Ana froze, the muscles down her spine pulling her shoulders tight. “What is this?”
Maneuvering to her side, Benning took in the sight of Owen and Olivia standing at the center of her room. In the middle of the crime scene they’d created together. After convincing one of the agents on Ana’s team to hand over a brand-new roll of crime scene tape, his daughter had gone overboard with decorating her room until the pink paint faded into the background. But more horrifyingly cute was the white chalk outline Olivia had traced around her brother on the blue tarp from one of his inspection sites. Along with evidence markers, thinned out ketchup for blood, one of Olivia’s favorite books, Owen’s tablet, a hammer and a small velvet black box near evidence marker number three. “I know it seems terrifying, but they wanted to plan the whole thing and make sure a little bit of each of us was in there. Hence the book, tablet and hammer.”
“I see. Olivia is the book, Owen is the tablet and you’re the hammer?” She nodded slowly, taking it all in, but he couldn’t read her expression. Cocking her head to one side, she narrowed her gaze. “And am I represented by the dead man in the middle or the blood?”
He pointed to the black velvet box off to one side. “I think that is supposed to be for you.”
Owen collected the box from the floor and tipped the lid back on its gold hinges. Stepping near the perimeter of the scene, he stared up at Ana with a whole other level of excitement inching his smile wide. “Will you marry us, Ana?”
“Please?” Olivia asked. “We want you to stay. Forever.”
The rush of air escaping from between Ana’s lips cut through the hard beat of his heart behind his ears. She wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks with the back of her hand as another laugh escaped her control. Balancing the crutch under her arm, she sank a bit deeper on her uninjured leg to take the box from Owen. She turned toward Benning.
“I know I asked you to give up working for TCD to protect the kids, but it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t my place.” He removed the ring from the box, the round diamond set in the platinum band strong enough to sustain any damage accrued during her future investigations. “I realized too late I was protecting myself. I wanted a promise you wouldn’t disappear when the case was over, but asking you to stop helping people in need is like asking you to stop being the woman I fell in love with. And I love you just the way you are. I always have. Ana Sofia Ramirez—” he dropped to one knee, ignoring whatever sludge he’d just knelt in and slipped the ring onto her finger “—will you marry me?”
She smoothed her thumb across his bottom lip, the diamond sparkling from the low light coming through Olivia’s window. “I told you I can’t say no to those faces.”
“Is that a yes, then?” he asked.
“Yes!” She tilted her head up to kiss him as he stood, and the excited screams from his kids fell into the back of his mind. Right then, there was only Ana. His strong, beautiful, determined FBI agent who hadn’t just saved his kids’ lives but completed his. “I love you. I’ve always loved you. You’ve always owned this part of me, and I know without a doubt you’re the reason I didn’t follow in Ericson’s footsteps, Benning.”
“I love you.” He framed his hands around her face and kissed her again with everything he had. “And I’m always here for you. No matter what. But given your choice of career and the fact we have two humans to watch out for together, I think it’s time I learned how to properly use a gun.”
“Ewww.” The tandem protest from Owen and Olivia cut through the heat searing across his skin where Ana touched him.
He laughed.
“This is only the beginning. It’s going to get worse. Day. Night. In the bathroom. They’re everywhere.” His heart squeezed as she stared up at him with that gut-wrenching smile. Benning tightened his hold on her, a promise to have each other’s backs. Forever. “Are you ready for your next assignment, Agent Ramirez?”
She studied the scene the twins had made in Olivia’s bedroom, then faced him again. “I think I’m up for the challenge.”
Keep reading for an excerpt from Evasive Action by Carol Ericson.
WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM
Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.
Dive into action-packed stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Solve the crime and deliver justice at all costs.
6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!
Evasive Action
by Carol Ericson
Chapter One
The snowy-white tulle of April’s veil rustled as she climbed out the window. Her satin shoes landed in the moist dirt with a squishy sound. She yanked the frothy concoction from her head and stashed it behind a bush.
She took a deep breath and peered around the corner of the house, her curls falling over one shoulder. The stretch limo gleamed in the morning sun of New Mexico, and she shivered. The car looked more like a hearse now—her hearse. Who said New Mexico was the land of enchantment?
Narrowing her eyes, she chewed the strawberry-flavored gloss off her bottom lip. If she fled in the limo, it could be tracked, but at least it would solve her immediate problem of no funds. She considered creeping back through the house to retrieve her purse, but she valued her life too much—at least someone did.
How far could she get barreling down the highway in a stretch limo? Way too conspicuous—sort of like this wedding dress.
She patted the lace bodice of one side of her dress to make sure she still had the strange wooden disc she’d found
