Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Where the hell is Nora? The NPS Ranger, Nora Deacon?” Sebastian demanded, looking around the NPS cabin.
“I put her on a chopper earlier,” Hunt Kincaid told him.
Goddamn it. “I have the body and the sled ready to fly along with mine and Cas’s long guns.
They need to be guarded at all times until another FBI agent from Billings takes custody of all the evidence.
Send Nash and Hopper with them. Then I’m on the next flight out even if you have to punt someone else.
Got it? Drop me wherever the hell the pilot dropped Nora. ”
“Shit.” Kincaid seemed to realize he’d fucked up. “She asked to speak to you before she left, and I was so focused on getting everyone out of here, I didn’t think…”
Sebastian shook his head. “You’re doing a great job, but I’m pulling rank to deal with a personal matter.”
“You got it.” Kincaid turned away to talk to the pilots on the radio.
Cas clasped his shoulder and leaned close. “She’ll wait for you.”
Sebastian wasn’t so sure. She had a history of running.
“Let’s get some coffee and grab our gear,” Cas suggested.
They packed up in silence. The other guys were shooting the shit, but Sebastian couldn’t concentrate on anything except for the worry that Nora would change her mind about him, about them, if given too much time to think.
On board the chopper, he stared out of the window, seeing nothing. He was exhausted to the bone. Summer was going to be okay, thank God, but everything else he cared about, everything else in his life from before he’d met Nora, seemed to be less all-consuming than it had been before.
Maybe he should request a transfer to Montana.
They could figure out where exactly after they talked, really talked. It would mean leaving his HRT family, but that had to happen sometime. He hadn’t expected it to be so soon, and the idea felt like cutting off a limb. But the thought of being far from Nora felt wrong.
And maybe he was being pathetic.
He rubbed his face.
What if she changed her mind? Decided he wasn’t worth the trouble? There was no point giving up a career that meant everything to him if she didn’t want him for anything except a short fling.
He’d never been in this position before. He’d never been in love before, but he’d been helpless as soon as he’d discovered what she’d been through and what she’d done with her life.
And it wasn’t just her bravery or grit. It was those unusual eyes and the jut of her chin and her unstoppable nature and her passion. It was fucking her against a tree or holding her while she screamed herself awake from a nightmare.
The pilot dropped them off at the ranch, and he jogged over to where Novak stood inside the barn.
“Good work.” Novak looked up from where he helped Romano pack up an otter box of various electronics.
“Where’s Nora?”
Novak’s gaze narrowed. Sebastian straightened.
“Her boss called her in for a press conference in town.”
“Her boss?” Sebastian had a horrible feeling about this.
“Yeah, why?”
“Nothing.”
Novak looked frazzled. “Can you help pack the Suburbans?”
Sebastian shook his head. “I need an hour and a vehicle.”
Novak reared back in amazement. “Seriously?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. Seriously. I’ll be back in time to leave.” Probably.
“I’ll go with him,” Cas volunteered.
Novak rolled his eyes. “So, I’ll be two people down rather than one. Sure. Great. Get out of here. Keep your phones on. I’m expecting another call-out.”
The world did not stop turning just because Sebastian wanted it to. He climbed behind the wheel of one of the Suburbans and began reversing before Cas had even closed the door.
Nora and Chance stood on the podium off to one side as the sheriff gave an update on Summer Eastman’s rescue and her current condition and treatment for hypothermia. He also told the press that Glenn Eastman had been shot dead during the rescue operation.
Nora stood there, wishing she could be anywhere else, preferably with Sebastian, just doing nothing at all, no mission, no schedule. Just drinking coffee, spending a little time to get to know one another properly.
She let out a breath of relief when the sheriff finally shut up but then groaned on the inside when the head honcho from Glacier, Park Superintendent Graham Baum, took a step forward. She exchanged a look with her supervisor, Roland, but noticed he wouldn’t quite meet her gaze.
A big black Suburban pulled up down the street—like the ones HRT drove.
Even though most of the operation had taken place outside of Glacier, Baum outlined the size of the park and the difficulty the search teams had faced in terms of weather and terrain and danger, sharing the fact that Eastman had set up booby traps along the way.
He turned and held his hand out to indicate her and her dog, even though Chance did not belong to the NPS in any shape or form.
“I would like to say a giant thanks on behalf of the whole service to our brave NPS Ranger, Mary Eleanor Deacon, and her K9, Chance. They not only saved the life of an FBI agent who was buried by an avalanche, they also tracked Summer and were directly responsible for saving her life.”
Nora stood frozen as faces in the crowd turned toward her.
What the hell just happened?
Recognition of her full name began to spark questions from some of the older reporters in attendance.
“Is that the Mary Eleanor Deacon? The girl who was abducted in Vermont years ago?”
Her wide eyes flashed to Roland with obvious betrayal, and he looked sick to his stomach. But he’d ordered her to be here. Ordered her to stand here ready for slaughter.
Chance leaned against her leg as if sensing her distress.
“Indeed.” Baum leaned closer to the microphone. “Mary Eleanor, Nora,” he spoke as if they were friends. “Would you like to come up here and tell us what happened in your own words?”
Everyone stared at her expectantly. Like she was an exhibit in a zoo.
She shook her head. Pulled off her stupid hat.
Suddenly, Sebastian was at her side. “She has no comment at this time.”
He took the hat from her fingers and thrust it at the superintendent, who looked furious that she’d embarrassed him. As if his short humiliation on this stage somehow beat out her forty-two-day ordeal at the hands of a monster.
Sebastian tried to pull her away but she stood, finding strength in the fact he’d found her at the moment she needed him most.
“I do want to make a comment.” She handed Sebastian Chance’s leash, took a step forward and began to unbutton her jacket. The crowd stood rapt.
Graham Baum smiled. Roland McGregor blew out a sigh of relief.
She slipped out of her jacket and held it out until the superintendent was forced to take it.
Then she took her badge from her pocket, carefully removed her firearm from its holster, and handed both over to the man, whose expression had soured.
She leaned into the microphone. “I quit.”
She turned and joined Sebastian at the edge of the stage where they’d set up their little ambush. He helped her down, and she stared into those deep brown eyes of his and knew he’d always be there to support her. Maybe not in the flesh, but in spirit.
That was all she needed.
They ran for the Suburban, where Cas sat behind the wheel, but she hesitated. “I need my truck, which is farther down the street.”
The reporters began to run after them.
Sebastian raced past the Suburban. “Give me your keys.”
She passed them over. Her hands were shaking.
They got into the truck, and Sebastian peeled onto the street and did a quick U-turn, despite the massive plow on the front of her vehicle.
The Suburban moved in front of them now and put on the blue and red lights, leading the way.
Nora strapped in and kept Chance in the wheel well as the two HRT operators drove faster than she would ever dare.
“You okay?”
The shock was wearing off a little. “Those bastards sacrificed me to the wolves.”
“Nora, I need you to know something.” He looked worried.
“I didn’t tell anyone except Ryan. But Novak told me last night he knew about Kingston after talking to your boss.
I’m sorry. I tried to find the opportunity to tell you, but we didn’t get much privacy over the past twelve hours.
I didn’t want to upset you, and I sure as hell never expected anyone to pull a shit move like that. ”
“I can’t believe he’d do that to me. I worked in the park for nearly seven years. I went to dinners at Roland’s house. Bought presents for his grandkids.”
“I’m sure they’ll take you back if you want.”
She shook her head. “I won’t work with people I can’t trust.”
He nodded. “I can understand that. I wanted to say this earlier, but it felt way too fast and I don’t want to freak you out, but if you want me to, I can transfer to an FBI field office in Montana, or anywhere really.
I want to get to know you, properly. I want to find out if you’re a morning person or a night owl.
I want to know what you like to read and watch and how you look in the shower. ”
“Wait.” She looked at him in shock. “You’d give up HRT?”
“You just gave up being a ranger, and you are damned good at that.”
She crossed her arms. “That was different. That wasn’t for you.” Or maybe it was. She wasn’t sure anymore.
“I’d give up HRT for you if I have to. I don’t want to, and I’m telling you that, not to leverage my case, but so you know how much you mean to me. The chance to get to know you feels like something I’d be a fool not to pursue.”
Tears formed. “It’s wild and crazy, and I love you, but I don’t want you to quit HRT because of me. Not yet anyway.” She leaned forward to kiss the side of his mouth.
Then she sat back, and panic rushed over her.
“But God, Sebastian. I don’t know what to do next.
” She felt queasy. “I can’t stay here. Fuck.
I can’t even go back home.” She closed her eyes and blew out a massive breath.
“The media is going to track me down, and I know they won’t leave until I give them some sort of statement. ”
He took her hand. Kissed it. “Come to Quantico. Today. With me.”
She smiled, then realized he was serious. “I doubt they’ll let me on an FBI flight.”
“They won’t know. Come to Quantico. I live in an apartment, but we can look for something with a garden for Chance, or I can get you a hotel room.”
She sat there stunned.
He looked worried. “I freaked you out, didn’t I?”
“A little,” she admitted, “but I’m more freaked out by the fact I’m considering it.”
“Come with me, Nora. You and Chance. We’ll get that coffee date and figure it out. No pressure for anything else.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately, serving in HRT and Gold Team and being on call means I could get deployed on a mission tomorrow, and God knows how long I’d be gone.”
“It’s not like I’m not used to my own company.” She laughed, bit her lip. “Novak actually offered me some consulting work with HRT.”
The intensity of his stare made her want to look away, but she couldn’t.
“Are you considering it? Us?”
She nodded, almost giddy with excitement.
He seemed surprised. She was too. It was crazy to shift an entire life based on such a new relationship and yet…it felt right.
He pulled her in for another kiss.
“Let me call Cas, and we’ll figure out the best way to sneak you onto the plane.”
“I’ll have to come back here in a couple of weeks. Sort out my house. Figure out all my stuff and my vehicles. The press will hopefully have lost interest by then.”
“I’ll try to get time off to help—if you want me to.” He sounded so unsure about the boundaries of their relationship.
She didn’t know either, but she wanted to try to lighten the atmosphere. “What do you think our first fight is gonna be about?”
“Fight? We won’t fight.”
“We will absolutely fight.”
He grinned, then sobered. “You’ll probably cuss me out for leaving the toilet seat up, but I’ll do my best to remember.”
“I don’t care about the toilet seat.”
He took her hand. Kissed her fingers. “Nora, I know what a shitty relationship looks like, but I’ve also seen how some of my teammates treat their partners.
The difference comes from a place of mutual respect.
I have nothing but respect for you, so I will try my hardest never to fight with you.
But if we do fight, it will be because you scared me to death doing something dangerous. ”
She looked at this man who seemed too good to be true. She placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed. “Same. But be warned, this next little while might be a little insane if the press tracks me down. Nothing they like more than hounding a victim.”
“A survivor,” he corrected. And she fell in love all over again.
Chance took the opportunity to pop his head up from the footwell and grin at her, so she kissed his soft head.
“You’re going to have to meet my parents and siblings.” She swore. “I need to call them before the media swoops down on them.”
“You call your parents and warn them about incoming. I’ll call Cas.”
Five minutes later, she hung up.
He turned to her, keeping one eye on the road, “I won’t let you down, Nora. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not until I draw my last breath. I thought love would make me vulnerable, but instead I feel like I’ve conquered the world while worshipping at your feet.”
Emotion filled her. “I like the sound of that.”
He laughed.
The fact he was telling her this without trying to hide his emotions meant everything to her. And finally, she let go of that ghost of a man who’d haunted her for years. She let go of the horror of the past and reached firmly for the future.
“I love you, Sebastian Black. I want to be with you and never go to Missouri. I want to be the family you missed out on and the person you come home to after a long day—assuming I’m not having a long day of my own.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He kissed her knuckles and then took a sharp turn down a backroad, pulling up just behind the Suburban.
“Let’s swap vehicles. I doubt Ryan’s family will mind you leaving the truck at the ranch in the short term, but I’ll check with them. You stay in the back of the Suburban.”
She went to open her mouth.
“I’ll make sure we park somewhere no one will see if you or Chance have to slip out for any reason. Novak won’t say anything. Neither will the guys. We’ll be packed up in no time.”
Nora inhaled and swallowed the emotion that wanted to swamp her. Both of their lives were about to change, and it was scary as hell. It was also exciting and wonderful. “I trust you.”
He smiled. “I trust you too, Nora. Always.”