Dean stared at him. Emotion flickered in his eyes before he nodded. “They are safe.”
Liam had no reason to believe Dean. They wouldn’t just take his word for it. Liam would leave no stone unturned to make sure the people he loved remained safe.
Liam was no longer needed here. Dean had confessed to all of his crimes, citing that debt from fertility treatments had made him desperate and it had snowballed to a point of no return. He was looking at doing hard time for his myriad of crimes.
Liam left Glover to handle the rest of the interview. Right now, he needed to go to the woman he loved.
Deputy Marshal Kennedy was standing outside the hospital door when Liam arrived. “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “It’s been quiet.”
Giggles erupted from inside the room.
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Except the giggling.”
Liam smiled. Giggling was good. He opened the door.
Sam was sitting up in bed, and the girls were sitting together on the loveseat, looking at their phones.
“Uncle Liam, you have to watch this.” Sophia stood and showed him her phone.
He watched a thirty-second video montage of dogs doing funny things. She laughed.
He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Why don’t you take Bella and Kennedy to the cafeteria and get a snack?”
Sophia took the money. “Sweet.”
Sophia and Bella left with Kennedy.
He sat on the edge of the hospital bed and asked Sam, “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, considering.”
Liam swept a lock of hair from Sam’s face and tucked it behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her neck.
Her breath hitched.
His pulse raced.
“Remember that talk we had before I left?” He rubbed his thumb along her jawline.
She looked at his lips and swallowed. “Yes.”
“What if I told you that Deputy Marshal Butler is back and is your handler again?”
She reached up and grabbed his shirt, tugging him forward. Her lips met his—soft and steady at first, then suddenly desperate and hungry, like he was the air she needed to survive.
He didn’t hesitate. He returned the kiss, pouring every feeling she offered right back at her.
EPILOGUE
TWO WEEKS LATER
Sam wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. She had never felt so free and light in her life. She glanced out into the audience of Orange Street Church and found Liam in a mint-colored polo and khaki slacks, seated next to Bella and Sophia in matching floral dresses.
Behind them, Cass sat with the boys and her parents. Sam’s friend had been as surprised as everyone else over what Dean had been doing, but Sam hadn’t wanted Cass to pull away as if she was responsible for any of it. They’d determined to support each other like family should and were working on forgiveness together. It was going to be a long road, but they would get there.
Next to Cass were all the guys from Station 4. Her found family. The men who would always be with her and for her. Supporting her.
