Chapter 30 – Violet
Ihuddled close to Anya, trying to share body warmth.
Her dress was sodden, her hair dripping.
She shook so hard, I worried she’d fall to pieces.
Drew was probably frantic. I hugged her tighter, trying to proxy for my brother.
Lee’s jacket surrounded us, giving meager warmth while we hid behind the only cover on the beach.
The Underwoods had fled at the first sign of trouble, taking off into the bushes.
I was too focused on getting Anya out of Owen’s clutches to care, helping her wade ashore with me.
I had to wonder what they’d been doing with Owen.
Anya’s teeth chattered too hard for me to question her.
She needed warmth more than I needed answers.
My pulse hammered, each beat rattling my chest as I struggled to steady my labored breathing. Fear for Lee clawed at my insides. He was exposed, unprotected—while I cowered and hid.
Not very dragon-like of me.
I swallowed hard, forcing down the instinct to stay hidden. Staying with Anya wouldn’t help Lee. And it sure as hell wouldn’t stop Owen.
Carefully, I slipped from beneath Lee’s jacket, leaving it clasped in Anya’s frozen fingers, the flare gun in her lap. She didn’t move, her body locked in shock.
My gaze darted around, searching for a weapon. My fingers closed around a thick piece of driftwood. Something I could use as a club. Owen wouldn’t expect trouble from behind. And if I played it right, he wouldn’t see me coming until it was too late.
“Move!” Owen yelled over the sound of the surf slapping against the shore. “Two minutes and I open fire. Get your fucking boat out of my way.”
Owen’s threat sent a fresh chill down my spine. I couldn’t let him fire. Desperation gave me extra strength, and I prepared to strike.
A floodlight struck Owen, blinding me, and I cursed.
The Coast Guard’s booming order stalled us both.
At least Owen was unlikely to make good on his threat under their watchful eye.
Owen threw down his gun. It plopped into the water a few feet away, sinking out of sight in seconds beneath the waves.
A moment later, Owen splashed out of the plane’s doorway, plowing through the knee-high water and sprinting for a narrow trail up the hillside.
I let him go, dropping my makeshift club. Barefoot,, I had no chance of catching him. He’d go crashing blind through the bushes. And hopefully over a fucking cliff.
The Underwoods had taken off in the moments before the Coast Guard lit us up with their spotlight, taking advantage of the focus on Owen to escape.
A kind, yet efficient woman and her partner chugged up to shore ten minutes later, their movements steady and assured.
With the keen eyes of veterans, they assessed the abandoned plane and half-beached boats, unfazed by the scene before them.
She bundled Anya and me into blankets while her partner tied off to the Last Chapter and checked on Lee.
He lifted a hand in an “I’m fine” wave, leaning against the hull, but the tight set of his jaw said his ankle wasn’t happy.
A few minutes later, they radioed the Sheriff’s Office, letting dispatch know to be on the lookout for the Underwoods and Owen.
Anya and I huddled in our wool blankets, shivering on a log.
They were rough and scratchy, but warm, cutting us off from the wind.
She looked a mess, her hair tangled, mascara running beneath her eyes.
I probably looked every bit as glamorous after flailing my way to shore.
I chuckled, the sound coming out rusty and raw with fatigue.
“I’m glad you’re okay. So much for our fancy night out, huh, Anya?”
Her answering laugh choked off on a sob. “Ye-ah.” She gave me a miserable smile. “All I want now is to get home to Drew and a hot shower.”
Two minutes later, Drew came crashing out of the undergrowth, his expression grim. A broken man expecting the worst. He spotted Anya across the beach and sprinted toward us, relief transforming his expression into a mix of agony and ecstasy that was almost too raw to witness.
Scooping Anya up in one smooth motion, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug long enough to make me think they’d never break apart.
He murmured softly to her, and I only caught the word “hospital” in her response.
A chill skittered down my spine, but I forced my gaze away, giving them the illusion of privacy.
Lee waded ashore, engulfing me in his arms from behind. We huddled together like that for what felt like forever, my breath slowing to match his. His warmth seeping into me. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to have each other.
Relief made me lightheaded, laughter catching in my throat. “Some birthday,” I murmured, just for him. “Most people get cake. I got kidnapped and you playing hero.”
His chin brushed my hair, a low chuckle vibrating through me. “Wild enough for you?”
“More than enough,” I whispered, even as I shivered in his hold. “Next year, though, I’m asking for boring.”
Drew eased up, giving Anya enough room to turn in his hug until we mirrored each other. His gaze met mine before drifting to Lee, his voice hoarse when he said, “I can’t thank you both enough.” He swallowed, the glint in his eyes making my eyes well with tears.
Lee said, “I’m just sorry we couldn’t get the Underwoods and Owen picked up by the authorities. I don’t know why they needed Anya, but we can’t let them try again.”
A flare of satisfaction flashed across Drew’s stern face.
“Thanks to your radio reports, I had a pretty good idea how to meet up with you. I caught the Underwoods at the trailhead. Deputies will find them zip-tied beside my truck.” He rubbed absently at an angry red scratch on his cheek.
“That Dr. Underwood is a vicious bitch. Chaz didn’t put up much of a fight, but I hesitated to hit a woman. ..at first.”
“And Owen? Did he escape?” I asked, a little in awe of my brother’s fierceness. Love and fear turned him into quite the vigilante, though I doubted the Underwoods would be in any position to file assault charges.
“Nope.” Drew’s one-word answer sounded smug. Owen deserved anything he got, but I was still curious.
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“He met ‘Serious’” —he held up one clenched fist— “and ‘Consequences.’ He’s out cold and zip-tied to boot.”
For once, my brother’s protectiveness had found an appropriate target. My knees went weak, and I sagged against Lee.
I raised my hand, palm flat. “I solemnly swear never to make fun of your stash of truck supplies and safety gear ever again.”
“Amen,” Anya muttered, burrowing back against Drew. Her gaze held so much adoration, it was almost uncomfortable to watch. “You’re my hero, you know that?”
Drew grunted. “It was almost too little, too late.” His gaze fell to mine. “I can’t thank you and Lee enough. It was brave and stupid, but I couldn’t be more grateful.”
I snorted. “Pretty sure that’s the family motto.”
Drew rolled his eyes, mouth twitching at one corner. “Depends on which day of the week you talk to Gran. I’m convinced she has them on a rotating schedule.”
“It’s definitely a flexible family motto.”
It took a while to sort things out with the Coast Guard.
By the time they’d agreed that Lee could pilot his boat back to the marina, broken glass and all, the sheriff and his deputies had arrived.
Sheriff Walker seemed a tad annoyed to be left out of the fun, but he didn’t give Lee or me too much grief about our role in the evening’s drama.
He simply bit out, “I’ll see you both at the office in the morning to give me statements.
For now, go home. Get dry. Be thankful this ended as well as it did. ”
“Amen,” Anya whispered, shivering. After a brief discussion, Drew led her up the trail, and Lee and I returned to the Last Chapter.
Lee brushed the glass from the seat and made me sit. Without decent shoes, taking the land route was unappealing. Short of having Drew carry me piggyback, that wasn’t happening. And he needed his hands free to help Anya.
By the time we docked his boat and drove back to his place, we were both bone-tired. Exhaustion made me feel heavy, as if every step meant wading through the shallow cove again, the water dragging at my legs.
The evening’s search and boat chase seemed almost surreal, the true danger only now sinking in.
We’d been rash, but it’d worked out. Gran would probably say I’d done my inner dragon proud.
I decided not to second-guess our choices.
Lee and I had triumphed over some really shitty odds with no injuries and gotten Anya back. We’d take the win.
My feet were leaden as I trudged up the stairs, Lee behind me. My dress dragged along the carpet, and I winced, imagining the trail of saltwater and sand I left in my wake.
We stripped down in Lee’s bathroom, and he wrenched on the shower, urging me under the hot spray after testing the temperature.
Steam filled the space. He stepped in with me, a protective shadow at my back.
I let the hot water soothe my aching muscles, sluicing over my neck and shoulders.
Rinsing away the grit and saltwater residue, I wished the lingering fear would wash down the drain just as easily.
But while the sand vanished without a trace, a sense of unease clung stubbornly, refusing to be swept away.
Lee dropped a kiss on my collarbone, and I melted against him, sagging into his protective bulk.
“I could have lost you tonight.” His voice was serrated and raw, like the admission was forced from his unwilling vocal cords.
His hands clenched at his sides, twitching like he might pop his knuckles.
He thought I didn’t see it, but I’d learned the habit was his tell – the way his body betrayed everything he tried to keep inside.
“We got lucky.” His skin was slick at my back. I rubbed against him like a cat. As if I kept touching him twenty-four-seven and never let go, I wouldn’t have to admit how scary tonight had really been.
The chase across the water. Waves splashing. Wind howling. Witnessing Anya get dragged like a rag doll between the Underwoods and her ex. It had all the makings of a Class-A nightmare. Only the happy ending would help me avoid replaying the night over and over again.
There’d be time to wade through the details and the motives later. For tonight, I just wanted to savor warmth and safety. Pull them around me like a fuzzy robe and burrow deeper.
I arched back against Lee, reaching my palms around the back of his neck. The position pushed my hips and chest forward in invitation. Lee dragged his fingertips across my breasts, tracing my rib cage and landing on my hips, his grip possessive.
“Marry me, Vi,” he bit out.
My heart stopped—just for a beat—before thundering ahead.
The staccato thump drowned out the water and Lee’s harsh breathing behind me.
His voice was rough, almost desperate, and that edge of desolation tangled with my urge to say yes, knotting up my easy answer in chains.
Drowning it in hesitation, cold and unwelcome.
I wanted to accept. God, I wanted to. It was Lee.
The man who’s been by my side, who I wanted at my side forever.
The urge to take what he offered and not look back nearly overwhelmed me.
But if I accepted now, I’d always have questions.
I’d always wonder. We deserved more than that.
A future free from doubt that adrenaline made our decisions.
“Ask me again when we’ve had time to come down from tonight.” I took a shaky breath and turned in his arms, locking my hands around his neck, my fingers tightening like every muscle in my body fought my answer. A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face, but he didn’t pull away.
“I want to say yes. But when we both have clear heads. Tonight, I’m grateful we’re alive. Let’s celebrate the win. When I say yes, I want it to be because we’re ready. I don’t want the memory of our beginning wrapped up in tonight’s drama.”
He dropped his forehead to mine, his eyes drifting closed as he exhaled, long and low. “Violet Fenwick, I love you. I’ll ask you a hundred times if that’s what it takes.”
His lips brushed mine in a whisper-light kiss, and I melted into him. Telling him “not now” felt like a risk. But when it came to Lee Murphy, I was learning that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me. Including proposing again.
“C’mon, Cupcake. Let’s get you to bed. You’re practically asleep on your feet.”
Too tired to protest, I let him towel me off before dropping one of his tees over my head.
We fell into bed together, Lee wrapped around me.
My palm rested against his chest, counting the steady beats.
His hands fell to my hips, slowly stroking across my ass.
Gently, he squeezed. My chuckle was long and low, barely a rumble as we drifted off to sleep.