Page 29 of Paradise Ties

The exclamation was met with a toss of her beautiful head as she walked towards her suite, leaving Liam to follow.

“Thanks, boss.” He heard as he passed Jack, who was smiling for a change.

It was late evening before all the hostages had been checked for minor injuries and interviewed. They’d been moved into a large conference room so the scene could be preserved for evidence. Dane knew from bitter experience that it wasn’t the physical wounds that would wake them in the dead of night, it would be the emotional and psychological ones.

He and Drew were sitting on the edge of a raised stage drinking water when Lucy and Jace came towards them. Drew’s friend Mara had been moved back to the sister hotel with her other friends a few minutes ago.

“How’s Mara doing?” Lucy asked Drew.

He shook his head. “Not great, but she’ll get there. This is a lot to process but she’s strong and has good people around her, so that’ll help.”

Dane nodded. “It sure will.”

Jace had still not let go of Lucy and she had been similarly keen to keep him in her sights. “Be nice if we could go to a wedding and it didn’t end with a hostage situation,” Jace commented.

Celeste and Zin moved in beside them. The deadly Viper still seeming to ripple around the edges of the man, who was still wired.

Celeste laughed. “Yeah, it’s totally put me off the idea of getting hitched. I think I’m cured.”

Zin looked at her sharply, making Dane smirk. The man totally wanted to marry Celeste now the idea had been put in his head. Served him right for dragging his feet, now maybe he’d have to work for it. The thought pleased him.

“What’re you smiling at?” Zack asked as he and Kanan walked towards them.

“Celeste was just saying how she’s been put off getting married by all this.”

Kanan grinned. “That’s my girl. And remember, if you ever want to ditch this loser and come live with Roz and me, the door’s always open.”

Celeste rolled her eyes and snuggled closer to Zin. “Yeah, I’m good where I am, thanks.”

“Well if you change your mind...”

Dane heard Zin growl low in his throat as he glared at Kanan.

“And on that note, I’m going to go and collect my fiancée and children and go back to the suite for a quiet night.” He jumped off the stage and walked towards the exit, needing to hold Lauren and the kids and be with them tonight. Today could’ve ended so differently.

“Dane, remind Lauren we have a final walk-through with the wedding co-ordinators tomorrow,” Lucy called.

Dane waved his arm in the air to acknowledge he heard. “Will do.”

He would, but first he wanted to kiss her until she lost all thought of the danger they’d faced today.

Chapter 13

No matter how many times Dane put his life on the line, Lauren would never get used to it. That didn’t mean she’d ever let him see her worried. The last thing he needed when on a mission was to worry about her.

When he’d called to say he and the others were okay, the nervous nausea in her belly dissipated. She’d seen the same relief with Ava, Meg, and Lizzie. They all felt the same and while they could discuss their fears among themselves, they never would with the men they loved. This group of women had become her family, her sisters in so many ways.

Roz plopped down beside her on the sand. The air was still warm and light as she waited for Dane to finish up and collect her. “You good?”

She turned and looked at the woman who had changed so much in the past year yet had retained her badass attitude. “Yeah, I’m good. Just relieved everyone is okay. It could have turned out a lot different.”

Roz looked out towards the sea. “It could have. Lucky for the hostages we were here. I guess your wedding was fate.”

Lauren laughed. “Maybe but I would’ve preferred it not to be.”

Roz turned to her and tilted her head. “No, I don’t think so. If you’d known, you still would have come here because you know if you hadn’t, a good many people would have died here today.”

Lauren released a deep sigh as she processed the words. “I guess you’re right. The people we love are protectors. We love that about them, so we take the fear as part of the package.”