Chapter 52
Chapter Fifty-Two
Colton handed Riley a cup of hot chocolate and sat next to her on the couch in front of his fireplace. Stretching his arm around her, he pulled her close to his side. “Get enough sleep today?”
“The most sound sleep I’ve had since November ninth. Except for the anesthesia.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“What about you? A couple of hours before I got here couldn’t have been enough. Not when you went straight to the station after the party.”
“It’ll get me through for another few hours. There was no way I was wasting your first night of freedom sleeping.”
She giggled. “Driving my car over here was weird. Feels so teeny after the SUV. I’m considering trading it for something bigger.”
“I wish you would. The thought of you in that minuscule car in Houston traffic doesn’t thrill me.”
“Let’s go car shopping this weekend, then.”
“It’s a date.” He tipped his head and kissed her, regretting he hadn’t put his mug down first to wrap her in his arms. Then again, it was probably good to have a barrier. Kissing her ignited a fire in him he had to work to control.
But he would. Until the day she wore his name, if he should be so blessed.
He pulled back and grinned at her. “The first of many.”
“Oh, I certainly hope so.” Leaning in, she pressed her mouth to his again, letting the kiss linger while flames crackled in the fireplace.
She pulled away and laid her head against his shoulder. “Did Warren say anything about how he got photos of us when we had no idea he was there? Or how he got into the Thanksgiving dinner?”
He nodded. “Turns out he’s a pretty good amateur photographer.
Has a long-range lens. Said he took them either from down the block or from his vehicle.
And he did pose as an amputee for the homeless shelter dinner.
Trevor was livid when I told him that. Couldn’t believe he had Everett right in front of him and missed it. ”
“Not his fault. The guy’s a master of disguise.”
“Exactly what I told him. Still, he didn’t take it well.”
“And what about the girl?”
“Everett’s girlfriend? She’ll be fine. Physically. No telling what the psychological scars might be, though.”
“What set him off? Was she able to say?”
He set his cup down on the coffee table. “Asked the wrong questions at the wrong time and paid the price.”
“She’s the real hero of all of this.” She raised her head from his shoulder to take a sip of her cocoa. “I should go see her. To thank her. We might not have known he was there if she hadn’t tried so hard to get the message to the hospital staff.”
“Makes me crazy. Even with all our safeguards, he got through.”
“Weren’t they checking the staff for weapons?”
“Checked bags and coats, light pat-downs. He planted it in a ceiling tile in the men’s restroom before reporting for work.
We couldn’t locate him anywhere right after we got the tip, then he was suddenly on the floor heading toward you.
He went to retrieve the gun and planned to take you out during all the hoopla at midnight.
Had somehow obtained a silencer. Probably because of the mess he made at the Christmas ball not using one.
Figured he could get a shot off without anybody being the wiser until after the deed, and he would already be lost in the crowd. ”
She shuddered and pressed in closer. “That whole thing had to be God. Her friend dropping by and finding her, being coherent enough to get some information out, and the ER staff taking it seriously enough to call the police. All within minutes of him carrying out his plan.”
“Most definitely a divine hand in all of that. We’re re-evaluating how we handle IDs on ops like this one.
The cop monitoring the waitstaff glanced right over him when he checked the DL.
And why wouldn’t he? Everett came in looking like Drummond, and there was no visible weapon on him.
Even covered the scars left by your fingernails with liquid latex, like they use in the theater.
Nobody would know without touching it. Another well-thought-out plan.
He’s not a stupid guy. Thorough. Analytical.
It’s too bad he didn’t use his smarts like Shane did and make something of himself. ”
She lifted her head. “His mom’s influence, you think? Shane said she was a piece of work.”
“Mr. Everett thinks so. Quite the roller coaster for him. Relieved to know Shane will be getting out as soon as all the paperwork goes through—since the DA’s filing it himself—but grief-stricken his other son killed an innocent girl out of revenge. Told John he feels responsible.”
“That’s not true.”
“Not a bit. After our interview with them, John checked the court records from twenty, thirty years ago. Mr. Everett filed several times to get Warren, but the judge never awarded him full custody.”
“So sad.”
“Speaking of the mother, they’re reopening her death investigation. To see if it truly was a suicide or if Warren might have had a hand in it. Apparently, several people reported doubts about the suicide ruling at the time, but the police didn’t agree.”
Riley shook her head. “His mother, Cait, Shane, his girlfriend, Terence. And me. He considers anybody expendable if they get in the way of his agenda. That’s some kind of evil.”
A true statement. They’d all breathed a sigh of relief when he agreed to the plea deal. His confession in exchange for life without parole. No death penalty, but at least he’d never be free to harm another person.
Riley sighed. “I hope John’s getting some sleep after working all night and today.”
“I’m sure he is. He left when I did, and we were both going straight home.”
After all the drama, the Petersen folks packed up the control center while the police worked the crime scene in the lobby and outside, where it all ended.
Once Tech Ops shut down, he joined Riley in the ballroom, as did Nowell, Trevor, Paul, and several other Petersen personnel, ready to celebrate the successful end of the operation.
The law enforcement guys acting as waiters, valets, and the photographer stuck around too.
Said a lot about them that they finished out the party in their designated roles instead of leaving the staff shorthanded.
After leaving Avery with a New Year’s kiss, John had to report to the precinct to process Everett, who was under arrest even while being treated for his wounds.
Colton joined him after seeing Riley home just before dawn, bringing breakfast he’d picked up on the way.
By the time John had completed his interrogation that afternoon, they’d both been about to drop and left each other with a congratulatory handshake before heading home.
Riley laid her head on his shoulder again and snuggled in. “My girls were amazing last night. This morning. Whenever it was. God really blessed me with them.”
“Four peas in a pod.”
“Not the first time I’ve heard that.”
He put his cheek against her head and watched the flames lick the logs. He should probably put more on, but he didn’t want to get up, content right where he was.
“So, tell me. If you’re not going to have to work on the Everett appeals case, can you take some time off in the near future? Like, maybe a month?”
She pulled back and grinned at him. “To go golfing in Arizona?”
“Actually, I was thinking Hawaii.”
“Hawaii? I’d love that.”
“I can get a place there for a few weeks, say, around April? May? A friend of mine has a bungalow on Kauai, and I’ve used it several times to get away. Very secluded. Right on the beach. Very romantic.”
“Sounds wonderful. Two bedrooms?”
“No, but I think I have it covered. I figured we’d need at least a couple of months to plan a proper wedding, after all.”
Her eyes widened. “Is that a proposal?”
“Maybe not the most romantic one, but yes. If you’ll have me.”
“You want to marry me?”
He chuckled. “I thought that much was pretty clear.”
“Boy, when you make up your mind, you really make up your mind.”
“Having second thoughts?” His teasing grin belied the knot in his stomach. She’d said she was in love with him, but marriage was a whole different game.
“No. I want to be with you. I just need to know you’re absolutely sure. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”
“I’ll sign anything you want me to or your family asks me to. This has nothing to do with your money.”
“Sign? The only thing I want you to sign is the Marriage Certificate.”
That knot uncoiled with her answer. “I insist on a prenup, Ri.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want there to be any question.”
“There is no question. Not for me, anyway. It was our socio-economic status that almost kept us apart. I certainly don’t believe you’ve suddenly decided what a great way to live a life of leisure.
My mother didn’t sign any agreement. Neither did Delia, and she was a secretary at the company when she met Alex.
Sadie’s the only one who brought as much financially into the marriage as Kevin. ”
“I may need a little help in knowing how to handle this. Like providing for you. I obviously don’t need to. But I want to keep my job. I want to feel like I’m contributing.”
“You absolutely can. And money isn’t the only contribution people bring to marriage. You know that from experience. We have our faith, our families, our goals and dreams. All things we can experience together.”
She heaved a sigh. “Although I’m going to miss you something awful while you’re working an assignment.”
He tipped his head. “There might be a way around that.”
Her eyebrows rose above those green eyes he could stare into all night. “Do tell.”
“Mack made me an offer a couple of months back, but I told him I’d have to think about it. It wouldn’t take place until March, anyway, so I had time to consider it.”
“What offer?”
“The business has grown considerably, and we’re getting more and more high-profile clients from all over the world. Mack needs help at the administrative level and asked me to take a VP position. Vice President of Security Operations.”
“Oh, wow, that sounds impressive. But that would mean office work, right? Could you stand that?”
“Sure. If it meant being with you evenings and weekends. And that sounds pretty fantastic to me.”
Her smile lit her face. “To me too. But you need to be happy with how you spend your days. In your career. I know you like to be in the thick of things.”
“I’d still be involved in training new agents, planning ops, and I’d probably do field work from time to time, like Mack did with your case. I’d be very happy, Riley. Working at what I love during the day, coming home to the one I love at night.”
She reached up and put her hand along his face. “And the one who loves you.”
“Forever?”
“Forever.”
He grinned at her before kissing her again. This time, with nothing in his hands to keep him from wrapping her up in his arms.
Pulling back sometime later, he gazed down at her. “This is going to be some wild ride.”
“Guess you’d better hang on.”