“LET HIM GO, sir,” Sean requested calmly, reaching inside his jacket.
“Who in the hell are you?” Bentley demanded, yanking himself from Seamus’s grip.
Laurel spun around, both relieved and scared that Sean had abandoned his cover. She saw him reach inside his coat, move forward. “Sean, don’t—”
Sean pulled out his badge, sending her a brief look. She’d thought he was going to pull a gun on them. He shook his head just slightly, chidingly, obviously aware of and amused by her assumption.
“State your business, young man,” Seamus ordered.
Laurel’s mouth dropped open. Her father hadn’t known about this? About Sean? Then how in the hell—? She looked to Sean, who had obviously noted her surprise. That meant he now knew she’d thought he’d betrayed her. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed silently.
He gave her a nod, a brief twitch of the lips, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was going to be okay. What they had was stronger than a misunderstanding, a bad judgment call. She looked to her father then and realized fully just what Sean had been trying to tell her with that look. She and her father had that same bond. And it was strong enough to weather anything, even asking if one of them had made a mistake. No matter the severity or the potential fallout.
She felt even worse now for not fully comprehending that sooner, not trusting it. For not allowing her father to make his own decisions. For being too afraid to do what was right.
“Sean Gannon, Deputy U.S. Marshal.”
“Are you here in some official capacity?” Seamus demanded.
Alan decided to use the sudden distraction to take a step back, then another one.
Sean swung his gaze toward him. “Stop right there.”
Alan did just that, then made a face when he realized he’d responded so automatically. Laurel wasn’t successful in hiding her satisfied little smile.
“Yes, sir,” Sean answered Seamus, all the while keeping his gaze locked on Alan. “In a way. I’m here as your daughter’s—” He stopped then, risked a glance over at her.
His face was so stern, so…Special Ops. Despite the intensity of the situation she’d been in, or perhaps because of it, she got a little sexual thrill out of it, out of seeing the other side of Sean in action. She stepped forward. “He’s been helping me to sort out this mess.” She put her hand on her dad’s arm. “He wanted me to come to you sooner. I—I didn’t want you to think…I wanted to just handle it myself and—”
Her father pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. I feel like I let you down. I did let you down. I let us both down. I’m so sorry, Dad.”
He tipped up her chin and smiled down at her with all the love and affection she’d always had from him gleaming from his blue eyes. “I think we both have a bit of owning up to do in that category.” He glanced over at Sean. “Nice young man. He’ll do.”
He’d said it so casually, as if they weren’t all standing there in some sort of frozen tableau of danger and suspense. It made her laugh. “Yes, that he will.” She smiled. “It’s all your fault, you know. I took your advice when I went to St. Thomas. Met an island man. And brought him home with me.”
Alan stepped forward then, face almost purple. “You were with him in the islands? When you were still dealing with me? What kind of sl—”
Sean moved so fast Alan was standing one minute and flat on his face, hands pinned behind his back, the next. He was screaming bloody murder, threatening lawsuits with one breath and death threats with the next.
For his part, Sean appeared totally unmoved by the whole thing, keeping Alan contained almost nonchalantly.
The adrenaline that had been pumping through her system now for almost thirty straight minutes left Laurel feeling almost euphorically invincible. It was the only explanation for the way she all but swaggered over to where Alan lay pinned. She glanced at Sean. “I do so hope you still have that recorder running.”
“Video and audio,” he supplied with a calm that the bright gleam in his eye belied.
“Excellent.” She nudged Alan with the toe of her high heel. “Yes, I was with him in the islands. In fact, I was with him in a way you only dreamed of being with me. There never was an ‘us,’ Alan. You don’t know how to be part of a couple because that would mean that it’s not all about you. And if anyone is going to throw around the slut word, I’m surprised it would be coming from you. A man who has consistently pimped himself out to the highest bidder.”
Alan started a steady stream of invectives, which Sean neatly cut off with a little pressure to his wind-pipe. “Could you take the phone from my breast pocket and dial 9-1-1?” he asked Laurel, as if he were asking her to call for a pizza.
She slipped it out, took the time to drop a quick, hard kiss on his mouth, then did as he’d asked.
Response time was fast. In the several minutes it took the police to arrive, Seamus explained that his concern about Laurel had caused him to start poking around a bit. He’d called in every marker he’d earned over a long career, and that had been quite a few, and had eventually been made privy to the undercover investigation into Alan’s wheelings and dealings. Concerned for his daughter’s welfare, Seamus had called in some investigators of his own. He had no intention of impeding the investigation, so their job had been mostly to tail Alan and to make sure he was steering clear of Laurel. He only asked to be notified if Alan made any sort of direct contact. As it happened, he’d been on his way to Alexandria today, to be with her when news of the Rochambeau sting hit the wires, when Seamus’s people had contacted him about the meeting going down at the bridge.
It took almost an hour of individual questioning before they were all cleared to leave the scene. Laurel had her left arm tucked inside her father’s, and her head tilted to the right on Sean’s shoulder. “I can’t believe it’s over,” she said, shaky now that the adrenaline was diminishing.
Seamus paused as they walked back to their cars. “You know there will be more to come later. When this all comes to trial.”
Laurel nodded. “Yes, but I can handle that.”
Seamus beamed. “That’s my girl.”
Laurel tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “Wait,” she said, making them all come to a stop. “I know this isn’t the time…well, actually it’s way past time.”
Her father had moved ahead of them a step, and turned back now to face the two of them. “What is it?” He hadn’t missed the thread of anxiety in her tone. But then he didn’t miss much.
“We have a lot to talk over, and this should probably wait until then, but it can’t. I can’t.”
“Can’t what, sweetheart?” Seamus asked, obviously concerned now.
Sean squeezed her hand and she turned to him. He smiled at her, his eyes alive with pride and love. He nodded, and she knew he realized what she was going to tell her father. “I love you,” he said softly. “And so will he. Always.”
Tears leaped to her eyes and she moved into Sean’s arms, hugging him tightly. “I love you, too,” she whispered fiercely next to his ear. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“Shh,” he said. “I told you once, I don’t run.”
She moved back, let her hands slide down his arms. “Neither do I. Not anymore.” Then she took a breath and turned to face her father. With a tremble in her voice, she began. “I love you, Dad. More than you can know. More than that, I’ve always been proud of you, respected and admired you.” She laughed a little, her voice catching. “I wanted to be you.” Eyes swimming, she pushed on. “You did everything in your power to invest your love of the law into me. And it was such a powerful thing that I was entranced. But more important to me was making you proud.”
Seamus’s eyes had grown suspiciously bright. “But I am proud of you,” he said, his voice rougher than usual. “I can’t imagine being more proud.”
Laurel felt her knees knocking, but she reached back and grabbed Sean’s hand, tugged him forward until he was standing right beside her. “You asked Sean earlier who he was to me.” She didn’t look at Sean just then, couldn’t chance it without risking falling completely apart. He tightened his hold on her hand, which was all the support she needed. “You have always been the man in my life, Dad. The one I looked up to. The center of my universe.”
Seamus’s mouth curved into a bit of a watery smile. “I take it I’m about to be told I’ve been replaced.”
Laurel smiled through her own tears, happy tears. “Never. But you will have a little competition.”
Sean stuck out his hand then. “I love your daughter, Your Honor. I’ll never do anything to hurt her.”
“Seamus,” her father directed him, taking his hand in a firm shake. “And see that you don’t.”
Laurel sniffed, smiled, then continued. “Now for the hard part.”
Seamus looked at her in surprise. “Do you love him?”
She did look at Sean now. “With all my heart.”
“Then what more is there to know?”
“Just this. You said just now you were proud of me, couldn’t imagine not being proud of me. Well…” She faltered, badly. She’d come so far, but it was so damn hard. Just a few words, but as her father had said, words were powerful things. And she hated the idea that hers were going to hurt him in any way.
“Go on,” he urged. “You’ve come this far. Out with it.”
She smiled at the autocratic tone, coupled with the love, affection and, yes, pride, so clear on his face. How could she have ever doubted it? “I know I’ve come a long way in my career,” she began.
Seamus frowned, obviously a bit confused with the change of subject. It made it harder for her, but not impossible. She squeezed Sean’s hand. No, she knew now that, with love, nothing was impossible.
“Would you have that same pride in me if I tell you that I’ve decided, after spending the first part of my life dedicated to following your career goals, I want to spend the next part of my life following Mom’s?”
When Seamus only looked more confused, she spit it out more clearly.
“I want to step down, Dad, from the bench. I love the law, but I’m not in love with practicing it. I want to get married, build a home, a life, a partnership. And I don’t want to divide my attentions.” She glanced to Sean, whose returning look of unconditional love made her feel invincible all over again. Only this time it wasn’t due to adrenaline. This was a feeling that wasn’t going to fade away. As long as she had him by her side, she felt she could do anything. “I guess that wasn’t the way I figured I’d propose, or be proposed to, but—”
Sean swept her up in his arms and planted one on her, right in front of her dad, God, and everybody. “I do,” he said, then kissed her again. “I most certainly do.”
Seamus finally cleared his throat and they both turned to him, faces flushed and eyes shining. “I never wanted to disappoint you, Dad. And I don’t want to embarrass you by making a public thing of—”
“Hush now,” he said gruffly, tugging her away from Sean and into a bear hug of his own. “Nothing you’ll ever do will change how proud I am of you.” He pushed her back a bit, stared down into her eyes. “You could have told me, you know,” he quietly admonished. “More than anything, I’ve only wanted your happiness. I feel terrible knowing I forced you in any way to—”
“I made my own choices then, and I’m making my own choices now. I am happy, Dad. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
“Then so am I.” He smiled, that devilish gleam coming back into his eyes. “Of course, you think you had big shoes to fill in getting to the bench, you just try filling your mother’s. You have a big challenge ahead of you there.” He looked to Sean. “If I may, you might want to look into cooking lessons fairly soon.”
Laurel swatted at her dad’s arm. “Only if Sean goes with me. We’re both hopeless in the kitchen.”
Seamus, back to his outrageous self, shot a look at Sean. “So long as you’re not hopeless in the—”
“Dad!”
They all laughed as they walked the rest of the way to their cars, Laurel holding hands with both of the men she held most dear.
Seamus left them at Sean’s truck with a promise that they would be seeing each other soon to plan how they were going to stand up to the media explosion that was bound to take place over the next couple of days. “In the meantime,” he called as he opened the door to his own sedan several yards away, “you might want to consider the idea of raising another generation of Patrick justices.”
When they both just stared at him, nonplussed, his laughter boomed across the lot. He merely winked, waved and was still chuckling as he drove away.
“I can see now what you were up against,” Sean muttered, sounding more awed than she’d ever heard him. “And I thought negotiating around my wolf pack of a family was a tough deal.”
Laurel just shook her head. She should have known it wasn’t going to be completely easy. But then nothing worth having ever was. She turned to Sean, moved into his arms. “Speaking of your den, when do I get to meet the Gannon pack?”
He pressed a kiss to her eyebrows, then her nose, her cheeks, her jaw…She’d almost forgotten the question by the time he got around to answering. “Oh, I was thinking you should be ready long about, hmm, when our youngest is in high school.”
She laughed, her breath catching as she envisioned that future. A home filled with love, with children, with him. “What about at the wedding? Don’t you think I should meet them before we—”
“Can’t we just elope? Maybe to St. Thomas?”
She laughed. “What, and rob my father of walking me down the aisle? You’re already robbing him of a justice.”
He kissed her hard and fast. “Oh, I think we can work on giving him one or two more to terrorize.” He kissed her again, only this time it turned gentle and heartbreakingly sweet. “A big wedding here,” he said. “All the trimmings. And the terror of my family.” He grinned. “Remember, you were warned.” He leaned his back against the truck, pulling her between his legs. “Then a trip to St. Thomas. To finish what we started.”
“Oh, I don’t think this is ever going to be finished,” she murmured, settling more fully against him before pulling his mouth down to hers.
And she was right.