“Stay there,” Cooper whispered as he jumped to his feet.
Marlee could hardly believe that Cooper was there. She could only stare after him as he stalked toward Chuck, firing his gun rapidly.
And he wasn’t the only one. Marlee counted several other shots as Chuck ran into the night. Then, dogs were barking and growling, and a few more shots were fired, followed by silence.
Marlee scrambled to her feet and raced to Stella. She slid on her knees beside the woman who was responsible for so much death. Marlee didn’t have a phone to call for an ambulance, but she could apply pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding.
“Don’t!” Stella said breathlessly.
Marlee looked into her face to see that Stella was at peace with what had happened.
“I … deserve this. I’m sorry about … Macey.”
Marlee wanted to say that she forgave her, but she couldn’t get the words out.
Stella smiled. “The password is Diane.”
“What?” Marlee asked with a frown. “What password, and why did you use my mother’s name?”
“You’ll … know,” Stella said.
“Tell me.”
But Marlee’s order fell on deaf ears as Stella’s eyes closed, and her final breath left her body. Marlee fell back on her butt and put a hand to her head. The sound of footsteps approaching made her look over her shoulder. The moment she saw Cooper, she was on her feet again and running toward him.
“I love you. I love you. I love you. I should’ve told you the moment I knew,” she said.
He held her tightly for several minutes. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I love you, too. I spent the day thinking I might never see you again, and I didn’t like what the future looked like. I don’t care where we live or what we do, I just want to be with you.”
“Good,” she said with a smile. “Because I want to be with you. Always.”
“Just what I needed to hear,” he whispered before he kissed her.
Epilogue
Two weeks later …
Life rarely turned out how anyone believed it would. The same could be said for Cooper. He couldn’t stop smiling at Marlee, who stood beside him in the church as sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows. She looked up at him and grinned before mouthing I love you. He held her hand, so thankful that they had all survived what could have been a horrendous tragedy.
Cooper’s shoulder would take a few weeks to mend, but there was no serious damage. Jace had proven to everyone that he had a hard head and an even longer stubborn streak since he wouldn’t take the pain meds given to him by the doctor. He would have another scar to add to the others, but once more, Cooper’s best friend had come out of things alive, which was a blessing in itself.
A lot had happened for them over the course of two weeks. Marlee identified the dead body in the woods as Stephanie. Cooper and Marlee went to Stella’s house and found her computer. Using the password Stella had given to Marlee, they were able to find all the evidence needed to shut down the operation—including those in the FBI that were in on it with Stella.
The Feds came to claim Stephanie’s body, and that’s when Danny and Ryan handed them the evidence. Danny and Ryan also ensured that the FBI knew that if something wasn’t done to clean up the corrupt individuals in their organization, all of the evidence would be leaked to the press.
Marlee finally got to meet Cooper’s mom. The two had hit it off immediately, which pleased Cooper immensely. Then he and Marlee flew out to California to visit her parents for a week. They posed a proposal to the Framptons to see if they would be interested in moving to Texas. If not, then he and Marlee would fly at least once a month to see them. However, her parents were all about being near their daughter and readily agreed to move.
Marlee decided to stay in Texas and set up her company base there. She kept telling Cooper that he had strong roots. He’d told her that she had roots, as well, but she said that his were different. He would’ve gone anywhere with her, but he was glad he was staying with his family and friends. Cooper had shown her the property he’d been eyeing. She had fallen in love with the land, and plans were already in the works to purchase it.
One thing he knew for sure: Marlee would never stop looking for her niece. And he was going to be right there with her every step of the way.
His thoughts halted as music filled the air. Everyone turned to look at the back of the church as Skylar appeared in a wedding dress, a bouquet of flowers clutched in her hand, and a huge smile on her face. Her gaze locked on Danny as she started walking up the aisle.
While everyone paid attention to the couple as they said their wedding vows, all Cooper could think about was Marlee and when she might want to exchange vows with him. He knew what he wanted to do with his life—hunt bad guys with Marlee. Hopefully, they would also find some missing children to reunite with their families and bring closure to everyone.
They were happy now, and he knew there would be hard times to come—because that was life. But he also knew that as long as they leaned on each other, they could make it through anything.
“You’re supposed to be watching the bride and groom,” Marlee whispered to him.
He kissed her temple. “You outshine them both, woman. Don’t you know that?”
“We were late getting here because you kept talking like that. You need to stop, or we’ll have to sneak off.”
“I’m okay with that,” he said with a grin.
She gazed up at him. “I love you.”
“And I love you. You’re stuck with me. You better be good with that.”
“I’m more than good,” she stated. “It’s exactly what I want.”
They shared a kiss just in time to hear Danny and Skylar announced as man and wife. Everyone shouted for joy and clapped as the happy couple walked down the aisle to start their new life as husband and wife.
“Ready?” Marlee asked as she quirked a brow at Cooper.
He brought her hand to his lips to kiss. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but first, we’re celebrating tonight.”
He twisted his lips and brought her against him as they walked with the others out of the church. “And maybe a day or two after. I want it to be just you and me for a few days.”
“Oh, that sounds heavenly.”
He spotted a closet and pulled her after him. “Maybe we start our holiday early.”
Marlee giggled as she closed the door behind them and reached for him.
More Titles by DONNA GRANT!
THE DARK KINGS SERIES
Dark Heat
Darkest Flame
Fire Rising
Burning Desire
Hot Blooded
Night’s Blaze
Soul Scorched
Passion Ignites
Smoldering Hunger
Smoke and Fire
Firestorm
Blaze
Heat
Torched
Dragonfire
Ignite
Fever
Flame
Inferno
THE HEART OF TEXAS SERIES
The Christmas Cowboy Hero
Cowboy, Cross My Heart
My Favorite Cowboy
A Cowboy Like You
THE SONS OF TEXAS SERIES
The Hero