Flee, page 24
Dawn heard Trevor outside the door. His steps carried him past the conference room. He was going for the front door.
Dawn crept out of their hiding place. She held the letter opener in her hand, wishing she had a gun. She picked up a stapler from the table. It was better than nothing.
As soon as Dawn stepped into the hallway, Trevor turned.
He raised his arm.
A spark lit the air.
A blast rang out.
Then pain like Dawn had never felt sliced through her thigh.
“Mom!” Savannah shouted.
Dawn caught herself on the doorframe. The pain made her feel sick. Her leg gave out, and she fell to the floor.
Trevor came forward, his gun still pointed at them.
Then all hell broke loose.
25
“Hands up, Trevor Davis! You’re under arrest,” a voice shouted from the doorway.
Dawn swallowed her sob. They were safe.
“I’m not going down like this,” Trevor yelled back.
Trevor fired again, the bullets zipping past Dawn and Savannah. Savannah screamed. Dawn shoved her to the floor.
A door slammed, and the gunfire stopped.
People rushed in, dressed in bulletproof vests and dark clothes, with their agencies written across the front. Police, FBI, SWAT, F-BOMB, Rose. They were all there.
Lorelei Sloane was at the front of the pack. She met Dawn’s gaze, assessing quickly where she needed to focus her attention.
Dawn gave Lorelei a thumbs up so the agent would know she and Savannah were okay. All things considered.
Lorelei and three others surrounded the door Trevor went through. She shouted for him to come out, but Dawn didn’t pay attention to what he said.
“Mom!” Savannah screamed.
Adam rushed to Dawn’s side, followed by Zeke and Walker.
“Savannah?” Adam asked.
Savannah nodded.
“Are you hurt?”
Savannah shook her head. “Help my mom. She saved me. She got me out of there before he could do anything. He said… He was going to hurt me if she didn’t come.”
“We’ll take her,” Zeke said, reaching for Savannah.
She went willingly into his familiar embrace. “Zeke.”
“Hey, kid. Your dad’s at the hospital, and your mom will be there soon. Want to ride with us?” Zeke asked.
Savannah nodded. “Can I ride with my mom?”
Zeke looked at Dawn and nodded. “Yeah. We can wait for her.”
Adam did a quick exam of Dawn’s gunshot wound. “You were lucky, but it looks like you opened your stitches from last week. They’re going to want to fix that, and stitch this up.”
“Did they get him?” Dawn asked.
Adam nodded. “He’s in custody. Lorelei wanted him alive.”
“Good,” Dawn whispered.
Adam breathed a laugh and shook his head. “You’re just like the rest of them.”
“The rest of who?”
“The Curvy Vigilantes. I have a feeling they’re going to be at the hospital when we get there. They’re going to be pissed you didn’t call them for help,” Adam said.
“I barely know them.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re all in this together. You’re part of the group now, whether you like it or not.”
Dawn didn’t know what that meant, but she couldn’t worry about that while she was bleeding all over her office. Adam helped get her on a stretcher and into the back of an ambulance. Zeke and Savannah rode with her to the hospital, with Walker and Adam right behind in their vehicles.
The hospital was a zoo. Cameras and visitors and half the law enforcement in the area were all there. Zeke shielded Dawn and Savannah from the attention, but it was clearly useless as the reporters called them by name.
Inside the hospital, Dawn saw Frannie and Raina first. They rushed to her side, Raina ignoring her fiancé to grab Dawn’s hand.
“Are you okay?” Raina asked.
Dawn nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She forced her lips into a smile for the woman who was barely more than a stranger.
“You should have called us,” Frannie said.
“I… Why?” Dawn asked.
Frannie pulled out a black mask and pressed it into Dawn’s hand. “Because we would have been there for you so you didn’t have to face him alone. We would have helped.”
“Why would you help me?”
“Because you’ve been helping us this whole time. You’re a good person, Dawn Patterson. And we protect our own,” Frannie said.
“I…” Dawn didn’t know what to say. She’d never had women she felt close to. Women she could trust.
“Mom?” Savannah said.
“It’s okay, hun. I’ll be okay.” Dawn smiled at her daughter and hoped Savannah would forgive her one day.
“You’re a hero, Mom. Thank you for saving me.”
Dawn’s throat tightened. “I would do anything for you, Savannah. I know I haven’t always shown you that, but—”
“You’re not the same person you were before, Mom. I’m sorry I held it against you.”
“It’s not always easy to let go,” Mackenzie said from behind Savannah.
Savannah turned. “Do I know you?”
Mackenzie nodded. “We’re never met, but we spoke on the phone. You’re a brave girl, Savannah.”
“You helped me that night. You taught me how to save her,” Savannah whispered. She cried and threw herself into Mackenzie’s arms.
Mackenzie smiled at Dawn. “I got her. You go get fixed up. We’ll be there soon.”
Dawn nodded and let the hospital staff wheel her away. Adam and Raina stayed with Dawn, leaving Frannie, Walker, and Zeke with Savannah and Mackenzie. Dawn knew they’d protect her with their lives.
What Gage did wasn’t illegal, but it wasn’t exactly smart, either. He rode to Davis Developments with the men from Rose Protection Agency, even though they threatened to leave him behind. When they arrived, Zeke handed Gage over to Marcus with a scowl and a warning of what Gage did.
Marcus smirked at him. Gage knew Marcus would have done the same thing. But that didn’t mean it was smart.
Even worse, Dawn was shot. Something that could have been prevented. But Dawn and Savannah were alive, and that was the most important part of the night.
Gage sat in the hospital waiting room, hoping someone would give him information about Dawn. He wasn’t family, so whenever he asked, he was told they couldn’t give him details, but he didn’t want to leave.
A woman strode by with purpose, stopping at the desk before heading toward the elevators. She was almost out of sight before Gage recognized her.
“Lorelei!” Gage shouted.
She turned and spotted him. She waited, her foot tapping with impatience.
“Is she okay?” Gage asked.
“No one’s told you?” Lorelei asked.
Gage’s heart sank. “No one will tell me anything.”
“Come on. Let’s go see her.” She looked at the man behind the desk and flashed her badge. “He’s with me.”
The man nodded.
Lorelei hit the button for the elevator. It opened almost immediately, and they stepped inside.
“Is she alive?”
“She’s fine. The bullet grazed her leg. Her other stitches opened up, so they want to keep her for a day or two. Trevor is in federal custody, being booked tonight. He’ll be in jail until a trial. We have enough evidence to hold him without bail.”
“What about Savannah?”
“Not a scratch. She has a nasty bruise on the side of her face, but she said he didn’t touch her other than that. She’ll have some bruising on her wrists and ankles where he tied her to a chair, but she was lucky. It would have been worse if Dawn hadn’t gone there.”
“So, she did the right thing?”
Lorelei snorted. “I’m not going to say that. I wish she would have called me and told me what she thought. We were narrowing down the options and would have figured it out and been able to save her from what she went through, but—”
“It all worked out,” Gage said.
Lorelei smiled as the elevator opened. “Thankfully, yeah.”
Lorelei led the way down the hallway. She flashed her badge to two guards outside a room and told them Gage was okay to come in. The men stepped aside, and Gage got his first look at Dawn since she snuck out of the safe house.
The breath he hadn’t realized he was holding whooshed out of him so fast he got lightheaded. He hurried to her side, ignoring the others in the room. “Are you okay? How bad is it?”
Dawn smiled and reached for him. She pulled him down for a kiss. “Thank you for helping me flee.”
“I’m so sorry you were hurt. I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”
“He was going to kill me if anyone else showed up,” the teenager who looked far too much like Dawn to be anyone but Savannah said. “She saved my life. You did, too. You’re Gage, right?”
Gage straightened and looked at her. “I am. I’m guessing you’re Savannah.”
She stood and walked around Dawn’s bed. When she walked straight into his arms, Gage breathed another shaky exhale.
“I’m so happy you’re safe.”
“Thank you for helping my mom.”
“I’m happy you’re both safe.”
Savannah released him and returned to the other side of the bed. The man there put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Dawn was telling us about you. I’m Owen. And I’m really appreciative Dawn’s had you to help her the last few weeks. I couldn’t see how much she’s changed.”
“She’s an amazing woman,” Gage said.
Owen nodded. “She is. And she’s an amazing mom.”
Dawn sniffed, drawing all their attention. Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I never thought we’d all be in the same room talking positively about me.”
Owen and Gage chuckled.
“There are a lot of positive things to say about you,” Gage said. He leaned down to kiss her again, lingering for a second.
Dawn yawned. “I’m so sorry. They loaded me up on something that’s going to make me tired.”
“We’ll go so you can rest,” Owen said.
Gage started to follow them, but Dawn grabbed his hand.
“Will you stay?”
Gage nodded. “Absolutely.” He turned to Owen and Savannah. “Nice meeting you both. I hope we see a lot more of each other.”
They nodded, and Owen said, “We hope so, too.”
Lorelei followed them out of the hospital room, leaving Dawn and Gage alone.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I can’t tell you how scared I was, but I’m so grateful I was there.”
“It looks like things are better between you two,” Gage said.
Dawn chuckled. “It’s funny how saving someone’s life makes them forgive you for all the shit you did in the past.”
“That and she loves you,” Gage said.
“Mm hm,” Dawn mumbled, sleep claiming her.
Gage sat in the chair next to her bed and watched her sleep. She was okay. Savannah was okay. And Trevor was going away. Everything was how it should be.
The boss tapped her screen to call her new number two. Third one in a year. Her father would have her ass. If she hadn’t taken care of him years ago.
“Yeah?”
“Trevor’s compromised. He needs to be eliminated.”
“And you want me to do it?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t really give a fuck as long as he’d dead by morning. He can’t talk.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Good. One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“The FBI got too close. They know more than I want them to know. You need to interrogate the agent and find out everything.”
“Done. Who’s the agent?”
“Lorelei Sloane.”
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the minister said. He smiled and stepped back for the couple to have their moment.
Dawn couldn’t hear what Adam whispered to Raina, but the look on her face said it was something scandalous. Dawn’s lips curled up with Raina’s before Adam sealed his lips over his bride’s.
Cheers echoed all around celebrating the newly married couple. Dawn clapped with everyone else, feeling out of place at the wedding of two people she still didn’t know well. But they insisted she and Gage come. And that they not bring a gift.
Raina went out of her way to make sure Dawn knew she wasn’t being invited because she had money. She was being invited because Raina felt a connection to her. A bond that couldn’t be broken.
Dawn was working on letting the Curvy Vigilantes in. It wasn’t easy since she’d always been a private person, but when they all shared their stories, Dawn knew they understood what she’d been through in a way no one else ever would.
“That was a beautiful ceremony,” Gage whispered in her ear, kissing her neck in a way that make her tingle all the way to her toes.
“It was. They’re really in love.”
Gage nodded. “They are. It’s nice to see something good come out of all this madness.”
“Hopefully the madness is over now.”
Gage nodded, but the look on his face said he didn’t believe that anymore than Dawn did.
Trevor didn’t last twenty-four hours in jail before he was killed. Not that Dawn felt sorry for him in the least, but she knew he answered to someone, and that someone was still out there. Still pulling the strings and hurting others.
Lorelei hadn’t stopped looking for connections, but she told Dawn at the rehearsal dinner she was frustrated because every lead she had went cold before she could get any new information.
“Are you ready for the reception?” Gage asked.
Dawn nodded, sliding her hand over his arm and letting him lead her out of the church.
The wedding was well-attended. Adam’s entire extended family had come in from Vermont, and Raina’s parents were there. Both had a few friends, including the Curvy Vigilantes and their significant others and kids. Rose Protection Agency attended, and so did all of F-BOMB since Adam’s cousin was one of the owners.
Dawn hadn’t felt so safe in public since before she’d learned about Trevor Davis.
Dawn’s injuries were mostly healed. Her stitches were all out, and her bruises had faded, but the fear lingered at times.
The reception was loud and happy, two things Dawn hadn’t experienced much of lately. She was looking forward to letting her guard down for a little while and celebrating the love of two people she was starting to think of as friends.
They danced and laughed and ate and drank, the night passing by in a rush of fun and happiness. Dawn downed a glass of water and let Mackenzie pull her away to the bathroom, since none of them were going anywhere alone.
“How’s Savannah doing?” Mackenzie asked as they were washing their hands.
“She’s doing well. I think it would have been worse if he’d done anything to her, but she was lucky.”
“She’s lucky to have you for a mom. You saved her.”
Dawn smiled. She had a hard time thinking of herself as saving Savannah. If it wasn’t for her, Savannah never would have been in that situation. “Thanks.”
“She’s right,” Lorelei said from a stall. She flushed the toilet and walked out. “Sorry for the eavesdropping, but Mackenzie’s right. It’s not easy to accept that you saved her when you’re blaming yourself for her being there in the first place, but you saved her.”
Dawn inhaled deep and nodded. “Thank you. Both of you. It isn’t easy, especially because I don’t want to think about her being vulnerable like that again.”
“She won’t be. You have your safe words now. It’s something I recommend to all parents,” Lorelei said.
“That’s such a great idea,” Mackenzie said.
Lorelei nodded and looked at her watch. Her face pinched in frustration.
“Everything okay?” Mackenzie asked.
Lorelei looked up and shook her head. “A contact needs to talk to me.” Lorelei headed for the door.
“Now?” Mackenzie asked, following Lorelei out the door. Dawn was right behind them.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
“Do you want us to go with you?” Mackenzie asked.
Lorelei waved her off. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you guys in a little bit.”
Mackenzie chewed on her lip. “I know she’s an agent and all, but I worry about her.”
Dawn didn’t like it anymore than Mackenzie did, but Dawn knew there was nothing they could do to stop Lorelei. “She’ll be fine. She’ll be back soon.”
Mackenzie and Dawn stared at the door until the ballroom door opened behind them, noise pouring out.
“What are you doing out here?” Raina asked. “Come dance with me!”
Mackenzie and Dawn smiled at each other, then let Raina pull them inside and onto the dance floor.
Dawn danced until her feet hurt and her side and thigh ached. She fell onto her chair and let Gage pull her feet to his lap. He pressed hard on her arches, and she groaned.
“Feel good?”
She nodded, moaning. “Don’t stop.”
“You say that a lot,” Gage teased.
“And I always mean it.”
Gage chuckled low, the sound vibrating through Dawn and settling low in her belly.
“I love you.”
“I love you.” He was quiet, his fingers working the pain from her feet. “Do you want to get married again someday?”
Dawn looked up at him. “I hope that’s not a proposal.”
Gage shook his head. “It’s not. Just a question.”
Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it. I’m not opposed to marriage just because mine didn’t work out. If I ever got married again, I’d do things differently.”
“How so?”
“I’d make sure we knew each other well and were compatible before we got married. Probably live together for a while. Share all our secrets and know if we could survive the good and the bad.”
“Makes sense. Are we talking bad like kidnapping and gunshots, or bad like canceled flights and shitty hotels?”
Dawn crept out of their hiding place. She held the letter opener in her hand, wishing she had a gun. She picked up a stapler from the table. It was better than nothing.
As soon as Dawn stepped into the hallway, Trevor turned.
He raised his arm.
A spark lit the air.
A blast rang out.
Then pain like Dawn had never felt sliced through her thigh.
“Mom!” Savannah shouted.
Dawn caught herself on the doorframe. The pain made her feel sick. Her leg gave out, and she fell to the floor.
Trevor came forward, his gun still pointed at them.
Then all hell broke loose.
25
“Hands up, Trevor Davis! You’re under arrest,” a voice shouted from the doorway.
Dawn swallowed her sob. They were safe.
“I’m not going down like this,” Trevor yelled back.
Trevor fired again, the bullets zipping past Dawn and Savannah. Savannah screamed. Dawn shoved her to the floor.
A door slammed, and the gunfire stopped.
People rushed in, dressed in bulletproof vests and dark clothes, with their agencies written across the front. Police, FBI, SWAT, F-BOMB, Rose. They were all there.
Lorelei Sloane was at the front of the pack. She met Dawn’s gaze, assessing quickly where she needed to focus her attention.
Dawn gave Lorelei a thumbs up so the agent would know she and Savannah were okay. All things considered.
Lorelei and three others surrounded the door Trevor went through. She shouted for him to come out, but Dawn didn’t pay attention to what he said.
“Mom!” Savannah screamed.
Adam rushed to Dawn’s side, followed by Zeke and Walker.
“Savannah?” Adam asked.
Savannah nodded.
“Are you hurt?”
Savannah shook her head. “Help my mom. She saved me. She got me out of there before he could do anything. He said… He was going to hurt me if she didn’t come.”
“We’ll take her,” Zeke said, reaching for Savannah.
She went willingly into his familiar embrace. “Zeke.”
“Hey, kid. Your dad’s at the hospital, and your mom will be there soon. Want to ride with us?” Zeke asked.
Savannah nodded. “Can I ride with my mom?”
Zeke looked at Dawn and nodded. “Yeah. We can wait for her.”
Adam did a quick exam of Dawn’s gunshot wound. “You were lucky, but it looks like you opened your stitches from last week. They’re going to want to fix that, and stitch this up.”
“Did they get him?” Dawn asked.
Adam nodded. “He’s in custody. Lorelei wanted him alive.”
“Good,” Dawn whispered.
Adam breathed a laugh and shook his head. “You’re just like the rest of them.”
“The rest of who?”
“The Curvy Vigilantes. I have a feeling they’re going to be at the hospital when we get there. They’re going to be pissed you didn’t call them for help,” Adam said.
“I barely know them.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re all in this together. You’re part of the group now, whether you like it or not.”
Dawn didn’t know what that meant, but she couldn’t worry about that while she was bleeding all over her office. Adam helped get her on a stretcher and into the back of an ambulance. Zeke and Savannah rode with her to the hospital, with Walker and Adam right behind in their vehicles.
The hospital was a zoo. Cameras and visitors and half the law enforcement in the area were all there. Zeke shielded Dawn and Savannah from the attention, but it was clearly useless as the reporters called them by name.
Inside the hospital, Dawn saw Frannie and Raina first. They rushed to her side, Raina ignoring her fiancé to grab Dawn’s hand.
“Are you okay?” Raina asked.
Dawn nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She forced her lips into a smile for the woman who was barely more than a stranger.
“You should have called us,” Frannie said.
“I… Why?” Dawn asked.
Frannie pulled out a black mask and pressed it into Dawn’s hand. “Because we would have been there for you so you didn’t have to face him alone. We would have helped.”
“Why would you help me?”
“Because you’ve been helping us this whole time. You’re a good person, Dawn Patterson. And we protect our own,” Frannie said.
“I…” Dawn didn’t know what to say. She’d never had women she felt close to. Women she could trust.
“Mom?” Savannah said.
“It’s okay, hun. I’ll be okay.” Dawn smiled at her daughter and hoped Savannah would forgive her one day.
“You’re a hero, Mom. Thank you for saving me.”
Dawn’s throat tightened. “I would do anything for you, Savannah. I know I haven’t always shown you that, but—”
“You’re not the same person you were before, Mom. I’m sorry I held it against you.”
“It’s not always easy to let go,” Mackenzie said from behind Savannah.
Savannah turned. “Do I know you?”
Mackenzie nodded. “We’re never met, but we spoke on the phone. You’re a brave girl, Savannah.”
“You helped me that night. You taught me how to save her,” Savannah whispered. She cried and threw herself into Mackenzie’s arms.
Mackenzie smiled at Dawn. “I got her. You go get fixed up. We’ll be there soon.”
Dawn nodded and let the hospital staff wheel her away. Adam and Raina stayed with Dawn, leaving Frannie, Walker, and Zeke with Savannah and Mackenzie. Dawn knew they’d protect her with their lives.
What Gage did wasn’t illegal, but it wasn’t exactly smart, either. He rode to Davis Developments with the men from Rose Protection Agency, even though they threatened to leave him behind. When they arrived, Zeke handed Gage over to Marcus with a scowl and a warning of what Gage did.
Marcus smirked at him. Gage knew Marcus would have done the same thing. But that didn’t mean it was smart.
Even worse, Dawn was shot. Something that could have been prevented. But Dawn and Savannah were alive, and that was the most important part of the night.
Gage sat in the hospital waiting room, hoping someone would give him information about Dawn. He wasn’t family, so whenever he asked, he was told they couldn’t give him details, but he didn’t want to leave.
A woman strode by with purpose, stopping at the desk before heading toward the elevators. She was almost out of sight before Gage recognized her.
“Lorelei!” Gage shouted.
She turned and spotted him. She waited, her foot tapping with impatience.
“Is she okay?” Gage asked.
“No one’s told you?” Lorelei asked.
Gage’s heart sank. “No one will tell me anything.”
“Come on. Let’s go see her.” She looked at the man behind the desk and flashed her badge. “He’s with me.”
The man nodded.
Lorelei hit the button for the elevator. It opened almost immediately, and they stepped inside.
“Is she alive?”
“She’s fine. The bullet grazed her leg. Her other stitches opened up, so they want to keep her for a day or two. Trevor is in federal custody, being booked tonight. He’ll be in jail until a trial. We have enough evidence to hold him without bail.”
“What about Savannah?”
“Not a scratch. She has a nasty bruise on the side of her face, but she said he didn’t touch her other than that. She’ll have some bruising on her wrists and ankles where he tied her to a chair, but she was lucky. It would have been worse if Dawn hadn’t gone there.”
“So, she did the right thing?”
Lorelei snorted. “I’m not going to say that. I wish she would have called me and told me what she thought. We were narrowing down the options and would have figured it out and been able to save her from what she went through, but—”
“It all worked out,” Gage said.
Lorelei smiled as the elevator opened. “Thankfully, yeah.”
Lorelei led the way down the hallway. She flashed her badge to two guards outside a room and told them Gage was okay to come in. The men stepped aside, and Gage got his first look at Dawn since she snuck out of the safe house.
The breath he hadn’t realized he was holding whooshed out of him so fast he got lightheaded. He hurried to her side, ignoring the others in the room. “Are you okay? How bad is it?”
Dawn smiled and reached for him. She pulled him down for a kiss. “Thank you for helping me flee.”
“I’m so sorry you were hurt. I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”
“He was going to kill me if anyone else showed up,” the teenager who looked far too much like Dawn to be anyone but Savannah said. “She saved my life. You did, too. You’re Gage, right?”
Gage straightened and looked at her. “I am. I’m guessing you’re Savannah.”
She stood and walked around Dawn’s bed. When she walked straight into his arms, Gage breathed another shaky exhale.
“I’m so happy you’re safe.”
“Thank you for helping my mom.”
“I’m happy you’re both safe.”
Savannah released him and returned to the other side of the bed. The man there put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Dawn was telling us about you. I’m Owen. And I’m really appreciative Dawn’s had you to help her the last few weeks. I couldn’t see how much she’s changed.”
“She’s an amazing woman,” Gage said.
Owen nodded. “She is. And she’s an amazing mom.”
Dawn sniffed, drawing all their attention. Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I never thought we’d all be in the same room talking positively about me.”
Owen and Gage chuckled.
“There are a lot of positive things to say about you,” Gage said. He leaned down to kiss her again, lingering for a second.
Dawn yawned. “I’m so sorry. They loaded me up on something that’s going to make me tired.”
“We’ll go so you can rest,” Owen said.
Gage started to follow them, but Dawn grabbed his hand.
“Will you stay?”
Gage nodded. “Absolutely.” He turned to Owen and Savannah. “Nice meeting you both. I hope we see a lot more of each other.”
They nodded, and Owen said, “We hope so, too.”
Lorelei followed them out of the hospital room, leaving Dawn and Gage alone.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I can’t tell you how scared I was, but I’m so grateful I was there.”
“It looks like things are better between you two,” Gage said.
Dawn chuckled. “It’s funny how saving someone’s life makes them forgive you for all the shit you did in the past.”
“That and she loves you,” Gage said.
“Mm hm,” Dawn mumbled, sleep claiming her.
Gage sat in the chair next to her bed and watched her sleep. She was okay. Savannah was okay. And Trevor was going away. Everything was how it should be.
The boss tapped her screen to call her new number two. Third one in a year. Her father would have her ass. If she hadn’t taken care of him years ago.
“Yeah?”
“Trevor’s compromised. He needs to be eliminated.”
“And you want me to do it?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t really give a fuck as long as he’d dead by morning. He can’t talk.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Good. One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“The FBI got too close. They know more than I want them to know. You need to interrogate the agent and find out everything.”
“Done. Who’s the agent?”
“Lorelei Sloane.”
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the minister said. He smiled and stepped back for the couple to have their moment.
Dawn couldn’t hear what Adam whispered to Raina, but the look on her face said it was something scandalous. Dawn’s lips curled up with Raina’s before Adam sealed his lips over his bride’s.
Cheers echoed all around celebrating the newly married couple. Dawn clapped with everyone else, feeling out of place at the wedding of two people she still didn’t know well. But they insisted she and Gage come. And that they not bring a gift.
Raina went out of her way to make sure Dawn knew she wasn’t being invited because she had money. She was being invited because Raina felt a connection to her. A bond that couldn’t be broken.
Dawn was working on letting the Curvy Vigilantes in. It wasn’t easy since she’d always been a private person, but when they all shared their stories, Dawn knew they understood what she’d been through in a way no one else ever would.
“That was a beautiful ceremony,” Gage whispered in her ear, kissing her neck in a way that make her tingle all the way to her toes.
“It was. They’re really in love.”
Gage nodded. “They are. It’s nice to see something good come out of all this madness.”
“Hopefully the madness is over now.”
Gage nodded, but the look on his face said he didn’t believe that anymore than Dawn did.
Trevor didn’t last twenty-four hours in jail before he was killed. Not that Dawn felt sorry for him in the least, but she knew he answered to someone, and that someone was still out there. Still pulling the strings and hurting others.
Lorelei hadn’t stopped looking for connections, but she told Dawn at the rehearsal dinner she was frustrated because every lead she had went cold before she could get any new information.
“Are you ready for the reception?” Gage asked.
Dawn nodded, sliding her hand over his arm and letting him lead her out of the church.
The wedding was well-attended. Adam’s entire extended family had come in from Vermont, and Raina’s parents were there. Both had a few friends, including the Curvy Vigilantes and their significant others and kids. Rose Protection Agency attended, and so did all of F-BOMB since Adam’s cousin was one of the owners.
Dawn hadn’t felt so safe in public since before she’d learned about Trevor Davis.
Dawn’s injuries were mostly healed. Her stitches were all out, and her bruises had faded, but the fear lingered at times.
The reception was loud and happy, two things Dawn hadn’t experienced much of lately. She was looking forward to letting her guard down for a little while and celebrating the love of two people she was starting to think of as friends.
They danced and laughed and ate and drank, the night passing by in a rush of fun and happiness. Dawn downed a glass of water and let Mackenzie pull her away to the bathroom, since none of them were going anywhere alone.
“How’s Savannah doing?” Mackenzie asked as they were washing their hands.
“She’s doing well. I think it would have been worse if he’d done anything to her, but she was lucky.”
“She’s lucky to have you for a mom. You saved her.”
Dawn smiled. She had a hard time thinking of herself as saving Savannah. If it wasn’t for her, Savannah never would have been in that situation. “Thanks.”
“She’s right,” Lorelei said from a stall. She flushed the toilet and walked out. “Sorry for the eavesdropping, but Mackenzie’s right. It’s not easy to accept that you saved her when you’re blaming yourself for her being there in the first place, but you saved her.”
Dawn inhaled deep and nodded. “Thank you. Both of you. It isn’t easy, especially because I don’t want to think about her being vulnerable like that again.”
“She won’t be. You have your safe words now. It’s something I recommend to all parents,” Lorelei said.
“That’s such a great idea,” Mackenzie said.
Lorelei nodded and looked at her watch. Her face pinched in frustration.
“Everything okay?” Mackenzie asked.
Lorelei looked up and shook her head. “A contact needs to talk to me.” Lorelei headed for the door.
“Now?” Mackenzie asked, following Lorelei out the door. Dawn was right behind them.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
“Do you want us to go with you?” Mackenzie asked.
Lorelei waved her off. “I’ll be fine. I’ll see you guys in a little bit.”
Mackenzie chewed on her lip. “I know she’s an agent and all, but I worry about her.”
Dawn didn’t like it anymore than Mackenzie did, but Dawn knew there was nothing they could do to stop Lorelei. “She’ll be fine. She’ll be back soon.”
Mackenzie and Dawn stared at the door until the ballroom door opened behind them, noise pouring out.
“What are you doing out here?” Raina asked. “Come dance with me!”
Mackenzie and Dawn smiled at each other, then let Raina pull them inside and onto the dance floor.
Dawn danced until her feet hurt and her side and thigh ached. She fell onto her chair and let Gage pull her feet to his lap. He pressed hard on her arches, and she groaned.
“Feel good?”
She nodded, moaning. “Don’t stop.”
“You say that a lot,” Gage teased.
“And I always mean it.”
Gage chuckled low, the sound vibrating through Dawn and settling low in her belly.
“I love you.”
“I love you.” He was quiet, his fingers working the pain from her feet. “Do you want to get married again someday?”
Dawn looked up at him. “I hope that’s not a proposal.”
Gage shook his head. “It’s not. Just a question.”
Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it. I’m not opposed to marriage just because mine didn’t work out. If I ever got married again, I’d do things differently.”
“How so?”
“I’d make sure we knew each other well and were compatible before we got married. Probably live together for a while. Share all our secrets and know if we could survive the good and the bad.”
“Makes sense. Are we talking bad like kidnapping and gunshots, or bad like canceled flights and shitty hotels?”
