Chapter 19
“Shit.”
Taryn kissed Jace’s chest. “There is still time for me to get a morning-after pill.”
“I should’ve thought about that.”
“Passion took us last night and today.” She returned her head to his chest and looked into the darkened room. “And if I get pregnant, then it was meant to be.”
He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I once thought we would have had a child by now.”
That made her smile. “We probably would have.”
“Sounds like a nice idea, doesn’t it?”
“Very.”
“Marry me, Taryn.”
She frowned and rose up on her elbow to look at him. “You can’t be serious. Not now.”
“I’m very serious. I had planned to propose the day I woke to find you gone.”
Taryn didn’t know what to say. Her heart broke all over again. That’s when she had to remind herself that she was with Jace now.
He pulled her back down and kissed the top of her head. “You had to have known.”
“I didn’t,” she whispered. She didn’t even try to stop the tears from coming. “You’re such a romantic.”
“Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.”
“It’ll be our secret.”
Jace drew in a breath and released it. “I mean it. I want to marry you. I don’t care if I have one minute with you or a hundred years. I want to be with you.”
“I want that, too.”
“Then let’s get married before we go on this mission.”
Taryn shifted her head to look at him. “If something goes wrong and Boyd finds out about you, he’ll torture you in front of me. He’ll bring you untold pain before he kills you.”
“He might. Or he may not. The fact is, I don’t care about him right now.”
“You should. He’s dangerous. I went out of my way to ensure that he thought we had broken up that night so he didn’t try to drag you into this.”
Jace’s lips twisted. “I have a hard time believing a man like him wouldn’t have had spies in Clearview before they came for your father and brother. I’m betting he knows all about me. And that you’d come to me this time.”
Taryn’s stomach dropped to her feet as she sat up. “Shit. If he knows, then?—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jace said calmly as he pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her. “We’re safe now. We’ve got this time. Let’s not have him intrude on things.”
“You’re right. He’s already taken so much from us.”
Jace rested his cheek atop her head. “Exactly. I’d much rather talk about you agreeing to marry me.”
She chuckled, unable to help herself. “Of course, I want to be your wife. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.”
“Then what’s stopping us from getting married before this mission? We can go down to the courthouse and get it done quickly and quietly. No one else needs to know.”
Taryn looked up at him. “Is that what you really want?”
“It is.”
She grinned, happiness filling her. “Then let’s do it.”
“And keep it a secret?”
“Our secret until we’ve succeeded in this mission.”
A smile broke out over his face. “There’s that fire I’ve always loved.”
“I’m not the same person I was.”
“No one ever stays the same.”
“Jace, I’ve . . .”
He nodded solemnly. “I understand. If you want to talk about it, I’m here. If you don’t, you don’t ever have to share a word. But understand that I love you no matter what. I loved you before I met you. I’ve loved you all these years you were away. And I will love you from this life into the next.”
She held onto him. When his arms tightened around her, she closed her eyes.
Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that Jace would be single if she ever managed to get back to Clearview.
The fact that he still loved her and wanted a life with her despite everything that had happened was proof that they were meant to be together.
“I love you so much,” she whispered.
He ran his hand down her hair. “It’s going to be all right. I’ve got you now.”
A tear fell from the corner of her eye. It was far from okay, but she appreciated that he wasn’t only willing, he wanted to stand by her against such a man as Boyd.
Taryn had known that Jace was a different sort of breed from the other men she knew.
He had been through Hell and back, and yet he hadn’t allowed that horrible time to define him.
It hadn’t been an easy road. She had been there during the nightmares and occasions when the memories were too much for him to endure.
Somehow, Jace always managed to pull himself back from the brink.
Partly because he was that strong mentally, but it also had a lot to do with the close connection he had to his family and friends.
Jace was the driving force for her to keep fighting every day that Boyd held her. There had been decent days, and there had been bad days. But every night when she closed her eyes, she thought about Jace and the life they had shared together—however briefly.
Now that she had returned to Clearview and Jace, there was no way she could go back to the life she’d led the last few years.
She wished she could say that she was done with Boyd and his demands one way or the other, but that wasn’t an option.
Not as long as Boyd held Payton. Her sister was the only thing that kept Taryn doing whatever Boyd wanted.
And it made her hate him all the more.
“You’re shaking,” Jace whispered.
“I’m thinking about how Boyd has used Payton against me. I don’t know if she’s been raped or abused. He assured me that isn’t the case, but I’ve never believed him.”
Jace’s chest rose as he pulled in a long breath. “We’ll be able to get to Boyd because he’s going to want to be there to take the money.”
“Oh, he will.”
“We don’t want to alert him that you’re planning something, but we need to ensure that Payton is there so we can get her out with you.”
Taryn rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. “I always ask to speak to Payton, and he always refuses. I need to push more this time.”
“Don’t be too aggressive. It’ll raise suspicions. Are you supposed to call in before you return?”
She turned her head to look at him. “Yes.”
“When you do, tell him that you’ve got the money, but you want to have your sister there to finish the transaction. He shouldn’t object because he did agree to your deal.”
Taryn nodded. “I know exactly what I’ll say to him.”
“He’s kept a tight hold on you. If you suddenly begin acting strangely, he’ll know something is up. That could make him bolt and take Payton.”
“I’d be free then, but my sister wouldn’t.” She blew out a frustrated breath.
Jace rolled onto his side to face her. “There are five of us, and another that I’ve asked to help. I know how good a small team of highly skilled men can be.”
“It won’t be enough. You saw the schematics of the warehouse. It’s a huge area. And he has men everywhere.”
“It won’t be the first time we’ve gone in outnumbered. It’s how we operate. You saw the plan. Two teams of three coming in at different points. The main goal is to get you and Payton out.”
She frowned. “And what of Boyd? If something isn’t done about him, he’ll come after us.”
“Don’t worry about him. We’ve got that covered.”
Taryn wished she knew what they planned for Boyd, but perhaps it was better she didn’t. The more she knew, the more she would worry about Jace. In order for this to work, she had to trust him completely.
She threaded her fingers with his. “I know all of you are trained, but that doesn’t stop my concern.”
“I need you to concentrate on two things,” he told her. “Yourself, and your sister. Get to her and get somewhere safe. That’s all I need you to do.”
“I could help with Boyd and his men.”
Jace shook his head and gripped her fingers tightly. “Just get Payton and take her out of the line of fire. You need to think up two places you could go to and wait for me to find you and Payton.”
“I can do that. Talking now, everything sounds so easy, so simple. But it won’t be.”
His lips curved into a grin. “It’ll be far from easy. It’ll be loud, chaotic, and scary. It’s easy to get disoriented, which is why you need to be the one to choose the places in the compound you can get to without too much difficulty.”
“Why not just one?”
“Because something may prevent you from getting to that spot. You always need at least one backup.”
She licked her lips, trying to take it all in. “I never would’ve thought of that.”
“That’s my skill set,” he replied with a wink. “Yours is making Boyd think you’re coming back to him for your sister’s sake like you always have.”
“I wish I never had to set eyes on him again.”
Jace brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I know, darlin’. We’re going to get there. Promise.”
“Do you think I made a mistake not going to the authorities?”
“Don’t do that. Don’t second guess yourself. You made a decision—which was valid, by the way. Stick with that and look forward. If you start wondering about things or changing your mind, it only confuses the issue.”
She knew he was right. Her gaze briefly lowered to their hands. “What if I can’t get to Payton?”
“Then you get safe. I can’t do what needs to be done if I’m worried about you.
It’s bad enough you’ll be there at all. Frankly, that scares the hell out of me.
But I know that none of this will work unless you’re there.
” A frown pulled his brows together for a heartbeat.
“There’s a good chance you won’t be able to get to Payton.
We talked about that last night when you were dozing.
Our plan factors in that Boyd will have her held, possibly by that Brick you spoke about.
We’ll extract her like we would any high-value target. ”
She swallowed loudly. “As long as I’m out of the way.”
“When the attack starts, Boyd will likely have one of his men try to take you.”
“No.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not going to let that happen,” he assured her before he pressed his lips to her mouth.