Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
The name on the caller ID says Jane Henway.
I arch a brow. This better not be an eleventh-hour reveal with a secret wife back in New York or something.
“Shouldn’t you get that?” I ask.
“Nah. That’s my DEA handler. The one who told me I had to wait for the paperwork to go through before I could hit Xavier and save your life.” His hold on me tightens. “They can wait until tomorrow to yell at me before I tell them to fuck off. They’ll have to deal with me staying in Redhaven.”
My heart nearly stops.
“You’re staying…?” I pull back, just enough so I can see his face.
He opens his eyes, looking at me quietly, and pushes himself up to brush his lips over mine.
“There’s nothing waiting for me in New York. Somehow, while I was busy faking fitting in here, I found my calling.” He hesitates, his eyes lowering. “I made a real home here in Redhaven. I care about the people. The guys. Everyone.” Those stark silvery-blue eyes meet mine again. “You. Obviously.”
He’s doing it again.
He’s nearly tearing me apart with his honesty.
“I want to stay with you, Talia. Zero doubt.” His lips quirk. “Though my ego’s going to have to get over having a rich girlfriend.”
“Huh?” I shake my head. “I’m broke, Micah. Xavier’s check bounced. He said the Feds froze his accounts. He just used a cashier’s check to lure me up to the house to ambush me.”
“Wrong.” Micah drags it out a little too long, a little too casually, before he grins. He falls back against the pillows, looking up at me smugly. “There’s a one-point-five million dollar reward for information that leads to the arrest of the heads of the East Coast drug ring.” His grin widens, and he reaches up to tap the tip of my nose. “I made sure my DEA handlers know I couldn’t have pulled this off without you. You’ll have a check in the next month.”
My eyes widen.
Shock rips through me and comes out in a startled laugh.
“Wait. Wait, you’re serious?”
“Never would’ve moved on Xavier without making sure you could take care of your grandfather first. Even if it means giving up my pay.”
“I… You… Oh my God, thank you!” I tackle him in a flurry of blankets, hugging him and burying my face against his chest. “Thank you for caring about my grandfather.”
“How can I not? He matters to you.”
“But destroying Xavier was all you’ve ever wanted… and you’d have given that up?”
“I would. Because I was wrong.” Micah kisses my hair over and over again, holding me against him like he never wants us apart. “Taking Xavier down was always second to what I truly wanted. That’s you.”
Oh, I don’t know how my heart can get any fuller.
I definitely don’t know what to say.
I can’t fathom how to express how much I love this man—his good, his bad, his darkness, his light. His bravery, his strength, his secret kindness, and his brash sense of honor. The way he challenges me to take risks and cushions me when I fall.
I push myself up to meet those eyes that hold the entire universe.
“And I’ve been waiting my entire life to find you,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss him.
26
DARKNESS LIFTED (MICAH)
Ithink I need a new prescription for my glasses.
I sit behind the wheel of my car, waiting outside the Raleigh clinic, and wipe a few smudges off my lenses with a microfiber cloth. I had to ditch the contacts today because lately they’ve been giving me halos when I drive at night, and it’ll be dark by the time I pick up Gerald and make it back to Redhaven.
It’s my turn to shuttle back home this week.
He stays at the cognitive therapy clinic for about a week every month before coming home brighter and clearer, armed with new exercises and meds to help restore his mind.
Normally, Talia and I make the drive together.
Only this time, the shop had a massive order come in for custom furniture for a wedding present placed by some wealthy couple from Virginia. The Bridezilla’s been driving Talia so batshit that she’s been shut up in the workshop for days.
I didn’t dare interrupt her flow.
Then again, I may also have an ulterior motive for wanting to see Gerald alone today, but I’ll cross that bridge soon enough.
I finish wiping my glasses, put them back on, and squint across the parking lot. It’s turning brassy from the heavy rays of sunset.
Yep.
Still a little bit blurry by the time my line of sight hits the far edge of the parking lot. A minor adjustment should fix it, though I should probably go in for another round of Lasik. For some people, it’s a permanent solution, and for others it has to be redone every decade.
Guess which one I am.