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“Yes. I forgot her last name, but yes.” There had been a tent, and an outdoor fire fighting to stay burning amid the rain.
“She insisted on taking the ambulance with you. Guess she had a purse-sized dog but still pushed her way in. They made her sit in the front. The last nurse said she stayed with you until I got here.” He lowered his head and kissed her hand.
“I’d love to contact her.” The woman’s voice had led her to safety. “Thank her, when I get out of here.”
“I’d like to thank her, too.”
“So,” she sighed. “What’s the damage?”
He frowned and closed his hand more tightly around hers. “Broken femur, concussion, four cracked ribs, and a punctured lung. You needed stiches along your stomach from when you dragged yourself out the car window. There was glass embedded there, along with debris from the ground. They were able to set your leg and cast it. You’ve been on some heavy pain meds to curb the discomfort.”
“I guess that explains why I was out so long.” She was ready to go back to the apartment to see Neo and Oscar. To sleep with Neo’s arms around her. “Thank you for searching for me. For being here.”
“Thank you for being brave. For escaping that car before it exploded. I couldn’t have lived my life if something happened to you. I would’ve cared for my brother, but something in me would’ve died with you. You are everything I never knew I needed.” He stroked his thumb over her cheekbone, catching a silent tear that slipped from her eye.
“When I figured out I was in trouble, the thing I regretted the most was not telling you how I felt. I held back, because everything is so new, but I know what I’m feeling. I love you, Neo. You’re all the things I admire most in a person. Honorable. Fair. Kind. You stick up for those who need help the most. You’ve seen the worst of the worst, and yet you have so much love inside you. Love you give so freely.”
Neo’s eyes brightened and he stood up, moving to brush his hands over her hair. “I love you, too, Brynn. I almost told you on our last night together, but I didn’t want to scare you. You and Jacob are my family. My home. Everything that has ever mattered. We’re going to move into the new house, us and that smelly dog of yours. I can’t wait to have the privilege of holding you every night. Of waking up early to run with Jacob and coming back to make you your morning coffee. I will always trust you, Brynn. Always believe in you. I will do my best to protect you and make you happy.”
“We’ll keep each other happy and we’ll make our house a home for us, the dog, and those smelly teammates of yours.” They both chuckled as she threw his words back at him. “I’ve grown quite fond of them. You’re a charming bunch, all of you.”
“They’ve been worried sick, too. You wouldn’t believe how they rallied around me and Jacob. How they insisted to the commander that you were strong and could survive something like that.” He placed a kiss where his hand had just been on her forehead.
“Neo, someone intentionally ran me off the road. Shot at me. I think it might have to do with Fergus, but I don’t understand how that’s possible.” New fear expanded in her stomach. How could she forget the danger she was in?
“I know, sweetheart. They’ll never hurt you again. In the two days you’ve been out, the team’s been hunting. When we learned what happened, our first thought was Fergus. The commander pulled some strings, and your brother was brought into an interrogation room in the middle of the night. He didn’t admit to anything, but the guards searched his room and intercepted a letter to a man named Ronald Glen. Someone fitting his description was reported stealing a car a half a mile from our apartment complex, and guess who was the first person to ID him?”
“Who?” Relief swept through her.
“Jacob. The security cameras at the apartment showed you speaking to a man in the parking lot, but there wasn’t a clear picture of his face. With the connection to Fergus and the proximity to the apartment, law enforcement showed Jacob a series of pictures. Mr. Bloom and a child psychologist were present when they asked if he’d seen one of the men in the pictures. Jacob turned his head in response to Glen each time. We got lucky, and Glen got pulled over for speeding near Virginia state lines. The car came up as stolen, so he was arrested. He had a photograph of you in his wallet, and more damning information on his phone. He’s going to jail. Glen and Fergus don’t exist for you anymore. We’re going to make sure neither of them ever see outside the walls of prison.”
She gripped his hand. “So it’s really over.” She sighed. “I can’t say I’m surprised Jacob made the ID. He’s very observant, always taking in his environment. I’m proud of him.”
“Me, too.”
“I love you,” she said, gazing up in his eyes and warming with the love that reflected back at her.
“I love you, too, Brynn. Always.”
Epilogue
Jacob’s laughter rang out from the swimming pool. Joker was in the water with him, spinning him around and around in a donut-shaped float, and the kid was loving every minute of it. Brynn was sitting with him in a lounge chair at the edge of the water, tucked into the V of his thighs, with her back pressed against his chest. She still had the large cast on her left leg, but that would be removed in a few more weeks. Silver was cooking burgers on the grill, and Branch was tossing a red frisbee to Oscar. Every so often, the dog would drop the toy and rush over to the grill to peek at the burgers, then visit the lounge chair to give Brynn a lick before going back to his game of catch.
“Never imagined I’d have all this. My heart’s so full, sometimes the thought of losing it shakes the ground under me.” The thought of anything happening to Brynn or Jacob, to his team, was enough to make him wake with the sheets stuck to his sweat-soaked skin. He’d never had so much to lose. It was terrifying and humbling.
“You’re not going to lose any of it.” Brynn squeezed his knee. “None of us are, because no matter what situation we’re in, we’ll keep fighting.” Scooter’s tags were now displayed in a shadow box on their mantel. Above it hung a long oak plank with the words Always Keep Fighting scrolled across the distressed wood. Painted along the bottom of the sign was a field of poppies. Her nana and Scooter keeping watch over them. A way to keep their memories close and show them what their sacrifices had built. “Look around us. This is a family worth fighting for.”
“I can’t wait to watch it grow. I want my teammates to find women who they can’t imagine living without. I want them to experience the love we have for themselves. Someday soon, we’ll add a few kids to the mix. And they’ll raise hell, running around this backyard pushing Uncle Jacob in his chair. They’ll all drag muddy footprints inside the house.”
Brynn dropped her head back and angled her face up to him. A wry smile played on her lips. “How soon?”
He lowered his head to brush his lips over hers. “I don’t see any reason to wait,” he said against her soft skin. “Do you?”
“I can’t think of a single one.” Neo slipped his tongue past her lips, pouring all of his love into the kiss. Tomorrow morning, he and Jacob had a surprise for Brynn. Jacob’s teacher had introduced a new device at school. His brother could turn his head to select different words or sentences on a tablet. Brynn hadn’t seen him use it yet, but tomorrow, Jacob was going to use the device to let her know that Neo had an important question for her. The ring had been burning a hole in his pocket for the past week. It was time to make this family official.
The End
