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The clock on the cell phone the security man left them on one visit to drop off more water crawled slowly toward the twenty-four hour mark. Piper was convinced the thing was running at half speed.

On his visit at the sixteen-hour mark, the security guy said that the CDC had a message for them. Their protocol showed early signs of working. Piper allowed her hope to grow a little bit more. And Ian actually smiled at her from time to time.

After twenty-four hours, when the freezer door opened, the security guy was not standing there.

Instead, a doctor stood there. He drew blood from Ian and told them it would be tested for the killer virus.

He said he would return as soon as he had the results, but he warned them it would take several hours.

And he added that the two of them were rock stars outside their icy prison.

They were being credited with saving thousands of lives.

She and Ian held hands inside the pocket of her coat for a long time after the doctor’s visit. The seconds ticked by in silence in the stainless steel cube that had become their entire world. If they were incredibly lucky, it was the incubator for their new lives. If not, it would be their tomb.

And so, they waited.

Piper was asleep when the door opened the next time. Ian touched her cheek and murmured, “Wake up, baby. We’ve got company.”

She sat up, blinking sleepily until she saw the white lab coat. This was it. The moment when they would find out if Ian lived or died. His fingers found hers in the faux mink margins of her sleeve and clutched her hand tightly. She squeezed back every bit as nervously.

“Good news, Agent McCloud. You are free of the virus. If you would like to leave this refrigerator and join the rest of the guests in the ballroom, you may feel free to do so. The CDC has decided to keep everyone in cool environments for seven days, just to be safe, but I’m confident you don’tt need this extreme cold any longer. ”

“How many victims have there been?” she asked soberly.

The doctor waxed serious. “We’ve had fifteen fatalities so far.

Sadly, I estimate another thirty or so patients will succumb.

The good news is that, after last year’s Ebola scare, we’ve got enough trained health care workers and portable isolation units to contain this outbreak.

Had the virus not been vulnerable to ionized silver, and had we not discovered that fact so quickly, the fatalities could have been much, much worse. ”

Piper flung herself into Ian’s embrace. Even through their thick coats, he squeezed the stuffing out of her with the strength and relief of his embrace.

She said a silent prayer of thanks that Yusef Abahdi had loved his daughter enough to build in a way to protect her, and unwittingly, to save them all.

“Ready to get out of here?” Ian murmured.

“Absolutely,” she answered fervently.

The hotel’s security man stood behind the doctor in the doorway. “That thing you asked about, Agent McCloud?”

Ian looked up sharply.

“Taken care of. I think you’ll find everything to your satisfaction.”

Ian busted out in a gigantic, ear-to-ear smile.

“What?” Piper asked quickly. She knew better than to trust any man who wore that shit-eating a grin.

“C’mon. It’ll be easier to show you.” He shed his coat and held out his hand.

She doffed her coat as well. As nice as the fake fur coat had been, a day-and-a-half of wearing it made her glad to get rid of the thing.

She laid her hand in Ian’s. Wherever he wanted to lead her, she would follow. They’d been to Hell, and he’d managed to bring her back safe and sound.

Piper followed Ian out of the refrigerator, and she jolted when loud applause erupted.

A good chunk of the hotel’s staff lined the long aisle between the stainless steel prep tables, and they were all smiling and clapping.

As Ian led her through the phalanx of people, many offered their thanks for what she and Ian had been through to save them.

“What are they talking about?” she asked Ian under her breath.

“No idea,” he muttered back.

The doctor glanced over his shoulder at them.

“Your story’s been all over the news. The heroes who nearly died to bring word of how to stop the virus to the people of Las Vegas, and to everyone else beyond the city who was exposed.

And then, the two of you having to hole up in a meat locker in a last ditch effort to save Mr. McCloud’s life—it made for good sound bites, I have to say. ”

“Oh, dear. If we’re seen on TV we won’t be able to do undercover work—“ she started.

“It’s okay, Piper. I have something else in mind for us to do next.”

Her gaze snapped to his face. “What’s that?” But his expression gave away nothing.

They followed the security chief through the bowels of the hotel, destination unknown. But then the procession stopped in front of a pair of swinging double doors. Oddly, the security man turned to smile at her. “Ready?”

“For what?” she asked blankly.

Ian tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and nodded at the guy. A couple of waiters swung the doors open and Ian escorted her forward.

They took a single step into the giant ballroom and she stopped dead in her tracks. A deafening chorus of cheers and applause broke out from the hundreds of hotel guests and staff crammed in the room, but that wasn’t what froze her feet to the floor.

A long, white floor runner stretched away in front of her and Ian, leading up to a raised dais with an elaborate wrought iron bower covered in ivy and white roses. Underneath it, a man who was the spitting image of Elvis Presley stood there wearing…

…were those preacher’s robes? He held a bible open in his hands, too, and the guy was grinning as foolishly as everyone else seemed to be doing all of a sudden.

The cheers quieted, and music broke out. Holy crap, that was an orchestra over there in the corner. And they were playing the Wedding March.

Whoa. What?

She looked over at Ian in panic. The moment her gaze lit on him, he dropped to one knee. Her jaw dropped in response. The security guy reached out and handed Ian a little velvet box.

“Piper Roth. You had me at the first moment you spotted me in your gun sight. I feel like I’ve loved you enough for ten lifetimes already, and God knows, we’ve done enough living for ten lifetimes.

Would you make me the happiest man alive and agree to marry me and do absolutely nothing together for the rest of our lives? ”

She gazed into his beautiful, hopeful eyes that reflected the giant heart inside the man, and everything they’d been through, every struggle they’d gone through, every hardship they’d endured to arrive at this moment fell away.

The people and the music and flowers. All of it disappeared, leaving only the two of them.

Together. Alive. In love.

She answered into the deep hush, “I will marry you, Ian McCloud, however I will not promise to do nothing. I have plans for you, good sir.” A mischievous spark entered her eyes, and answering heat leapt in his.

He held up the box to her. “Let’s see what the hotel manager picked out from the house jewelry store for you.”

She opened the box and gasped. A gigantic diamond engagement ring surrounded by a ring of smaller stones was nestled in the black velvet interior. The thing must be worth a fortune .

Ian plucked it out of its box and slipped it on her finger. It was cold and heavy. But it reminded her of Ian. He’d emerged from their enforced cold more solid and whole than ever.

“What do you say, Piper? Wanna get married in Vegas?”

A huge smile spread across her face and took over her entire being. “I’m up for it if you are.”

He laughed richly. “I never could turn down a dare from you. Let’s do this.”

The security guy cued the orchestra who took up the wedding march again.

She looped her arm around Ian’s elbow, and they walked forward together.

Into whatever the future might hold, secure in the knowledge that no matter what life threw at them, they had each other and their love to see them through.

And best of all, they’d be able to tell their grandkids they got married by Elvis in Vegas.

Thanks so much for reading Ian and Piper’s story! If you want more thrilling stories of love on the edge of danger, let me know whose story you’d like next at www.cindydees.com . Do you want to meet Alex’s brothers or more of the McCloud men?

If you want up to the minute book news, bonus content, sales, and giveaways from me, you can join my NEWSLETTER . I send out an update about once a month and will never share your contact info.

In the meantime, the first book in my thrilling, romantic action-adventure Medusa series, THE MEDUSA PROJECT, is free HERE . And to tempt you to give it a try, here’s an excerpt…

August 6, 8:00 a.m.

Free-fire zone Alpha

Air Force Major Vanessa Blake ducked and spun, plastering her back against the muddy wall of her foxhole, narrowly avoiding a barrage of incoming fire.

Enemy infantry had their position surrounded on three sides, and the only reason it wasn’t all four sides was the river at their backs.

Correction. The water moccasin-, alligator-infested river at their backs.

“Ammo check!” she called.

“Low!”

“Low!”

“Out!”

“Low!”

“Five minutes’ worth!”