Mystic Hearts
Page 27
Chaos broke loose. The men sitting around the fire scrambled for their guns.
Jake and Larry made quick work to incapacitate the remaining men, and Larry targeted the guard heading inside the structure. The burly man slumped. The other guard ducked behind the structure out of sight.
A gun discharged.
Dread plummeted like a lead balloon into the pit of his stomach. The gun’s report came from inside the vines where Charlene and Celine were held.
“Scorpions!” Jake hopped onto an ATV.
“Your woman’s a good shot,” Paul said into the earpiece and dropped from a tree limb onto the four-wheeler beside his brother and drove off after him
The ball of fear taking up residence in his stomach broke apart. Still, he needed eyes on her. He slipped to the entrance, peeked inside, and froze.
With her back pressed against Charlene’s, Celine cradled the barrel of AK-15 in her lap and scowled at the purple-haired woman.
Charlene looked over her shoulder and Celine’s, glaring at the woman. She clutched the grip of the gun, her finger resting on the trigger. “Untie us, Lavender!”
Wide-eyed, Lavender shook her head and dropped her gaze to the dirt. “I’m sorry, girls. This was never in the plan,” she sobbed. “Monk was decent. He didn’t want the life his brother had.”
Quigley pushed past Larry, standing at the entrance. “Let’s go. Tell your story in court.” He grabbed Lavender by the nape of the neck and they disappeared.
Charlene met Larry’s gaze and her eyes softened.
Excitement that she was alright did a number on him, almost taking him to his knees. “You’re okay,” he said more to himself than asking a question, giving his worst fears a voice.
She smiled and gave a single nod.
Hair mussed, dirt covered her face, and yet, she was so unbelievably gorgeous he ached.
****
Emotions rushed up Charlene’s raw throat and stung the backs of her eyes. The last hours had been treacherous, scary, and sent her heart into rapid palpitations more than once. Seeing Larry, looking so gorgeously handsome, so lovable, her heart’s wild beat returned. He was alive!
“Is it over?” Charlene asked, gazing into his eyes too afraid to blink for fear he’d vanished.
The affection and relief in his honey-colored eyes warmed her insides and clenched her heart. She choked on a sob.
“Yes, babe.” His voice was strained. He slid the AK-15 out of Celine’s and Charlene’s grasp, handed it to someone dressed like Larry that she didn’t recognize.
The ties binding her hands and Celine’s broke apart easily with one swipe of Larry’s knife. He helped Charlene to her feet and engulfed her in a bear hug. She wrapped her arms around him, pressed her cheek against his chest, and listened to his heartbeat. For a long moment, she stayed that way, savoring the deliciousness of him. She rubbed her eyes and forehead against him, feeling his heartbeat and warmth, and closed her eyes. She never wanted to leave this position.
A moan leaked from him. He squeezed her closer to his body, his body vibrated. “I’ve never been so scared,” he said, his voice raspy. His mouth caught hers in a kiss so demanding and hot, her heart flipped.
“You gals are fighters!” Jackson’s deep voice resounded, splitting Charlene and Larry apart.
Celine buried her face into Jackson’s chest, tears streaming down her face.
“We need to talk,” Larry said to Charlene and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the vine shelter she’d been held captive in.
The bonfire Lavender started earlier had died down. Still, the flicker of the flames illuminated bodies on the ground. The man Charlene had shot slumped against the vine structure. Her insides were a roaring ocean of reactions. Anger. Fear. Guilt. She swallowed hard at taking another’s life and shuddered, remembering the act of pulling the trigger. The man’s grunt had told her the bullet made its way through the thick grape vines to her target. She hadn’t wanted to kill him, just stop him from coming after her and Celine. She dragged in a ragged breath. If the situation had been different, he would have shot and killed her without second-guessing his actions.
“You okay?” Larry asked, stroking her arm.
She nodded. “As well as to be expected, I am.”
“I hate being the bearer of bad news,” he said on a long sigh.
Andrew’s last words rushed toward her. You captured one of their women. She felt numb toward the loss. How sad was it that the father of her baby was murdered, yet she felt nothing. Maybe in time, it’d hit her and she’d feel remorse. Still, her ex served her up to a killer. If Larry hadn’t arrived when he had, her son would be an orphan. Her gaze landed on Larry. “Thank you.”
He gazed at her and looked into her soul. “I love you.” His voice was calm, firm, and confident. Together they had removed the demons that resided within each other to be able to fall in love again.
Goosebumps raised on her arms. At that moment, there was no second-guessing his motive, or her feelings. She loved Larry with all her heart. She placed a hand over her mouth and her eyes filled her eyes. “I’m in love for the first time in my life.”
Tears welled in his eyes.
In the background, she sensed people milling around. Friends yelling to one another, but their gazes stayed locked on each other.
He stepped closer, slid a hand through her hair, stroking her cheek as if she was a precious gem. “I want to marry you. Have more Henrys or Harriets.”
She snickered. “Um, maybe we should call our daughter by another name.”
“Will you marry me, Charlene Webber?”
A sob escaped. The sweetness of him using her maiden name touched her. Never in a million years did she think she would feel this much joy. Her mom’s princess wish for her came true. She whole-heartedly felt like a princess in Larry’s presence. “Yes.”
“Thank goodness for haunted houses.” Larry captured her lips in a soft, sweet passionate kiss filled with promise and love.
The End
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