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“Daniel. I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I took a chance. I thought I might find you here.”
Lorelei’s heart was fluttering like crazy. Being so up close and personal to Daniel was incredible, especially since they hadn’t seen each other in days. For Lorelei it felt like months. It was killing her not to be with him. He was the best person she’d ever known.
“Y-you were looking for me?”
“Yes. Call me crazy, but I think we have some unfinished business.”
“We do?” she asked, her heart skittering at the firmness in his voice. What was he talking about? Even though it broke her heart to remember it, she thought she’d made herself clear the other day. They were over.
“I know why you ended things.”
Daniel met her gaze head-on without flinching a muscle. Lorelei’s heart sank. What did Daniel think he knew?
“I know about the parole hearing,” he said. “I know you’re scared. And I think, if I know you like I believe I do, that you’re trying to protect me in the event that the parole hearing doesn’t go your way.” Daniel’s voice sounded like home to Lorelei—comforting and reassuring and filled with love. She took a step backward away from him. He had no idea what James Ellis was capable of, and the fact that he’d managed to send a veiled threat to her from inside prison was indicative of his ability to manipulate and deceive and stalk from behind the walls of a prison. And he had already shown her what he was capable of doing. She couldn’t have Daniel swept up in this madness.
She held her hand up to ward him off as he came closer to her. “Daniel. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I—”
Daniel bridged the distance between them. He reached out and gently grasped her by her hands. “Lorelei. I love you. I think I’ve loved you practically from the very first moment we met. Loving you means I can’t walk away from this, not without it destroying me. Because I think you love me too, even though you haven’t said those words to me. I see it, Lorelei. In your eyes. In the way you look at me. In that gorgeous smile of yours. And every time we kiss it’s as if we were meant to be.” Tears pooled in his eyes and Lorelei felt as if her heart was shattering right there on the spot.
“I can’t believe I’m wrong about this. Because if I am, then maybe I really am destined to be by myself.”
“No!” she cried out, throwing herself into Daniel’s arms. “You’re not wrong.” She looked up at him, buoyed by the love she saw emanating from his beautiful gray-blue eyes. “I do love you, Daniel. I love you so very much.”
His arms were encircling her, holding her close. She could feel his heart thumping through his shirt and she wondered if Daniel could hear hers beating as well.
“Ever since I was informed about the parole hearing I’ve been afraid. And then I met you, Daniel, and you changed my life. I fell head over heels in love with you and your warm, open heart. But at the same time that fear never went away because I knew that my best chance to keep him behind bars was to do the one thing that scares the living breath out of me.” She shivered in his arms. “I want to be brave. I want to go to the parole hearing but I can’t bear to do it. I just don’t have that type of courage. And if he gets out on parole, he’s going to find me again. I just know it. And if he finds out about us he’ll make your life a living hell. I don’t put anything past him.”
“You never have to protect me, Lorelei. Not ever,” Daniel said in a low voice full of tenderness. “I want to be the one to keep you safe. And I give you my solemn vow to do so. It’s okay to be scared. It happens to all of us from time to time. I know the horror he put you through. But please know that I’m with you every step of this journey. That’s what it means to love someone, Lorelei.”
Tears ran down Lorelei’s face. “I’ve been so scared. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve been getting letters in the mail and I know they were sent from him. He’s diabolically clever. He probably got someone on the outside to send the letters for him. In one of the letters he made some veiled statement about seeing me soon.” She let out a sob. “I know he’s trying to intimidate me from appearing at the hearing, but he’s also showing me he’s still a threat. Oh, Daniel. I’ve been reliving the torment he put me through. I’ve been having nightmares where I wake up with a knife against my throat. It brings it all back.”
“Shh. I’ve got you,” Daniel said, cradling her in his arms. “There’s no way I’m going to let Ellis get within ten feet of you. I just found you, Lorelei. You’re more precious to me than rubies. It’s taken me my whole life to find you.” He let go of her and gazed deeply into her eyes. “We’re in this together. I promise I have your back.”
“Thank you, Daniel. You have no idea how much better I feel with this off my chest. It’s felt as if I’ve had a thousand-pound weight sitting on me. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I honestly felt as if I didn’t have another choice. I’ve never been in love before, but I can tell you Daniel Donahue that I wanted to keep you safe from harm. That was my only objective.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her lips. The kiss was full of hope and tenderness and the promise of something wonderful to come. Lorelei kissed him back with equal measure, filled with unimaginable joy that Daniel had come to find her and claim her as his woman. She loved this man with every fiber of her being, and she knew that the love they shared would help her fight back against the evil of James Ellis.
As the kiss ended, Daniel said, “I have an idea about the parole hearing. I know you were told that you had to face Ellis at the hearing. But I’ve been doing some research on the subject. I think there’s a way of making a request to deliver your testimony without him present.”
“Daniel, I appreciate your looking into it, but from what they told us, it can’t be done. They said a videotaped statement wouldn’t carry the same weight as my being there in person and that his attorney would fight tooth and nail against my making a statement in private.”
“Actually I think it’s very possible to request to make a statement without him being present. Because your case involved stalking, as well as kidnapping and assault, I think you can make a reasonable case that you shouldn’t have to face the person who victimized you. It would only feed his obsession to see you again. As a victim you have rights.”
Lorelei let out a deeply held breath. “I-I would definitely attend the hearing if I didn’t have to face him. Can it really be handled that way?”
“I don’t know for certain, but my attorneys are looking into it as we speak.”
“You’re incredible,” she gushed. “I feel so blessed to have you in my life.”
“We’re both blessed, Lorelei. I’m so thankful God pointed us in each other’s direction, knowing both of us were ready to love and be loved.”
“It means so much to know I have you in my corner.”
“No matter what happens, we’ll deal with it together. We’re not going to be defeated by treachery and evil. Love triumphs every time.”
She lifted her face up to him and whispered, “I never knew it until I met you, Daniel. I never imagined a
