Check Mate (23 page)

Mariah got to her feet and rushed over to Gideon who stood watching while his brother and Grimble tumbled about on the floor. Before Mariah could act, the gun in Grimble's hand went off while it was lodged between him and Jake.

Mariah held her breath. Please, God, please!

Jake rolled Grimble over and looked up at Mariah. She almost cried when she saw the huge blood stain across Jake's stomach.

"I'm all right," he told her as he came to his feet a bit unsteadily. "It's his blood."

Mariah rushed toward Jake, then stopped abruptly, common sense taking charge momentarily. "Johnson, it's all clear in here. What about out there?"

"All clear. We're already rounding up people and taking them out of here. Does anybody in there need medical attention?"

She looked at Jake. He shook his head and glanced at Gideon, who said, "I'm fine." She went from body to body checking for vital signs. Agnes was dead, as Mariah knew she would be. The guard she'd shot was unconscious, but still alive, as was the other wounded guard. Oliver Grimble's pulse was weak and the gunshot had blown a good size hole in his belly. She didn't think he'd make it.

"One dead, three still alive," Mariah called out, then turned back to Jake. "You almost got yourself killed, you know."

"Nan, I wasn't worried." He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "I knew you'd show up at the last minute and rescue me."

Mariah threw her arms around his neck and plastered herself against him, uncaring that Oliver Grimble's blood covering the front of Jake's shirt rubbed off on her. "Well, from now on, you'd just better stay out of trouble. I can't spend the rest of my life rescuing you."

"Of course not. You're going to be too busy running the bureau and raising a couple of kids. If I'm lucky, they'll be a couple of kick-ass little girls just like their mother."

"Jake?" Her heart went wild. Her tummy fluttered.

"So, are you going to introduce me to the lady?" Gideon asked.

Jake kissed Mariah first, then turned her to face his brother. "This is FBI Special Agent Mariah Daley and the woman I intend to marry."

"What?" Mariah and Gideon said simultaneously.

"How about we get out of here?" Jake said. "I'd like to see the light of day again."

"Jake Ingram, don't you dare change the subject. You're talking about getting married and having kick-ass daughters and you haven't even asked me if I want to marry you or—"

Jake practically dragged Mariah out of the room, Gideon following them. And when they were in the hallway, which was now alive with activity, agents and medics all over the place, he kissed Mariah again. He kept kissing her and kissing her until he took her breath away.

When they came up for air, he grinned. "Mariah, I love you. Will you marry me?"

She swallowed several times, then cleared her throat. "Are you sure that's not gratitude talking? Or maybe you're on an adrenaline high or—"

"Or maybe I'm just plain crazy in love with you."

"Yeah, then there's that." She smiled at him.

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"Well?"

"Yes, dammit, of course I'll marry you."

"Name the date. And make it soon. I don't want a long engagement."

Johnson issued orders to take Jake and Gideon out of the compound and have the medics topside check them over to make double sure they were all right. Mariah clung to Jake on the elevator ride to the surface and thought about a wedding date. As soon as they stepped out on firm ground, Gideon made a request.

"I'd like to call Brooke."

Spying Agent McBride out of the corner of her eye, Mariah called to him. "Get Mr. Faulkner a digital phone. He needs to let someone know he's safe and sound."

Jake pulled Mariah aside. "Gideon found the disk and he sent out the info on it to all our siblings, so—"

"We know. About the same time we stormed this place, another unit of federal agents were descending on the Oregon compound located under Redcom," Mariah said. "We're rounding up everyone involved with the Coalition.

The new Code Proteus experiments will be confiscated. And even Rebelia, General DeBruzkya's domain, is on the run from American retaliation. Unfortunately, despite knowing that Bruno DeBruzkya hooked up with Croft and helped finance the New Code Proteus, we don't have enough hard evidence against him. The man is a megalomaniac and sooner or later, we'll get him. But except for the general, most of the loose ends concerning the Coalition should be tied up in a few weeks."

"It's difficult to believe that the Coalition is actually being destroyed, that what had become the main objective, my main goal in life this past year, has actually been achieved."

"And the new Code Proteus project has been aborted. What happened with you and your brothers and sisters won't happen again."

"I plan to make sure that it doesn't."

"Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"March the twentieth."

"What?"

She grunted, then poked him in the ribs. "It's the first day of spring, Jake. It's a day of new beginnings, new hopes and dreams."

"And the weather should be wonderful on Brunhia in late March."

"Brunhia?"

"It's an island, just off the southern dp of Portugal, west of the Gulf of Cadiz."

"I know where Brunhia is," she told him.

"It's been a safe haven for my family. I'd like for us to get married there, with only your immediate family and mine and our closest friends in attendance."

"Sounds like an expensive undertaking," Mariah said. "Even if we pool our resources, I don't think my folks and I can afford it."

Jake nuzzled her nose with his, then reminded her, "Aren't you forgetting that I'm a multimillionaire? I can easily afford to give you the wedding of your dreams."

"I honestly hadn't given your financial status any thought." She snuggled to his side, allowing herself the luxury of being an eager, excited bride-to-be. "By the way, the only thing I need in order to have the wedding of my dreams is the perfect bridegroom."

"Got anybody in mind?"

She punched him playfully. "As a matter of fact, I do. He's a genius. He's incredibly handsome and has a to-die-for body. And he's great in the sack."

"How great in the sack?" Jake asked jokingly.

"Well, if I had to describe his sexual prowess in one word—" she smiled at him, knowing that all the love in her heart was reflected in her expression "—that word would be superhero."

Jake burst into laughter, then lifted Mariah off her feet and swung her around and around before stopping and sliding her down his body until she stood there in his arms, her lips pressed against his. Oblivious to everything except each other, they celebrated being alive and in love. And destined for a long and happy future.

Epilogue

Isolated and rustic, the island of Brunhia came alive with nature's beauty in early spring. The locals had been hired to assist the outside staff which had been flown in to prepare for Jake and Mariah's wedding. In the beginning, Mariah had agreed for Jake to hire a wedding consultant, but when she'd fired three within the first two weeks, Jake had suggested that she simply tell him what she wanted and he'd hire people to give her exactly what she asked for—down
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to the last detail. So, today's affair would be simple, elegant and very private. Since there was only one safe water entrance to the island, which was adequately guarded, and the landing strip for small aircraft was also manned by locals hired by Jake's family, there would be absolutely no press at their wedding.

A week after the Coalition had crumbled and all the head honchos still alive were sitting behind bars, Jake had taken Mariah shopping for an engagement ring. She'd been shown one large diamond ring after another, but nothing had truly appealed to her. Oh, they'd all been breathtaking, outrageously expensive and what any woman in her right mind would want— any woman except Mariah. In the end she'd asked Jake if he minded terribly if she didn't have an engagement ring, that all she really wanted was a wide gold band. He'd laughed and said, "Leave it to me to fall in love with a woman who could care less about money and all the fancy trappings that go with it."

They had come to the island ten days ago and enjoyed some time alone, just the two of them at the rustically elegant home owned by Gretchen's husband Kurt. Then Jake's entire family had arrived six days ago, including his adoptive brother Zack and his wife Maisy, as well as his parents. And his biological siblings and their mates had joined them for a real family reunion. Gideon and Brooke. Gretchen and Kurt. Marcus and Samantha. Faith and Luke.

Connor and Alyssa.

Mariah had encouraged him to spend time with his brothers and sisters, for the six children to interact personally as siblings. They'd tossed around a football on the vast lawns, the brothers wrestling good-naturedly and arguing over plays and the final score. They'd sat around in the evenings, listening to music, talking about everything and anything, while they munched on snacks and beer. And a couple of times, over in the wee hours of the morning, those still awake would reminisce about their childhood, about what each of them actually remembered. Gretchen and Faith had cried when they talked about Violet and Henry, and God knew that Jake—and he suspected his brothers, too—

had felt like crying. They had lost so much—not only their parents, but a lifetime of growing up together. But they'd pledged that from here on out, nothing would ever keep them apart again.

Emotion lodged in Jake's throat as he thought about the strong bond he and his siblings had already forged. And he knew that in the future that bond of love and devotion would grow even stronger and be shared by their mates and their children.

While sharing good times, at long last, they had discussed their individual plans for the immediate future and everyone seemed to know their chosen path. Everyone except Gideon. Then Marcus had mentioned that his uncle, Russ Evans, down in Emerald Cove, Florida, owned a yacht company, but was also working on a top-secret submarine prototype for the U.S. Navy. Marcus had suggested that Russ could use Gideon's expertise on the project, and Jake wholeheartedly agreed. So, it appeared that the future looked pretty bright for all the Bloomfield kids.

This event had been the first time the entire family had been together since the Coalition had been destroyed and hundreds arrested, so they'd taken the opportunity to discuss what to do with their biological father's notes on genetic engineering. They had discussed the fate of Henry Bloomfield's legacy and in the end chose the lesser evil. Although they'd felt turning over the research material to anyone outside the immediate family was a risk, they had made a unanimous decision to hand over their father's research notes to the United States government. They sincerely hoped the information would be used only to benefit mankind and never again fall into the wrong hands.

Mariah's family, along with Jake's closest friends and hers, had come to the island three days ago—in time for the rehearsal dinner and the extravagant family bridal showers. While she and the other females had aahed and oohed over silver serving trays and silky negligees, Jake and the other men had indulged in a bachelor party extraordinaire.

Although he hadn't been allowed to see Mariah today before the ceremony because she'd been fiercely guarded by her mother and her two matrons of honor, they had spoken on the phone. She had kidded him about just how wild the party had probably been last night, telling him she knew all about the fact that he, Matt, Eric and Ethan were once known as the Blues Brothers back in their days at the University of Chicago— because they broke so many hearts.

But Jake had assured her that he'd been on his best behavior last night.

"From this day forward, there will be only one woman in my life and in my heart," he'd told her, then chuckled when he realized just how sappy his confession had sounded.

***

Mariah's matrons of honor—Jake's two sisters Gretchen and Faith—buzzed around her as her mother helped her straighten her bridal veil. Gretchen was mother to an infant daughter and her husband Kurt was a doting husband and father. Of course Gretchen wasn't the only mother among their friends and family, although she was the only one who had already given birth. Honey Evans Strong and her husband Max were expecting their first child as were Carey and Matt Tynan, and Gideon and Brooke.

Marian's mom gave her a hug and a kiss before taking Mariah's grandmother's gold locket from its velvet case.

"Something old and something borrowed." Sarah Daley placed the delicate chain around her daughter's neck. "And someday your daughter will wear this locket on her wedding day, just as I and my mother before me did."

Mariah and Jake wanted children, but had decided to wait a year before making plans for parenthood. She had a

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feeling that this locket just might be worn by more than one of her daughters. If Jake got his way, they'd have at least two kick-ass girls.

A few minutes later, with her arm laced through her father's, Mariah marched down the flower-strewn garden path that led her straight to the altar and the man she loved. Overhead the azure blue sky created a canopy more grand than the ceiling of any cathedral. This was Mariah's dream—an outdoor springtime wedding, with flowers everywhere and green grass and birds chirping. And Jake Ingram all decked out in a tuxedo.

The ceremony went by in a blur and Mariah found herself crying by the time she said "I do." Of course, she shed tears of happiness. And when Jake kissed her, she never wanted the moment to end. This was life at its best, a perfect moment out of time, blessed with complete joy.

After the minister introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Jake Ingram, they raced down the grassy aisle toward the first huge pavilion set up for the reception. Jake pulled her aside and into his arms.