Dolby(56)
Author: Maryann Jordan
She knew what he was saying, but her heart still ached. “Will I be able to see her one last time?”
Landon nodded. “You can do that right now.”
She jumped to her feet and followed him out of the room with Jonathan right behind her. They were just leading Tudora out, and the two women once again hugged, crying as they clung together.
“I never wanted them to hurt you,” Tudora cried, tears streaking down her face. “Pitar and I knew something bad was happening, and we didn’t like it.”
“You helped me,” Marcia said. “Just giving me comfort helped me.”
“I don’t understand everything happening,” Tudora said, “but they say if I tell the truth like Pitar did, he and I will be taken care of and safe.”
“That’s right,” she assured. “I won’t be able to see you, but you’ll be able to start over somewhere safe.”
They hugged longer and finally said goodbye as a female agent escorted Tudora out. Landon walked over and shook hands with Poole, Bennett, and Adam. “I’ll be flying back separately with Roger. Tudora will fly back to Hawaii, where she and her brother will be reunited and then taken care of.”
He stepped over and clasped hands with Dolby. “Good working with you, man. Hope to do more in the future.”
Turning, he smiled at Marcia, taking her hands in his. “You did good, Ms. Blackburn. I’m glad you’re returning home safe and sound.” Bending, he whispered, “Perhaps there’s a part for me in the next Inspector Marley novel.”
She didn’t have a chance to respond before he straightened, winked, and then left the room. Her mind whirling, she grinned as Jonathan’s arms wrapped around her again, pulling her in tight against his chest.
Two days later, she peered out the window of the private jet as they left the Marshall Islands. The sight was breathtaking, with the purest blue water below dotted with the tips of underwater mountains that created the tiny islands. She decided at that moment that she needed to have Majura as a setting for one of her romance novels… the new series that she’d been plotting ever since she’d discovered what it was like to have men like the Keepers swoop in to rescue her.
She and Jonathan had rested, eaten, and played on the beach until he was convinced that she wouldn’t collapse right in front of him from her ordeal. And with a private hotel room, they’d made love long into the night.
Now, flying home, she heard the men talk about a layover in Hawaii for her to rest. “Please,” she interrupted, drawing their gazes to her. “I know we need to stop and refuel. But I really just want to get back to the States. Please don’t prolong the trip for me.”
Jonathan searched her face and must have been satisfied with what he saw because he smiled, squeezed her hand, and then turned to the others and nodded.
It was another day before they landed in California, but she was met with a reception when Jonathan drove into the driveway of her rental house. Angela burst from the front door, screaming with her hands waving in the air, enveloping Marcia in her tight embrace. They were followed by another couple, greeted enthusiastically by Jonathan.
Fellow Keeper Chris and his artist wife, Stella, had brought Angela from the safe house. They walked out smiling and, after hugs from Jonathan, were introduced to Marcia. Angela had taken it upon herself to order dinner to be delivered from a restaurant nearby that declared they had the world’s best chicken parmesan.
Soon settled, they ate, talked, and related the stories over again. After the meal, Chris and Stella said goodbye, Chris man-hugging Jonathan while Stella gushed, “I can’t wait for you to come meet the others. All the women are dying to get to know you!”
Jonathan peered at Marcia over Chris’s shoulder, but she just offered a heartfelt smile, accepting Stella’s exuberant hug. Angela left after a tearful hug, filled with guilt that Marcia had been kidnapped due to Roger. Assuring Angela he wouldn’t be a factor anymore, they parted with promises to talk soon.
Walking back into the house, Marcia could tell that Jonathan was on edge, and she realized he was waiting for her to break down. But she wasn’t. No tears. No spotted vision. No gasping for breath. This ordeal was over.
Taking his hand, she led him into the living room overlooking the beach. She stood for a moment, just staring out at the ocean.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, encircling his arms around her, one across her stomach and the other over her chest.
“I look out over the ocean, and it seems so very different to me right now. It’s always appeared vast, but now having seen it from a ship in the middle of the Pacific, this beautiful view can’t begin to capture how small we really are in the world.”
He didn’t respond but rested his chin on the top of her head, pulling her deeper into his embrace.
“I’ve spent so many years trying to keep from letting anything happen that could bring fear back into my life. And now, I know that bad things can happen at any time. But I don’t want to live a life where I constantly look over my shoulder for something to happen. I just want to live my life.”
She turned within the circle of his arms, which now wrapped around her back. She placed her palms on his chest and looked up into the face of the most handsome man she’d ever seen. “I know my parents and Marty would never have wanted me to have become so isolated.” Snorting slightly, she rested her forehead on his chest. “I hardly see myself becoming the life of the party type, but I don’t want to hide from everyone anymore.”
“What are you saying, babe?”
Tilting her head back, she stared into the blue eyes that held her captive. She reached up with one hand, cupping his jaw and gliding her thumb over his cheek. “I’m saying that I’m ready to take a chance on us. Wherever that takes me, wherever we go, I want to have a chance to really live a life with you in it.”
She felt a slight pressure of his arms tightening as he lifted her off the floor and twirled in the middle of her living room. Throwing her head back, she laughed, clasping her hands behind his neck as she held on.
As his feet slowed, he continued to hold her feet off the ground as he angled his head and kissed her deeply. The kiss spoke of yesterdays and tomorrows, burying the past and looking into the future, reaching out to grasp everything life had to offer. It was a kiss that celebrated the couple they’d become.
Turning the page of my life to write a new chapter with this man. And, oh yes… a new series is on the horizon. She grinned against his lips, giving herself to him as all other thoughts left her mind.