“All captured, sir.”
“Call it in. Tell them to send the boat in for Darcy.”
He turned back to her. She had her eyes closed. “I don’t want to look,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to.”
One of his men brought over a key for the chains. Joe released her and pulled her onto his lap. She huddled against him and started to cry.
“Hey,” he said gently, smoothing her hair and kissing her face. “Don’t do that. You’ll want to look good for your dad.”
She sniffed. “He’s here?”
“Of course. The entire military is here. Lauren, too. The Marcellis are really worried about you. Oh, Brenna’s in labor.”
“You’re kidding. Now?”
“Yeah. She’s at the hospital. Last I heard, there’s no baby, but plenty of screaming.”
She chuckled. “I don’t blame her. Nothing about the actual process of giving birth seems pleasant.”
He cupped her face. “There’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
He stared into her brown eyes and knew he’d finally found the one thing that had been missing his whole life.
“I love you.”
She stared at him. “Excuse me?”
“I love you, Darcy.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Joe felt a tap on his shoulder.
“The boat is here, sir.”
Joe shifted Darcy onto the ground, then stood and swept her into his arms. She grabbed him around his neck.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Saving you.”
“You’ve already done that once today.”
“I plan on doing it for a long time to come.”
23
Joe took her arm and helped her step onto the sand. She looked from the staring crowd back to him. “All this for me?” she asked, not able to believe it.
“Of course.”
“Wow.”
The fear had faded, but in its place was a shaky feeling. Too much emotion in too short a time, she told herself. She clung to Joe, her only stable point in a spinning world, and promised herself that as soon as she caught her breath she would deal with his amazing and unexpected declaration of love. She would have guessed he cared, but not that he could admit he actually loved her.
The crowd parted and her father hurried toward her. “Darcy!”
He held out his arms.
The unexpected gesture made her hesitate at first, then she rushed forward to hug him. He pulled her close and squeezed so hard, she could barely breathe.
“I was scared to death,” he murmured in her ear. “When I heard what had happened, I couldn’t believe it.”
“Me, either,” she said.
He cupped her face in his hands. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’d be lost without you.”
She read the truth in his eyes and felt sadness for all the time they’d wasted.
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered.
He kissed her forehead. “I love you, too, Darcy. You’re my daughter. You know that, right?”
She nodded, too close to crying to speak. Her father put his arm around her and led her to the waiting SUV. Before she climbed in, she looked back for Joe, but he was gone.
“Where is he?” she asked. “Joe Larson.”
“Debriefing,” her father told her. “Don’t worry. You’ll see him later, and you can thank him for rescuing you.”
She planned to do a whole lot more than that but doubted her father wanted to hear about the details.
“Is Alex all right?” she asked as she slid onto the leather seat.
“Yes. He’s already out of surgery.”
“I’d like to go see him.”
“Of course. We’ll stop by the hospital on our way back to the Marcelli house.”
The Marcellis. She’d nearly forgotten. “The fire. Is everyone all right? Did they get it out?”
“Yes. Just as you were kidnapped, it started to rain. That put out the rest of it. A few acres were burned, but I was told they can be replanted.”
“Ian did that,” she said. “He started the fire as a diversion.”
“The authorities know.”
“You’re not letting that Jonathan person out of prison, are you?”
Her father pulled her close and put his arm around her. “Stop worrying, Darcy. I’m doing a good job of running the country. Just think about yourself and the fact that you’re safe now.”
She hadn’t been held by her father in more years than she could count, but the sensation was still familiar and comforting. Funny how she’d spent so much time looking for a place to belong and it had been waiting for her all along.
Mia sat alone in the house. She couldn’t remember the last occasion when she’d been the only person there. Usually Grandma Tessa or Grammy M were puttering around, but not this evening. Everyone had gone to the hospital to check on either Alex or Brenna. Mia had promised to come as soon as she could. But she’d needed to be alone. To think. To recover from the horror of what had happened.
Ian had betrayed her. He’d used her to do something horrific, and she’d never had a clue.
She’d trusted him, both in and out of her bed. She’d thought he was funny and smart, if a little too talkative. She’d been friends with him for nearly two years, lovers for three months, and she’d never guessed.
Paige had pointed out that she, Mia, was a civilian. She couldn’t be expected to know. But Mia was used to being smarter than that. No one had ever fooled her so completely.
She reached for her backpack and pulled out her wallet. Tucked inside was a plain white business card. There was no name on it-just a phone number. She’d been given the card one of the many times someone had approached her about becoming a clandestine operative for the government.
She stared at the number for a long time before dialing it.
It rang twice.
“Yes?”
“Hi. I’m, ah, Mia Marcelli. I was given this card a few months ago.”
“One moment, please.”
Mia heard the man typing on a keyboard. “Yes, Mia. I have your file. How can I help you?”
File? She had a file? “I’m interested in what you do. In being, you know, a spy.”
