Surrender to Love (22 page)

There was a beep in the agent’s ear, then he emitted a low curse. “Damn it, it’s too late. The doctor just pulled up.”

“What?”

“You’ve got to get out there and stop Frankie before it’s too late.” Agent Walt Pittman handed back Nicholas’s weapon, then watched as he raced back toward the warehouse’s side door.

When he turned to head in the opposite direction, he came face-to-face with Agent Tony Iaanelli.

T
ony and Walt drew their weapons at the same time and quickly developed a stalemate.

“So you’re the leak in the agency,” Tony said with a sad shake of his head.

Walt’s face flushed a bright red. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“You killed David and Eric Mercer?”

Walt allowed himself to smile. “It seemed like easy money. I just didn’t think it would get this complicated.”

“Was that what Agent Newman was—a complication?”

For a fleeting moment, regret flashed across Walt’s face. “Yes. We both responded to Dr. Kelley’s call. She had seen her husband’s face on some wanted poster and called in. It was Rodney’s idea to rendezvous at the mall. To tell you the truth, neither of us expected it to really be him, or for him to show at all. But instead Eric Mercer was there. Then I guess you can say I had an epiphany. I was well aware of
the price Montello had on the Mercer brothers—dead or alive.”

“So you killed him.”

“Yes, but as you know, Eric got one good shot off. It was just unfortunate that Rodney was his victim. And since I had Dr. Kelley’s information, I decided to see if good old David was home. And he was.”

“So what the hell is all this about?”

“Montello still wanted the merchandise the brothers stole, so he sent some family members to retrieve it. He promised me a cut of the action. I took one look at my approaching pension and knew that it was the deal of a lifetime.”

Carson crept low as he listened to the two men’s exchange. Julia had been right about it being a crooked FBI agent who had murdered her husband. He reached a rickety crate and tried to get a good look at the two men. When he saw the men’s standoff position, he aimed his gun at the agent with the smug smile.

Tony shook his head. “You’re pathetic.”

“No. I’m rich—and you’re a dead man.” Walt fired his gun.

Tony dived, squeezing off a shot that he knew had missed its mark, but Walt’s bullet hit him solidly in his side and slammed him back against the wall. When he looked up, he saw Walt slumped against a steel pole with his hand pressed against his neck, trying in vain to stanch the blood gushing from it.

Julia had barely managed to get out of the truck when the sound of gunshots rattled her. “Carson,” she whispered, and her hand fluttered to her throat.

An Italian man who was just walking toward her from the other car jumped and glanced up at the warehouse, then rushed back to his car.

“Wait,” she shouted, clutching the sack of diamonds. “Where’s my daughter?”

Another Italian-looking man bolted from the warehouse door, and when his eyes fell on her, Julia saw, in what seemed like slow motion, his gun being raised toward her.

Instinctively, she turned back and dived for cover behind the truck. The sack she carried hit the pavement hard, and the diamonds burst from their confinement and scattered everywhere.

Bullets slammed into the truck, and with lightning speed, Julia retrieved her gun from her hip. She could hear the man cursing. He’d undoubtedly seen his precious diamonds everywhere now.

Suddenly it seemed as if there was gunfire everywhere, and Julia was too afraid to move from her hiding spot, but she swore that the first man who came around the truck would feel the sting of her Magnum.

As quickly as the gunfire had begun, it ended, and when she finally chanced a peek around the truck, she saw the Italian who had fired at her sprawled a few feet from the truck, the other Italian standing over him with a smug smile.

Shortly after that, a small team of men wearing jackets with large lettering identifying them as FBI agents surrounded the man still on his feet and led him away in handcuffs.

“Wait.” She stood from behind the truck. “What about my daughter?” she hollered out to him, but she received no answer.

“Are you Dr. Julia Kelley?”

Julia turned toward the feminine voice. A kind-faced female agent smiled at her. “Yes.”

“Hello, I’m Agent Virginia Jacobson. Can you come with me? We need to ask you a few questions.”

“But that man has my daughter.”

“Yes, ma’am. We know. Can you come with me?”

Julia glanced around, wanting desperately to get over to the Italian and demand Robin and Bobbi.

“Please,” the woman added gently.

Julia hesitated a moment longer, then allowed the agent to steer her into the warehouse. The moment she entered the building she saw Carson talking to another agent.

She pulled away from Agent Jacobson and rushed over to Carson with tears streaming down her face.

Carson opened his arms and Julia buried her head against his chest. “Our babies,” she murmured repeatedly. Her grief swept through her like a wildfire, and her tears drowned out all words of comfort that Carson mumbled against her ear.

When Lilly received Henry’s call about the girls, she’d quickly called Sheriff Benton. Sheriff Benton had then called the FBI’s Atlanta field office and talked to the agent in charge, Jonathan Mason. Mason had then reached Regis through dispatch.

Paul, startled by the turn of events, made sure his first stop in Shiloh was Henry and Connie Wilkins’ home. Once there, he retrieved the two girls and headed over to the warehouse, where the sting operation should have now been over.

But when he caught sight of the paramedics, Paul’s heart dropped a few notches.

Carson led Julia’s pliant body out of the warehouse and ignored all the agents who tried to interview him or Julia. They needed a moment alone to try to regroup. The fact that their daughters hadn’t been brought there by the kidnappers didn’t necessarily mean bad news, he kept saying. And he fought like hell to believe his own words.

Robin grabbed Bobbi’s hand. “Look, there are our parents.”

They turned excitedly toward the agent who had brought them. “Can we get out of the car?”

He smiled. “Of course you can.” He quickly got out and walked around the car to open their door.

“Mommy,” Robin shouted.

“Daddy,” Bobbi shouted in unison.

Julia’s and Carson’s heads snapped up and turned in the direction of their daughters.

“Oh, my God,” Julia murmured, then clasped her hand over her mouth.

Robin and Bobbi ran toward them while Carson and Julia sprinted to meet them halfway.

Each of the parents accepted their child into their arms and then switched to hug the other. Tears flowed freely, kisses were spread abundantly, and love bonded them together.

“It’s over,” Julia murmured against Robin’s hair. “It’s finally over.”

The morning of his daughter’s wedding, Paul fretted over his appearance in the mirror. “I hate this darn thing,” he exclaimed. He wrestled with his tie with trembling hands, convinced that, no matter what, it remained crooked.

Through it all, he tried not to think about the hundred and fifty-plus guests he had to receive in less than—he looked at his watch—twenty minutes. A fresh line of sweat dotted along his brow. Where had the morning gone?

“I’d better get going,” he mumbled in frustration. After another quick glance in the mirror, he decided he still didn’t like the way his tuxedo fit—it was a bit too snug around his arms.

Disgusted, he rushed out of his room. The church was at least thirty minutes away, and here he was pussyfooting around.

“Where are my keys?” he muttered, checking the pockets of his suit with no luck. He made a quick, mad search around the house and grew even more frustrated.

He searched his pockets again and they miraculously
materialized with a jingle. He swore under his breath, then raced out of the house.

Another miracle occurred when he actually made the thirty-minute drive in fifteen. He made it to the doors of the church in time to receive the first guest, and he actually had to blink in surprise. “Virginia?”

Virginia smiled, then fixed his errant tie with the ease of an expert.

Paul blushed. “Th-thank you. I guess I was in a little bit of a hurry.”

“No need to thank me.” Her smile widened. “You know, had I not been here to witness this for myself, I would never have believed that the calm, cool and collected Agent Regis could be nervous about anything.”

“I’ve been nervous about plenty of things before now.”

“So the rumor is true. You’re human after all.” She winked, then moved along into the church, with Penny following demurely after her.

His gaze trailed after her. She was something else. They had shared lunch twice in the past week, and he was thrilled that she’d accepted an invitation to dinner in the coming week.

He turned at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. An older Italian gentleman with similar features to Tony climbed the stairs and extended his hand.

“You must be the father of the bride,” the man said with a widening smile.

“That would be me,” Paul answered good-naturedly.

“Name is Antonio Iaanelli, Senior. Tony’s father.”

“Nice to finally meet you.” He gave the man’s hand one good pump.

“Likewise. My wife and I flew in from New York last night. I believe she’s still somewhere helping your daughter
get ready. Maybe I’ll get the chance to introduce you to her after the ceremony.”

“I look forward to it.” They stood facing each other during an awkward silence before Antonio said. “Nervous?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Afraid so. But I understand. I gave away my only daughter, Danielle, last year. The experience nearly killed me.”

“It’s hard letting little girls go.”

“Yes, it is. But that wasn’t what nearly killed me.”

Paul’s face split with a knowing smile “The bills.”

Antonio bobbed his head. “Weddings nowadays are highway robbery. Why, my wife and I spent less than three hundred dollars on our wedding. And mind you, that included the ring.”

The men laughed.

“Well, it was nice meeting you. Welcome to the Iaanelli family. Hopefully I’ll catch up with you at the reception.”

Paul nodded enthusiastically. “I hope so.”

A few minutes later Tony arrived and helped welcome more of the guests.

Paul noticed how stiff and mechanical Tony appeared next to him. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Wonderful. I’m just glad this day has finally arrived.”

“You almost missed it.”

“I almost missed a lot of things. Thank God for bulletproof vests.”

“And Carson Webber,” Paul added.

“Definitely Carson Webber.”

Paul smiled. “At least we finally have Vinny Montello off the streets. Frankie is in protective custody until the trial, then we’ll look to place him somewhere permanently.”

“Think he’ll stay retired this time?”

“I don’t think he really has a choice.”

They shared a brief laugh.

“You know what is still bothering me? How do you suppose that David Mercer knew his wife would take the ’62 Impala with the diamonds?”

Paul shook his head. “I don’t think he did. I think he was just telling Pittman that his ex-wife had the diamonds as a way to stall for more time. It was probably just a coincidence that she actually drove off with the Montellos prized diamonds.” He shrugged. “So, are you nervous?”

“About as much as you are,” Tony countered.

Paul laughed and pounded his son-in-law-to-be on the back. “You know, I think today is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship between you and me.”

Tony held Paul’s gaze as if assessing his sincerity, then happily replied, “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”

Julia parked her new Ford Ranger in the driveway of her new home. Her smile grew even wider as she looked over at Robin. “So what do you think?”

Robin, already pushing the side door open, flashed an equally large smile back at her. “I love it.”

“That makes two of us,” Julia said, pulling off her seat belt and stepping out of the car.

Her daughter raced up the porch stairs, but before she could open the door, it opened and Bobbi greeted her new sister with a squeal. Champ danced excitedly around them.

“I thought you guys would never get here.” She looked out at Julia and waved. “Hey, Mom. Come and see what color I picked out for our room.”

Julia laughed. “You two go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes.”

“All right. Come on, Robin. Wait until you see.”

The girls rushed inside the house in a flurry of excitement.

“I hope you realize we’re going to have our hands full with those two,” Carson said from behind Julia.

She jumped, startled that she hadn’t heard him approach. Before she could reprimand him for it, he leaned down and covered her lips with a hungry kiss.

“What took you so long, Mrs. Webber? I missed you.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” she answered with a wink. “Have the carpenters been here yet?”

“Nope, but I’m expecting them any minute. Oh, before I forget, Stacy called. She’s still bouncing off the walls since we bought the house from her.”

“I’ll call her back later.”

“Did you get over to Jerry’s place to sign the lease for your new office?”

She reached inside the truck and withdrew her briefcase. “Yep. You’re looking at Moreland’s newest physician.”

“Dr. Lockhart won’t be too thrilled, I can tell you that.”

“I thought Lilly said he was retiring?”

Carson shrugged. “Dr. Lockhart has been saying that he was retiring since I was in junior high.”

“Well, I hope he doesn’t think that I’m trying to run him out of town.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Carson returned his attention to the bright candy-apple-red truck. “Are these your new wheels?”

“Yeah.” She slid her arms around his waist. “Do you like it?”

“It’s nice. I just never figured you for the pickup-truck kind of girl.”

“I guess you figured me wrong.”

A car horn blared and the couple turned to see Lilly and her husband pull up behind them.

When Lilly got out of the car, she carried a cake plate in her hands.

Julia walked over to her new sister-in-law and gave her a fierce hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you a little something to celebrate your new home.”

“Is there any occasion that you don’t bake for?”

“Of course not. I am a Southerner, you know. Besides, it’s Carson’s favorite.”

“Carrot cake?” he asked, reaching for it.

“Nothing but the best for my brother.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You must want something.”

“That’s a low blow. Can’t I just do something nice for my brother without it meaning that I want something?”

This time Julia’s eyes narrowed. “You’re right. She wants something.”

“It’s nothing big or anything. I just need you to check out some wiring in the house.”

Carson winked. “You got it.” He turned to Julia. “I’m going to put this in the kitchen.”

She nodded and kissed him before he left.

“Here. I’ll help you,” Rick said.

Lilly and Julia watched as they ascended the porch stairs.

“It sure is nice to see my brother so happy,” Lilly said. “Thank you.”

Julia faced her. “There’s no need to thank me. Carson makes me happy as well.”

“So what you’re saying is that I was right about you two?”

“It’s not nice to gloat.”

Lilly shrugged. “Fine with me if you can’t admit I was right and you were wrong. My job as Cupid has its own rewards.”

Julia shook her head. “All right, all right. You were right and I was wrong. Are you happy?”

“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

They laughed; then Lilly’s face grew serious. “If I didn’t
get the chance to tell you before, I want to tell you now that I am ecstatic to have you as a part of our family.”

“Thank you. I think Robin and I fell in love with the Webbers the moment we arrived. Thanks for having us.”

“I want you to know that I finally fixed Sheri Higginbotham up with Pierce Taylor.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. They are perfect for each other. You just mark my words.”

Julia laughed.

From around the bend, little Stanley appeared, wearing the widest lopsided grin Julia had ever seen.

“Good afternoon, Stanley.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Webber. Is Bobbi home?”

“She sure is. Are you guys going to play ball this afternoon?”

“Nah. I just figured I’d come over and hang out with her. No particular reason.”

Julia gave him a knowing smile. “I think she’ll like that very much.”

He flushed, then sprinted into the house.

“Honey?” Carson called from the porch. “Mom and Pop are on the phone. They want to know if we’re coming over for dinner.”

“Tell them we’d love to.” She shook her head at the slice of cake Carson carried on a saucer. “I swear, I don’t know where he puts all that food.”

“Ah, you know what he always says.”

“He’s a growing boy.”

“Let me help you with some of these boxes you’ve got here.” Lilly grabbed the first box from the cab of the truck.

Julia plucked up one of the boxes as well and followed close behind her. She glanced again at her new home—her new life—and smiled.

She thought about David, the Montellos, and the FBI, and marveled at what she had had to go through to reach her destiny. And she held no doubts that this place was, indeed, her destiny.

This was her third attempt at love, her third attempt at happily ever after, and this time she had a feeling she’d finally gotten it right.