Oren dragged Tara toward the main entrance. She had to work hard to keep up with him. She wasn’t sure whether she should be glad that he was taking her with him. She was glad that she would see Cal in a few moments, even though his arrival meant he’d put himself in harm’s way.
Near the door, Oren clamped a rough hand on her shoulder and shoved her in front of him, then took out his phone, which she knew controlled June’s bomb.
“Open the door,” he said from where he hid like a coward behind her. “But remember one tap of my finger, and June goes up in smoke.”
Tara stepped forward and unlocked the dead bolt. “Don’t do anything foolish,” she warned Cal right up front. “Or Oren will detonate June’s bomb.”
Cal made eye contact and held her gaze for a long moment, before a dazzling smile lit his face. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.” Despite their peril, she returned his smile.
“Enough with the small talk,” Oren barked. “Where’s Nabijah?”
“Handcuffed in my car,” Cal replied calmly, and she saw his gaze shift to the bomb.
“Go get her,” Oren demanded.
Cal faced Oren. “Not until I have some assurance that you’ll give me the location of the safety arming switch on Tara and June’s devices so I can remove them.”
“If I do that, what’s to keep you from taking Tara and running right now?”
A flash of relief lit Cal’s eyes as if he’d learned something important about the bomb from Oren, but the light extinguished as fast as it appeared, and Oren didn’t seem to notice. Cal still didn’t respond but tapped a finger on his strong chin. Oren probably thought Cal was thinking, but to Tara it looked like he was listening.
Was the team communicating with him through an earpiece? She assumed they were and that Cal was trying to stall while they enacted a plan to take Oren down.
His eyes cleared. “The first step in reaching a mutually beneficial decision is for you to put down your phone and relinquish control of June’s bomb.”
Oren snorted. “So you can overpower me?”
“You could draw your weapon and hold me at gunpoint. Unless you don’t think you can keep me at arm’s length even with a gun.”
Oren’s chin shot up, and he eyed Cal. Just as Cal hoped, Tara suspected.
Oren jerked his gun from his belt and jammed it against Tara’s back, eliciting a growl from Cal before his stoic expression returned. Oren placed his phone on a nearby box.
Cal frowned. “I won’t be happy until you put that somewhere well out of your reach.”
Oren eyed Cal for a moment before picking up the phone.
“March,” he yelled at Tara.
She moved with him across an aisle where he set down the phone. He shoved one hand in his pocket, and with the gun in his other hand, he pushed Tara back toward Cal. “That make you happy?”
“Nearly,” Cal said. “Unless of course you have a remote or other device in your pocket that will set off Tara’s necklace.”
Tara spun to look at Oren, and he was grinning. “Our agreement was for June’s bomb only. Now I’d like to see Nabijah.”
Cal stepped to the side. “Go ahead and take a look at my car where you can see her.”
“I meant in here.”
“One step at a time, Keeler. One step at a time.”
Tara was impressed with Cal’s negotiating skills and his utter calm. She’d known he could do anything he set his mind to, and yet he constantly amazed her.
Oren jerked the gun from Tara’s back and gestured at Cal to move inside. “Stop next to the door where I can keep an eye on you.”
Cal stepped in.
“Okay,” Oren said. “Now give me your gun.”
Cal didn’t hesitate but lifted his weapon from his holster and handed it to Oren. Tara doubted Cal would give up a gun so quickly unless he had a backup plan. Maybe he had another weapon. Or he possessed the skills to take Oren down even with a weapon pointed in his direction.
“Face against the wall,” Oren said, surprising Tara at his ingenuity.
Cal complied slowly, his gaze going around the room, and a sudden dawning light appeared in his eyes before he gave a sharp nod.
Had the team entered the room, and he’d signaled them?
When Oren peeked outside, Tara took a quick look around. Of course she saw nothing. If the Knights were in position, no one would see them, especially not a novice like her.
Cal turned his head to stare at Tara. She smiled at him but soon realized he’d focused on the bomb. He motioned with his eyes for her to turn toward her right, and she did so slowly to keep Oren from noticing her movement.
A smile broke on Cal’s face, and he tried to silently transmit something to her, but she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.
He eased toward a wooden crate and placed the hand that Oren couldn’t see on the box. Cal acted like he was lounging against the crate, but his fingers worked to remove a nail from the wood. Perhaps he wanted the nail to stab Oren. At least that was the only reason she could come up with. Seemed like if he got close enough to do that, Oren would shoot Cal first. She believed he wore a vest under his shirt, but she didn’t know if the vest would protect him at such close range.
She couldn’t—wouldn’t—let Oren shoot him. If Oren opened fire, she’d try her best to step between them.
Oren spun toward Cal.
“Satisfied?” Cal asked.
Oren scowled. “I won’t be satisfied until Nabijah is standing next to me.”
“Why don’t we find a place to sit down and talk about the next phase of our negotiation?” Cal asked, but it wasn’t a request. “You must have an office, right?”
“I do, but I’m not leaving this door where I can keep an eye on Nabijah.”
“What if I have a sniper out there?”
“Do you?” Oren growled out.
Cal shrugged.
“You wouldn’t warn me if you did.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
Oren shot a quick look outside and moved the hand in his pocket. “Your sniper takes me out, I press the remote.”
“Actually,” Cal replied. “When my sniper takes you out, he’ll make sure to sever your brain stem, and you won’t have a chance to even flinch, much less trigger a remote.”
Oren lifted his chin, but his eyes were uneasy. “Why hasn’t he done it already?”
“Good question,” Cal said. “Are you willing to take a chance of finding out by standing there out in the open?”
Oren snarled at Cal, but he stepped back and slammed the door.
“The office,” Cal said pointedly.
“Tara can lead the way,” Oren said.
Cal pushed away from the box and crossed to her before she even turned.
“Easy,” Oren said.
She and Cal started forward and Oren hung back, likely because he was afraid of being close enough for Cal to take over the situation.
Cal moved next to her and whispered, “Did Keeler pull something out of the hole on the right side of the device when he put it on you?”
She thought back to that terrifying moment and remembered him fumbling with something on that side of the bomb.
She glanced back to make sure Oren wasn’t suspicious, and when she was confident he was far enough away not to hear her, she whispered a yes.
Cal nodded. “Do you trust me?”
Trust him? What kind of question was that? Especially now.
“Do you?” he asked again.
She didn’t even need to think about it, but nodded.
“Good. When I tell you to, spin around and face me.”
“Shut up,” Oren shouted.
“Okay, okay,” Cal answered. “Take it easy.”
They marched farther forward.
“Get ready,” Cal whispered.
Her heart rate kicked up higher, and her mouth went dry.
How could Cal possibly be planning to take control of this situation when Oren had his hand on the remote?
That’s why she had to trust him, like she had to trust God. To believe the unseen and know that it would all work out for her good.
“Spin,” he whispered urgently.
She pivoted. His hand holding the nail came up. He slammed the nail into the hole in the bomb that he’d asked about. Something whirred inside the pipe.
“No!” Fear washed over her, and her legs gave out. She latched on to Cal’s arm. He stood strong and unwavering.
Shane catapulted from behind a stack of boxes and slammed his fist into Oren’s arm. The gun went flying.
“I’ll detonate,” Oren warned.
Cal smiled as the middle section of her bomb suddenly released and opened. “Go ahead, Keeler. Press the remote all you want.”
Shock overcame Oren’s anger, but Tara didn’t have a chance to appreciate it before Kaci flew from the sidelines to tackle Oren.
The moment Oren hit the ground hard, Cal removed the necklace from around Tara’s neck and placed it on a crate on the other side of the room. He turned back, and his lips lifted in a bright smile unlike any she’d seen from him. She stood transfixed in the impact that his smile had on her heart.
He took slow steps toward her, his gaze fixed on hers. The look of raw vulnerability in his eyes sent her blood racing. He swept her into his arms and kissed her neck. Then her mouth, his lips urgent and hungry. He held her close, firmly, as if he might never let go.
She was safe in Cal’s arms. Safe!
Oren was in custody and she was free to return Cal’s kisses with her own urgency, which she did with abandon.
He lifted his head for a moment to look into her eyes and whisper, “I’ve been waiting to kiss you like this since we first met.” He grinned mischievously and kissed her hard again.
Tara gave herself to the kiss, fully and completely, and as soon as they stopped to catch their breath, she would declare her love and tell him that she thought they belonged together.
Applause and catcalls from the background finally broke through her senses, and she remembered that she and Cal weren’t alone. Heat flooded her face, and she pushed from his arms. This was definitely not the place or time to confess her love, but at least the kiss told her all she needed to know—he thought they belonged together, too, and she could wait until they were alone to talk about it.
Cal stood motionless a moment, then jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed and held it up to his ear. “We have Keeler in custody. The safety arming switch can be released by inserting something like a nail into the hole on the front of the device. I’ll hold while you do it.”
“June,” Tara said, feeling foolish that she hadn’t even thought of her aunt.
Cal marched over to Oren where he lay handcuffed on the floor, Shane’s knee in the jerk’s back.
“Thanks, Keeler,” Cal said, staring down on him. “Nice of you to give me the dummy bomb to study. If you hadn’t, I never would’ve noticed the hole in the one you put on June and Tara.”
Oren grumbled something under his breath.
Tara nipped on her lower lip. “Was that from the callout I urged you to go on?”
Cal nodded. “The bomb was a fake, and Keeler here chose not to add all of the components. But he gave me enough so I could figure out how to release you from your bomb.”
“Way to go, man.” Kaci clapped Cal on the back and offered Tara a beaming smile. “It’s over. You’re free, and we couldn’t be happier.”
“I second that,” Shane said.
Tara’s eyes welled up at the display of affection from Cal’s team members, but more than anything, her heart soared at Cal’s affection, and she couldn’t wait to get him alone.
“Yeah,” Cal said into his phone and listened. “Hold on.”
He crossed to Tara. “It’s June. She’s free from the bomb and wants to talk to you.”
Tara grabbed the phone. “Aunt June.”
“Is it really all over, sweetheart?” A loud exhale followed her question. “Did Cal arrest Oren, and you’re safe, too?”
“Yes, it’s all over.” She smiled up at Cal.
His face glowed. She’d never seen such joy from him, and this moment, the glorious moment free from fear and worry, was filled with a new beginning for them.
* * *
Cal needed to talk to Tara alone, but she’d been waylaid in the office by Max to take her statement. Cal watched through the window as she recounted the events, her shoulders back, her amazing strength displayed. He loved her and wanted to be with her, that was clear, but could he take the next step?
Max shook Tara’s hand, then came to the door. He clapped Cal on the back. “Good work on bringing Keeler in.”
“It was a team effort,” Cal replied, his mind more on Tara than Keeler.
“You can take her home now,” Max said.
Cal wasted no time, but entered the office. When Tara looked up at him, he suddenly felt as if he were back in junior high about to ask a girl on a date. Her expression reflected the same apprehension.
“Max says you can leave now,” he said, sticking to business where he felt secure. “I’ll drive you home.”
“Would you mind if we went to see June first?” She stood. “I have to get my eyes on her to believe she’s okay.”
“I’d like to see her, too.” Cal stepped back so Tara could exit. She stopped to look at the commotion in the warehouse, and he took her hand to move her forward, as it would do her no good to watch the forensic team and agents who’d descended on the place.
Outside, the air somehow felt fresher and cooler. As they walked toward his car, he couldn’t seem to get enough of touching Tara to prove all danger had passed. He tried to come up with the right words to express his thoughts, but he wasn’t used to talking about his feelings. And now, when it was so vitally important, he didn’t want to mess it up.
He tightened his hold on her hand. “I…we…”
Tara stopped by his car and peered at him. “What is it?”
“I’ve skirted your questions about my personal life,” he said. “It’s not because I didn’t want you to know about me. I just don’t like to talk about my past.”
She lifted his hand and kissed the palm. “None of that matters anymore. Not after what we’ve been through. We can be thankful to be alive and happy to be together.”
“No, I want to tell you.”
“If it’s because I pushed you before, that was only because I thought you were a lot like Nolan.”
“Your ex? You think I’m like him?” he asked, now fearing he was her rebound guy.
“Like Nolan, no.” She shook her head so hard her hair swished over her shoulders. “At first, I thought you were. You see, he was a great guy until we got engaged. But once he put a ring on my finger I became like property to him, and he started making decisions for me. Telling me who I could see. What I could do. When I could do it.”
Cal doubted she could have said anything that would have surprised him as much as her comparing him to this man. “And you thought I was like that?”
“You are—were.” She held up a hand. “No, wait, I’m making a mess of this. You were very controlling when you came to Oregon.”
He thought about their first interactions and didn’t much like what he saw. “You’re right. I could have handled it better. Not that it’s an excuse, but that was work and lives were at stake. I’d never do the same thing in my personal life. At least not on purpose.”
“I know that now, but I had to get to know you to see that.” She squeezed his hand. “At the same time, I saw you were bothered by something, and you wouldn’t open up about it. Nolan became secretive, too, and when you didn’t talk to me, I thought you were purposely hiding something.”
He opened his mouth to explain, but she quickly pressed her finger to his lips, sending a jolt of electricity through his body, and he had to force himself to focus on the topic.
“Again, I realize that it was my problem, not yours. You’re not being secretive. You have something on your mind that you’ll talk about when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now. I’m not sure I have it all figured out, though.” He explained Willy’s failed rescue, trying to stay factual and not let emotions sidetrack him. “If only I could change what happened.”
“I’m so sorry.” She took his other hand and twined her fingers with his.
“Since Willy died, I’ve been trying to make up for it. I thought God was letting the bad guys win, so if I did something about it, Willy wouldn’t have died in vain, and I’d feel less guilty. But each time a woman died at Keeler’s hands, the guilt ate away at me more. So I tried to control every little thing around me.”
“And now?”
“That’s the tricky part, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “I realize I have no control over life and death. I had to come to the end of what I could do before accepting God’s way is right and to know guilt is a useless emotion. I wish I could say I’m back on solid footing and trusting Him to keep the people I love safe, but I’m not. That’s going to take some time.”
“No worries there,” she said. “I’m actually in the same spot. We could work on trusting God together.”
She smiled at him, a soft, sweet smile that told him everything would be okay. That she’d give him the time he needed to sort out his life and still be there when he could commit. “You have to know right up front that I could fail.”
“As could I.” She moved closer to him and touched the side of his face. “But we have real motivation not to fail now, don’t we?”
“Oh, yeah.” He breathed out a sigh. “I love you, Tara, and I want this thing between us to work.”
“I love you, too.” She let his hand go and slipped her fingers under her rubber bands to slide them off. “These were necessary so I didn’t lose my mind when I was all alone.” Her eyes fixed on his, she pressed the rubber bands into his hand. “I don’t need them anymore. Not with you by my side.”
He curled his fingers around the rubber bands, surprised at how he couldn’t tighten his fist in anger right now if he wanted to. All of his anger at God for the lost lives, at the world, at injustice, had burned out. He no longer needed to prove anything. To make up for anything. He just had to be the man God called him to be, and right now, he was sure that meant a man who moved forward with Tara.
He smiled at her, and she flung her arms around his neck. Before he could lower his head to kiss her, her lips connected with his. He dropped the rubber bands and lifted her into his arms to kiss her hard. He reveled in the warmth and hope filling his heart, but soon pulled back to look at her. To memorize everything about her.
Her eyes were filled with yearning and love, sending his heart racing more.
“So,” he said while trying to gain his breath. “Now that everything’s out in the open, what do you think about dating?”
“I think it has its merits.” A cute little smile claimed the lips he’d kissed. “With the right person, of course.”
He caught her flirtatious tone. “I don’t suppose you know that right person, do you?”
“Hmm.” She mocked a serious expression. “Let me think about it, and maybe I’ll come up with someone.”
He laughed and crushed her to his chest.
“You, my sweet,” he whispered into her ear, “will not be seeing anyone except this man who is totally in love with you.”