EPILOGUE

“I can’t believe this is the way we’re spending the night before your wedding.” Mason pulled a picture off the wall of Brent’s tiny living room and added it to a big box near Caleb’s feet. He leveled a disgusted glare at Brent. “Most guys go out and party the night before they click the lock on the old ball and chain.” He blanched as he realized what he’d said. His gaze shifted to Lauren. “No offense intended.”

“No offense taken,” Lauren assured him. She’d long ago forgiven Mason for suspecting her of being a black widow. He’d had plenty of reason, after all. The Cicalo gang had done their job well and almost got away with it.

“I’m not interested in what most guys do.” Brent’s arm slipped around her and pulled her to his side. “Tomorrow, after this woman has my ring on her finger, that’s when I’ll party.”

Laughing, she dropped the piece of newspaper she’d been ready to wrap around a dish and nestled close to him. “You two have no idea what you’re in for,” she told his friends. “My father and stepmother have gone all out for the reception.”

Brent nodded. “Lawrence Bradley doesn’t do anything halfway, especially when it’s for his only daughter.”

Lauren’s mind ticked over tomorrow’s elaborate arrangements. It really might be an embarrassment of extravagance. Hiring the famous chef Ambrose to cater a formal dinner for three hundred people was expensive enough, but the list of well-known entertainers scheduled to perform after dinner was just plain mortifying. Even Brent had no concept of the extent Daddy had gone to to make sure his daughter’s wedding was an event on the scale of a celebrity’s.

Caleb finished unscrewing a shelf on the entertainment center and leaned it against the wall. “All I can say, sister, is there better be some good food if I have to wear a monkey suit to get it.”

She laughed at the big man. “Don’t worry. The food will be great.”

“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you coming all the way out here for the wedding,” Brent told him.

Caleb set the screwdriver down and crossed the room in two strides. He plunged his hand into the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and sank into a sitting position on the floor.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” he told Brent. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for nine months, from the minute I first laid eyes on you two. Of course, I didn’t know you were going to put me to work packing and moving you when I got here.” He tossed a handful of white puffy kernels in his mouth.

A short break sounded good. Lauren tugged Brent toward the couch and then settled in beside him. “If Brent weren’t so busy at work, he would have gotten his stuff packed up long before now.”

“Can’t be helped.” He leaned forward and grabbed his soda can from the table. “My team’s been working overtime to implement a new security system for the Sterling Foods computer network. It just went live a couple of days ago.”

“Just in time to free Brent up for our honeymoon.” She smiled at him.

Her job had kept her busy lately, too. She’d only been with her new company for four months, but Becky, her new boss, had proved more than understanding about the upcoming wedding and honeymoon trip.

Mason sealed the flaps on the box at his feet, then sank to the floor beside Caleb. “Just so everyone knows, I’m still bitter about missing all the action in Vegas. Next time you discover an illegal Mafia gambling operation, give me enough notice to fly out there, okay?”

Brent and Caleb laughed, but the idea of any further connection with the Mafia sent a shudder rippling through Lauren’s body.

Brent took a gulp from his can. “You might not have been there, but we couldn’t have done it without you, buddy.”

“That’s right. We made a good team.” Caleb gave a satisfied nod. “We nailed a bad cop, exposed a dangerous impostor and cleared Lauren’s name. It took all of us to do that.”

Brent’s arm tightened around her. “That’s right.”

Mason’s hand, loaded with popcorn, stopped halfway to his mouth. “You know what? You’re right. We do make a good team.”

His thoughtful tone drew their attention.

Caleb eyed him, brows low over his eyes. “Yeah, so?”

“So, why break up a good thing?” Mason spoke slowly, putting the words together as he fleshed out his idea. “You have no idea how often innocent people are falsely accused of a crime.” His gaze slid to Lauren. “Not all of them are as lucky as you.”

The back of Lauren’s neck prickled as she glimpsed where Mason was heading. “Go on,” she said.

“So, why don’t we do something about it?” The flow of his words gained speed as his excitement grew. “We could work together to help people who are falsely accused.” He looked at Brent. “You’ve got the technical skills to help us crack codes and hack systems, and find anything we need on the computer. And I can ferret out all kinds of information. Plus, I know all the tricks an investigator needs to know.”

That was true. Brent had told Lauren about Mason’s background, how he used to be a law-enforcement officer back in New Mexico, but quit the job and moved here to Atlanta when his wife was murdered.

“What about me? What’s my role?” Caleb glared sideways at Mason. “And if you say I’m the muscle-bound thug who keeps the bad guys in line, I’ll smack you upside the head.”

“You could be the spiritual adviser.” Lauren was only half teasing. Caleb’s strong faith and wisdom had certainly taught her how to listen to God’s guiding nudges.

She felt Brent’s muscles tense. Mason’s excitement was contagious, and Brent had caught it. He leaned forward and pointed a finger in Caleb’s direction.

“No, you’re the contact guy. The people you see every day know things we have no access to.”

“But they’re all out in Vegas.”

“Not true,” Mason said. “You lived in Atlanta all your life. You’ve been working with scum for years, first as a jailer here, and then as…” His hand waved vaguely and dismissively in the air. “As whatever it is you do now. Surely you picked up some contacts along the way.”

Caleb’s fingers stroked his jaw with slow, thoughtful movement. “I do have a few contacts among the lawless and less fortunate, now that you mention it. And I’ve been thinking about coming home to Atlanta. My mother isn’t getting any younger, and I’d like to be close by in case she needs me.”

“There you go.” Mason jumped to his feet, unable to stay still another minute. “We can call ourselves the Falsely Accused Support Team. FAST for short.”

Brent pulled away slightly so he could look into her face. Questions hovered in his eyes and, behind them, the flicker of enthusiasm for Mason’s idea. “What do you think, baby?”

Pleasure washed over her. He was asking her opinion before he committed. If she said no, she knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t do it. He’d walk away from something he wanted to do, just because she didn’t want him to.

Oh, Lord, how did I ever manage to find someone like him?

She knew the answer before the question had finished forming in her mind. She hadn’t found him. God had, and He’d guided Brent to trust her when she most needed help.

“I think it’s a terrific idea,” she said.

She saw her own smile reflected in her fiancé’s eyes in the moment before he swept her into a kiss.

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