“Master Sergeant Hanover?” Sean couldn’t believe his boss was standing next to the Christmas tree holding a gun on them. “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?”
“When you pulled my file, I knew you’d figure it out eventually,” the man said in a snide tone. His boss was a few years younger than he was, and Sean had wondered how he’d risen up through the ranks so quickly. Now he knew it wasn’t just because Hanover was good. Far from it. Greta stood frozen directly in front of Hanover and he glowered at the animal. “Call off your dog, or I’ll shoot it.”
“Greta, come,” Jacey commanded.
Greta slowly backed up, keeping her dark eyes locked on Hanover.
“What’s the link between you and Lieutenant Colonel Turks?” Sean asked, desperate to find a way to protect Jacey. “I mean, it’s obvious he’s greasing the way for your promotions, and you physically look enough like him to be his son.”
Hanover’s smile reeked of pure evil and Sean wondered why he hadn’t noticed the underlying cruelty before now. “That’s exactly why I knew you’d figure it out. You’re smart, Morris—I’ll give you that. Putting the jeep in my name and then finding this place without going through proper channels. You made me work to find you, that’s for sure.”
“Are you denying you’re related to Lieutenant Colonel Turks?” Sean pressed.
“Not at all. Ivan never bothered to marry my useless mother, and I didn’t blame him. It didn’t matter, since I’m his son in every way that counts. Having different last names actually worked in our favor. And obviously I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect my father.” Hanover jerked the weapon toward Jacey. “Tie her up.”
Every muscle in Sean’s body went tense. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow anything to happen to Jacey.
Liz had died, but he refused to fail again.
“Jacey, run!” Sean shouted at the same time as he heard Jacey tell Greta, “Get him!”
He leaped toward Hanover. The distance was too far, and he braced himself for the gunshot he knew was coming. Greta moved swiftly, clamping her jaw around Hanover’s leg.
“Owww!” Hanover fired his weapon and Sean felt the bullet skate along the side of his thigh but ignored the pain. Jacey’s panic alarm shrilled loud enough to fracture his eardrums and everyone else’s within a ten-mile radius.
Sean took his boss down and Jacey scooped up Hanover’s gun. Greta clung to Doug’s leg as the guy continued to shriek with pain. At least he appeared to be shrieking; all Sean could hear was the stupid panic alarm.
Finally, Jacey shut it off, the ensuing silence a true blessing.
“Master Sergeant Hanover, you’re under arrest for attempted murder,” Sean said, slapping handcuffs over his boss’s wrists.
“Sean? We better hurry.”
“Why?” He glanced up at Jacey, then realized that Greta was sitting straight and tall right next to the stable of the Nativity scene. “Are you saying there’s a bomb in there?”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Sean winced as the muscles of his injured thigh protested when he hauled Hanover to his feet. Jacey grabbed Hanover’s other arm and they rushed to drag him outside, with Greta keeping pace alongside. Outside, several airmen from nearby houses were milling about, rousted by Jacey’s panic alarm.
“All of you, follow us! Hurry!” Sean said. “There’s a bomb inside the house!”
Thankfully, the others joined them, and they didn’t stop until they were more than halfway down the block.
“We need to call it in,” Jacey said between gasping breaths. “Hurry!”
Sean was already fishing his phone out of his pocket when a loud ka-boom reverberated through the night.
“The neighbors!” Jacey shouted.
“I live on the west side of the place,” one woman said. “My husband is currently overseas.”
“We live on the east side,” a young couple piped up. “That alarm was crazy loud—I couldn’t figure out what was going on!”
Sean managed a smile. “You did it, Jacey. First Greta found the bomb, then that ridiculously loud alarm of yours saved the neighbors.”
“We did it,” she said. “I didn’t even know who he was out of uniform, but you did. I can’t believe your boss is Turks’s son. And you’re bleeding again.”
Sean couldn’t care less about the wound on his leg. Knowing that Jacey was safe from harm and that he hadn’t failed to protect her was all he needed.
Because he loved her.
The realization sank deep into his bones, and he knew that this was the real thing. More than what he’d felt with Liz, although he’d certainly cared about her.
But not the same way he loved Jacey.
He wanted to tell her, to see if she felt even close to the same way, but right now, he needed to stay focused on Hanover. His boss had to pay for his crimes.
“Misty Walsh talked to us just an hour ago,” Jacey said, her gaze riveted on Hanover’s face. “Between the two of us and any others we can find, we’re going to drag your father down off his high-ranking-officer pedestal and toss him in jail where he belongs.”
Hanover sneered and swore at Jacey. “You’re all alike. Stupid women. You want to do a man’s job, but then you’re the first to crumble under pressure.”
“Assault is not pressure,” Jacey shot back.
“Don’t waste your breath talking to him,” Sean advised. “He’s not worth it. Just imagine the two of them sharing a cell, father and son.”
Before Jacey could say anything more, additional Special Forces cops arrived, along with half the firetrucks from the apartment fire.
“You again?” The fire chief did not look happy to see them.
“Yes, sir.” Sean had to retell their story several times, forced to start over when a superior officer showed up. When Captain Justin Blackwood arrived, he took over the questioning, silencing everyone else.
Hanover tried to interject his side of things, claiming he was being framed and had only come to talk to Sean and Jacey about the case, but thankfully, Jacey had kept his weapon, and handed it over to Captain Blackwood.
“I believe we’ll be able to match the ballistics of the bullet Greta found at the parking lot with Hanover’s gun,” Sean explained.
“Good work, Staff Sergeant,” Captain Blackwood said, his expression grim. “I only wish you had escalated this to me sooner.”
Sean frowned. “With all due respect, sir, I was keeping my immediate superior up-to-date on my investigation without having any idea he was the one responsible.”
“True enough.” Justin Blackwood scowled at Hanover. “So, we have Hanover on setting the bomb in the house and two counts of attempted murder. Anything else to add to the list?”
“Three counts of attempted murder, if he drives a black pickup truck,” Jacey said. “I saw the truck run the red light and deliberately hit Misty Walsh.”
“You can’t prove I was the one driving,” Hanover protested.
“But I’m sure we’ll find traces of Misty’s blood and tissue on your truck, won’t we?” Sean countered. “Face it—we have you linked to everything.”
“I didn’t give antifreeze to the dog,” Hanover whined.
“Yes, you did.” Aiden Gomez stepped out from behind a tree, cradling a pup against his chest. “I saw you at the kennel that night. And Reba admitted to me that she lost her ID. You used it, didn’t you?”
“Useless little punk!” Hanover tried to lunge upward, but Sean yanked him back down. “You couldn’t have seen me from where you were standing.”
Sean couldn’t help but smile at how easily Hanover had walked into that one. Apparently being under pressure wasn’t working so well for his former boss, either.
“Enough!” Blackwood lifted his hand up. “Hanover, I suggest you exercise your right to keep silent, as anything you say can be used against you in a court-martial. Let’s go.”
When the Special Forces cops took Hanover away, Sean finally allowed the EMTs to look at his leg. The injury wasn’t serious, and only an inch longer than the gash on his arm.
“We’ll give you a lift to the ER,” the EMT offered.
“No, thanks. Just wrap it up and I’ll be fine.” The danger was over, but he wasn’t about to leave Jacey alone.
The house was gone, her apartment was gone, which left his apartment, if she’d be willing to sleep on the sofa.
Or a motel off base, which didn’t really appeal, either.
Then he had a better idea. “How about I take you to Gram’s house for the rest of the night?”
“Oh, it’s late and I don’t want to inconvenience your grandmother,” Jacey protested.
“Trust me, we won’t be. I have a feeling she’ll enjoy meeting the woman who helped bring down a lieutenant colonel.”
“I haven’t done that yet,” she pointed out.
“You will.” He had the utmost confidence in her.
“I have Greta, too,” she added. “I think it’s best if I stay in a motel. A dog-friendly motel.”
“Gram loves dogs.” He wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Will you please trust me on this?”
Jacey hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll trust you. But we’ll need to stop by the kennel to pick up additional K-9 supplies. Everything I had in the house is gone.”
“Fine with me. Let’s go.”
Despite it being close to 2200 hours, his grandmother was still up. She opened the door and greeted him with an enthusiastic kiss. “Sean! You’re early—I wasn’t expecting you until the end of the week!”
“Gram, I’d like you to meet Jacey Burke. Jacey, this is my grandmother, Maureen Morris. We’d like to stay for the night, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure, dear,” Gram agreed.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Ms. Morris. Friend, Greta. Friend.” Greta sniffed at Gram, then plopped onto her haunches. “Morris?” Jacey repeated. “Is that your mother’s last name?”
“Yes. Thankfully, my stepfather never offered to adopt me.”
Gram sighed. “I warned your mother he was no good, but she didn’t listen.”
Sean kissed her wrinkled cheek. “I know, and I’ll always regret how he kept us away from you. But it’s okay. Everything worked out just the way God planned.”
“Oh, Sean.” Gram hugged him close. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“You can thank Jacey for bringing me back to my faith,” he confessed.
Jacey’s cheeks turned pink. “I have a feeling you would have come back on your own—I just gave you a gentle nudge.”
He wanted so badly to tell her how much he loved her, but before he could think of a way to broach the subject, Jacey continued.
“Ms. Morris, I have to confess, I’ve had a crush on your grandson ever since high school.” Jacey winked at his grandmother. “Despite all the adversity he had to go through, he has turned out to be an exceptional man and an amazing cop.”
It was his turn to blush. His grandmother arched a brow.
“I like her, Sean. She’s the first woman friend you’ve introduced to me and I can see why. Don’t mess things up, you hear?” With that Gram turned and walked away. “Good night!” she called over her shoulder.
Jacey chuckled and shook her head. “She’s something.”
“Yes,” he agreed, taking a step closer. “And so are you. I love you, Jacey Burke. If you must know, I had a crush on you back in high school, too.”
“Oh, Sean.” She slid her arms up and around his neck. “The way you kept pulling away from me, I thought you only liked me as a friend, nothing more.”
“Far from it. I was only afraid I’d fail to protect you, the way I failed to protect another woman who I’d promised to protect. She was killed by her ex-husband because I let my guard down. I was convinced I needed to keep you at arm’s length to keep you safe.” He gazed into Jacey’s beautiful deep-brown eyes. “When Hanover held the gun on us, I knew I’d readily sacrifice my life to save you. I love you, Jacey. I know it’s fast, and we have barely gone on a proper date, but I hope you’re willing to give us a chance.”
“Done,” she said with a smile. “Because I love you, too.” She went up on tiptoe and kissed him.
He cradled her close, his gaze catching the bright star glittering on the top of Gram’s Christmas tree. He reveled in her embrace, knowing that God had planned to bring them together all these years later.
For this moment right now.
Jacey had loved spending time with Sean’s grandmother, but after three days was grateful to be assigned a new apartment back on base. She decorated the small Christmas tree, the third one, but who was counting? And silently reviewed her many blessings.
First and foremost, Sean. They’d attended Sunday services together and she loved standing beside him in church, listening to his deep baritone as he sang along with the choir. She never felt as close to a man as she did while worshiping God.
Sean filled her in on everything that had taken place when he’d returned to work the morning after the bomb had gone off. Over the next three days, Sean had collected the evidence needed to level charges against Master Sergeant Doug Hanover. When one of Hanover’s fingerprints was found inside her old apartment after the fire investigation was complete, the charge of arson was added to the list.
The bullet fragment matched Hanover’s gun, and the fingerprint on the dropped bullet was a partial match to him, as well. And a search warrant turned up Reba Pokorny’s ID. Sean was happy to have a strong case against Hanover.
Jacey and Misty had renewed their respective formal complaints against Lieutenant Colonel Turks, and Jacey had heard from Heidi that a third female airman had come forward after Heidi’s story hit the newspaper. Jacey was convinced even more women would be strong enough to tell their stories, as well, and this time, she was confident that her allegations would be taken seriously and that Turks would stand trial for his crimes, just as Hanover would.
A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Greta let out a quick bark, her tail wagging as she stared at the door. Jacey peered through the peephole to verify Sean was the one standing there.
She unlocked the dead bolt and opened the door. “Hi, you’re early.”
“I know. Captain Blackwood sent me home and told me to take the next couple of days off.” He swept her into his arms for a long kiss. When he finally came up for air, he added, “I bolted out of there before he could change his mind.”
She laughed. “I’m always happy to see you. Check out my Christmas tree. Dinner won’t be ready for a while. There’s time to relax and make yourself comfy.”
“Thanks.” He shrugged out of his coat. “By the way, Gram insists on having us over for Christmas brunch. I tried to tell her to let us do the work, but she refused to listen.”
“Your grandmother is one stubborn lady,” she teased. “I can see where you get it from.”
“Me?” His eyes widened with pretend innocence. “You’re the most stubborn woman I know.”
That made her laugh, but then her smile faded as she caught a glimpse of a snow-globe Christmas ornament that reminded her of Jake. “I’m glad you’ve invited me to spend the holidays with you,” she said with a sad smile. “I only wish Jake could join us.”
“I believe he’s here, in your heart and in mine,” Sean said, pulling her close.
“You’re right.” She did her best to push her feelings of melancholy away.
“Hey.” Sean tipped her face up to meet his gaze. “After everything you’ve been through, I’m not going to wait until Christmas to give you your present.”
“Oh, Sean, I don’t need gifts,” she protested. “Just being with you is wonderful enough.”
His smile broadened. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
She tilted her head to the side, confused. Then he slowly dropped down to one knee and held out a small red velvet ring box. Greta wagged her tail, sniffed him, and sat down beside him, but he never took his gaze off Jacey’s. “Jacey Marie Burke, I know it’s taken us ten years to find each other again, but now that we have I never want to let you go. Will you please marry me?”
Tears of joy blurred her vision and her heart swelled with love. “Oh, Sean, yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.” She tugged him to his feet and threw herself into his arms. He caught her close and spun in a small circle. Greta thought it was a game and jumped and barked around them.
He kissed her again, and insisted on sliding the beautiful diamond engagement ring on her finger. Then they stood together staring at the Christmas tree. “Gram is going to be so excited,” he said, pressing a kiss against her temple. “She told me not to dawdle in asking you to marry me.”
Jacey smiled. “I hardly think a week is exactly dawdling, but I appreciate her concern.” She leaned her head against Sean’s arm. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you, too. Just don’t make me wait too long for the ceremony. If Gram has her way, she’ll have the whole thing planned before we know it.”
“We wouldn’t want to disappoint Gram,” Jacey agreed. And even though this would be her first Christmas without Jake, she couldn’t deny it was already the best Christmas ever.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Holiday Amnesia by Lynette Eason.