I stood at the window, looking out at the mountains beyond our little valley, lost in thought when a small gasp, followed by a low groan, pulled my attention back to the figure in the bed.
“Shit,” Charlie hissed in pain.
I moved across the room quickly, careful to walk on quiet feet so I wouldn’t wake Dalton or Hayden, who’d both been going on no sleep for more than forty-eight hours. Exhaustion finally set it, causing both of them to crash only hours ago. Dalton was stretched out on the poor excuse of a loveseat, his head and feet hanging off the ends. Hayden was in a recliner, curled into a ball with her head on her knees.
“About time you woke your lazy ass up,” I said once I reached the side of the bed.
Her lips pulled into a grimace as she attempted to adjust her position. “Remind me to never get shot again. This does not feel good.”
I helped her sit up, then braced my hip on the bedframe, crossing my arms and glaring down at her furiously. “You ever get shot again, I swear to Christ, I’ll kill you myself.”
Her eyes grew glassy and her chin began to wobble. “I’m sorry,” she croaked as one tear broke free and trailed down her battered cheek. “I’m so—”
I placed my hand on hers and gave it a squeeze. “Stop it. I’m just glad you’re okay. That’s the only thing that matters to me.” She closed her eyes for a second and pulled in a breath to get control of herself before looking back at me. “Why’d you do it?” I finally asked, that question had been plaguing me for days. “Why’d you run, Charlie?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” she whispered, her voice small and weak from everything she’d endured. “He called me. He’d found out something from my past and was using it against me.”
My fingers around hers clenched. “What did he have on you?”
“He—he found out about my sister.”
The air expelled from my lungs as my muscles locked up. “You have a sister?”
“I haven’t seen her in years. I don’t even know where she is. But he found out somehow, and he threatened to track her down if I didn’t find a way to meet up with him without Dalton knowing.”
I shook my head, trying to comprehend what I’d just heard. “Charlie, I—”
“You can’t tell anyone,” she insisted. “I don’t want anyone knowing. If they do, they’ll go looking, and I’ve stayed away all this time to keep her safe. She didn’t grow up the way I did. She had a good life. I don’t want to screw that up for her.”
God, that killed. “Darlin’, don’t you think she’d want to know you? You’re her family.”
“I’m no good,” she gritted, that steel and stubbornness returning right before my very eyes.
“Charlie, you aren’t—”
“Just promise me, Micah. Swear you won’t tell anyone.”
I hesitated, my gut twisting painfully. It was a promise I didn’t want to make, but I’d do it anyway. Because it was for her. “All right, sweetheart. This stays right here.”
Relief flitted across her features, and slowly, the Charlie I’d come to know and love reappeared. “I met your girl, by the way.” She smiled as best she could with most of her face still swollen. “Just in case you’re wondering, I totally approve.”
It was my turn to pull in a calming breath. “I know what you did,” I told her on a husky whisper. “She told me you saved her, and for that, I owe you everything.”
“Micah—”
“You’re absolutely incredible, and I’m so thankful I get to know you,” I stressed. The quiver in her chin came back, but I wasn’t done. “For the rest of my life, Charlie. You’ll hold a special place in my heart no one else will ever be able to touch as long as I live. You got me?”
She sniffled and nodded her head.
“You have family here, darlin’. Whether you want us or not. You’re stuck. You’re the best person I know.”
A tear broke free. “The feeling’s mutual.”
Epilogue
Micah
Three weeks later
To say things had been tense since my woman shot and killed that piece of shit Cormack would have been a massive understatement. When word got out it was one of our own that had killed Darrin Callo simply because the man was a good cop, it had shaken the whole department. After that nightmare of a day, things in his operation began to unravel quickly.
After it came to light that the deputy in Hidalgo had been framed for Callo’s murder, a task force was put together, led by me and Leo. Two other Hope Valley officers were arrested for being a part of his drug ring, as well as a handful of cops from Grapevine and Hidalgo. That wasn’t counting the people involved who weren’t in law enforcement.
We were dismantling Cormack’s operation, piece by piece, and we weren’t going to stop until there was nothing left.
“Langford,” I heard Hayes call. Lifting my head from the report I’d been filling out, I looked over and saw him jerk his chin toward the entrance of the bullpen.
When I shifted my focus in that direction, my whole body locked tight. Sidney Callo was climbing the last step and heading in our direction.
“Look alive,” I muttered to Leo just as the young woman reached our desks.
“Detective Langford,” she greeted before tilting her chin to Leo. “Detective Drake.”
“Afternoon, Mrs. Callo,” I returned. “What can we do for you?”
There was still a sadness in her eyes that I feared might never go away, but I guess that was to be expected. However, even with that, she looked a bit better than she had the last time we’d seen her.
She clutched her purse in front of her, her fingers gripping the straps so tight her knuckles were white. “I just . . . I don’t mean to interrupt—”
“No interruption at all, ma’am,” Leo insisted, pointing to the chair beside his desk. “Would you like to have a seat.”
“No, I won’t be here long. I just wanted to come in and tell you . . . well, thank you. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for pushing until you got to the truth.” She stopped to sniffle as her eyes grew glassy. “It won’t bring him back,” she rasped, “and my girls and I will still miss him, but . . . this helps. You got justice for Darrin, and that really helps. So . . . thank you.”
She moved before either of us could speak, surprising me by leaning down and giving me a quick hug. She did the same to Leo, then stood tall and gave us a watery smile. “I’m grateful for you both. Now, I’ll let you get back to your job.”
With that, she turned and started toward the exit, and as I watched her disappear down the stairs, I felt as if a weight had just been lifted from my chest. Because I knew, with the people of this town at their back, she and her girls were going to be all right.
Hayden
Four months later
My body no longer experienced the same aches and pains it had when I first started taking pole lessons with McKenna, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still stiff as I climbed out of my car and started up the front walk.