Fear exploded inside Sami’s chest. The echo of gunfire pounded through her head. The walls of the utility room closed in on her, fueling her panic. Was Drew hurt? Dead? She needed to help him.
“Stay here,” she told Dr. Cantwell.
The stairs led to the kitchen.
Caution forced Sami to press her back to the wall and then peek out. The fact that she could make out the counter and appliances barely registered. The back door was boarded up.
She hurried toward the living room, feeling her way through the gloom that suddenly was chased away by dim light.
The front door stood wide-open, allowing the moon’s glow to stream into the house. She recognized the form lying prone on his back in the middle of the empty living room.
Drew!
Her breath stalled with fear. No!
Keeping her head low, she inched out, searching for Corben. Acutely aware that she was putting herself in jeopardy, she moved to Drew’s side. Her heart wept. Guilt chomped through her like a hungry tiger. Not again. Only this was so much worse than when Ian was injured.
Back then she’d felt only anger and guilt, not the despair threatening to rob her of her senses.
“Please, don’t be dead,” she whispered.
“Not dead,” Drew said, though his voice sounded strained.
Tears of happiness filled her eyes. She dropped her chin to her chest. She realized with stark clarity that her feelings for this man went way beyond professional and slid right on into dangerous territory. But now was not the time or place to explore exactly what that territory entailed.
Drew clutched her arm. “He was here.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured that.” She pulled herself together. “Where are you hurt?”
“Shoulder.”
She breathed easier. He probably wouldn’t die from a shoulder wound if she stopped his bleeding. “I’m going to take the bandage from your back and put it on your wound.”
“No time.” Drew pushed at her. “Go after him.”
“But you could bleed out!”
“I won’t. He’s getting away. Now go.”
Dr. Cantwell crawled to her side. “I’ll take care of him.”
Grateful, Sami nodded. Gathering her courage, she pressed her lips to Drew’s. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise.”
With grim determination, she rose and headed out the front door, leading with her gun. On the porch she stopped. She didn’t see Corben. She strained to listen for any telltale sign that he was close by. To her left she heard an engine turn over.
She ran around the side of the house toward a detached garage she hadn’t noticed when they’d arrived. A black Mercedes-Benz shot out, breaking through the wooden garage door.
She stopped in the car’s path, stood her ground, aimed and fired several rounds into the car, shattering the front windshield. The car careened out of control, swerving into a tree.
Sami cautiously approached the vehicle. “Put your hands up!”
Corben didn’t comply. Sami got closer, half hoping, half fearing he was dead. There were still so many unanswered questions.
She opened the driver’s door. He was hunched over the steering wheel. “Corben, put your hands up.”
In a swift move, he straightened, bringing Drew’s gun up and aiming toward his temple.
“No,” Sami screamed, and rushed forward to prevent him from ending his own life.
He quickly turned the gun toward her and laughed. “Really, Agent Bennett, you thought I’d kill myself?”
Sami skidded to a halt. In the moonlight, she couldn’t make out his features.
They were at an impasse. Each aiming a gun at the other.
“Lay the gun down, Corben,” she demanded. “Come out of the car slowly.”
“You back up,” he shouted.
She took three steps back. A strange calmness descended on her, making her hands steady and her voice hard. “Now what, Corben? We shoot each other? Like you shot Drew?”
He slipped out of the car. He was taller than she’d expected. He wore black pants and a black turtleneck underneath a flak vest with two distinct indentations where her bullets had hit their mark.
He had thinning blond hair, nondescript features. Just an average guy. The kind people hardly notice. Casebook serial killer.
He pulled his lips back to reveal straight white teeth. “Nice to finally meet you, Agent Bennett. And you can call me Birdman. I so like that nickname you gave me.”
“It isn’t an endearment.”
He shrugged. “Still, it makes me feel special. You’ve been on my mind for a while now.”
Revulsion curled her lip. “And you’ve been on mine.”
“I know. I’ve been following you. You and the Mountie.” He shook his head. “That was unexpected.”
“What was unexpected?”
“You two falling for each other.” He snorted. “Now he’s dead.”
Not acknowledging his statement, Sami tilted her head. He didn’t know that he’d only wounded Drew?
“You don’t seem too broken up about it,” Corben commented. “Curious.”
Not willing to let him know he hadn’t succeeded in killing Drew, she said, “Tell me something, Corben. Why me?”
“Your hair,” he said. “I like your hair.”
She made a face, trying to comprehend his answer. “What?”
He stepped toward her.
She gestured with the gun. “Stay where you are.”
He stopped, a sly smile on his face. “I was at the symposium on serial killers.” He laughed. “I couldn’t resist. I wanted to know what you federal agents could teach me. And there you were, with your shiny blond hair. So pretty. So eager to learn. I knew you’d be a good adversary.”
His twisted logic made acid burn through her. Her finger flexed on the trigger. But there were still questions she wanted answers to. “What do you mean, you were there?”
“I’m everywhere, Agent Bennett. Haven’t you realized that yet? I’m a chameleon. An apparition. Always changing, always evolving. It’s easy enough to forge credentials and dress the part of a sloppy detective from some backwater town.”
“You’re a monster,” she shot back. “Why Lisa? Why did you kill my best friend?”
“I had to bring you on board somehow,” he said. “She was a fighter.”
Sami ground her teeth with fury. She was so tempted to end this here and now, to extract her own form of justice. For Lisa. For all the women Corben had killed.
A movement to the right, behind Corben, drew her attention. Drew. Her heart leaped. He wouldn’t approve of her taking matters into her own hands. Seeing him gave her strength to stay focused, calm.
He moved in a crouch to the other side of the vehicle.
She needed to draw Corben farther out, away from the car, so Drew could get in position behind him. She stepped backward. There was a piece of the puzzle she wasn’t seeing. “How did you move your victims from place to place without being caught?”
He smirked and matched her step. “Have you ever flown on a private jet, Agent Bennett? There is no pesky TSA and Canpass is such a lovely thing. Easy to join, easy to qualify and even easier to stash anything I want in the cargo hold of the plane.”
She shuddered at the thought. “I can’t believe you weren’t caught before now.”
“Tsk, tsk, Agent Bennett.” He shook his head. “It’s all about patience. And years and years of painstakingly building trust.”
Continuing to move away from him, she asked, “Why did you bring Dr. Cantwell here?”
He frowned and stepped toward her. “I knew she would tell you about me.”
“You injected her with something.” Sami took another step back.
He followed. “Propofol. I stole some when I visited my aunt at the hospital.”
“Lonnie would be so disappointed,” Sami said, infusing her voice with as much disdain as she could. “What was on her computer?”
“She kept pictures of me on her computer.” He spat on the ground. “I don’t like pictures.”
Taking another step back, she asked, “Who paid for this house?”
He sneered and matched her step. “He did.”
“Do you mean James Clark? Your father?”
“My father.” Corben spit on the ground. “He may have spawned me, but he was never my father.”
“But he provided a house for you,” Sami pointed out.
“Only because he didn’t want his real family to know about us.”
“Is that what your mother told you?”
“That’s what I heard.”
Dr. Cantwell came out of the house, drawing their attention. Her hair had come undone, the silver streaks winking in the moonlight. “Corben, don’t do this.”
Keeping the gun in his hand aimed at Sami, Corben looked at the doctor. “You should stay out of this, Dr. Cantwell. I let you live. You should be happy with me.”
“Haven’t you killed enough people?” She walked toward him, her hands out, palms up in supplication. “I’m sorry I failed you.”
Corben’s face twisted with confusion. “You didn’t fail me. You released me from the nightmares.” He cocked his head to the side. “Don’t you remember? You took me back to that night and helped me see everything so clearly. That’s how I found him. It took me two years, but I did it.”
“The regression therapy wasn’t intended to make you a killer.”
His laughter grated on Sami’s nerves. Unfortunately, the therapy that was meant to help had been the catalyst to his murder spree. She continued walking backward.
His gazed whipped to her. “Where are you going, Agent Bennett?”
Still moving backward, Sami asked, “What happened the night your mother was murdered?”
“I’m not telling you.” Corben stalked toward her.
Dr. Cantwell moved so that she stood between them. “I’ll tell her.”
Sami took a step to the side in time to see Corben’s expression go from gloating to bewilderment.
“You don’t know either,” he said.
“But I do,” Dr. Cantwell said. “Your mother made you stay in the closet. That’s what you told me. She locked you in the closet often, didn’t she?”
Sami wanted to feel sympathy for him, but all she felt was pity and anger. Becca Kraft had damaged not only her son but so many other lives.
Corben grabbed his head, the gun now aimed at the sky. “Yes. She made me hide in the closet. She said my daddy was coming and he didn’t want to see me.”
“But you didn’t stay in the closet, did you?” Dr. Cantwell said, her voice gentle and coaxing. “You snuck out and saw a man hurting your mother.”
Drew rounded the car and crouched by the front bumper.
“Yes.” Corben went to his knees. “He had a knife.”
“You never saw his face, though, did you, Corben?” Dr. Cantwell stepped closer to him. Sami matched her steps until the doctor was within arm’s reach.
“No, I didn’t see his face. Just the bird on his jacket.” Corben lurched to his feet. “That ugly bird staring at me. Every night. That bird would attack me. Over and over. Just as he had my mother. There was so much blood.”
Sami met Drew’s gaze. He nodded, the signal he was going to launch an assault. She sent up a prayer that he’d succeed without any more harm to himself. Keeping her weapon aimed at Corben, she grabbed the back of Dr. Cantwell’s shirt and dragged her to the ground.
At the same time, Drew launched himself at Corben, taking him down.
They wrestled in the dirt. Sami’s breath caught and held in her throat. She couldn’t let Drew do this alone with a wounded shoulder. Jamming her gun into her holster, she piled on the fray, struggling to pin Corben’s gun arm down. But he was stronger than she’d anticipated. He wrenched his arm free. She grappled to reclaim her hold, determined to make him yield.
Sirens split the air as several cars came screeching to a halt in the driveway.
The loud blast of the gun going off reverberated inside Sami’s head.
Drew and Corben stilled beneath her. There was blood everywhere. Sami pushed back on her heels, scrambling to draw her gun even as her heart froze in her chest. Who’s blood was it that ran into the dirt? Was Drew hit? Corben?
Time seemed to slow. A shudder of fear and denial worked its way over her. Neither man moved.
“Drew!”
Please, God, she silently begged. I can’t lose him.
Drew had worked his way past the barriers of her heart and made her care, made her long for a life beyond the badge. Somewhere along the way she’d lost control of her emotions and fallen in love with him.
The thought knocked the breath from her lungs, and she willed Drew to get up, to be okay.
Finally, Drew pushed Corben’s still body aside and stumbled to his feet. He kicked the gun away.
A rush of relief flooded Sami. She tucked her weapon into her holster and flung herself at Drew. He caught her with his good arm. He felt solid and warm and so good. She squeezed her eyes shut, savoring the moment. He swayed on his feet. Concern arched through her. She pulled back to look at him. His face was ashen, his eyes slightly glazed. He’d lost a lot of blood despite Dr. Cantwell applying a bandage to his gunshot wound.
Suddenly Detroit police officers surrounded them. A second wave of relief made her limbs turn to jelly.
“I called the cavalry. I found your cell phone on the living room floor.” Drew kissed her quickly and murmured, “We’ll finish this later.”
It was a promise she would make sure he kept. Paramedics led Drew away to an ambulance while Sami gathered the frayed edges of her composure and reluctantly turned her focus back to the job of dealing with the officers and Corben Kraft.
* * *
“Good work, Agent Bennett.” Special Agent in Charge Granger beamed at her with approval. The moment the news came of Corben’s arrest, Granger had boarded a plane and flown to Detroit. Sami and her superior stood in the conference room of the Detroit FBI field office.
The Federal Bureau had taken over custody of Corben Kraft. Right now he was detained in a secure room until the transport unit was ready move to him to the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colorado, to await his trial. Dr. Cantwell had formally diagnosed Corben with antisocial behavior disorder and stated for the record he was both a psychopath and a sociopath, since he exhibited behaviors inherent to both disorders.
Whatever label his mental illness took on wouldn’t save him from the punishment he was due. For that, Sami was grateful.
Sami rubbed at a kink in her neck. “It wasn’t all me, sir. We wouldn’t have captured Kraft if not for Dre...uh, Inspector Kelley.”
With Sami and Drew’s statements and that of Dr. Cantwell, Corben Kraft was going to prison for the rest of his life. Though his incarceration wouldn’t bring back those who’d lost their lives at his hand, there was peace in knowing Corben wasn’t free to kill again.
Granger nodded. “Too true. I’ve spoken to his superintendent, praising the inspector’s efforts. You both deserve commendations for apprehending Kraft.”
“Thank you, sir, but that’s not necessary for me. I was doing my job.” Drew, however, had taken a bullet in the shoulder and for that he deserved a medal of valor, a parade...a kiss.
It had been several hours since she’d seen Drew loaded aboard the ambulance and whisked away. The paramedics had been optimistic that the wound wasn’t fatal, but she needed to know for herself that he was okay. She glanced at her watch. The last time she called the hospital, she’d been told he was in surgery.
“Sir, I would like to request permission to go to the hospital and check on Inspector Kelley. He should be out of surgery by now.”
“Of course,” Granger said. “I’m sure Inspector Kelley would be happy to learn that Corben is safely behind bars.”
“Yes, sir.”
She turned to leave.
“Samantha,” Granger called, halting her steps.
She pivoted. “Sir?”
“I thought you’d be interested to know that the Legat in Vancouver has announced his retirement.”
“Okay, thank you.” Though she wasn’t sure why he’d think she’d be interested. It wasn’t as if she had the qualifications to apply for the position.
She hurried from the building and hailed a taxi. Once settled in the back passenger seat, she mulled over Granger’s comment. With the legal attaché retiring, there would be an opening in the FBI’s Vancouver sub office. It was an interesting thought, and maybe in a few years, say in ten or so, she’d be qualified for such a post. But it would be highly unlikely that the new Legat would be ready to vacate the position so she could step into it.
She pushed the notion out of her head as the cab stopped at the front entrance of the Detroit Medical Center. She paid the driver, then walked through the sliding glass doors.
Immediately, she was assaulted with the sounds, the smells of a hospital. Her steps faltered as a terrifying awareness slammed into her. Once again she was visiting someone she cared about, wounded in the line of duty. Who was she kidding? What she felt for Drew went deeper. She loved him.
Anxiety twisted in her chest, making her jittery. The knowledge that she’d fallen in love with Drew simmered in her mind as she forced her feet to move. At the administration desk she was directed to Drew’s room on the fourth floor. She found the stairs and hurried up them as if being chased. In a way she was. She had no idea what to do about her feelings for Drew.
With each step the hurdles that stood between them battered at her brain. She lived in Oregon. He lived in Vancouver, BC. She worked for the FBI. He was a Royal Canadian Mountie. Their jurisdictions were far apart, too far for any sort of relationship to last. And she wouldn’t ask him to give up his life, his career. Nor could she give up hers, because if either one of them made such a drastic move, she was sure resentment would follow and ruin whatever chance they would have of happiness.
But knowing all the obstacles didn’t keep her heart from wanting to be with him. If only she could tell him that she...what? That she’d let him into her heart? That she loved him with an unbridled love that she’d never experienced before, but she couldn’t foresee a future with him?
No, she wouldn’t be so cruel as to tell him that she loved him. It was better to part as friends and colleagues. She would leave emotion out despite the ache it caused her.
At the nurses’ station on the fourth floor, she asked about Drew’s prognosis. Because she wasn’t family, she had to flash her badge in order for the nurse to relay any information. The nurse told her that Drew had come through the surgery and was expected to make a full recovery. A giant weight lifted off her chest as she made her way to his room.
She halted in the doorway. Drew lay still in the bed with a light blue blanket covering his legs and leaving his chest bare, except for the large white bandage wrapped around his shoulder. A stark reminder of how close he’d come to dying. Twice.
Her breath stalled in her chest and expanded until she thought her ribs might burst apart.
His dark lashes splayed against his cheeks. His dark hair was mussed and a shadow deepened the contours of his unshaven jaw. Monitors beeped, showing his heart rate, his pulse. A bag hung from a hook on a pole and dripped into the IV attached to the back of his hand.
He looked so vulnerable, defenseless, lying there exposed. Her heart crimped painfully inside her chest. She wanted to go to him, to smooth away the lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. She wanted to take his hand in hers and hang on for dear life.
But she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to him. Or to herself. A clean break was better. She could communicate her gratitude via email or text. Hating herself for her cowardice, she turned away, intending to slip quietly out of his life, though she knew he’d never be far from her mind.
“Don’t leave me.”
Drew’s slurred words jerked her gaze back to him and seared clean through her. His eyes were open, though his pupils were large and unfocused. He was on pain medication and groggy from his surgery. He couldn’t know the impact those three words had on her.
He gave her a lopsided grin that made her female senses hum. Swallowing her trepidation, she moved to his side with an answering smile that she hoped didn’t waver despite the tears of regret for what would never be gathering inside of her.
“Hey there,” she said. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. You need your rest.”
“You could never be a bother, but you definitely disturb me.”
“What?” Her voice came out in a high-pitched croak. What did that mean?
His grin deepened. “You’re so pretty, especially when you’re flustered.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
He wagged his eyebrows. “Yes, really.”
Though the smart thing would be to back away from his charming magnetism, she stayed rooted to the floor. “You should be resting, not poking fun at me.”
“I will rest now that you’re here.” His fingers groped for her hand.
Unwilling to deny him, she threaded her fingers through his. A fat tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Stupid emotions. She was supposed to be strong, not weepy. But for some reason she couldn’t muster up enough strength to stop the flow of tears.
Drew’s brow creased. “Why are you crying? We got him, didn’t we?”
Despite her inner turmoil, she nodded and forced some semblance of self-control. “We did.” She told him what was happening with Corben and where he would be going.
“Then why are you sad?”
There he went again. Perceptive, as ever. She struggled to find the right words. “I was so scared when I heard that last gunshot. I—” Her throat closed, trapping her in thoughts of all the horror they’d gone through.
Finding body after body, chasing down a psychotic killer, trapped with an explosive device and then confronted with a madman wielding a gun was more than most people encountered in a lifetime, let alone the course of several days.
Recalling the sight of Drew wrestling with Corben for possession of the weapon made sweat break out on her brow. She’d never been so terrified of losing anyone.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine.” He squeezed her hand. “I know how hard it must be for you to come here. I know you don’t like hospitals.”
She wiped at her tears with her free hand. “No, I don’t. Ever since Ian’s injury.” She bit her lip, reliving that moment when she’d entered his room and seen the damage done to his leg. A career-ending injury that could have been avoided if she hadn’t allowed their relationship to turn personal.
A little voice inside of her whispered that she’d let her relationship with Drew turn personal and they’d both survived.
But things could have easily turned out differently, she argued.
Drew gave her a look that could have curdled milk. “Excuse me, but I’m not Ian. And this—” he gestured with his chin toward his wounded shoulder “—isn’t the end of my life nor my career.”
“Thank God for that,” she said, meaning it. She’d prayed for His protection over them and He’d kept them alive. But she was afraid to count on God again. What if next time—
“Exactly.” Drew’s intense gaze made her feel slightly off balance. “Faith will see us through.”
She wanted to believe him with every fiber of her being. But she was a realist. They didn’t have a future together. And prolonging the inevitable was torture. “I should go and let you sleep.”
His eyelids fluttered. “I’d rather you stayed.”
“There’s still a great deal of red tape to sort through, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back here. Both of our countries want to prosecute Corben.”
Drew’s eyes closed all the way. “Your collar.”
She was glad he couldn’t see the tears again gathering in her eyes. He was so selfless, so caring. A man of honor and integrity. Her heart ached with loss. Though she couldn’t resist leaning in to place a kiss on his lips, imprinting this moment in her mind.
“Hmm,” he murmured, drowsily. “Nice.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For everything.”
His even breathing told her he’d fallen asleep. She backed away until she hit the door. “Goodbye,” she breathed out, feeling as if a part of her was dying.
She turned and fled.
* * *
Sami’s cell phone rang, jerking her to awareness. She was at the airport, waiting to board a plane heading back to Portland, Oregon. Corben had been transported via a heavily armed escort to Colorado. Granger had gone along to finish the processing at the prison. Sami was free to go home.
Only she didn’t feel right leaving with Drew still in the hospital.
But she’d made her choice. She couldn’t keep hanging on to him. She couldn’t pretend that there was a future where they ended up together.
She shifted in the hard plastic seat of the waiting area and dug her phone out of her pants pocket. “Agent Bennett here.”
“Agent Bennett, uh, Sami, this is Sergeant Kelley, Drew’s father.”
She sat up. “Hello, sir.” Her mind reeled. Had something happened to Drew? Had he had a relapse? Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Is there a problem?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Yet he sounded concerned. “I wanted to talk to Drew’s doctor about his prognosis and when he would be discharged, but the hospital wouldn’t release information to me over the phone.”
“Did you try calling Drew’s room?” She stood and picked up her small bag. Her feet were moving away from the gate before she’d even realized she’d made the decision she wasn’t leaving Detroit. Not without Drew.
“I did, but he’s been groggy and unhelpful. All he wants to talk about is you.”
Surprise washed over her. She wasn’t sure how to respond. “Uh, well, sir, I’m on my way to the hospital. I’ll call you from there once I know more.”
“I would appreciate it,” he said. “And please call me Patrick.”
“Patrick it is, then,” she said as she left the airport terminal and got in line for a taxi. She told the attendant where she wanted to go. He waved the next taxi forward and she climbed inside.
“Sami, my son has been hurt in the past,” the older man’s voice dropped an octave. “We both have.”
A vice-like clamp squeezed over her heart. “Drew told me about his ex-wife. And a little about his mother.”
“She walked out on us when he was just a boy,” Patrick said. “It was hard on him. On us.”
Fresh tears pricked her eyes and she hurt for Drew and Patrick. “I can only imagine.”
“Yes, well, it left scars.” He cleared his throat. “Drew is very taken with you. He doesn’t trust easily. And I sense you’re different.”
His words eased the pressure around her heart and tenderness flooded her. “I care for him, too.”
“But do you love him?”
The pointed question rammed into her like a fist. She swallowed back the fear that reared up, making her want to cut off this conversation.
Drew had told her that faith would see them through. Could faith, could God, make a way for them to have a future, too? Was she brave enough to take a chance?
“Sami?”
She squared her shoulders and faced the truth. She never backed down from a challenge or a fight. And Drew was worth fighting for. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Good.”
And it was good. She had no idea how the future would work out. Maybe that was for the best. She’d have no preconceived ideas or expectations. All that mattered now was telling Drew how she felt. And pray he felt the same.
* * *
Three days later, after surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his shoulder and another round of stitches in his back, Drew was discharged from the Detroit hospital. He’d called his dad, who’d said he’d fly in to get him. He’d been given scrubs to wear home. After helping him into the shirt, the nurse, thankfully, left him to finish dressing himself.
He’d already given his statement to the local police and the federal agents from his hospital bed. Sami had come to see him right after the surgery. He’d been too medicated for any real conversation that he could recall, so he had no idea when he’d see her again. He did remember she looked tired, and maybe sad, but his memory was a bit fuzzy. He did know that. Corben was behind bars. They’d put an end to his killing spree.
Sami had explained she’d be bogged down in red tape for a while and didn’t know when she’d see him again. He vaguely remembered her using the word if. On one hand, he’d understood; this was her case to close. And on the other hand, he was afraid that was her way of saying goodbye.
He didn’t want goodbye. He wanted forever.
He missed her something fierce. When the time was right, he was going to see her again, kiss her again. Take her on a date, spend time with her without bad guys or the threat of an explosion to distract them. And he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
A nurse knocked on the door to his room. “Inspector Kelley, your ride is here.”
The nurse insisted he sit in the wheelchair. Hospital policy, she said. At the entrance, it wasn’t his dad who stood waiting for him. He blinked, sure the sunlight was making him see what he wanted to see. His heart danced in his chest.
Sami leaned against their rented sedan. She was beautiful with her blond hair cascading over her shoulders. She had on green cargo pants, black boots and a ruffled top in a light pink color. The conflicting styles made him grin. So Sami.
A rush of pleasure and something else, something he could no longer deny, flooded him. Her bright smile made his blood race and his breath catch. Not taking his gaze off her, he stood, thanked the nurse, then headed toward the woman he’d fallen in love with.
Somewhere between catching her at his stakeout and seeing her so bravely face down Corben, Drew had acknowledged something his heart had accepted already.
He loved Sami.
He still couldn’t believe she was alive and in one piece. When he’d managed to get himself up off the floor after he’d been shot and get out of the house, he’d seen Sami and Corben in a standoff. His heart had fallen and his first inclination had been to charge out there to protect her.
Instead he’d waited for the opportunity to disarm Corben. Shooting him hadn’t been Drew’s intention. At first Drew hadn’t realized Corben had on body armor, but he had and it had saved his life.
“Hi,” he said, halting in front of her.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come see you sooner,” she said.
“You’re here now,” he replied, wondering how to get past this awkwardness. “Where’s my dad?”
Her blue eyes twinkled. “Oh, we have an understanding.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“He’ll meet us when we land in Vancouver.” She opened the passenger door for him. “Sir, your chariot awaits.”
She was going to Vancouver with him? Fabulous. He stayed rooted to the spot, drinking her in. Love expanded in his chest until he thought he might burst out in a love song like some Broadway musical. The thought amused him even as he struggled to find the words to tell her how he felt.
“Is something wrong?” Uncertainty crossed her face and dampened the bright light in her eyes.
With his good arm, he reached for her, pulling her close. He’d rather show her how he felt. He kissed her, putting all the love in his heart into the kiss. After several long heartbeats, she pulled back and stared up at him with joy beaming on her pretty face.
“With you by my side, there could never be anything wrong,” he said softly.
She placed her hand over his heart. “Do you mean that?”
He covered her hand with his. “I do. With my whole heart.”
She took a sharp inhale. “I feel the same way.”
Delighted to hear those words, he nuzzled her neck and teased, “Oh, what way is that?”
With both of her hands, she cupped his face and made him lift his head until their gazes locked. “We need to talk.”
He stilled, his happiness deflating to a pancake. “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
The intensity of her expression made his mouth go dry.
“I don’t want our partnership to end.”
A fresh jolt of elation spread through him like the sunshine on his back. “That sounds promising.”
“There are details we’ll need to figure out. Logistics.”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s true, considering we live in different countries. But honestly, I was hoping for something more than a working relationship.”
Her gaze narrowed but a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, really? Like what?”
“Love and marriage, kids.” He grinned. “What better way to bring our two countries together?”
She laughed, a warm sound that he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life listening to. “I love you, Inspector Kelley.”
“Good thing, Agent Bennett, because I happen to love you, too.”
He kissed her with the certainty that whatever obstacles they faced would be resolved with love and faith.