Against the Heart (10 page)

Ian’s tension ratcheted up another notch.  Dressed completely in black, his face darkened with grease paint, he moved silently, Glock in hand, staying low and out of sight. 

He had spoken to Hawkins as soon as he had reached the park.  Though he hadn’t told Meri, Gray had convinced him to have a team on standby, ready to go in as soon as Lily was out of danger.  The police would be waiting, set to go on Gray’s command.

Ian moved through the shadows along the water, slowed, and elbow-crawled to the top of the bank.  Using the base of a tree as cover, he positioned himself and sighted his pistol on Bandini.  His dad would be focused on Kowalski. 

Ian could hear them now, Meri talking to Joey.  She was still twenty feet away from Bandini, following Ian’s instructions. 

"I have your money, Joey.  Where’s Lily?"

Bandini turned to Kowalski, tipped his head toward the car.  "Get the kid."

Kowalski shoved his pistol into the waistband of his pants, lumbered over, and opened the back door of the Ford.  There was a brief scuffle as he tried to drag Lily out of the car and she refused to come.

"Lily!  It’s Mama!  Do what the man tells you!"

"Mama!"

"Mama’s here to get you.  Just do what the man says!"

Lily settled down and Kowalski pulled her out of the backseat.  She winced at the brutal grip he had on her small arm, and Ian clenched his jaw.

Meri held up the canvas bag.  "It’s all yours, Joey.  Fifty-thousand dollars.  Just let her go."

"You think I’m stupid?  Toss it over here.  I’m not letting the kid go till I know the money’s in the bag."

Meri tossed the canvas satchel toward Joey.  Kowalski sauntered over and picked it up, unzipped the bag as he lumbered back.

"You were right, Joey.  She brought it.  There’s a lot of money in here.  Give her the kid and let’s go."

"Lily--come to Mama.  Just start walking, sweetheart.  Time to go home."

The little girl had only gone a few paces when Joey stepped forward and caught her arm, dragged her back against his chest.  The gun gleamed in his hand, and Ian’s control slipped. 

If Bandini harmed a single hair on that little girl’s head--

"You know, Meri, maybe I didn’t ask for enough," Joey said.  "You got your hands on fifty thousand without a hitch.  I’m thinking maybe you could get me fifty more."

"Are you crazy, Joey?  I borrowed that from a friend.  He isn’t going to give me anything more."

"By friend you mean the guy you’ve been putting out for?  Your bedroom skills must have really improved if he was willing to fork up fifty grand for a piece of ass."

Ian clamped down on a surge of fury.  It took sheer force of will to keep squeezing the trigger and putting a slug in the center of Bandini’s chest.

Meri took a step in Joey’s direction and Ian’s heart rate kicked up.

"Let her go, Joey," she said.  "I mean it."

"You don’t tell me what to do, bitch!  You never did."  He slung an arm around Lily’s thin shoulders.  Ian could tell she how scared the little girl was.  "You want the kid, come and get her." 

The look in Bandini’s eyes said he wanted more than money.  He wanted payback for some imaginary wrong he’d suffered because of Meri. She started walking toward her daughter, and Ian bit back a curse. 

"No, Mama!"  Realizing Joey’s intention, Lily slammed her foot down on Joey’s boot, which only made him smile, but as she moved, her body jerked, her hand shot up, cracked into Joey’s chin, and he bit his tongue.

"Motherfuck--"

Joey's grip faltered, Lily took off running toward her mother, and a gunshot echoed from the top of the hill.  Both men spun toward the threat and started shooting.  Daniel’s second round hit Kowalski in the leg and he started firing madly toward the unseen man on the mountain. 

Joey whirled and aimed his pistol at Meri, and Ian pulled the trigger on his Glock, putting a round in Bandini’s shoulder, slamming him backward, the gun flying out of his hand, disappearing into the darkness. 

Hovering over Lily, Meri ran till they reached the safety of her car, climbed inside, and ducked down out of sight. 

Kowalski was down, grabbing his bloody leg and moaning. Ian was on him, kicking the gun away, rolling him over, jamming his hands up behind his back and tightening a pair of nylon ties around his thick wrists.  He moved to Bandini, who lay flat on his back, gasping for breath, cursing and bleeding, but hurting too badly to cause him any more trouble.

Daniel appeared, rifle in hand.  He swung the stock up against his shoulder, aiming the barrel downward, covering the two men on the ground. 

"I’m shot!" Bandini whined.  "I need a doctor!"

"If I had my way," Daniel growled as he grabbed the canvas bag full of money and slung the strap over his shoulder, "I’d just dump you in the river and let the fish take care of you."

Bandini moaned. 

Adrenaline still pumping through him, Ian pressed the send button on his cell phone, heard Gray’s voice on the other end of the line.  "Time for the cavalry," he said.  "They’re all yours, Detective Hawkins."

At the first sound of sirens echoing in the distance, Ian turned and strode toward Meri.  She came out of the car and flew into his arms.

"Ian!  Oh, my God!"

He kissed the top of her head, held her close against him.  "Lily okay?"

Meri nodded.  "She’s fine."

"It’s over, honey.  The police’ll take care of Bandini.  You don’t have to be afraid anymore."

Meri clung to him and

Fighting to compose herself, Meri hung on a moment more, then took a shaky breath and backed away.  "Thank you, Ian.  I’ll never be able to repay the kindness you’ve shown us.  Thank you for everything."

Ian caught her chin, leaned down and very softly kissed her.  "I love you, Meri.  You don’t owe me a thing."

Meri spent the night and all the next day at Daniel’s.  The police had been there, taking report after report.  A doctor had looked at Lily and found her to be okay.

Meri had spent almost no time with Ian.  Instead, she moved around the house as if in a daze, wondering if he had really said he loved her.

And if he had, did he love her in the same way she loved him?  With all her heart and soul?

She had to ask him and yet she was afraid of the answer, afraid to let herself hope there might be a future for them.  A future that included Lily.

It wasn’t until that night after supper than she sought him out.  "Ian, I...I need to talk to you."

He nodded, his gorgeous blue eyes on her face.  "We definitely need to talk.  I’ll be leaving in a couple of days and there are things I need to say, things we need to work out."

Her eyes burned.  He was going to offer her the job taking care of his father, try again to persuade her to stay here where he believed she would have a good home.  As much as she cared for Daniel, she needed to make a life of her own.  And she had hoped, in some tiny part of her heart, that she meant as much to him as he meant to her.

"Let’s walk out to the pond, okay?  It’s nice and quiet out there."

She just nodded.  Her heart was squeezing.  She should have left as she’d planned.  If it hadn’t been for the police and their reports....

He stopped in the shadows behind the barn, drew her into his arms and kissed her.  She could feel the tears welling, tried but couldn’t keep them from slipping over onto her cheeks.

"You’re crying," he said, worry darkening his features.  "Why are you crying?"

Meri swallowed past the lump in her throat.  "I can’t stay here, Ian.  And I’m not sure your father even needs me anymore.  I think Heddy will take very good care of him.  I think they’ll be perfect for each other."

"So do I."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do."

She brushed at the wetness on her cheeks.  "Then what...what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Do you remember what I said last night?"

She remembered.  The words were etched into her heart.  "You said...you loved me.  I understand you probably didn’t mean them exactly that way.  Things were happening.  You were worried about Lily and me."

"I meant them exactly the way I said them.  I love you, Meri.  I want you and Lily to be part of my life." 

Her throat closed up.

"Do you love me, Meri?  Because I’m over the moon in love with you."

"Oh, God, Ian."  Meri threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, just hung on and let the tears roll down her face.  "I love you.  I love you so much."

She felt his muscles relax as relief slid through him.  Ian eased her away enough to kiss her, then dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled a blue velvet box. 

"I wish I had time to do this right.  Propose to you over some fancy dinner in Seattle, but I’m afraid you’ll slip away from me, and I couldn’t stand it if that happened." 

He opened the box and held it out to her.  "This is my mother’s wedding ring.  Dad wanted me to have it.  Will you marry me, honey?  I love you so damned much."

"Oh, Ian, yes!  Yes, I’ll marry you."  Her hand shook as Ian slipped the ring on her finger.  The small, perfectly cut diamond looked just right for her hand.

Ian kissed her, a long, slow, deep, heart-shattering kiss she felt all the way to her soul.

"Meri..." he whispered, holding her in his arms as they stood there looking at each other in the moonlight over the water.

"Are you sure, Ian?  Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Honey, nothing I’ve ever done has felt as right as this."  Ian brought her hand up and kissed her ring finger.  "Let’s go in and tell Dad and Lily." He smiled.  "But don’t be surprised if they already know by now."

Meri laughed as they walked hand-in-hand back to the house.

EPILOGUE

They were living in Seattle, Ian back to work at Brodie Security.  Since his main office was in Bellevue, he and Meri were looking at homes in the area. 

They were married.  Meri had no real family and he hadn’t seen any point in waiting.  His own family had turned out in force for the wedding.  Even his cousins, Dylan, Nick, and Rafe had flown down from Alaska.

Once he got his head on straight, it hadn’t taken him long to figure out what he wanted.  To realize his dad was right--he was in love with Meriwether Jones, and she was the perfect woman for him.  Seeing her face up to a pair vicious thugs like a lioness protecting her cub had only intensified his feelings.

As far as he was concerned, he couldn’t get the woman to the altar fast enough.

A lot had happened in the weeks since their marriage, first and foremost, Kowalski and Bandini were both in jail.  Besides the kidnapping charges both men faced, turned out Kowalski was wanted for armed robbery in Los Angeles, and though Bandini had accepted a plea bargain, he wasn’t getting out of prison anytime soon.

Ian smiled.  Meri was working as his bookkeeper/ receptionist/secretary, and generally running his office, which was great.  She was enjoying the job and she was good at it.  She could set her own hours so she had plenty of time to be with Lily. 

Plenty of time to be with him.   He grinned to think of the hours they’d been spending in bed, how many times he’d made her late for work in the mornings, how she would blush when he teased her about it. 

He had already filed for Lily’s adoption, and though it wasn’t official, he was certain the paperwork would go through fairly quickly.  Lily already called him Daddy.  Daniel had insisted she call him Grandpa, which, every time she said it, made him smile.

Daniel and Heddy were an item.  Heddy had insisted Daniel take down the fences between their properties so the horses, including the new ones his dad had purchased, could roam free. 

As a wedding gift, she had given Sunny to Ian and Meri.  Though the stallion would be staying at his dad’s place, it was one of the best gifts he’d ever received.

Everything was going smoothly.  And though Ian loved his wife and being married, he was glad to be working.  He ran a private security firm.  In a city the size of Seattle, he had plenty of business, and he liked the people he worked with, particularly liked working with some of his family.

Two of his best PIs were his cousins.  Ethan and Luke Brodie were men he could count on.  Down the road, he was thinking he might even open another office.

For the moment, however, he was content.

Ian checked his watch.  It was six o’clock.  Meri had left at five to pick up Lily.  As Ian headed for the door, he smiled.  By the time he got home, Meri would be starting supper.  Lily would be watching for his car to drive up. 

He was heading home to his family. 

Ian could hardly wait.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I hope you enjoyed Ian and Meri in AGAINST THE HEART.  I wrote this novella to introduce you to the Brodies.  Ty Brodie, a private investigator, appeared in AGAINST THE MARK.  His cousin Dylan’s story, AGAINST THE WILD, is the first of three books about the Brodie brothers of Alaska.  Nick’s story, AGAINST THE SKY, is second, then Rafe Brodie in AGAINST THE TIDE.  All three are high-action, sexy, romantic suspense novels. 

As I continued to write books about the handsome, virile, incredibly hunky men in my AGAINST books, I decided to do more novels featuring the Brodies, and maybe a few of their friends.  I hope you’ll join the fun and that you’ll watch for AGAINST THE WILD, AGAINST THE SKY, AGAINST THE TIDE, and future novels in my AGAINST series.

Till then, all best and happy reading, Kat

Here's a taste of the next book in the AGAINST series...

AGAINST THE WILD

(coming June 2014)

CHAPTER ONE

The low moaning of the wind awakened him.  The old fishing lodge, constructed in the thirties, was built of hand-hewn logs, the chinking between them worn by time and weather, leaving spaces for the air to blow through.  An eerie keening echoed inside the house, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Dylan’s spine. 

Just the wind,
he reminded himself. 
Nothing to do with stories of ghosts and hauntings.  Just an inconvenience, nothing more.