Chapter 14
Waylen pushed the comms into his ear. “Check. Check.” He stood in the middle of the office with his heart hammering in his chest. He’d been in a million dangerous situations where his life had been on the line. The life of his men.
But he’d never had to protect the woman he loved.
This changed everything.
He reached into his pocket and fingered the piece of jewelry. This was a fucking crazy game he was playing. If he even got the chance to play it.
“Mano in place.”
“Lane in place.”
“Raider in place.”
“Lane in overwatch. I’ve got all three cars in sight. I count eight men. Heavily armed.”
“Kian in place.”
“Harlan in place. I’ve got Vernon at the gate.”
“These bastards won’t know what hit them,” Waylen said.
“They’re dispersing. Two flanking north, heading in Raider’s direction. Two heading around the south side through the alleyway,” Lane said.
“I’ve got them,” Harlan said.
“I see two coming down through the west,” Mano said. “Once I take them out, I can double back and get the other two standing guard, but I’ll need cover.”
“I’ve got your back,” Lane said.
“These assholes must really think we’re idiots,” Waylen muttered. He lifted Presley off the stool and gripped her by the shoulders. “You doing okay?”
“Hell no.” She held his stare. “I’m about to be bait while you and your buddies are taking out gunmen. I’m fucking terrified.”
“We’re not killing them,” he said. “Just immobilizing them while letting Vernon think he’s got the upper hand.”
“Doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Time for you to get outside,” Lane said over the comms.
“Come on. We better go for that nightly stroll.” He opened the door and stepped outside, keeping her behind him, in case Vernon became trigger-happy.
They didn’t make it more than five paces from the building before Vernon made his presence known.
“Hello, Presley. Waylen.” Vernon’s deep voice cut through the evening air like a wolf howling at the moon. He raised a weapon, pointing it directly at Waylen’s chest.
Fucker.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Waylen asked. “You’re not welcome.”
“I don’t give a shit.” Vernon waved his gun. “Now both of you are coming with me.”
“You’re going to have to shoot me before that happens,” Waylen said.
“Trust me, I will take great pleasure in doing that. But it will have to wait.” He tapped his ear. “Call off your men. I know they’re around here somewhere.”
“Why would I do that?” Waylen asked.
“Because if you don’t, mine will kill them and I don’t think you want a bloodbath. Now, I’m being kind in letting them walk free. So either do as I say, or they all die.”
Waylen tapped his ear. “Stand down.” He might as well play along.
Vernon stretched out his free arm, wiggling his fingers. “Hand over your comms.”
Fuck. Waylen didn’t want to do that, but what choice did he have? He plucked it from his ear and placed it in Vernon’s palm.
“Now let’s go.” Vernon waved his weapon toward the docks.
Presley dug her fingers into Waylen’s arm. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’d rather fucking die first.”
Jesus. Presley and her damn mouth.
“Sweetie, that’s going to happen no matter what. Now start walking toward Liberty.”
“And why are we doing that?” Waylen asked. He was flying blind. His team could no longer hear anything he said and no one was perched on the docks.
“You two lovebirds are going to have a little boating accident. Sad, but true.” Vernon inched closer.
Waylen laughed. “Lovebirds? That’s funny. No one is going to believe that. Not when I have a girlfriend back home.”
Vernon tilted his head. “You expect me to fall for that? My wife has been hung up on you her entire life. You even called her your girlfriend. Not to mention, you’ve been hanging around her like a lovesick puppy. It’s pathetic.”
“You’ve totally misread this situation, man. I can’t speak for Presley, but I left Big Island years ago and I’ve never looked back. I couldn’t wait to get out of here and I certainly don’t want to come back, much less get back with someone I had a thing with when I was seventeen. We had a nice little reunion. But it was a fling. That’s all. I got sucked into a situation with the volcano and yeah, I stuck around to help her out because you’re a dick. But she means nothing to me. Not like that anyway and my girlfriend wouldn’t take too kindly to you implying otherwise.”
“You’re full of shit.” Vernon aimed the gun at Waylen’s head.
“I’m not.” He held his hands up. “I was about to tell Presley that I was leaving tomorrow to go back to California so I could propose to my girlfriend. I was even going to show her the ring.”
“You’re buying for time, and it’s a stupid cover story,” Vernon said.
“Let me show you.” Slowly, he reached into his pocket. He held his breath. Where the fuck were his men? They should have dealt with all the assholes by now. Gingerly, he took out his mother’s engagement ring and held it up.
Presley peered over his shoulder and gasped.
Damn. His heart sank. The story was totally bogus. But that noise Presley made came right from her gut and broke his heart. Maybe she didn’t believe the story, but she had to wonder why he had the ring.
Vernon took two steps closer, locking his gaze on the ring and that’s all Waylen needed.
He shoved Presley to the ground and reached for Vernon’s weapon, but the bastard was quick, and he jerked his arm back.
Waylen lunged forward. They wrestled to the ground.
Bang!
Presley screamed.
Waylen continued to roll around, tangled up with Vernon.
The gun had landed on the gravel and was currently out of reach.
He took a punch to his gut. He groaned, tossing a few of his own, reaching for the weapon. He curled his fingers around the handle.
Another fist to his shoulder.
Bang! Bang!
Footsteps clambered on the ground.
The sound of guns being cocked filled the air.
But it was too late. Vernon’s limp body fell dead on top of Waylen.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
Waylen shoved him to the side.
Kian came up from behind, grabbing him and hoisting him to his feet.
Waylen shook out his hands. “I didn’t really want to shoot the?—”
“Waylen.” Kian’s hand came firmly down on his shoulder. “It’s Presley. She’s hurt.”
“What!” Waylen spun on his heel. He raced to Presley, who sat on the ground, holding her shoulder. “Babe, what happened?” Blood trickled through her fingers.
“It’s a graze.” She lifted her hand. “When the gun discharged, the bullet hit my shoulder.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry.” He ripped off his shirt and pressed it against the wound. It wasn’t life-threatening, but still. His girl got hurt and it was his fault.
“Here. Your girlfriend might still want this.” Presley held up his mother’s engagement ring.
He chuckled. “Don’t you remember the three things I told you in the car?”
“Yeah. But that was still pretty fucked up, and why do you have that thing anyway?”
This wasn’t the time or the place. There were so many things to discuss. He needed to prove to Presley that he was indeed still the man for her and that he wasn’t staying out of any sense of obligation or nostalgia. He took the ring and tucked it in his pocket. “That’s a long story and I’ll tell you all about it after we get you checked out at the hospital.”
“That’s not necessary.”
He lifted her in his arms. “I’m going to be a Neanderthal and not take no for an answer.”
She rested her head against his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Saving me. Again.”
“That’s kind of what boyfriends do.”
As it turned out, Presley needed eight stitches. She lay back on the hospital bed with her legs crossed at her ankles and waited for the doctor to come back with her other request.
She’d sent Waylen to go find her a cheeseburger and fries. Hopefully the doc would come back first.
The curtain opened and the ER doctor appeared with a clipboard in hand. “How are you feeling?”
“My shoulder feels like someone shot me and then stuck me with a very large needle.”
The doctor laughed. “I love a patient with a good sense of humor.”
Presley shifted. “Do you have the results of that test I asked you to run?”
“I do,” the doc said. “Would you like to wait for that handsome man who has been running around here with his head cut off like a chicken, barking orders at everyone, making sure we take proper care of you?”
“No. I was hoping to find out before he came back.”
“All right.” The doctor nodded. “It’s very early, but you are pregnant.”
Tears filled Presley’s eyes. She’d fantasied about this moment her entire life. But now that it was a reality, she had no idea how she really felt, except she knew without a doubt she wanted this baby.
And she wanted Waylen.
“I can’t tell if this is good news or not.” The doctor took her hand.
“A lot has happened tonight. I’m just overwhelmed,” she managed.
“I can certainly understand that.” The doctor squeezed her hand. “I will prescribe some prenatal vitamins. If you don’t have an OB, I can recommend one. I do suggest you make an appointment with one as soon as possible.”
“I have a good one, so I’ll do that first thing in the morning.”
“Good.” The doctor nodded. “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
The sound of footsteps in the hallway echoed in her ears.
Waylen stepped into the room carrying a tray of food.
“I’ll leave you two alone while I go start on your discharge papers. It will take a little bit. Enjoy your meal.” The doctor ducked out of the room.
“Hey, you.” Waylen set the tray on the table. “I was able to find everything you asked for.”
“Thanks.”
“I want you to know that my intention wasn’t to end Vernon’s life. I may not have had a good opinion of the man, but I never take pride in taking human life. It sucks, actually.”
“I know.” She snagged a fry and dunked it in ketchup. “I wanted him out of my life and I got my wish. It’s just, no matter how hard I try to reconcile it in my head, he was still a human being.”
“Who tried to kill you. Don’t forget that.”
“I haven’t and he could have killed you, so I’m grateful that didn’t happen.”
“Me too,” he said. “Now, there are a couple of other things we need to discuss.”
That was putting it mildly. “Agreed, and I want to go first.”
“Nope,” he said. “I listened to you rant in the car before all this started and I didn’t get a real chance to respond.”
“Um, yeah, you did with your three things to remember.” She arched a brow. “And then you went on and on about some girlfriend.”
He groaned. “The only girlfriend I have is you, and you’re going to let me say my piece, and then you can tell me whatever is on your mind.” He lifted another fry and stuffed it in her mouth.
“Hey. That’s not nice.”
“Too bad,” he said.
“I really hate it when you get like this,” she mumbled. “But okay. I’m listening.”
“I resented you telling me I was pining after you for all these years. And to be honest, it bothers me to think that you did. I want to believe that we went on with our lives, living them the best we could. That our memories brought us joy, not suffering.”
“Waylen, they did. That’s not what I meant.”
“That’s what it sounded like.”
“All I wanted was to make sure you don’t want you to stay because of what could have been. Or out of obligation.”
“I’m not. On either account. I want to stay because of what is and I believe will be.” He stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled out his mother’s engagement ring. “You know, I had to beg my mom for this ring when I planned on proposing to Elena. She never believed she was the one. She always had her reservations about Elena. And not because she didn’t believe I didn’t love her or even that Elena didn’t love me. My mom didn’t think it was the kind of love that could endure the test of time.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“My mother always wanted this ring to stay in the family. She wanted it on the finger of the one woman who made my heart sing. When you told me that our love was only based in the past, I saw red because part of me knew that was true, and I didn’t want to face that reality.”
Presley pressed her hand over her stomach. Her heart sank.
“But is that such a bad thing? Our love has stood the test of time. There isn’t anyone I’d rather spend the rest of my life loving. There isn’t anyone else out there for me. I went to that pawn shop and repurchased this ring so my mom would always have it. However, when I packed up to come to Big Island, she had me bring two things. My father’s ashes and this ring. I get why she wanted me to take my dad’s ashes. That’s easy. I know exactly what she wants me to do with those. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why it was so important to her for me to carry this thing with me. But now I get it.” He lifted her hand and placed it on her finger. “I understand if you don’t want to wear it. I mean, it does have a weird history, but I love you and this belongs to you.”
“Jesus. Are you trying to ask me to marry you?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
“That’s the most fucked-up proposal I’ve ever heard.” She held up her shaky hand and stared at the modest diamond gracing her finger. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. And it fit her perfectly.
“So, what do you think? You want to marry this old fool?”
“That all depends.” She palmed his cheek. “Are you ready to be a dad?” She winced.
“A what now?” He jerked his head.
“I had the doctor run a blood test. It came back positive for a little Waylen.”
“We are not naming any child, boy or girl, Waylen.” He cupped her face and kissed her, hard. “A baby? Seriously?”
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that, but I love the name Waylen.”
“Absolutely not. No juniors. And it’s not a girl’s name.”
“It could be.” She smiled. “We could call her Way-Way.”
“You’re not winning this one, Presley.” He lifted her cheeseburger and took a massive bite. “I’m going to be a daddy. Hot diggity. Wait until the boys hear this one.”
“I’d like to keep it quiet for now. I’m barely knocked up.”
“Yes, dear.”
She snagged the burger from his hands. “And don’t ever eat a pregnant woman’s food again. Not unless you want to get hurt and sleep on the sofa.”
He waved his hands. “I can’t wait to see you get all round and plump.”
“Oh, that’s mean.”
“You know, you haven’t answered my question yet.” He lifted her hand and kissed it.
“I’ll marry you on one condition.”
“This should be good.” He laughed.
“It’s a small wedding. I don’t have any family left, so just a few friends. Nothing fancy. No frills. No church. I want it on the water. And the honeymoon has to be on Mano’s yacht.”
“Done.”
“All before I get fat.”
“We can do it as soon as I can get my mom out here.” He reached for a fry, but she batted his hand away.
“Get your own. I’m eating for two.”
“Now who’s being mean.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
She’d waited a lifetime to have her dreams come true. But Waylen was well worth it.