He couldn’t know that.
“I know what you want to do. You think I don’t want to take out that bastard, too?” He wrapped his fingers around the gun. “But you can’t do that. Not you.” His voice dropped and he softly promised, “I’ll do it for you.”
What? She sucked in a sharp breath. “No, Dev—”
“You think I won’t? He tried to kill you. He hurt you. I will make him suffer. I will make him pay. I will—”
She yanked the gun back and dropped it on the desk. Then she was grabbing Devlin and holding him tight. “No, not you! That’s not you!” Devlin was good. Devlin was strong. Devlin was hers. “I love you,” she told him, frantic. “I need you. I need you with me. Don’t…Just…be with me.” Don’t shoot him. Don’t go to jail for me. Don’t suffer for me.
She kissed him. Desperate, near breaking.
Be with me.
Stay…always, with me.
She could taste her own tears in that kiss.
There were other voices then. The thunder of more footsteps. When Julianna slowly pulled away from Devlin and opened her eyes, she saw a line of cops filling the office. Hugh was cuffed and on his knees. Avery was talking fast, shouting, “It was all Hugh! He did it all!”
“Right,” Faith drawled, sounding highly doubtful. “I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it at the station. Though you might want to think about getting a lawyer…”
“But—”
“You have the right to remain silent,” Faith began.
Devlin’s fingers curled under her chin, and he slowly turned Julianna’s head back toward him. “How about we get the hell out of here?”
There would be questions. Dozens of them from the cops. She’d have to do interviews, interrogations. Things weren’t over. Not yet.
But…
I’m not scared anymore. The fear was finally gone. Julianna stared up at him. “Where are we going to go?”
“Any damn place you want,” he promised her. “Any place.” Then he kissed her again.
She didn’t feel the throbbing in her wrist. Didn’t hear the rumble of voices anymore. Didn’t worry about the specter of her past and the ghost of her dead husband.
She only felt Devlin. His touch. His kiss.
His strength. A strength that would never hurt her. Only protect her.
He loved her.
And she…she would do anything for him. Even give up vengeance.
And start dreaming of a future once again.
Epilogue
Devlin hurried down the hospital corridor, two hot cups of coffee cradled in his hands. Julianna had been sitting at her sister’s bedside for hours, and he wanted to get back to her. Carly was going to pull through, he was sure of it, and then they could all start healing together.
A nearby elevator dinged and the doors opened. He walked past that elevator and—
“Devlin.”
He glanced back. Faith Chestang had just stepped from the elevator. Her badge gleamed from its position on her hip.
“I came here to find you,” she said, heading toward him. “You and Julianna.”
“Julianna’s in her sister’s room.” Just seeing the detective put him on alert. He didn’t want anyone coming after Julianna—or Carly.
“There are a few things I think you both should know…”
Hell. “Do we need a lawyer?” Devlin asked bluntly.
She smiled. “Not this time. I’ve got the killers, and they aren’t getting away.”
They’d better not.
“Those mysterious files that they kept talking about…Ethan Barclay confessed to me that he destroyed the files. He said he didn’t realize what they were, but I’m guessing they held some blackmail info on him. He didn’t want anyone accessing that material, so he made sure the flash drive was no doubt obliterated.”
“No doubt,” Devlin murmured.
“I don’t quite understand the connection between Julianna and Ethan…”
He didn’t speak.
“But judging by the way he went batshit when she was brought to the hospital, I’d say the connection has to be tied to Julianna’s sister, Carly.”
Devlin shrugged. “The coffee’s hot. If you want to come in and talk with us both—”
“Would you have killed him?” Faith asked.
He’d wondered when she would ask him that.
“Because I heard what you said to Julianna. She wanted to shoot Hugh. Can’t say that I blame her, but you—you offered to do it. Offered to do the crime and the time, all for her.”
He smiled at her. “Maybe I was just trying to get her to drop the gun,” he murmured. “Maybe I knew just what she’d do.”
Faith’s head cocked as she studied him. “And how the hell would you know that? I wasn’t even sure what she’d do, and I’ve seen plenty of perps and victims in my time. That woman was at the edge. For a minute there, I was even afraid she might shoot you.”
He’d never been afraid of that. “I trusted her.”
“You probably shouldn’t have,” she muttered.
His smile grew. “You ever been in love, Faith?” It was a trick question. He knew all about Faith’s secret affair with one of the most powerful men in D.C.
She just stared at him.
“Think about what you’d do to protect the person you love. You believe I was bluffing? That I was just telling Julianna all that to get her to drop the gun?” He laughed. “I love her. And I would do anything for her.” He turned away and headed down the hall.
“Even kill?” She called after him. “Because that is some twisted shit.”
Maybe he was twisted. Maybe he was damaged inside. Maybe
he had more of his parents in him than he wanted to admit.
But the truth was…when it came to Julianna, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do. If she’d told him to shoot Hugh Bounty…
That guy would have been in a body bag.
He turned the corner of that hospital corridor and saw Julianna. She saw him and a wide grin swept across her face. “Carly’s awake!” A bright smile lit her face and tears glinted in her eyes. “She’s going to make it!” She threw her arms around him and held tight.
Devlin kept a careful grip on the coffee, not letting so much as a drop spill on her.
After all, Julianna was what mattered to him.
And protecting her…loving her…that was the job he wanted for the rest of his life.
###
Turn the page for a sneak peek at Cynthia Eden’s brand new dark & sexy romantic suspense series from Avon Romance…
BOOK 1: BROKEN
The first novel in New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden’s sizzling LOST series introduces the Last Option Search Team, an elite unit that must protect the only surviving victim of a serial killer.
Ex-SEAL and LOST founder Gabe Spencer is accustomed to the unusual in his job. But when knockout Eve Gray steps into his office, he’s rattled. For the mysterious woman is a dead ringer for the heiress thought to be the latest prey of the serial killer who goes by the name Lady Killer.
When Eve awoke in an Atlanta hospital, her past was a blank slate. Then she recognized her own face in the newspaper and vowed to learn the truth. Determined to confront the nightmares hidden in her mind, she never expects to find a partner in Gabe.
As Gabe and Eve work together, their explosive attraction becomes irresistible. Gabe knows that his desire for Eve is growing too strong, bordering on a dangerous obsession, but nothing pulls him away from her. And when another Eve lookalike disappears, Gabe vows to protect Eve at all costs. While Eve may have forgotten the killer in her past, it’s clear he hasn’t forgotten her.