Safe at Last (Slow Burn 3)

A knock sounded on the door, causing the women to jump and then they dissolved into laughter. Eliza sent a sheepish look toward the door and hung back.

“I’ll, uh, let one of you get that. It’ll be Wade, come for Gracie no doubt. He still hasn’t exactly forgiven me for the incident involving his arm, so, uh, I’ll just stay out of his sight for now,” Eliza hedged.

Ramie snorted and she and Ari both opened the door to reveal Wade, who was indeed standing there, an expectant look on his face. Gracie pressed her lips together as her gaze slid over the sling wrapped around his left arm. She glanced sideways to Ari and Ramie, hoping for help. The last thing she wanted to do was even send a half smile in Wade’s direction.

But they were no help. The traitors. Ari actually turned her head and Ramie was making suspicious noises behind the hand covering her mouth.

Wade scowled at all of them, which only caused Ramie and Ari to lose what little control they had left and they burst out laughing.

Traitors.

“So much for their makeup,” Gracie muttered.

“I have no idea what the hell’s so funny anyway,” Wade growled.

Gracie managed to keep a straight face. Barely.

Wade had been pissed when Eliza insisted on being part of the takedown. He’d dressed her and her DSS coworkers down and when that didn’t work, he somehow managed to finagle his way onto the team since in his words none of them had “the goddamn sense God gave a mule.”

Convinced that Eliza was going to get herself killed, Wade had shadowed her every movement, in the process driving Eliza absolutely insane. And in the end, Wade ended up taking a bullet meant for Eliza, hence the bandaged arm and sling. He wasn’t pleased to say the least, nor had he let Eliza forget about it.

“Tell the little coward that she’s going to miss the ceremony if she doesn’t come out of hiding,” Wade said loudly.

He also knew just how to push her buttons.

Gracie exchanged sighs and aggrieved looks with the other women, and Gracie pulled at Wade to get him out of the doorway before the explosion from Eliza that was sure to come.

Once in the vestibule, all ribbing was forgotten and even Eliza came out to hurriedly arrange Gracie’s dress. When all was perfect, the three women lined up in front of Gracie and the doors were opened partway—enough for them to walk through without revealing Gracie behind them to the occupants of the church.

Wade squeezed Gracie’s hand, her arm looped through his, her hand resting on his palm.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Zack is one lucky son of a gun.”

She smiled radiantly up at him, her eyes going moist with a sheen of tears. “Thank you, Wade. For everything.”

He leaned down and brushed his lips across her cheek and anchored her arm more firmly against his body.

“You ready?” he whispered. “That’s our cue.”

Gracie sucked in a deep breath, squared her shoulders and squeezed his hand.

“Ready,” she said, lifting her head as the doors opened to her future and finally closed on her past.

Zack stood at the front of the church, fingers balled into tight fists as Ramie, Ari and Eliza slowly walked down the aisle and then took their places across from where he stood. Behind him, standing for him, were Beau, Caleb and Dane.

There weren’t many guests in the small church, but all were family. A family that had banded together to ensure that the women they loved never suffered at the hands of such evil again.

As much as Zack had wanted to marry Gracie as soon as humanly possible and to never let her go again, she’d needed time to heal, but most important, Zack refused to have their marriage ceremony until they were certain that every last person responsible for so much pain and death were extinguished.

His and Gracie’s wedding day would be perfect and there would be no worry of retaliation. Their thoughts would only be of each other and the future they’d once mapped every inch of, a future they’d both thought lost to them. But no, it had only been on hold as fate waited for them to find their way back to one another.

The doors opened again as music swelled and filled the sanctuary. Zack’s breath caught when he saw Gracie for the first time in her wedding gown.

She stood beside Wade, her smile as big as the sun, her eyes sparkling with joy. And then Wade slowly began walking her down the aisle.

Zack hastily wiped at his burning eyes, determined to hold it together and not ruin Gracie’s day. It had touched him and Wade both that Gracie had asked Wade to give her away. No longer did Zack harbor any animosity toward the other man. He’d been a source of support Gracie had desperately needed, and well, he’d also taken a bullet meant for Eliza, which meant that the entire DSS organization owed him their gratitude for saving someone so important and beloved by all.

He shouldn’t have bothered trying to disguise his emotion. As Gracie drew closer to Zack, he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes and then watched as they traced silently down her cheeks.

Her gaze was locked solely on him, as if they were the only two people in the room. She walked toward him with no hesitation, Wade at her side. But when she reached Zack, she slipped her arm from Wade’s but then took his hand, holding on to it for a long moment as she looked away from Zack for the first time and met Wade’s soft gaze.

“Thank you for being the friend I needed so very much,” she whispered.

To Zack’s shock, he saw a faint glimmer in Wade’s eyes, but then it was gone, leaving Zack to wonder if he’d imagined it.

Wade lifted his hand from Gracie’s grasp and gently cupped her cheek, wiping the thin line of moisture away with his thumb.

“Be happy, Anna-Grace,” Wade said quietly. Then he leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek.

Afterward, he let his hand fall and once more curled his fingers around Gracie’s hand, but this time he lifted her hand toward Zack. As Zack slipped his fingers through hers, Wade pinned him with his gaze.

“You are getting a rare and precious gift, Covington. Take care of her.”

“Always,” Zack vowed in a somber voice.

Wade stepped back and then seated himself on the front pew where other members of DSS sat.

Zack knew he and Gracie should turn to the preacher, who was waiting to begin the ceremony. But he couldn’t break the magic of this moment, one he’d dreamed of for so very long.

“I can’t believe you’re standing in front of me in your wedding dress,” Zack whispered, nearly choking on the words. A knot of emotion swelled rapidly in his throat, threatening to render him incapable of any speech. “I love you, Gracie. And never, ever will I forget today.”