Authors: Lisa Ladew
Tags: #General Fiction
Knox pushed through the doorway to the Seattle police station, his throat constricting as he thought of the final report that he would be hearing from the fire inspectors in just a few moments. Mica hadn't wanted to attend. Knox hadn't wanted her to either. She'd had nightmares for a couple of weeks after the incident, and he might have had a few himself, but after she'd recovered herself, she'd seemed happier than ever now that Bailey was presumed dead and she could live a normal life again.
Knox went through security, then headed straight to the detective's office. He was shown to a conference room where he sat in a corner, not wanting to draw attention to himself. The police chief had said he could attend, but he better keep his mouth shut.
The meeting started with the fire inspector asking the lead detective to reread the single witness statement.
The man stood up and read in a sonorous voice that filled the room easily.
"Witness Daxton Rosesson. Bailey ran and I followed. The bomb blanket I had grabbed from the building security station was heavy and I kept tripping over it. My intention at first had been to throw it over him and get Mica away from him but when he ran I followed out of instinct. I didn't know if there would be any other innocent people in the direction he was heading. When he got to the parking garage he turned around and faced me. He held up the detonator and grinned at me. 'Here it goes,' he said and I dropped to the ground and pulled the bomb blanket over me, fully believing he intended to blow himself and me up. I don't know how long it took before the blast came, but it was longer than I expected. If I had to guess I would say ten to fifteen seconds, maybe twenty. I felt the blast hit me, and pieces of something showered the blanket on top of me. None of them hurt me though. They were small. My brother ran in and pulled me out from under the blanket and more bombs started going off. I didn't see a body. All I saw was fire. I didn't look for a body. I don't know if there was one. The police ran in and stopped us but when there were more blasts we all ran out together. End statement."
The fire inspector sighed heavily, his uniform wrinkling as his torso contracted in his chair. He sat up straighter and tapped his pen on the table.
"What we found was inconclusive. No body was at the scene. No bones. No fragments. No sign of a body. That does not mean that the suspect did not burn up in the fire. The flames were hot enough and burned out of control for long enough to incinerate him, although I can't say with any amount of certainty that is what actually happened, since we did find fragments of the bomb that had been on his body. Perhaps they were blown clear of the worst fire damage by the blast and his body wasn't, we can't say for sure."
Knox stood and left the room quietly. There was no reason for him to stay any longer. He plodded out of the police station and walked the streets for hours, trying to make his choice.
Live in fear of a Dick Bailey who might not be dead?
Or get on with his life. His life together with the woman he loved. Trust that Bailey was dead. Had to be dead.
Or if Bailey reappeared, they were strong enough to handle it.
***
Mica
Mica gripped the blindfold with her hands, unable to contain her excitement. "Where are we going?" she asked for the fourth time. Knox had told her to dress up like they were going to dinner at a fancy restaurant, then tied the blindfold on her and loaded her into the truck. They'd been spending two weeks in San Francisco and two weeks in Seattle for the last three months, and it had been working out well, but Mica wondered if Knox was going to show her something like a Rosesson Security office in Seattle.
"You'll see," Knox said for the fourth time. "Somewhere special."
"Give me a hint."
"It's somewhere you've never been before, but it will seem like you've been there when we get there."
"What kind of a hint is that?"
Knox laughed but didn't answer.
"Hey," Mica said, turning towards him although she couldn't see him. "What did the fire inspector say today?"
"He said Bailey's body was probably incinerated in the fire."
"Oh. That's good right?"
"Yeah. Good."
Mica turned back to the windshield like she could see out of it.
Knox turned sharply and then turned again and parked the car. "Don't move, I'll come around and get you."
"Ok," Mica said, trying not to bounce in her seat.
Knox opened her door and helped her down, then walked her away from the truck in the cold night air.
"Step up. Ok, now this is gravel. Can you walk over that in your heels or should I pick you up?"
Gravel?
"I can walk it."
Knox held her close, practically carrying her over the small rocks. "Ok, now step up. Now step up again. Careful. Now follow me. Now up about ten steps."
Mica could tell they had entered a building. A small one by the sound of the echoes of his voice. When he said up ten steps, she could actually feel the walls of what seemed to be a tiny staircase pressing in on her. He held her hands from directly in front of her and pulled her up the steps.
"Now walk. There's a booth to your left. I want you to sit in it."
Mica did, her hand trembling slightly. She could feel the smile growing on her face. She thought she knew where they were and it made her heart swell.
Knox's fingers combed through her hair, then pulled off her blindfold.
Mica looked around. She had been right. They were in a train car, in a dining compartment, with what looked like a thousand candles on every spare surface. A warm dinner of what looked like lobster and caviar with champagne sat in front of her.
"Knox, is this ...?"
"An unused Empire Builder car. Yes. I rented it for the night."
"You didn't."
"I did, beautiful. I thought maybe we could replay our escapades from ten years ago."
She laughed. "They weren't escapades."
"Shenanigans then."
Mica laughed again. "But this time I won't run off."
Knox's eyes hardened as he stared down at her.
"Knox, are you ok?" she asked.
Knox shook his head to clear it, then took both of her hands. "I was going to save this for after dinner, but I just can't do it."
He dropped to one knee in front of her and fished in his jacket pocket. Mica felt her head swim with sudden overload.
His hands emerged with a small black box that he carefully opened, his eyes locked on hers, a silent question flooding out of them.
He held her hand and spoke slowly, haltingly as she tried not to cry.
"Mica, I told you I loved you only a few months ago, but the truth is, I loved you the day after I met you ten years ago. I felt the pull of it, the tug on my heart and my entire being, even though I knew it shouldn't have been possible. When you disappeared, you took my heart with you. When you reappeared, you brought it back. I've wanted to ask you this for months now, but I was afraid you would say no, it was too soon. It was never too soon for me though. Mica Nichols, will you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife?"
Knox opened the box and Mica saw the shining, brilliant ring sitting there. Her tears overflowed and fell onto her dress and a sob welled out of her mouth.
"Yes, Knox, I would love to," she said, unable to think, unable to reason, only able to feel and love the man in front of her with all her heart.
Knox's smile lit his face and he pulled the ring from the box and slipped it on a trembling finger. Mica stared at it, entranced, then looked at her future husband and sobbed another happy sob.
Knox pulled her out of the booth into a bear hug, then kissed her hard, promising their entire future in the kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
When they pulled apart, Knox placed her gently back up in the booth. With a rather sheepish grin he pulled another tiny box out of his jacket from the other side.
Mica eyed it, having no idea what it could be. Until she knew.
She held out her other hand with a smile.
Knox opened the second box and put the second, identical ring on the index finger of her right hand, something like relief playing over his face.
Mica eyed both her rings, her heart filled with joy that she didn't think could ever be matched.
Until babies.
Mica's eyes went wide at the thought. Married to Knox? Babies with Knox? What a different life she lived now than she had four months ago.
"I have one more thing for you," Knox said, fishing in his jacket again and pulling out a dog collar. Mica took it and looked at him questioningly, wondering if this was some sort of new sex game he wanted to play.
"I bought Lulu from my dad. She's yours."
The joy in Mica's heart surged so strong she saw stars. He knew her so well. He cared about her happiness so much.
"But, Tiny?"
"I bought him too. He's mine now."
Mica's mind turned to their future. Fur babies. Real babies. A stable home filled to the brim with family who loved them.
Just what she had always wanted.
<<<< >>>
Author's first note of too many: Oh what a book! How I loved Mica and Knox! Drama for days :)
Guess WHAT! I wrote the beginning of their story (the prequel), and it's totally free for you!
Knox's half-brother Talon has had a hard life, and he gets his own story in
the Biker's Secret Torment, available here:
Daxton and Phoenix will both have a story too and Mica and Knox will have their wedding. It may be told in someone else's book, or I might write them one final book, I'm not sure yet. And of course, there's the one big question ... but even I don't know the answer to that one yet.
ALSO Bronx's book, The Firefighter's Secret Obsession is coming soon!
And come be naughty with us in our secret facebook group:
Books, Babes, and Badasses
I really hope you enjoyed it!!! thank you for reading!! Lisa
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