by Misty Evans
Polly and Leo made themselves comfortable near the small kitchenette, Leo checking Sophie and the napping babies every few minutes to monitor them.
Cooper and Celina stood near the window, silently watching the flashing lights of ambulance, fire and police crews below. Taking advantage of the peace, Cooper slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her back to his chest.
She sighed, but a moment later, her body went stiff. “Wait. That’s him.”
“Him who?” He peered over her shoulder at the chaos below.
“He’s missing the ball cap and ditched the EMT attire, but I know that’s him, right there in the brown jacket near that tree. See him? I’d recognize that face anywhere. His picture’s on my camera, if it’s not too damaged.” Celina pointed, then turned to look at Cooper, eyes glittering dangerously. “That’s the son of a bitch who started this all.”
“The bomber?” Rage snaked down his spine and Cooper searched the area until his gaze landed on a man standing off to the side of the crowd, half hidden under an oak. “Are you sure?”
Celina nodded, jaw set in determination. “One hundred percent.”
Whipping out his phone, he punched in Roman’s number. “What’s your twenty?”
“I’m outside organizing a few agents to go back in and do a sweep to make sure we haven’t missed anyone. Medics are almost finished patching up Cruz. He’ll be ready to scale the staircase any moment,” Roman remarked dryly.
“Celina has eyes on the guy we think is the bomber.”
“What?” All traces of humor vanished from Roman’s voice. “Where?”
“East of the main entrance, taking in the sights.” Cooper gave him the bomber’s description and location.
“I’m on it.” Roman ended the call.
Moments later, Roman and a group of agents snuck up and surrounded the tree and closed in on the man. He resisted, taking a swing at Roman, but the head of the Domestic Terrorism Taskforce was quick for a big guy, and had the man pinned to the ground before Cooper took another breath.
“They got him,” Celina said. She slumped against him in relief.
Broken leg or not, Nelson didn’t let anything stop him from cutting through the chaos and getting to Sophie, once the medics were done with him.
With the assistance of a couple of EMTs, the ecstatic father made it to the hotel, into the elevator, and limped into the room wearing an air cast on his leg. He kissed Sophie soundly, who then introduced him to his children.
After the family had a shared a moment, the EMTs checked the babies. Sophie, too.
While Nelson heartily thanked Leo for everything he did, Sophie spotted Roman entering the crowded suite, and a smile blossomed. “Thank you for taking care of him.”
Roman nodded. “Anytime, although, I have to give you creds for putting up with his cantankerous ass all the time. Glad I’m not married to him.”
Nelson flipped Roman the bird and everyone laughed.
Roman turned to Cooper. “We’ve got the bomber in custody.”
“We saw the takedown,” Cooper said. “Did you find anything out yet? Is he our guy?”
“Name’s Baldwin Kunez, and he’s definitely our guy. He belongs to a gang of former disgruntled soldiers and survivalists who hold a strong belief in martial law. They learned about today’s training exercise and saw it as an opportunity to try and take down as many agents and law enforcement officers as they could in one sweep. We have two dozen law enforcement and medical field personnel injured, but it could have been worse.”
Celina frowned. “The bomb was in the ambulance at the back of the building, not the front. Why leave it there? He could have done a lot more damage if he’d parked at the front of the auditorium.”
“His ambulance was a fake and he probably didn’t want to take the chance someone would figure that out before he could set off the bomb. His plan appears to have been to move the ambulance to the front entrance once everyone was inside. The one thing he raged about was the fact he was interrupted by some bitch photographer when he went to move it.”
Celina and Cooper exchanged a glance. She lifted her hand slightly. “Guilty as charged. Guess I scared him off, huh?”
“Damn,” Cooper rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace. “This could have been a hell of a lot worse if you hadn’t, Celina.”
She looked sick. “What if he’d set it off when you were outside banging on it?”
Cooper grabbed her hand and hugged her. “He didn’t and we’re both okay, so don’t go there.”
Roman looked her over and shook his head with slight disbelief. “You scared him off?”
She nodded. “My gut is never wrong. I saw him sneaking out into the restricted area.” The rest of the explanation was short and sweet, but still managed to lift Roman’s brows in an incredulous look.
“In light of today’s events, not only did we have a training exercise, but a real life scenario to compare it with,” he finally said. “We’ve got a dozen or so people in the hospital with injuries, but there were no fatalities, and you and Cooper are still breathing, so, given the way things could have gone, I would say today was still a success.”
A success? He wasn’t sure he’d call it that, but when his gaze moved over the group in the room, he had to at least be grateful. There was Polly and Leo, who looked pretty cozy standing together with heads bent in discussion; and then there was Sophie, Nelson and the babies, getting ready to be transported to the hospital by the medical crew.
“What are you going to name the babies?” Polly wanted to know as she and Leo watched the EMTs load Sophie and the twins onto a gurney.
Sophie and Nelson exchanged a glance, both smiling. “We decided on Analina for our daughter, in honor of Polly Ana and Celina,” Sophie said, and a hand flew to Celina’s mouth, happy tears suddenly visible in her eyes.
Polly didn’t seem to mind her name now, giving a little cheer.
“Our son’s named Garrison,” Nelson continued, chest puffing up proudly as he grinned at Cooper and Leo. “In honor of the two men who helped deliver him into this world. Get it? Garand plus Harris?”
Stunned, Cooper had no words at the honor, just pounded Nelson on the back in a hearty hug while Celina leaned down to hug Sophie.
When Celina was tucked back into his side, they stood out of the way and watched as Sophie and the babies were taken from the room to head to the hospital, promising to see them all soon.
“I don’t know about you,”—Celina gave a happy sigh—“but my fun meter is pegged. I’m ready to get out of here.”
He smiled, turning to stare down into her beautiful face. She was his love, his life, his very reason for breathing. No matter the ups and downs, he would never grow tired of their life together. “I love you, Celina.”
She rose to meet him halfway as he swept her close, capturing her lips in a kiss that breathed love and life into his very soul.
“I love you too, Cooper. Now take me home to see our daughter.”
“Woman, I love it when you’re bossy.” He laughed, pressing another kiss to her upturned lips. “Your wish is my command. Let’s go home.”
Romantic Suspense & Mysteries by Misty Evans
SEALS of Shadow Force Series: Spy Division
Man Hunt
Man Killer
Man Down
SEALs of Shadow Force Series
* * *
Fatal Truth
Fatal Honor
Fatal Courage
Fatal Love
Fatal Vision
Fatal Thrill
Risk
The SCVC Taskforce Series
* * *
Deadly Pursuit
Deadly Deception
Deadly Force
Deadly Intent
Deadly Affair, A SCVC Taskforce novella
Deadly Attraction
Deadly Secrets
Deadly Holiday, A SCVC Taskforce novella
Deadly Target
&
nbsp; Deadly Rescue
The Super Agent Series
* * *
Operation Sheba
Operation Paris
Operation Proof of Life
The Justice Team Series (with Adrienne Giordano)
* * *
Stealing Justice
Cheating Justice
Holiday Justice
Exposing Justice
Undercover Justice
Protecting Justice
Missing Justice
Defending Justice
The Secret Ingredient Culinary Mystery Series
The Secret Ingredient, A Culinary Romantic Mystery with Bonus Recipes
The Secret Life of Cranberry Sauce, A Secret Ingredient Holiday Novella
PNR & UF by Misty
Paranormal Romance
* * *
Witches Anonymous Step 1
Jingle Hells, Witches Anonymous Step 2
Wicked Souls, Witches Anonymous Step 3
Dark Moon Lilith, Witches Anonymous Step 4
Dancing With the Devil, Witches Anonymous Step 5
Devil’s Due, Witches Anonymous Step 6
Dirty Deeds, Witches Anonymous Step 7
Wicked Wedding, Witches Anonymous Step 8
* * *
Urban Fantasy
* * *
Revenge Is Sweet, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series, Book 1
Sweet Chaos, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series, Book 2
Sweet Soldier, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series, Book 3
Sweet Curse, Kali Sweet Urban Fantasy Series, Book 4
About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Misty Evans has published fifty novels and writes romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. She got her start writing in 4th grade when she won second place in a school writing contest with an essay about her dad. Since then, she’s written nonfiction magazine articles, started her own coaching business, become a yoga teacher, and raised twin boys on top of enjoying her fiction career.
When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, movies, and hanging out with her husband, twin sons, and two spoiled puppies. A registered yoga teacher and Master Reiki Practitioner, she shares her love of chakra yoga and energy healing, but still hasn’t mastered levitating.
Get free reads, all the latest news, and alerts about sales when you sign up for her newsletter at www.readmistyevans.com. To find out more about her holistic healing practice, please visit www.crystalswithmisty.com.
Letter from Misty
Hello Beautiful Reader!
* * *
Thank you for reading this book! It is an honor and a privilege to write stories for you.
I hope you enjoyed this book, and I’d like to ask a favor – would you mind leaving a review at your favorite retailer? I’d really appreciate it, and reviews help other readers find books they will love too.
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Grab special edition box sets and get new releases before they come out at retailers by visiting my direct buy website www.mistyevansbooks.com.
I also have a holistic business, Crystals With Misty, and invite you to check out my website www.crystalswithmisty.com for information on my services.
Thank you and happy reading!
Misty