Based on intel gathered before and after the sting to catch Sheriff Orson, the team was racing to find Rich’s stash. Or so Cole hoped. There had been so many setbacks in this investigation, it was hard to bank on much, but Cole was hopeful. Having Dani back in his life had helped him turn around his thinking. Hope had been missing for too long.
“You feeling good about this?” Will had met Cole at the TCC and jumped into his car with him. He really wanted to be there for this, and it was hard to blame him.
Special Agents Bird and Stanton were leading the way in an unmarked car, with Sheriff Battle behind them. Everyone was keeping their distance to avoid the appearance of a caravan. They didn’t want to announce their arrival or risk anyone being tipped off, especially as they ventured farther into the rural reaches of the county, where traffic jams did not happen.
Cole sucked in a deep breath. “I am. I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but I know we are closing in on Rich. Today we should find another piece of this puzzle. A big one.”
“Well, good. That makes me glad. I just want this to be over with so I can get on with my life.”
“I know. Things have been on hold for you for too long. But don’t worry, Will. We’ll get him. Your name will be cleared, and hopefully Rich will spend the rest of his life in a very small jail cell.” Just saying those things reminded Cole that there was an awful lot on the line here and he’d better not screw any of it up. Whether or not Will could move on from this nightmare and live a normal life depended on Cole. The same went for Megan, Savannah and Aaron. A lot of people were counting on him.
“You’ve been a real friend to me through all of this,” Will said. “I’m not sure how I could ever repay you.”
“You’re already paying me. I’m just doing my job.”
Will laughed quietly. “I know. But when your life has been turned completely upside down, it’s nice to have some help turning it right side up. You’ve been on my side this whole time.”
Cole nodded, taking in Will’s kind words and letting them tumble around in his head for a bit. If Cole were honest, he’d turned his own life upside down the day he’d banished Dani. Thank goodness she’d resurfaced and helped him see the error of his ways. “I appreciate that. Truly. I just want to get the TCC their money back and make things right for you and for Jason’s family, too. They’ve suffered too much at Rich’s hand.”
“I really want that for Megan. Hell, I need it for her. She deserves a new beginning. At the very least.”
Cole wasn’t the type to come out and ask a guy about his love life, but there had definitely been sparks between Megan and Will at Jason’s memorial service. Judging by the passionate tone of Will’s voice, there might be a real romance brewing. “Of course. She deserves that new beginning so she can move on and live a happy life.”
“Yes. I want her to be happy.”
Cole took a gander at the GPS on his dash. “That’s our turnoff up ahead. We’re almost there.” The site was about fifteen miles outside town, up a long and twisting dusty road. From the information they’d been able to gather, the property had been unoccupied and unused for years, tucked away in a forgotten corner of the county. The incline was getting steeper, Cole’s truck shifting into a lower gear as the tires of the car ahead of them kicked up more dirt.
Cole took the final bend, a near hairpin turn. The road narrowed and pitched sharply downward, now suspiciously covered in fresh gravel. Someone had done some work out here recently, possibly to make it easier to get a truck in and out. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight. They were in the right place. He knew it. Ahead, down in a flat gully, sat a tired ramshackle house with a wraparound porch and faded gray clapboards. The windows were boarded up, and a rusty No Trespassing sign hung from a metal cattle gate leaning against a rotting post.
Cole parked his truck next to the FBI vehicle, and he and Will climbed out. Bird and Stanton were arguing like an old married couple, which was par for the course for them. Battle’s car pulled up right behind them. Cole had considered obtaining a warrant to search the property, but Bird had done some digging and learned that this was a foreclosure that had been on the books with a bank in Albuquerque for more than ten years.
Leave it to Rich to find the one place in Royal that neither Cole nor the sheriff knew about, a place that for all intents and purposes didn’t matter to anyone. For that reason, and since this was a fact-finding mission where they intended to leave no trace that they’d been on-site, they’d decided to forgo the warrant. Rich had managed to be a step ahead of them at too many points in this investigation. They couldn’t afford a single mistake now that they were closing in on him.
“Cole, you leading us in?” Sheriff Battle asked.
Cole smiled, securing his bulletproof vest, which was just a precaution at this point. Agents coordinated by Bird had had eyes on this location for more than twenty-four hours and hadn’t seen anyone come or go, so they were reasonably sure it was unoccupied. “I’d be happy to.” He led the way down the steep drive, his boots crunching in the gravel. They advanced on the house, and Sheriff Battle and his deputy ran around to the back. Cole stepped up on to the front porch. The decking boards were so dry and brittle it felt as if his boot might go straight through them.
He pounded on the wood door, which was far sturdier than the porch floor. In fact, Cole was pretty sure it had been reinforced. If there was something inside this house, the owner did not want it found.
No answer came. Sheriff Battle radioed that there was an unboarded window on the back and that they couldn’t see anyone inside. Cole pounded one more time, then got out his kit to pick the lock. It was the best way to keep their visit a secret.
Like magic, the door popped open. Cole immediately saw that it had been reinforced with heavy-gauge steel. The place was empty—old wood floors, more dust and cobwebs than a bad haunted house. Cole trailed across the front room and rapped on the window glass. Thick. And hazy, although he suspected not from time or grime. It was bulletproof. Further evidence that something was here, and whatever it was, it was big.
Stanton walked back into the room. “The house is clear.”
“All right, then. Now we really look,” Cole said.
The team searched every square inch, rapping on walls, listening for dead spots. It wasn’t until Cole drove the heel of his boot into the floor of the kitchen pantry that he figured out there was a false panel. “Sheriff,” he called, dropping down to his knees and feeling around the perimeter near the baseboards. “Bird. Stanton. I think I found something.”
Sheriff Battle rushed into the room, followed closely by the FBI agents. “Let’s see what we got.”
With the help of a crowbar, Cole was able to lift the panel, which was cut perfectly to fit the space. What he saw under the floor was almost too much to believe—bar after bar of solid gold. “Bingo,” Cole said. Vindication sure felt good.
“Hoo, doggy,” Sheriff Battle said, looking over Cole’s shoulder and down into the carefully constructed metal compartments hanging between the floor joists. This gold had been well hidden. Just not quite well enough.
“There’s no way we can confiscate this now. It’s just too much. We’d have to bring in much bigger trucks and a crew. And get that warrant.” Cole’s brain was in overdrive as his eyes pored over the glistening gold bars, mulling over the questions and possible answers. Was this the money missing from the TCC and Will’s accounts? Was it Rich’s plan to use this money after he faked his own death and killed Jason in the process? If so, Rich had to be coming back soon. What more damage could he possibly do? They not only had to catch him soon, this was the best place to do it. “We can be damn sure that Rich will come back out here for this. There’s no way he’s just going to leave this behind, especially if he’s figured out we’re on to him. It’s only a matter of time before he tries to get to this and hightail it out of the country, probably back to Mexico.”
“Agreed. I think that’s our best course of action,” Stanton said. “We’ll lock everything up and request a pair of agents out here to keep an eye on it around the clock. Nobody will be able to touch this without us knowing about it.”
Cole was a bit disappointed in that part of the plan, since it only meant more waiting, but he reminded himself that his patience would ultimately be rewarded. With the help of Sheriff Battle, he got the panel back into place and they left the house in the same condition as when they’d arrived.
Cole said his goodbyes to Battle, Bird and Stanton, promising that they would have a call soon to discuss their plan to get Rich out to this house to retrieve his gold. He then drove Will back to his car at the TCC.
“Thanks for letting me ride along today,” Will said. “At least I know we’re one step closer to catching Rich.”
“Every step forward is a good one.” He clapped Will on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Absolutely.”
Cole waited until Will’s car started up, then he got his own show on the road, racing back to the ranch as quickly as traffic laws allowed. He was filthy after running around at that old house, and that did not mesh with his plans for this evening. He bounded up the stairs when he got home, rushed inside and turned on the shower. It took a few minutes to wash away the grime, but he was focused.
As he looked at himself in the mirror and shaved his stubble away, he rehearsed a few things in his head. I love you so much. I can’t lose you again. Just the thought of saying those words put a lump in his throat. He hoped to hell he could actually do this. With no time to overthink it, he dressed in a pair of jeans and a clean shirt. Before he ran out the door, he grabbed the most important piece of this puzzle—still residing in his sock drawer, at the very back, tucked away for six years. The ring. He popped open the box to make sure it was still there and indeed it was, just as sparkly and lovely as the woman he hoped would wear it. Now to get his answer.
His heart flip-flopped in his chest as he climbed into his truck and headed over to Dani’s. The thought of what he was going to ask her made his hands clammy. A bit ironic considering he hadn’t felt a lick of nervousness breaking into a criminal’s stash of gold a few hours ago. But he hadn’t waited as long to do that as he’d waited for this. Much more than the six years they’d been apart. He shouldn’t be so unsure of himself, but if Dani could be relied on for anything, it was the unexpected. If she said no, he wasn’t sure he could survive, but he couldn’t think like that. Not now. He’d lost his precious family once, and there was no way he was going to lose them again.
* * *
Dani drove home just after 10:00 p.m., exhausted. It’d been an amazing night of business at the restaurant and everything had gone great, but she’d forgotten how hard it was on her body to be in the kitchen during the dinner rush.
She was struck by the thought that kept cycling through her head—she wished she were going home to Cole. She wanted nothing more than to share a glass of wine with him, fall into his arms, make love with him and slip into blissful sleep. That was all she needed—the simplest, but most beautiful of things in life, with Cole.
She was also listening loudly to her heart right now, which was whispering to her, pointing out that what Dani really wanted was marriage. She wanted to go home to Cole every night. Not just this one.
As she pulled into her neighborhood and turned on to her street, she smiled to herself when she realized that she could be the one to ask Cole to marry her. She could look into his beautiful blue eyes, tell him she loved him and pop the question. Would it be the craziest thing in the world? She did love the idea of catching Cole off guard. It would be an amazing story for their grandchildren.
When she approached her house, Cole’s hulking truck in the driveway was unmistakable. Her already present smile grew wider. She did get to come home to Cole. Or at least see him for a little bit. Now she was feeling decidedly less exhausted.
As soon as she opened the garage door, things got confusing. The minivan was gone, which was not right for this time of night. Were the boys home? What about Elena? She parked her car and turned off the ignition, rushing into the house. It was incredibly quiet. Almost too quiet. “Hello?” Her voice echoed in the back hall off the kitchen. She got no response, so she hurried upstairs.
The boys’ bedroom door was closed, and sure enough, when she opened it, they were sound asleep in their beds. Elena would never leave them alone, so what in the heck had happened to the minivan? And if Cole’s truck was here, where was he? She tiptoed in and straightened their blankets, kissed them each on top of their heads, and quietly closed the door.
She headed into her bedroom and jumped when she saw what was waiting for her—Cole, asleep on her bed. He was reclining on several pillows propped up against the headboard, a book resting on his chest. The bedside table lamp was on, casting him in a warm glow. She couldn’t contain her grin as she approached him. He was so handsome it nearly sucked the breath right out of her. Good God, she loved him. That much she didn’t have to worry about ever again.
She perched on the edge of the bed, sitting right next to his leg. She gently picked up the book, but that was enough to get him to stir.
“Hey. You’re home,” he said, looking sleepy and more than a little sexy.
“I am. What are you doing here?” She rubbed his arm gently, feeling so lucky that the dream scenario she’d cooked up in the car might actually happen.
“I came over as soon as I finished up my work stuff. I wanted to spend some time with the boys. We swam for a while, and then I took them out for burgers for dinner.”
“Oh, yum.”
“We had french fries and shakes and everything.”
Dani nodded. Cole’s mischievous side was definitely one of his more appealing qualities. “Healthy.”
“It wasn’t. But it was delicious.” He unleashed his electric grin.
“Where’s the minivan?”
“I told Elena I had everything under control. She went to a movie, I think.”
“So what happened after dinner?”
“We came home and I gave the boys a bath and read them stories and put them to bed.”
Dani didn’t cry easily, but she felt that single tear leak from the corner of her eye, and she knew it was futile to try to stop it. Another tear followed. And another.
“Why are you crying?” Cole sat up and put his hand on her shoulder, seeming truly concerned. “Oh my God. I completely forgot I was supposed to call you. I was so wrapped up in work, and then I wanted to get over here to see the boys, and I don’t know what happened. Time just sort of got away from me. I’m so sorry.”
She shook her head, thinking about everything tumbling around in her head, everything she wanted and everything she’d waited so long for. Everything Cole had waited for, too.
“It’s not the phone call. You didn’t do anything wrong. You did everything right. I love you, Cole. More than I have ever loved another man. I will never love anyone as much as I love you.” She took his hand in hers. “Can we get married? Is that something you would consider?”
The corners of his mouth drew down. It was a full-on, no-doubt-about-it frown. “Dani, don’t ask me that.”
“What? Why not?”
He drew his legs up and swung them off the bed. “Because you’re ruining my plan.”
“Your plan? Why do you get to make a plan and I don’t? I’m trying to make a plan for us, Cole. I thought that was what you wanted, too.”
He paced over to the dresser, where his leather laptop bag was sitting. He must’ve been doing work at some point this evening. That was Cole. Ever the workaholic. He reached into the bag and turned around with a small gray box in his hand. “This is why you’re ruining my plan.” He handed her it to her and gathered his hands behind his back. “Go ahead. Open it,” he said with a nod.
Certainly Dani wasn’t lucky enough to have this many stars align all at once. Her heart was threatening to pound its way out of her chest as she tilted the top back. Inside, sat a beautiful, sparkly diamond solitaire.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m copying you, but I love you, Dani. I don’t want to waste another day not having you as my wife. We belong together. As a family.”
Dani looked down at the ring. “You’ve been busy all day. When did you have time to buy this?”
“Is that your way of saying yes?” The expectation in Cole’s eyes was enough to make her melt. He took the box from her hand and plucked the ring out of its home. “It’s not hard. You just say.something like, ‘Yes, Cole Sullivan, I will marry you. I will be your wife.’” He batted his lashes at her mockingly.
Dani laughed. How she loved their back-and-forth. “It is a stunning ring,” she said, messing with him a little bit.
He slid the ring on to her finger. “It looks good on your hand. It fits perfectly.” He then cast his mesmerizing eyes down at her with an expression she couldn’t fully describe. “Here’s where I make my full confession, Dani. I bought you this ring a week before my accident. Six years ago. I was all ready to ask you to marry me, and like a fool, I let our life together slip away. I’m not going to let that happen again. I can’t offer you a lifetime, but I can offer you my lifetime. Whether I have fifty years or fifty minutes in me, I don’t know. I only know that every second of it that we’re not together is a second wasted.”
The tears had turned to a steady stream. She’d once thought she could never get past the hurt of everything that had happened between them, but this step forward not only healed, it made them stronger. “I will marry you, Cole Sullivan. I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
He pulled her close and gave her his trademark kiss—soft and sensuous and so potent she couldn’t think straight. “That is music to my ears. I’ve never wanted to hear anything as much as I wanted to hear that.”
She set her head on his shoulder and admired her ring when she flattened her hand against his chest. “I’ve never been happier to say something.”
“So, I’ve been thinking since this morning. Just about everything else that we need to talk about.” Cole traced his fingers up and down Dani’s spine. “I want you and the boys to move out to the ranch. I know it’s a lot to ask, but it’s been in my family for generations and it would mean a lot to me.”
How could she possibly refuse such a heartfelt request? She couldn’t. She gazed up into his eyes. “Yes. Of course.”
Cole rewarded her with a sensuous kiss that made her knees wobble. “I was thinking that with you, Elena and the boys living out at the ranch, there won’t be nearly enough room for my parents when they come to visit. I was thinking we could have them stay here. Many miles away from the ranch.”
“Good God, you’re sexy when you’re brilliant.” Cole’s parents had certainly mellowed, but that didn’t mean she wanted them around all the time. Visits could be nice.
“We still need to talk about your job, Cole. I just can’t deal with you doing dangerous stuff all the time. It’ll kill me. I know you’re not really a desk job kind of guy, but surely there’s some compromise somewhere. Somehow.”
He was grinning like a fool, which usually meant he had something up his sleeve. “I’m way ahead of you. I’ve already decided I’m just going to do the investigative part of my job as soon as this case is done. It’s not good for me, anyway. The doctor wants me avoiding stress.”
“You know what’s good for alleviating stress?” Dani drew her finger down Cole’s chest, then leaned in for another kiss.
“I feel calmer already. Just imagine how great I’ll feel after you get out of that chef’s coat and into something more naked.”
The door behind Cole cracked open. Dani and Cole both jumped. “Mommy?” Cameron croaked. “I woke up and I can’t get back to sleep.”
“It’s okay, buddy. Maybe we can read one more story and then head back to bed,” Cole said. “But we’d better read it in here so we don’t wake up your brother. Do you think you can tiptoe into your room and get a book?”
Cameron nodded eagerly and rushed out into the hall.
“Hey. I’m sorry,” Dani said. “This shouldn’t ruin our plans tonight. He should go back to sleep pretty easily.”
“They’re our children, Dani. If you think I’m feeling put out, I’m not. I actually feel great.” He smiled and pulled her into his warm embrace. “I have two sweet boys and the sexiest, most incredible woman on the planet.” He punctuated his sweet statement with another soft kiss. “I can’t wait to be married to you.”
“I can’t wait, either. I love you so much.” She pulled him even closer, their gazes connected, and she reached down to grab his magnificent butt, giving it a nongentle squeeze. “And as soon as Cameron goes back to bed, I vote we start practicing for the honeymoon.”
* * * * *
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