Page 94 of Justice for Samara

“I will. And Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I don’t know what you did, but thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything. You should really thank FatherIgnatius and SisterRebecca.”

Michael’s brow furrowed downward. “We’re not Catholic. What did they have to do with it?”

“Did I ever tell you that your AuntBelinda dated a young Catholic guy when she was in high school?” Marjorie asked with a grin.

“No. But I want to hear that story. Just not now. Right now?”

Marjorie stood up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Michael’s cheek. “Right now, your girlfriend is waiting for you. Go on. I’ll talk to you later. And Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, son.”

Her boy’s eyes were bright and his smile was huge. “I love you too, Mom.”

Marjorie turned and headed to the elevator, walked right past the Futrells, and said nothing. She didn’t even look at them when she stepped onto the elevator and turned to watch the doors close. But there were two words running through her mind.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

Those big brighteyes locked with his, and Michael’s heart beat a little quicker. His voice was nothing more than a whisper when he stepped up to the side of the bed and said, “Hey, babe.”

“Hi. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. You feeling okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. And I’m sorry my parents treated you the way they did. I made them leave. Called for security and they’re not allowed back in here if they’re going to treat the people I love that way.”

“Babe, they were only doing what they thought was best for?”

“I get to make those decisions, not them.”

Michael nodded. “That’s absolutely true. But right now, I don’t care about any of that. I just care about you getting better so you can get out of here.” He couldn’t hide the emotion in his voice. “I thought I’d die without you.”

“You’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll get out of here and go back to work, and we’ll all be fine.”

His knees went weak with the relief he felt flooding through his body. She was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay. In under a week, he’d have her back in his arms. They’d be together.

That was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

“Okay.We all have jobs. Everybody knows what theirs is. We’ve at best got seventy-two hours, but probably more like forty-eight. Are we all set?”

The group of men, including Amos and Bud, all nodded. Then the door opened and Carter couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his face. “Heard you could use an extra pair of hands.”

“Holy shit, buddy, I never dreamed you’d get to come! Thank you so much!” Every man in the room shook hands with Cruz and greeted him. “What are you most comfortable with?”

“You just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it,” the tall Texan replied.

“Okay. We’ve got it all planned out. And Marjorie, you know what your job is, right?”