Thirty-Five
It took two hours to mop things up.
Since the clearing wasn’t big enough for a medevac to land, Duke Hutchins rode away in the back of a sheriff’s SUV. Troy Bragg was hauled off in handcuffs, covered in mud, his nose bleeding and his lip split. Mace and Aggie were taken into custody, while everyone else was read his rights and released on his own recognizance.
The Bayou Patriots all had strong ties to the Egansville community. And the men had mostly been pawns in Troy and Duke’s scheme. Ben figured the two would serve time, if Duke lived. Mace, Aggie, Luke, Pete, Jesse and the others would probably cut a deal.
All Ben wanted was to take Claire and Sam and go home.
The problem was, once they got there, Claire’s life would still be in danger. Diego Santos and his band of cutthroats still believed she was hiding information she had received from Michael Sullivan. And they were willing to kill in order to get it.
Ben mulled over the problem as Alex landed his plane in Houston and taxied to the executive terminal. As soon as he shut down the engines, Jake opened the cabin door, and they all climbed out. Ben was reaching for one of the gear bags when his cell phone started ringing. Caller ID said the number belonged to Danny Castillo.
“Slocum,” Ben answered.
“I hear you found Claire and your boy,” Castillo said.
“That’s right. We just landed in Houston. We’re on our way home.”
“That’s good news and I’ve got more.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Undercover cops located Diego Santos last night. When they tried to bring him in, he resisted, and there was a shoot-out. Santos and two of his top guns were killed. Looks like your lady is safe.”
Relief slid like whiskey through his veins. “That is good news. Thanks, Detective. Maybe now our lives can finally get back to normal.”
“Maybe yours can. My job never ends.”
Ben chuckled. “I guess not. Thanks for the call.”
Feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Ben hung up the phone. “Santos is dead,” he told Claire. “Happened last night. Perfect timing, if you ask me.”
Claire sighed with relief. “Thank God.”
“Exactly.” Ben slid an arm around her waist and another around Sam’s shoulders. “Let’s go home.”
There were things he needed to say to his family. Important things he hadn’t been able to say before. It wouldn’t be easy for a man like him, but he was determined to make things right.
Ben couldn’t wait to get there.
* * *
It was late morning by the time Ben reached his house, everyone got cleaned up and settled in. While Claire went into the kitchen to make a badly needed pot of coffee, Ben led Sam over to the sofa in the living room and urged him to take a seat.
Sam looked up at him, his eyes big and worried. “You aren’t mad at me, are you?”
Ben frowned. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“If I hadn’t gone with Troy in the first place, he and Duke wouldn’t have come back and taken Claire.”
Ben slung an arm around the boy’s shoulder. “None of this was your fault, son. I just called you in here to tell you...how much I love you. You never have to worry about being alone again. And I wanted you to know how much I liked it when you called me Dad.”
Sam looked up at him. “I didn’t mean to. Claire said you would come, but I was afraid you wouldn’t find us. When I saw you by the bed, I was so glad to see you it just popped out.”
Ben smiled. “I’m really glad it did.”
“So it’s okay if I call you Dad from now on?”
Ben hugged him, his throat a little tight. “From now until forever.”
Sam grinned and Ben ruffled his hair. “Go get some sleep, okay? You’ve been up half the night.”
The boy yawned. He’d slept on the plane, but after so much excitement it wasn’t enough. He glanced toward the sofa, where he had been sleeping while Claire was staying in the house.
“Why don’t you use your own room?” Ben said. “From now on, Claire will be sleeping with me.”
Sam looked up at him solemnly. “You’re going to marry her, right?”
“That’s right.” If she’d still have him. The more he thought of the way he had asked her to marry him, the more he worried she might have changed her mind.
“I’m glad.”
“Me, too.”
Sam padded down the hall to his room, went in and closed the door.
Ben took a breath for courage, thought about what he planned to say and headed for the kitchen.
* * *
Claire filled Hercules’s bowl with dry cat food, then returned to the kitchen counter to check on the pot of coffee she was brewing. She hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane. She kept seeing Duke Hutchins pointing his gun at Ben, remembering the raw terror she had felt when she’d thought Ben had been shot. He was badly bruised where the bullet had hit, but the vest had protected him.
As she reached for a pair of mugs, she felt him come up behind her, settle his big hands at her waist. Sliding her hair to one side, he bent his head and kissed the nape of her neck.
“You okay?”
She set the mugs down and turned into his arms. “I knew you’d come for us. I didn’t know how long it would take you to find us, but I knew you’d never stop looking.”
“I would have searched the rest of my life.” He very softly kissed her. “Troy and the others...they didn’t...hurt you?”
Claire shook her head, remembering the hard work, what Mace and Pete Bragg had planned for her, trying not to think how much worse it could have been if she had been forced into some sort of sham marriage.
“You got there in time. Pete Bragg wanted to marry me, but I told him I was engaged to another man.”
Ben caught her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “Not anymore.”
Claire felt the blood slowly drain from her face. She stared up at him. “I thought...thought you wanted to marry me. I thought we were going to the justice of the peace. Just something simple—you said that’s what you wanted.”
Ben shook his head. “That’s what I thought I wanted, the reason I made that ugly proposal.”
Panic slid through her. “It wasn’t really ugly. It was... It was practical. That way we could both be with Sam.”
“It was ugly and selfish. If I hadn’t been such a fool, I would have told you I loved you. I would have said that I’m so crazy in love with you it hurts to think of spending another day without you as my wife. But I didn’t say those things.”
Her heart squeezed. She couldn’t figure out where this was going. Dear God, was he going to change his mind? She couldn’t bear to think of a future without him.
She forced herself to smile. “It doesn’t matter what you said. We’ll both be able to be with Sam. It was a good idea. It still is.”
“It was a stupid idea. I don’t want to marry you because of Sam. I want to marry you because I love you. I want to marry you because I can’t live another day without you. That’s the way I feel, Claire. What I need to know is how you feel about me. Do you love me? Because I want to marry you more than anything in the world.”
Relief hit her hard, then a surge of joy. Her eyes welled. Claire threw her arms around Ben’s neck, her heart beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. “Oh, Ben, I love you so much. It seems like I’ve loved you forever.”
The tension eased from his powerful shoulders. Ben kissed her long and deep. “I don’t want to go to the justice of the peace. I want us to have a big fancy wedding with all the trimmings. I want you to wear a long white gown and carry an orchid bouquet. I want your father to walk you down the aisle and your whole family watching. I want our friends there when we say our vows. I want them to know how much I love you and how proud I am you’re going to be my wife.”
Claire started crying.
Ben’s arms tightened around her. “I love you, angel. I was just afraid to tell you. I was a coward, but I’m not afraid anymore.”
Claire swallowed and shook her head. Ben Slocum was the bravest man she had ever known.
He eased back to look at her, wiped away the wetness on her cheeks. “Will you marry me, Claire?”
Fresh tears spilled over. How many nights had she dreamed of this moment, dreamed of saying yes to a man who truly loved her.
Claire smiled up at him. “I’d be honored to marry you, Ben. You and your son.”
Ben kissed her, a long, deep kiss meant to show her how much he cared. And though she might have doubted it, somewhere in her heart she had known, the moment he had stepped through the cabin door in camouflage and greasepaint, exactly how strong his love was.
Claire looked up to see Sam standing in the kitchen.
“So is she gonna marry you, Dad?”
Ben grinned. “Yeah, son, she is. She’s gonna marry both of us.”
Sam shot a fist into the air. “Yes!”
Pepper barked his agreement, and Claire and Ben both laughed. Ben was a man of danger and adventure. Claire looked forward to the adventure the three of them would share.