Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 (19 page)

Verity drew in a long breath before pulling her hands back and balling them in her lap.

“Done,” she said, her voice small.

Silas leaned over her shoulder as he read what she’d written. His body tensed as his rage built. Verity felt it radiating out of him like a furnace.

“What have you done?” he roared next to her ear.

“What you asked me to do,” Verity said, forcing herself to sit still under the blast of his fury. “Give my professional opinion.”

“You told them that you agreed that the pieces were cheap forgeries and that no one should buy from me,” he shouted. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “I beat you.”

“Think again.”

Verity tensed as Silas snatched the gun from the end of the table and pressed it into her temple.

This was it. She knew death was coming, and yet she still wasn’t ready for it.

Verity closed her eyes. She didn’t want the last thought she had to be filled with terror. So, she forced herself to go back to a place in her mind where everything had been perfect. She didn’t have to go far.

Last night, wrapped in Jake’s arms, cradled against his body as she slowly drifted off to sleep. That was perfection. That was paradise.

And her only regret was that she would never get the chance to go there again.

Verity’s whole body jerked as the deafening report of a gunshot echoed off the walls of the barn. Her jaw clenched tight as she waited for searing pain to rip through her body.

But it didn’t come.

She cracked open an eyelid…and saw her brother standing with his gun aimed at Silas.

“Step away from my sister,” he said.

“Roman!” Verity screamed.

Her brother had picked a hell of a time to decide to be a hero. Roman might have had his weapon trained on Silas, but the two men behind him had theirs aimed at him. No matter what move Roman made, he was going to end up full of holes.

It seemed that everyone in the room had a gun now. Well…except her.

“Stand down, soldier,” Silas said, his voice tight.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one surprised by Roman’s sudden show of backbone. She felt a slight tremor run through Silas’ hand as he pressed his weapon against her skull.

“Let Verity go,” Roman countered.

“That’s not going to happen, Green,” Silas said.

“Let her go, or I will kill you,” Roman said, narrowing his eyes.

“You take that shot, and Hayes and Stevenson will unload their clips into you,” Silas said, his voice steady and calm.

“As if you hadn’t given them that order before I ever returned with Verity,” he spat out.

“What was I supposed to do, Green?” Silas shouted. “You’re the one who kept trying to protect her. You’re the one that sent her to Thorne in the first place.”

“What else could I do?” Roman said. “I’ve seen what you’re capable of. I needed her to have someone she could run to if she didn’t agree to your plan. She’s my
sister
for God’s sake.”

“No,” he said. “Now she’s just another one of your messes that needs cleaning up.”

Silas glanced over at the two men standing behind her brother and gave them a curt nod. Every part of her tensed as they steadied their weapons.

She hadn’t gone through all of this just for her brother to be torn away right before her eyes.

“No!” she screamed.

Just then a loud crack sounded through the barn as one of the front doors crashed open. Everyone turned, but the brilliant streams of sunlight pouring into the windowless barn obscured what was beyond.

Two booming cracks sounded, one right after another, and the two men standing behind Roman crumpled to the floor.

Verity’s mouth fell open when a split second later, Jake stepped through. His gun already trained on Silas. Bowie was directly behind him.

She pushed up from her seat, ready to run into his arms, but it seemed Silas wasn’t ready to wave the white flag yet. He grabbed her tight around the middle and pulled her in front of him, using her as a shield.

She flinched as he pushed his gun even deeper into her temple.

“It’s over,” Jake said, taking a position next to her brother.

“Is it?” Silas said, a panicky note creeping into his laugh. “I’ve faced worse odds. There are only three of you, and I have one hell of a hostage.”

“There’s more where we came from,” Jake said. “SWAT teams, the FBI, the DEA—they’re all on their way.”

“Bullshit,” Silas growled in her ear.

As if on cue, the faint sound of faraway sirens began to float in the air.

“I never bluff,” Jake said, inching closer. His voice was harder and more frightening than any Verity had ever heard. “Unlike you, my promises are good. Now, let her go, and I swear that you’ll still be alive when I hand you over to the feds. Hold on to her for another ten seconds and I
will
put you down.”

“You wouldn’t dare, Thorne,” Silas snarled. “I know how you feel about this one. If you shoot me, there’s always the chance that my trigger finger will twitch.”

“Not if the bullet goes straight through your brain stem.”

Verity tried to keep her breathing steady. That seemed like one hell of an
if
.

“One…two…” Jake started to count.

She felt Silas start to tremble behind her. His arm tensed. Verity sucked in a sharp breath as she realized he was getting ready to shoot.

There was no way she was going to last until ten.

Verity shifted her hand over the side of Silas’ leg. He didn’t notice as her fingers found his other holster. He was too distracted by other concerns.

“Three…four…”

Verity didn’t bother yanking the weapon out of its cradle. She just pulled the trigger.

Silas let out a high-pitched wail as the bullet tore into his foot. For a brief moment, he lost his composure and his arms flew away. Verity immediately dropped to the ground.

It didn’t take him long to recover though. He raised his weapon and managed to get off one shot before three others ripped into the center of his chest.

A fraction of a second later, his body crumbled to the floor.

But so did someone else.

Verity’s heart clenched painfully in her chest as she looked up to see who it was.

“Roman!” she screamed as she scrambled to her feet. She rushed over to her brother’s side.

A bright red stain was blossoming across his shirt as she reached him. She immediately put her hands over it, trying desperately to stop the flow of blood.

“No,” she said, under her breath. “No.”

Jake was at her side in an instant. He pulled off his shirt and twisted it into a makeshift bandage.

“It’s okay,” her brother whispered, placing his hand over hers.

“Like hell it is,” she said, tears stinging her eyes. “I can’t lose you after that.”

“You’re not going to.” His voice was shaky but firm. “Silas was never the best shot, especially under pressure. The bullet went through my shoulder.”

“Let me help,” Jake said at her side. He had to physically peel her hands away to wrap his shirt around Roman’s wound. “That’ll hold for a while.”

Bowie turned toward the door. “I’ll go and lead help back here.”

It wouldn’t be long now. The sirens were close.

Jake took her hands and helped her stand. Her legs were shaky, but he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. That was all it took for the dam inside her to break. She began to shake in relief as big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

“It’s okay,” he said, his hands smoothing over her hair. “It’s over.”

Verity forced her chin up. “Thank you for coming after me. You saved my life.”

“I told you I’d keep you safe, and I always will.” His lips lifted in a half-smile as he pushed a stray curl away from her forehead. “Just promise me that you’ll never leave me again.”

Verity’s gaze shifted down to the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re pissed, but I had to jump out of the car. I couldn’t let—”

“I know,” Jake said, cutting her off. He crooked a finger under her chin as he lifted her face up to meet his gaze. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

Verity’s brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said.” His voice was low and earnest, barely a whisper brushing against her ear. “Never leave me again.”

“Never?” she asked as he dipped his head down, his lips teasing hers.

His smile deepened as his arms tightened around her. “Ever.”

Chapter Fourteen

Four weeks later

So you’re really going through with it? You’re moving in with him.

Verity chuckled to herself as she read Cheryl’s text. A couple of faces turned her way in the elevator, but she didn’t mind.

Yep,
she wrote back.
Looks like I’m staying out here for good.

It only took a few seconds for the reply to come back.

You know this means I’ll have to come out and see you then. I can’t let you start living with your caveman without meeting him myself.

Verity waited until she made it to her floor and stepped out into the hallway before answering.

Sounds like a plan…though maybe don’t call him a caveman to his face.

She made it all the way down to the front of Macmillan Security before her text alert chimed.

No promises.

Verity laughed again. She pulled open the door and had barely made it three steps inside before Charlie came tearing down the hall to meet her at the reception desk. She had no idea how the woman always knew when she was heading in to the office, and Verity wasn’t sure that she wanted to ask.

Though she did make a mental note to never make out with Jake in the hallways…or the elevator. Just to be on the safe side.

“So, how did the interview go?” Charlie said, skidding to a stop right in front of her.

Verity couldn’t help but smile. Between her job hunt and Roman’s legal proceedings and the general mess that came with moving from one side of the country to the other, the past month might have been the most chaotic of her life. But the undeniable bright side had been the friendships she’d made with the people that worked in this building.

It seemed even Bowie was finally warming up to her. Just the other day, he’d given her a nod of acknowledgement when she was walking down the hallway to Jake’s office.

Sure, it wasn’t much. But it was a start.

“It was fine,” Verity said.

Charlie scrunched up her ruby red lips as her eyes narrowed. “Only
fine
?”

“I don’t know,” Verity said, cracking a nervous smile. “I think it went really well, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. I want this job with the San Francisco Museum of Fine Art so badly. I’ll be crushed if I don’t land it.”

“Oh, you’ll get it,” Charlie said with a wide smile. “They’d be fools not to hire the woman who saved the Lost Treasures of Kabul.”

Verity arched her brows. “The
what now
?”

Charlie shrugged. “Don’t blame me. That’s what I heard them call it on the news this morning.”

Well, at least the press was talking about it. That meant the art was less likely to get tangled in red tape. Chances were everything that Silas had stolen would be headed home soon.

“Yeah, but don’t forget, I’m also the sister of the guy who helped steal it.”

“How is your brother?” Charlie asked.

“All right,” Verity said with a sigh.

“He’s doing better than that,” a familiar deep voice said from the edge of the hallway. Verity lifted her gaze to see Jake walking toward her. “He’s cooperating with the authorities, and there’s talk of a deal. So, while he’s definitely going to prison for a while, there’s a chance now it won’t be forever.”

“Jake came down to the jail with me yesterday to see him,” Verity said, wrapping her arm around his middle. “He even gave a statement saying how Roman helped bring down John Silas.”

“All I did was tell the truth.”

A warm smile spread across Jake’s face as he looked down into her eyes. Verity couldn’t help the one that pulled at her lips in return. The strange truth was, even though this had to be one of the hardest periods in her life, it was also the happiest.

The reason was simple. She had Jake, and, as long as he was by her side, anything was bearable.

“It’s official. You two are freaking adorable,” Charlie said with a long sigh. “And of course, you have me to thank for it.”

Jake turned his head and cocked a brow. “Is that right?”

“Sure is,” she said. “Verity would have never found you if it wasn’t for my help.”

“Your spying, you mean.”

“Semantics.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

“So, what do you want, a medal?” he asked jokingly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Charlie said. “Just name your first kid after me.”

“Wait.” Verity’s eyes went wide. “Who said anything about kids?”

“Are you kidding me? With the way Jake looks at you? That’s a prime baby-making look,” Charlie said with a smile.

Verity felt her cheeks start to burn. She dipped her head down to hide her blush. “Oh my God.”

“I’m just saying, Charlie’s a great name no matter if you have a son or a daughter.”

She was saved from having to say anything else when the door opened behind her and a tall, professionally dressed woman stepped through.

“Agent Wallace.” A polite smile spread across Verity’s face even as she straightened up. “I-I’m sorry. I must have forgotten that we had a meeting today.”

A wave of embarrassment washed over Verity. She’d been interviewed by Bowie’s contact in the DEA a couple of times now. She was a nice enough lady, pretty too, though there was no denying that she was built of nothing but muscle. She reminded Verity of Bowie that way. The pair would make quite the team.

The point was Agent Diane Wallace wasn’t the kind of person you wanted to forget an appointment with.

“Don’t worry, Miss Green,” she said, walking up and resting her bag on the reception desk. “I’m not here for you.”

Verity did her best to hide her relief, but she couldn’t seem to stop her shoulders from falling as she let out a breath.

“Then you must be here for Bowie,” Charlie said, her eyes brightening. “I can go get him if you want.”

“No need,” Bowie’s booming voice said from the other side of the reception desk. Charlie’s smile only widened when, a second later, he stepped into view and stopped at Diane’s side. “I’m here.”

“Well, at least now I don’t feel so bad,” Charlie said. “It might be five o’clock on a Friday, and Jake and Verity might be off to get into all sorts of trouble, but at least now I know I’ll have company while I’m toiling the night away in my office.”

“Oh, I’m not here to work with Bowie on a case,” Diane said, her voice light. “He asked me out to dinner.”

Verity’s mouth fell open. Jake’s grip around her tightened. No one said a word.

Not a single one.

Eventually, Verity recovered enough to look over at Charlie.

Her poor friend’s face had gone white. For the first time, her big green eyes were flat. There wasn’t even a hint of a sparkle.

“Oh,” Charlie said. She gave a smile but it looked forced. “Oh, well…that’s cool. I mean, it’s a surprise…but I’m sure you two will have a great time. After all, you have so much in common.”

“When did this happen?” Jake asked, his tone harsher than it needed to be. Verity gave him an extra squeeze to remind him of his manners.

“Earlier this week,” Diane said, her gaze starting to shift back and forth between everyone. She was too smart of a woman not to know that something was going on.

“Decided there was no harm in asking,” Bowie said. “After all, a friend recently reminded me that life’s too short not to take your shot at happiness.”

“Well, we’d better get going,” Diane said, picking her bag up off the counter.

“Yeah, and I’d better get back to work,” Charlie said, turning on her heel and hurrying down the hall.

Damn it.

Verity waited until both groups were gone before she turned around to face Jake.

“
A shot at happiness
?” she said.

“I didn’t mean with Agent Wallace,” he said in a rush.

“Well, I hope you didn’t make dinner reservations, because you know what we have to do.”

“No,” Jake admitted. “I have no idea.”

“Go back to your phone and order a boatload of Chinese takeout,” she said. “It looks like tonight we’ll be eating on the floor of Charlie’s office.”

Jake’s brows pulled together. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Hell, yeah,” she said. “And besides, maybe if we console her hard enough we might get out of having to live with little Charlie Thorne for the rest of our lives.”

A sly smile spread across Jake’s face. “So you do want kids.”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “But I wouldn’t start decorating the nursery just yet.”

“And why not?”

“Because we need it as a guest room first,” she said. “Cheryl’s coming out for a visit.”

“She isn’t going to try to get us to name a kid after her too, is she?” he asked.

Verity gave a little chuckle as she lifted herself up on tiptoes and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

“No promises.”

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