Page 19

Gray motioned in a series of hand signals to Colt. His brother picked up the directives and disappeared into the shadows of the old three-story brick building they entered.

In his comms, his brothers’ voices volleyed back and forth as they swept the second and third floors of the building and Gray and Colt took the ground floor. They crept through the darkness, boots barely grating on the dusty concrete floor.

A wall of east-facing windows revealed several black gaps in the panes like teeth knocked out, but hanging within view was the gibbous moon that he and Honor had sat under just hours before, eating marshmallows while he bared his soul.

“We’ve got eyes on Felicity. No sign of him.”

Relief tingled in the nerves of Gray’s face and traveled down each arm. He squeezed his hand around the spare weapon Colt had passed off to him the minute they stepped out of the van.

Only a few short beats passed.

“We’ve got her in custody. Exiting the building now.” Oaks’s low voice filled Gray’s ear, sending another shot of relief through his veins.

Now they were just hunting Sully. Or whatever his real name was. He couldn’t wait to hand the guy over to the FBI in connection with identity fraud as well as the string of burglaries.

When he shifted his foot forward to inch around a corner, a gunshot tore through the night.

“Shots fired!” Colt’s voice crackled into his ear, but Gray was already moving.

The sound hadn’t come from inside the building. His brothers verified that fact as he sprinted for the exit.

He already knew before he reached the door that the shot came from outside.

He should have known the plan would fall apart the minute he left Honor.

His blood froze into ice, and her name left his lips in a whisper that felt like a curse…or a prayer.

“Honor.”

As he broke through the door, Colt was right on his heels. Across the parking lot, he caught the gleam of moonlight on a metal car door as his brothers put Felicity in the safety of the SUV.

Gray’s mind was already working over that gunshot, analyzing it. It hadn’t struck metal or shattered glass. Which meant Sully didn’t shoot through the van in an attempt to get to Honor.

That could only mean one thing—she hadn’t stayed in the van.

His mind repeated her name in a drumbeat as he raced to her. The door hung open like a scream frozen in midair.

Then he saw her.

Lying on the ground. Motionless.

Her hair swirled around her like a pool of silk. One arm was twisted awkwardly by her side.

A few feet away, a man writhed on the ground, screaming in pain. The stench of hot blood flooded Gray’s nose and hazed his mind with red fury.

That bastard had hurt her.

And he was going to kill him.

Sully clutched his thigh, his face battered with cuts and bruises, but Gray gave him no notice as he dropped to his knees beside the woman he loved.

The world narrowed. All he could see was her.

“Honor! Honor. Oh god.”

She groaned softly, and her beautiful eyes fluttered open.

Relief hit him so hard that his knees would buckle all over again if he were standing.

“Jesus Christ.” He cupped her face, brushing her hair away from her cheek with a shaky hand. “You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Her brows pinched as if she tried to focus on his face. “Clogs,” she whispered.

“What?”

“Clogs. In retrospect, not the best tactical footwear.”

He glanced down at her feet. One clog shoe had fallen off and lay tipped on its side.

So did the gun he’d given her for self-defense.

He pieced it all together—how she shot her ex, lost her footing and fell backward.

“Jesus. You scared the hell out of me. What happened?”

Several feet away, two of his brothers were restraining the bleeding man. In the distance, sirens wailed, the authorities obviously on the way.

He cradled Honor in his arms.

“I didn’t have time to get into my stance, but I took the shot. I-I…didn’t have a choice. He was coming at me, shaking me, slamming me into the side of the van.”

Cold fury infused every sinew in his muscles. He started to lower Honor to the ground, already turning for the man with the intent to put him in an early grave for laying hands on his woman.

“Gray! Gray, stop!” The bark came from his brother, but it was Honor’s arms wrapping around him from behind that halted him in his tracks.

Carson met Gray’s stare. “Get her to safety. We’ll handle this bastard.”

He managed a jerky nod, aware of Honor’s cool hand slipping into his. He drew her into his arms, holding her close so he could absorb her tremors. He just needed to feel her breathing.

“I’m sorry, Gray.”

“It’s over now. You’re safe. But why didn’t you stay in the van?”

“I…wasn’t thinking. I opened the door but I shut it right away. I guess I didn’t consider the door was unlocked.” Then she went dead still, rigid in his arms. She whipped her head up to meet his gaze. “Felicity!”

“We got her.”

“You got her? Oh my god! Where is she?”

He looked down at her clogs that weren’t only a terrible choice of footwear for shooting but for running across a dark, pitted parking lot.

He swept her into his arms and jogged over to the SUV. A muffled cry sounded from within as her sister obviously set eyes on Honor. The driver’s door opened and Oaks stepped out to open the back door for them.

Honor took one look at her sister and hurled herself out of Gray’s arms. The sisters embraced and tears fell furiously. They talked over each other in rushed syllables, the story coming out in broken chunks.

When she told Felicity about shooting Sully and losing her balance, she looked down at her clog shoes. “Gray, next time I want boots like yours.”

He squeezed into the back with the ladies. Hooking his arm around Honor’s middle, he drew her against him. “There will be no next time.”

The flashing lights of police cars sliced through the darkness. Both sisters twisted to look out the window, but they weren’t able to make out much more than dark forms moving around.

Into his ear came Carson’s voice. “The cops need the van to search it for the diamonds and anything else this guy might have hidden in there.”

“Take it. We’re all clear and headed home.”

“We’ll wrap things up here. Meet you at the Black Heart.”

Gray’s chest swelled with emotion. When he came home to the ranch, he was so broken. He still had so far to go, but he was mending…with the help of his family, from the vets surrounding them…and being close to Honor.

“I’d like to schedule a meeting with you, bro.” His statement was met with surprised silence.

“A meeting about what?” Carson asked him.

“About my pay rate and a hefty benefits package for joining the team.”

His brothers all laughed. Since Honor didn’t seem to be wearing her comms device, she was left out of the loop, but he was more than happy to fill her in later. Alone.

She lifted her fingers to his jaw, the touch tender and her eyes burning with love. “Let’s go home. I think we could all use a cup of hot tea.”

He had other ways to heat things up, but he kept his comment to himself and wrapped her in his arms. He was the luckiest damn man alive.

* * * * *

If Honor was going to be kidnapped, at least her kidnapper smelled like leather and pine and possibility.

She turned her head toward the masculine scent wafting from the driver’s seat but couldn’t see Gray through the blindfold he’d knotted around her eyes. It was also as black as night under the fabric—she couldn’t make out even a sliver of light.

She flailed a hand around in the air until he caught hold of it and trapped it in his rough grasp. “You know, this is a little unnerving for me after my sister was just kidnapped,” she said.

“Trust me?”

“I do trust you,” she responded without a beat of hesitation. “It’s just that I can’t see anything and I don’t know where we’re going.”

“Good thing I’m driving.” She heard the smile resonating in his deep voice.

They drove along for several more minutes of comfortable silence. With Gray, everything was comfortable. She would put her life in his hands the same way she gave him her heart.

For the past five nights since that terrifying ordeal, he stayed with Honor. While Felicity scoffed at having security measures around the house since Sully was behind bars, she had looked very relieved when Gray insisted on staying. And Honor had to admit that she felt safer too.

The van bumped over the country roads that Honor couldn’t see. They’d just picked up her vehicle from the police station after the cops performed a thorough investigation and confiscated thirteen diamonds amounting to a small fortune. No wonder Sully’s partner beat him to a pulp.

The hum of the engine was familiar to her…and so were Gray’s callused fingers that she stroked and explored the entire way to…wherever they were headed.

“All right! I need a clue,” she wheedled.

He chuckled. “Main Street.”

She snapped her mouth shut at his claim, racking her brain for where he might be taking her. “Oh! We’re going to the coffee shop where we first met!”

“Nope.”

“The post office where we bumped into each other again?”

He laughed again, a rough tone that sent shivers through her belly and down between her thighs.

“The restaurant parking lot where we first made out?”

“Hold on. I’m turning around. That sounds like a damn good idea.”

“Gray!”

He squeezed her fingers. “If anyone had told me I’d fall for the annoying woman at the coffee shop, I would have called them a liar.”

“And here I thought you were a sweet boyfriend.”

He issued a low grunt of amusement mixed with something else. Something like a stronger emotion.

When the van stopped, he circled the vehicle and opened her door. With both of her hands clutched tight in his, he guided her to the sidewalk.

“Can I take off the blindfold now?”

“Not yet. I want to get you to the right place.”

Butterflies of excitement swirled through her chest. After only a few steps, he stopped and took her by the shoulders, twisting her in a new direction.

“Now?”

“Now.”

She peeled the blindfold downward, letting it loop around her neck, and blinked to focus her eyes.

What was she looking at? The front of a building, a big display window…and a striped awning over the door.

Gone was the peeling green paint, the window coated in grime.

“The shop on the corner,” she said softly, trying to puzzle out why he brought her here. “The one that was for rent.”

“It’s not for rent anymore.”

She slid her gaze to him. “What do you mean?”

“I bought the building. The shop is yours.”

Her lips parted on a soft gasp. Tears of joy burned in her eyes as she studied the front of the rundown place that was now fixed up with a fresh coat of creamy white paint the color of milk and black trim around the window and door.

When she peered past their reflections in the glass and into the interior, she saw that everything had been fixed up. The scuffed floors now gleamed.

It was executed exactly as she imagined. Several times since Felicity had first suggested the location, she and Honor had discussed ways to fix it up to her liking. Knowing that Felicity had a part in this dream coming true warmed her even more.

“Oh my god. Gray! This is too much. You did this for me?”

“The guys from the vet program volunteered to help me fix up the place. Crew was first in line.”

He waved a hand at the street, and for the first time, she spotted the pickups with the Black Heart Ranch logo on the sides.

“They came to help us unload the van too.”

Her eyes bulged. “Now? I’m moving in now?”

He gave her a nod and then took a step closer. Caught that tendril of hair that she was beginning to think of as his. He rubbed it between his fingers before swooping in to brush his lips over hers.

She sank into the kiss, pushing on tiptoe to get closer and deepen the caress.

“Hey! Save it for later! We’ve got work to do!” came a shout from one of the guys Gray brought to help her.

They broke apart, laughing. When she turned to the men, she greeted each with a smile and a word of thanks.

While they carried everything inside, Honor stood inside her new shop, directing them on where to place the crates and boxes. Afterward, they all stood around chatting for several long minutes until Crew declared it was time for them to head back to the Black Heart.

Leaving Honor and Gray alone.

She stepped up to him and took him by the hand. Then she towed him into what was her new storeroom.

“What are we doing?” he asked as he trailed behind her.

“I want to show you something.”

She led him to the middle of the room and looped her arms around his neck, pressing her body flush against his chiseled one.

He hummed a little sound of appreciation and took her mouth. The kiss was just as heated as it had been at the end of their first date, and Honor knew there were many, many more kisses to come.

Through the ups and downs, she and Gray had each other.

This was the beginning.

The storm was behind them.

What stretched ahead was hope. And coffee with a little sugar.

And mornings filled with warmth.

And nights filled with him.