Deadly Abandon (27 page)
Cody’s eyes cut to Sully again. “So, how are you going to propose to Mom? I know! You should do it at the arena at center ice. Yeah, what a great idea. The WARRIORS can watch from the stands. Come on, what do you say?”
“In your dreams.” Sully collected their bowls and headed for the dogs’ dishes in the kitchen with the leftovers. “I am
not
proposing to your mother in a grungy arena with you and your socially inept, scuz-bucket friends watching. You can just forget about it. A marriage proposal is a private moment between two people who love each other. We’ll fill you in on the details after it’s done.”
“You better not be feeding any crap to the dogs!” Jack bellowed from the sunroom, his nose buried in the sports page of the newspaper. Sully knew better than to cross Jack and promptly did an about-face in the direction of the garbage can.
Epilogue
“What a great idea you had, Dad, having a cook-out.” Breeana passed him the barbeque sauce. “The whole town has shown up.”
“I know. It’s terrific, isn’t it?” He toasted her with his beer stein as he continued to flip burgers on the grill. “It’s been a few days since the god awful night when I almost lost you to The Shepherd. We have so much to celebrate.”
“Yes, we do.”
“You know, pumpkin, I’m not known for making long-winded speeches, but I need to get something off my chest. Sullivan killed the scum-sucking bastard and rescued you, as well as saving my grandson.”
“He was amazing. But, what are you getting at?”
“My question is…will the lieutenant be smart enough to hold on to you? You’d think the man would’ve made his move by now. I’d be real proud to have him as my son-in-law.”
Only time will tell
, she thought. “Listen, how about letting me manage my love life, and you focus on those burgers you’re cooking.”
“You’re right, honey. Besides, after what everyone’s been through around here, I think I’m the only one left standing who’s healthy enough to cook the food.”
“I know what you mean. Sully’s Spec Ops team all seem a little worse for wear.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Jack grinned when he glanced in their general direction down by the lake. The group was swarmed with gorgeous, available females, all vying for the team’s attention. “You could have fooled me. Still, Hawke is going to have one hell of a headache for another few days, according to the doctor. But, it doesn’t seem to be stopping him from flirting with the Taylor twins.”
Breeana tipped back her head and laughed. “I don’t think the women of Mallard Bay have seen this much hunkiness since the
Chippendales
came to Montreal.”
“You’re probably right about that. You’d better inform the ladies the guys are leaving town in the morning.”
“Will do.” Breanna ambled away from the barbeque and admired the view down to the lake. The back lawn was festively decked out with Chinese lanterns strung through the trees. Lawn chairs were gathered in cozy groupings across the wide expanse of grass. The sounds of “golden oldies” drifted on the warm summer breeze.
The scent of citronella candles floated through the air to keep mosquitoes at bay. Two long picnic tables were set up on the deck with navy and white checkered tablecloths, napkins, plastic utensils, and condiments. Tubs of ice water chilled the sodas, wine coolers, and beer.
Her father and Cody had been busy since yesterday setting it up. Now all
she
had to do was wait for Sully to pop the big question. Heck, it was time the man worked up his nerve to do it. He could take on terrorists and serial killers without batting an eyelash, and yet, he was scared of her.
Go figure?
Sully found her alone on the dock as she watched the sky fill with a blazing sunset. He came up behind her, pulled her against his chest, planted a kiss behind her ear, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hey, cookie. How’s the hand?”
“The pain’s almost gone, but Dad will perform surgeries at the clinic for another month, until the bones mend and I can get the mobility back in my fingers.”
“I don’t think Jack will complain, considering he has you and Cody back.”
“That’s what he said.” Breeana turned in his arms to stare up at him. “He has you to thank.”
“Shh.” He pressed his lips to her neck and held her tighter, rubbing her back in familiar circles. “It’s over now. I didn’t come down here to talk to you about the past. Right now I need to talk to you about something else, something I can’t wait on any longer.”
“What—?”
“Don’t talk, just listen. Okay?” He blew out a breath in her hair. “The truth is…I mean, without you…I can’t imagine…”
“Come on, ‘hot lips’. Even
you
can do better than that!” Cody’s head popped up alongside the dock, his body submerged underwater, his hands grasping the wooden planks to hold him in place. Three of his friends treaded water not far from him. “See? What did I tell you, guys? The man’s never going to be able to pop the big question if we don’t help him out.”
The other boys snickered in response.
Cody grinned at Sully and winked at her. “Can we hurry it up a little, Lieutenant? Gramps is just about to serve dessert and it’s an old family recipe. Smashed hot apple pie with all the fixings like whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, bananas, and cherries. Man-oh-man, I can taste it now.”
Her son didn’t slow down as he continued. “Now, just tell Mom you want to marry her, plant one on her, and we can all move up to the house and tuck ourselves into the pie. I have to make up for all the food I missed while I was making like Rip Van Winkle.”
Sully stared dumbstruck at Cody before swiveling his head back to her.
“Well, what do you say, Bree? Will you marry me and put me out of my misery?” He kissed her on the lips and held onto her, waiting for her response as he whispered. “I love you, with all my heart.”
He held his breath, as if daring to hope. It gave her a glimmer of their future together. He loved her, all right, hopefully half as much as she loved him.
“Oh, yes, I’ll marry you. I think I’ve been in love with you ever since I met you,” she whispered back. Chuckling, she raised her voice just a little. “What took you so long to ask me, big guy?”
“I’m a little slow on the upswing. But, since I’ve popped the big question and you’ve given me the right answer—for better or for worse—you’re stuck with me on a real long-term basis.”
He took the ring, from a box he carried in his pocket, and slipped it on her finger. “I’m just plain crazy about you, Bree.”
“An emerald!” Breeana held out her hand to catch the fire of the setting sun in the shimmering stone. “Oh, Sully. It’s perfect! How did you know I’ve always wanted an emerald?”
“I didn’t know. I bought it because it matches your eyes.”
“Hoo-rah!” The boys in the water high-fived each other, leaped onto the dock, and hugged her and Sully in soggy embraces. Then they were off and running, up to the house and the waiting family recipe.
“See? What did I tell you?” Cody exclaimed. “I knew Sully could ask Mom to marry him if we gave him a helping hand. It’s a good thing we stuck around to give him the benefit of Micah’s expertise. Did you see the rock he planted on her? Way to go, ‘hot lips’!”
Breeana was helping Sully outside with clean-up duty when Theo jogged across the lawn.
“Hey, have you got a minute?”
“Sure. Let’s walk.” Sully wrapped an arm around her, putting a hand on Theo’s shoulder and guiding them to the side of the house. His brother seemed upset by something. “What’s up?”
“In all the excitement over your engagement tonight, I almost hate to give you some other news.”
Breeana eyed Theo. He was still battered and bruised, but there was a flash of heat in his dark eyes. “What’s happened?”
“You remember at the lake when I told you about Sarah Davidson’s murder? Well, I just found out Mel Salera, the slime ball who mysteriously inherited the Davidson estate, is one Melena Salera. A woman. Doc Finley just called me with the news.
“The woman responded to my voice mails by going to Silver Lake on her own and planting herself on Sarah’s property. Doc told her I was away—taking care of some other business. I’m heading back there tonight to go a round, or two, with her.”
“No way, Theo,” Sully said. “It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for her to show up and take over. She must be in an all-fired hurry to collect on Sarah’s estate.”
“I kid you not, and apparently, she is one gorgeous piece of work for a cold-blooded killer. I’m going to enjoy making her life a living hell while we nail her for Sarah’s murder. Let me know when you get those autopsy results, bro, and then we can start building a case.”
“Will do, but be careful, Theo. Remember your stint with JTF2? Some of the world’s most deadly assassins are women, beautiful ones. They will kill as ruthlessly as men, without warning, or conscience.”
“Hey, I hear you.”
“And Theo? Remember something else,” Breeana said. “Maybe she isn’t guilty.”
“We all know there isn’t much chance of that.” Theo sighed, kissed her on the cheek, and took his brother’s hand in a firm grip. “Take care of your lady and future son, man. I’m jealous as hell, but I couldn’t be happier for you. What you two have will last a lifetime. I can feel it.”
“Thanks for everything.” Sully reeled him in for a back-slapping hug. “I mean it. Without you, I might have lost them both.”
“Just let me know when those wedding bells are slated to jingle. If I remember correctly, I offered to be the flower girl.”
“Right, you did.” Sully winked at the mountain of a man who was almost his mirror image. “You’ll look stunning in a dress, but you might want to wax your legs.”
After so much unhappiness and uncertainty, the sound of their laughter was music to Breeana’s ears. She hugged her future brother-in-law before wrapping herself in Sully’s solid embrace. They strolled hand-in-hand with Theo to his rental car, the dogs loping along behind them.
Rainey had been laid to rest in a quiet ceremony that morning, and although Breeana would miss her and Miranda, at least she was coming to terms with her grief. She cried a little less every day and remembered the good times they had shared a whole lot more.
She had Cody back and the love of the man standing beside her to see her through.
Yes, life was as it should be.
In Mallard Bay.
A word about the author...
Growing up with two brothers and raising two sons, Kallie Lane understands the rough edges of Alpha males, and loves to write about them. She excels at hard-hitting action and complex relationships as her Shadow Soldiers move from the battlefield in search of the right women and relatively normal lives. At least—what’s normal for them.
Kallie keeps herself grounded by also working in the biotech industry.
Living in Canada with her family and a robust collection of dogs and cats, you will usually find her with a book in her hand, that’s if she’s not at her computer writing one, or dream-plotting her next romantic suspense novel.
Deadly Abandon
is the second book in her Shadow Soldiers series.
Visit her website at:
www.kallielane.com
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