Found Missing (Decorah Security Series, Book #14): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel (18 page)

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Authors: Rebecca York

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Chapter Twenty-Three

Grant watched in horror, knowing there was no way for him to stop the man from shooting his daughter.

Still, he tried. “Over here,” he shouted, lunging forward again.

Oakland’s attention wavered toward him, and he planted himself in the guy’s face. The man blinked “What the hell is that?”

“Like I said, magic,” Jenny answered, her voice surprisingly even.

“Yeah, well I’ll take care of that for you.”

Grant knew he was about to shoot, but before he could pull the trigger, an explosion outside shook the house.

The people in the room, wavered on their feet as a shock wave ballooned from the site of the impact. Oakland tumbled backwards. Grant caught Jenny before she could go down. With his help, she righted herself quickly, dashed toward her father, snatched the gun from his hand, and darted back.

Now she was the one holding the weapon on him.

“Put that down,” he bellowed.

“Not a chance. Get up. We’re going outside.”

“The hell we are. You don’t have the guts to shoot me.”

“Don’t bet on it.”

She could have killed him, but when he started toward her with his face grim and his hands raised, she fired, striking him in the arm she had already cut. He bellowed in pain and rage.

“Let’s go. And no more funny stuff,” she said again. “Or next time I’m going to aim for center mass.”

Grimacing in pain, Oakland steadied himself against the back of a chair.

“Where should we go?” Jenny asked Grant.

“What do you mean, where should we go?” the mobster asked. “Who the hell are you talking to?”

“My fairy godfather.”

“The front door,” Grant answered.

Oakland blinked. “What was that?”

“More magic.”

“Be careful when we get outside this room,” Grant warned. “The plan was to get most of the guards outside. But some could still be in here with the boss.

To prove it, one of them came charging down the hall, a gun in his hand.

Behind him was one of the Marshalls in wolf form. The animal leaped on the thug, bringing him down. Behind the wolf was Ben Walker, automatic pistol in hand.

The wolf stepped back and Ben ordered, “Put the gun on the floor and stand up slowly.”

The guy did as he was ordered.

Grant made a low sound. It had been a good idea to come here by using his mental connection with Jenny, but now he was out of the action.

No
, his brother said inside his head.
We brought you along. You’re in the SUV in the driveway.

Thanks

“Be right back,” he said to Jenny, thinking that when they’d moved him, he’d almost come back to his body. That was why the scene around him had wavered a little while ago.

It happened again now, only he was the one in control. And this time, when his eyes blinked open, he found himself sitting in the front passenger seat of an SUV.

He yanked the door open, then had to steady himself when he felt light-headed.

From across the lawn, he could see smoke rising in a black column. As he started toward the house, he saw a man running across the lawn. It was Carlos, the thug who had abducted Jenny. When the guy saw Grant, he started shooting.

Grant ducked behind the car, cursing. He’d come here unarmed.

No wait. That was wrong. When he felt for the gun in his shoulder holster, he found the Sig nestled inside.

He clicked off the safety and ducked around the hood of the car, returning fire. Carlos tried to dodge behind a tree, but Grant got him first, and he went down.

Looking around to make sure nobody else had drawn a bead on him, Grant made for the house. In the living room, he found Ben and the wolf standing guard over the security guy.

Which left Jenny and her father still in the hall.

Probably the Decorah men thought the emergency was over. Grant wasn’t so sure. He arrived in time to see Oakland pull a small caliber pistol from a holster at his ankle and aim it at Jenny.

Only an expert marksman could take the shot. Neither Grant nor Jenny hesitated. They both fired at the same time, both of them hitting the mob boss, who went slack on the floor.

Grant rushed to Jenny and pulled her away, into another bedroom. Clasping her in his arms, he held on tight.

“Are you okay?” both of them asked at the same time.

“Yes,” they both answered.

Then his lips came down on hers for a hot, savage kiss.

When they broke apart, they saw Frank Decorah standing in the doorway.

“Are we all secure?” Grant asked.

“Yes. But there’s the question of what to do with the rest of Oakland’s security guys.”

“How many are left?” Jenny asked.

“Two.”

“Put them in a plane and fly them to the Alaska. Let them off and turn them loose.”

Frank laughed. “I like the way you think. That could actually work. At any rate, you’ve been through enough. Let us take care of the details.”

“Thank you,” she said, then added with a note of wonder in her voice, “I guess everything turned out okay.”

“Yeah, well, sorry we had to make you think Carlos was dead after he broke into the patient facility. It’s true now,” Frank said.

She hung her head. “I should have trusted you. I was just too scared to take a chance.”

“Everybody understands the position you were in.” Frank looked toward the door. “I’ve got to supervise the . . . clean up. You and Grant go enjoy your freedom.”

“Amen,” Grant agreed.

“Take one of the SUV’s.”

oOo

Jenny felt a sense of unreality as they climbed into the black vehicle.

“Is it really over?” she asked when Grant started the engine and pointed the car down the drive.

“Yeah. You’re free.”

“What about Gabe Thompson?”

“What’s the point of his going after you now that your father’s dead?”

“That makes sense,” she answered, staring straight ahead through the windshield.

“But you’re still worried about something,” Grant said, his voice gentle.

“I lied to you about so much. Like—I was never a teacher. I was never anything but the Princess in the Tower.”

“And now you have the freedom to do anything you want.”

She glanced at him, then away.

“And you have the money to do it.”

“I don’t want his money.”

“I knew you’d say that. But think of it as victim’s compensation. Like when someone is wrongfully imprisoned. That’s worth something per year.”

“I . . .”

“You don’t have to decide right now.” As he pulled onto the highway, he asked, “Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere we can be together—if you still want me.”

“Of course I do.” He made a low sound. “Too bad we can’t go somewhere as nice as that room you imagined for us.”

“Anywhere will do.”

“Not quite.” He pulled over to the side of the road and used the GPS to locate a nearby upscale hotel. Then he headed there.

A half hour later, he had checked them into an opulent room. It wasn’t quite as grand as their fantasy room, but it would definitely do.

The moment the door closed behind them, he reached for her.

She came into his arms, clinging to him with an intensity that made his heart sing.

“Jenny, I need you.”

“And I need you.”

He was too keyed up to go slowly with her now. He kissed her with an intensity that stunned him, and her response stunned him even more. They tore at each other’s clothing, intent on feeling naked skin pressed to naked skin.

They staggered across the room together, and he paused long enough to pull the covers out of the way.

When they fell onto the bed, she guided him inside her. They moved frantically together, each of them driving the other to climax. And as she shuddered in his arms, he followed her over the edge.

In the aftermath of the storm, they lay together panting.

He moved enough to pull up the covers, and they clung together in the wide bed.

She was the one who spoke first. “Oh, Grant, I should have trusted you,” she repeated what she’d said to Frank.

“You weren’t raised to trust. Your mother left you. Your father treated you like a bargaining chip. From what you say, your Aunt Sophie was like a prison guard.”

“But then I ended up in the VR, and I realized what a caring group of people could be like.” Her breath hitched. “But in a way that made it worse, because I knew my father could kill everybody there.”

“You’re safe now.”

“That’s still sinking in.”

He raised up, looking down at her. “And you can do anything you want—be anything you want.”

“I want to be with you. I’ve known that for a long time, but I was afraid I’d get you killed.”

“You didn’t.”

She swallowed hard. “You said those sleeping pills were fake.”

“Yeah.”

“You were waiting for me to do something stupid.”

“Not stupid. Desperate.”

She knitted her fingers with his. “I won’t ever lie to you again.”

It was his turn to look contrite. “And I won’t lie to you.”

“I understand why you did.”

“But now neither one of us has to pretend—about anything.”

She nodded against his shoulder, and he felt her relax. He knew there were still things to work out. But he also knew that they had the time they needed.

“Will you teach me to cook?” she murmured. “Like you taught me to shoot.”

“Sure. I mean a guy wants his wife to have some homemaker skills.”

“Your wife?”

“Am I moving too fast?”

“No. I used to daydream about being married to you. But I couldn’t believe it would ever happen.”

“Believe it,” he murmured, gathering her close and letting his happiness expand to envelop them both.

“I feel that,” she whispered.

“My joy?”

“And mine. It’s so good.”

“Yes,” he answered, knowing that what he had found with this woman could never be duplicated.

AFTERWORD

Thank you for purchasing
FOUND MISSING
, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.

If you enjoy my books, do me a huge favor. Please go back to your favorite online book store, and leave an honest review. Authors live and die by their reviews. The few extra seconds it takes are really appreciated. Thank you!

oOo

If you enjoyed
FOUND MISSING
, you might also like to read other Light Street Press books by Rebecca York:

DECORAH SECURITY SERIES
by Rebecca York

Book 1.
On Edge
(a Decorah Security prequel novella)

Book 2.
Dark Moon
(a novel)

Book 3.
Chained
(a novella)

Book 4.
Ambushed
(a short story)

Book 5.
Dark Powers
(a novel)

Book 6.
Hot and Dangerous
(a short story)

Book 7.
At Risk
(a novel)

Book 8.
Christmas Captive
(a novella)

Book 9.
Destination Wedding
(a novella)