pushes through the remaining bodies and makes her way to the table.
“Of course, sweetheart; what would you like to drink?” He pulls her chair out.
“Double shot of whiskey and a Bud Light.”
Wyatt grabs his chest, “a girl after my own heart,” he acts as if she’s already stolen his heart and James knows that that’s the truth.
The waitress makes her way over and they order their drinks along with burgers and fries. The group begins to talk and laugh and have a great time. James begins to think of what they all went through to get to this point. No one has talked about the events in Danville and he prefers to keep it that way. Agent Chesterton called a few days after they arrived back in Austin to inform Leanna that they had found two bodies on the old Dickson property. They had found Carla, Mark’s mom buried at the back corner and Caroline, Mark’s high school girlfriend, next to her. Apparently, beating and killing woman was a family affair. Mark was charged with federal kidnapping along with first degree murder. Those charges alone would keep Mark and Earl in prison for the rest of their lives, if not give them the death penalty.
James was relieved that there wouldn’t be a long trial where all of them, especially Leanna, would have to testify. No one is exactly sure what all Leanna had suffered and no one is pushing her to talk about it. Some things need to be sorted out in one’s head before sharing it with the world, and this is one of those things.
Their food and drinks arrive and they continue to talk between shots and bites. Leanna is smiling a genuine smile for the first time since she was kidnapped and it warms James’ heart. He feared he’d never see that smile again and is thankful that God answered his prayers. It all worked out. Leanna and James both had their jobs waiting for them and she was saved before too much damage was done to her.
From Here to Eternity by Michael Peterson begins to play and James holds his hand out to Leanna. This is the song he’s been waiting to play and now he’s fighting the butterflies in his stomach. Leanna follows him to the dance floor and begin to sway to the rhythm. No words are said but the spark is there. Everyone watching them knows they are in love and are meant to be.
As the song concludes, James hits one knee on the floor. He pulls a velvet box from his front shirt pocket and looks up at Leanna. Her eyes are misty and her hands cover her mouth. “Leanna Brixton,” he uses her maiden name. “I don’t know what in the world I did to deserve you but I know that I don’t want to spend another day without you. You have shown me what life can truly be and how beautiful it really is. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up and your face is the first face I see in the morning. I want to go to sleep and it be the last face I see. I want to raise a family with you and grow old with you. Leanna, will you be my wife?”
The bar is eerily silent. You could hear a pin drop. Leanna is crying—ugly crying. James kneels there, afraid to move; afraid that she may tell him no. After a few moments that seemed like hours she finally gives him his answer. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you, James.”
The crowd erupts in cheers and hoots as James picks her up and kisses her lips. He lifts her feet off the ground and spins her around in a circle. “I l
ove you, Leanna. You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. He sits her down on her feet and they make their way to the table.
“Congratulations,” everyone says to them as they hug and shake hands. “You two are perfect for each other,” Maryanne adds before hugging James and then Leanna.
“Thank you, Maryanne,” James says as he shakes Wyatt’s hand.
“Ok you two, you need to get home and spend some time alone together,” Maryanne begins to shoo the lovebirds away.
“But, what about you?” Leanna questions.
“I knew this was going to happen long before you. I have an overnight bag packed and Wyatt is letting me crash at his house. So, you get going now,” she hugs Leanna one more time before James escorts her to his truck.
Thirty
Leanna stares at her one carat, princess cut diamond ring in a platinum setting. She has a perma-grin on her face as she thinks about how lucky she really is. Not even a year ago, she was miserable and dependent on Mark. Now, she’s independent and madly in love with a man that treats her as his equal. Her father would be proud of her and she knows it. She took initiative and grabbed the bull by the horns and took control over her life.
She swipes her tear away at the thought of her dad. She wishes he could be there for her right now, to walk her down the aisle and give her away to an amazing man. She was so young when her dad died. No child deserves to lose their father before he’s done teaching them and conditioning them for the future.
“You okay?” James asks as he places the truck in park. “You seem like you’re a million miles away.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about my dad.” Leanna shrugs her shoulders and goes to open the door.
James places his hand on her thigh. “I know you miss your dad. But I also know that he’d be so proud of you. He didn’t raise a fool and he didn’t raise a weak daughter. He raised an intelligent, funny, strong and independent woman. All the things that I love about you. If he were here, I’d tell him ‘thank-you’ because without his upbringing, you wouldn’t be the woman that I fell in love with.”
Leanna looks up at James with tears streaming down her face. No one has ever had that many kind words to say about her or her father. Yeah, she’s one lucky woman to have landed herself a man like James.
“Let’s go inside,” James opens his door and exits, never taking his eyes off Leanna as she exits the truck.
They meet up in the front of the truck and he wraps his arms around her. He kisses her temple and whispers, “I’ll spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you happy.”
Leanna knows that James is telling the truth. She knows that he will do everything humanly possible to make her feel loved and to make her life worth living. James has always been her guardian angel and now, by the grace of God, he will be her husband. She truly is a blessed woman.
The End
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading, Code 3:: Finding Safety. Please take a moment and leave a review at goodreads and Amazon.
Keep an eye out for the second book in the series, To Serve and Protect, coming early 2016.
If you enjoyed Code 3, you may enjoy any of my following books:
On the Edge (2014)
On Solid Ground: Abby’s Freedom (2014)
Road to Nowhere (2015)
Twisted Destiny (2015)
Project E-X2 (2015)
You can follow me at the following links:
www.facebook.com/VEAvance
www.veavance.com