Lucky Like Us

chapter Thirty-Seven

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Saturday, 8:07 A.M.

SHE BARELY SLEPT through the night, even with the painkillers. She woke up several times from nightmares and the sound of gunshots in her head. Each time she opened her eyes, Sam was with her, holding her hand, telling her she was safe and he loved her.

Caught in the same dream again, she tried to tell herself it wasn’t real. Robert Chainy had a gun to her head, Sam stood in front of them, his gun trained on Robert. The awful pop of gunfire exploded, and the searing pain burned her head and side. She woke up with a start. Her eyes flew open only to see Jack sitting in the chair beside her bed instead of Sam.

“Where’s Sam?”

Jack smiled. “Most people can’t tell us apart, but here you are half out of your head with pain, and you knew immediately I wasn’t Sam.” Shaking his head, he sat forward. “We sent him home. Jenna came and got him about an hour ago. She’ll bring him back once he’s cleaned up, and she’s made sure he’s eaten a decent meal. I promised I’d stay in his place. I thought if you woke up, you’d see him and go back to sleep.”

“You aren’t him.” She couldn’t hide her disappointment, sure Jack understood she needed Sam. “I’m glad you’re here though. Is he okay?”

“He’s getting there. We haven’t left him alone. He stayed by your side the whole night. Tyler stayed with him until I came a few hours ago to take a shift. He won’t be satisfied until he hears you say you’re okay and you don’t blame him for shooting you. Had it been anybody else he had to shoot, it would have been easier for him to accept.

“He loves you, and hurting you on purpose is a weight he can’t bear. Everyone knows he didn’t have a choice. Chainy would have killed you. Sam took the shot to save you.”

“He needs to stop blaming himself when it isn’t his fault,” Elizabeth agreed.

“I think it would do him a world of good to hear you say it.”

“Oh, he’ll hear from me.”

She put a hand to her head, still pounding away like the cadence of a marching band. She had stitches across her temple and a goose egg to boot. The bullet wound along her ribs next to her breast had been stitched closed. She looked terrible. Her hair was in tangles and half the pins were missing or falling out. Her gown was completely ruined, she was sure. Her eye was all puffy and probably black and blue. The entire right side of her face hurt.

Jack leaned forward and held her gaze. “Don’t be too hard on him. He thought you were dead. He thought he killed you last night. Tyler and I had to talk him into giving up his gun. It took some doing, but he finally gave it to me. He picked you up from the floor and rocked you while he told you how sorry he was for killing you. We couldn’t convince him you were alive until you spoke to him.”

That sank into the depths of her soul and filled her with overwhelming sadness. Poor Sam. She hadn’t been hurt as badly as she could have been, because she’d trusted Sam to take the shot and do as little damage to her while still killing Chainy. She was proud of him. She’d been right to trust him. He’d saved her life.

He’d taken shooting her the first time so hard, and now he’d actually thought he’d killed her.

“I had no idea he thought he killed me. I’ll take care of him. I’ll make sure he knows I’m okay, and I don’t blame him. I’ll have to thank him too. One murderer down, and a stalker to go,” she said with a sigh. Already getting tired, the pain radiated through her head and side. Maybe she’d take another nap, and then, with or without permission from her doctor, she was going home.

“You should look at this.” Jack handed over the newspaper he’d been reading. “My wife knows a lot of people. She had a reporter talk with Deputy Director Davies last night about Sam’s operations the last two days. He’s a hero, thanks to you. Again, that is.”

She took the paper and read through one eye the front page headline:

ELIZABETH HAMILTON SAVED BY FBI—TWICE

She covered her open mouth with her fingers, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Read the story. It’s quite remarkable. You know about last night, but I bet you don’t know where he went the night Tyler stayed with you.”

She read the story through once and glanced up at Jack, who’d been watching her intently. Then she read the story again, unable to believe the unbelievable.

In addition to what happened with Chainy the night before, the night Sam had left her with Tyler, he’d gone after Jarred and arrested him for stalking and attempted kidnapping. Apparently Sam and Tyler, in conjunction with local police, had discovered Jarred was in dire financial trouble. Set to kidnap Elizabeth the night Sam arrested him, he intended to ransom her to her family for millions.

They found him at her house armed with a gun, rope, duct tape, a hunting knife, rubber gloves, and a ransom note he’d pasted together using letters from magazines and newspapers. The most ominous discovery: a receipt for a storage locker at a local storage yard paid in full for five years. When they searched the storage locker, they found a crudely fashioned pine box coffin lined in plastic and a hammer and nails to seal the lid. She wondered fleetingly if he’d meant to seal her in that box alive or dead.

Ill, she remembered Jarred coming to the door and giving her that menacing kiss. He might have taken her then, but John and Tyler showed up. A chill ran up the length of her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She’d come so close to death three times. Each time she’d survived.

In the midst of all that had happened, she’d fallen in love with Sam, and he loved her. One thought rang in her head, she was one lucky woman.

“When will he be back? I need to see him,” she said on a yawn.

She closed her heavy eyelids for what she thought was a few seconds. When she opened them again, Sam stood in Jack’s place. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Sure enough, Sam stood before her, his face marred with frown lines and dark circles under his eyes.

“Some fake fiancé you are. It’s not nice to play tricks on someone with a concussion. I may be seeing double, but I know the difference between you and Jack. You can’t leave a copy of yourself and hope to pass it off as the real thing.” She smiled and held out her arms, waiting for him to come to her and hold her. He didn’t move. She dropped her arms, disappointed.

Carefully, she sat up in bed and waited for the room to stop spinning. Her focus restored, she took a good look at him. Clean-shaven, his hair still damp from his shower, he wore blue jeans, a dark gray T-shirt, and his black leather jacket. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the way he looked. Of course he was as handsome as ever, but something in his appearance wasn’t quite right. It hit her all at once. She’d never seen him without his badge and gun strapped to his belt. The solemn look in his eyes disturbed her even more.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” He’d never used that harsh tone with her.

“I did say something. I really would have rather woken up and seen you sitting by my bed. I know you were here with me all night. Every time I woke up, I felt better just knowing you were beside me. You look tired.”

“I look tired. That’s all you have to say. I look tired.”

“Sam, calm down. That isn’t all I have to say.” She wanted to tell him how much she loved him. He wasn’t ready to listen. She’d start with last night and work her way toward the rest of their lives. “Where are your gun and badge?” His eyes flashed with some emotion she couldn’t identify. Anger, frustration, maybe resignation.

“Deputy Director Davies has them. I gave them to him last night. Well, Jack gave him my gun. I turned over the badge myself.”

“Did you quit your job?” Please, Sam. Don’t quit your job. You love it.

“Let’s talk about something else. Are you in pain? You look like you’re in pain. I can get the doctor if you need something.”

About to lose it, she snapped, “Did you quit your job?” She hadn’t meant to raise her voice, but she couldn’t allow him to give up his life’s work. Pressing the heel of her hand to her head, she glared at him until he answered.

“Yes, damnit. I can’t do it anymore.” Sam turned his back on her, crossing his arms over his chest, shutting her out.

Deputy Director Davies and Tyler walked into the room. Their expressions turned grim when they felt the heavy tension in the room too. She intended to clear things up for everyone, especially Sam. Right this minute.

“Deputy Director Davies, I’m glad you’re here. I believe you’d like to take my statement about what happened last night.”

Sam kept his back to all of them, staring out the window. His shoulders and spine completely rigid. Even though her head throbbed, she had to make this right so she and Sam could move on with their lives.

She set her jaw and determination filled her eyes. Davies remembered the last time he’d come to take her statement about the first shooting. She’d given quite a performance that day, and he expected nothing less today. She’d put Sam in his place. He knew it. She looked pointedly at his coat pocket. The woman didn’t miss anything.

“Why don’t you start with when you met with Chainy in the ballroom, and he walked you out to the hallway? We have the recording of his confession that he was responsible for the insurance murders, as well as the attempted murder of you and Agent Turner. I’d like to hear about what happened when Sam caught up with you two in front of the emergency exit.”

Davies knew she wanted to start here. It would be difficult for her to recount, but she’d put things into perspective for Sam. He was too close to her. His emotions made it impossible for him to think rationally. Elizabeth had a knack for sorting things out and putting them into a logical order. She’d done it before, and he had no doubt she’d do it again. He was counting on it, in fact, because he didn’t want to lose one of his best agents.

She eyed Sam’s back and turned to both Deputy Director Davies and Agent Reed. She nodded to Davies and began.

“Let’s keep this simple. Chainy had his arm around my throat, choking me. I could barely breathe.” She touched her fingers to her sore throat. Taking a shaky breath, she went on determined to get it out and get Sam back. “He dragged me against him. With his head right next to mine, he held a gun pointed at my temple. He said he’d kill me, and we all know he meant to, whether in that hallway or once he got me through those doors and away from the hotel. Agent Turner”—she used his last name to let him know she took this seriously—“ordered Chainy to drop his weapon and let me go. Chainy wasn’t about to comply and wanted Agent Turner and the other agents to drop their weapons. Agent Turner followed protocol by identifying himself as an FBI agent, ordered Chainy to drop his weapon again, and with no other alternative but to kill Chainy, he shot him.”

Deputy Director Davies led her where she wanted to go. They both understood the only way this would work on Sam was to keep things on a professional level. There would be no misunderstanding her all-business tone, despite the sweat breaking out on her face.

“You do understand, Miss Hamilton, Agent Turner shot you.”

Sam’s shoulders slumped and his head went down a few notches. This must be so hard for him, but she’d make it right.

“He did not shoot me, Deputy Director Davies. He shot Chainy. My side happened to be in the way.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam turned around. She didn’t look at him, but kept her gaze on Deputy Director Davies and Tyler, who stood in front of her hospital bed, looking professional. They conducted the interview like they’d never met her.

“Agent Turner is, absolutely, one of the best agents the FBI has, and he would never shoot an innocent person. His aim was true. I did my best to get out of the way, but Chainy had quite a grip on my neck. I knew Agent Turner would have to shoot Chainy, and I even yelled for him to shoot him. At no time did I feel Agent Turner wouldn’t make the shot, or that my life was in any danger from Agent Turner, even if that meant he had to shoot through me to get Chainy.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam’s mouth drop and a surprised look took over his handsome but tired face.

“I expect the FBI will honor Agent Turner for the outstanding work he’s done the last two days, as well as Agent Reed. They’ve performed their duties in an outstanding manner and should be rewarded for their bravery and investigative work.”

“So you feel Agent Turner and Agent Reed protected you and solved both cases to the best of their ability.” Deputy Director Davies waited to hear her answer, his only response a slight tilting of his mouth at the corners.

Sam’s eyes went wide, shell-shocked by what she’d already said. She continued, never looking at him. “I assure you the entire Hamilton family, including myself, are grateful for the outstanding job Agent Turner and Agent Reed have performed. Agent Turner not only saved my life last night, but stopped my potential kidnapping by Jarred.” She paused to let that sink in with Sam before she continued. “I understand Agent Turner was not thinking clearly last night after the shooting. No doubt a traumatic incident, even for the most seasoned of agents. I understand he asked you to hold his badge for him.” Deputy Director Davies’s mouth turned up ever so slightly. “I think you’ll want to return that to him, in addition to his weapon. Agent Reed”—she waited for him to nod to her—“I expect you’ll need to take Agent Turner to the shooting range. His aim seems to be about an inch off.” She indicated her arm and side with a nod and a smirk. “Perhaps some practice will get him back on track.”

She smiled at Tyler. Sam’s aim was dead on, and they all knew it. She couldn’t help getting a little dig in at Sam and letting him see the humor in what happened.

Tyler winked. “I’ll be happy to escort him to the range for a proper tutorial, Miss Hamilton,” Tyler teased.

Deputy Director Davies laid Sam’s gun and badge at the foot of her bed, but she wasn’t quite finished yet. “Deputy Director Davies, I hope I’ve answered all your questions satisfactorily.” He nodded yes to her. “Please tell that internal investigator, what was his name, Vernet, I look forward to discussing Agent Turner with him again.” She gave Deputy Director Davies a wicked grin. She did look forward to sparing with that weasel. No one would ever hurt Sam, not if she could help it.

Deputy Director Davies shook his head. “Agent Vernet has been,” he held for a diplomatic pause, “reassigned.”

“Excellent. I’m sure whomever you send to conduct the internal investigation will be fair and open-minded. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to kiss your agent, and I’m sure you don’t want to be present, since getting involved with a witness is frowned upon by the Bureau.” She smiled at Deputy Director Davies and nodded her farewell.

Tyler, always up to something, sure enough started toward her, bent to kiss her, but Sam pushed him away.

“Don’t even think about it, Tyler. It appears I’m armed again, and I can only handle so many shootings in a matter of days.”

Blown away by Elizabeth, Sam hadn’t lost his mind enough to allow Tyler to kiss his future wife. She didn’t know it, but a diamond ring was burning a hole in his pocket. He’d come into her room ready to beg her forgiveness, and beg even more to make her his wife. He loved her. And job or no job, he wanted to make a life with her.

“I wanted to give her a kiss goodbye—on the cheek. Man, you are so uptight. Relax. Elizabeth is fine.” He leaned down to her. “I will miss your home cooking though. I’ve never eaten so well in my life.”

“You’re welcome at Decadence any time. I’ll have you to the house for dinner often. Once the new restaurant is open, you’ll have a seat whenever you like. You’ll be my guest at both restaurants. I mean it. I better see you there. Often.” She brushed her hand down his arm in a friendly gesture. Grabbing his shirt, she pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek as he’d wanted to do to her.

Tyler followed Deputy Director Davies out the door. Sam ran a hand over the back of his neck, overwhelmed. “Elizabeth, I . . .”

“Not so fast, buster. I don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry for what happened. You don’t owe me an apology. I made the decision to go last night and catch that evil bastard.”

She got up on her knees on the bed. Her head and side probably hurt like hell. In pain, she winced, but didn’t let it deter her from facing him and looking him right in the eye.

“Elizabeth, get back into bed. Listen . . .”

“Not one more word until you get over here and kiss me and hold me.” Her voice cracked.

Desperation laced her voice. She’d managed to get through talking with Davies with boldness and confidence, as if she’d been conducting a business meeting, but she’d used up all her stores of courage and needed him. He took the few steps to her and gathered her in his arms. She clung to him fiercely. He leaned down and kissed her like she’d asked. Gentle with her, he brushed a soft kiss against her lips, then pressed harder and drank her in. He pulled back but kept his arms around her, feeling the bandage around her breasts and ribs. The suffocating guilt overwhelmed him.

“Sweetheart . . .”

“If that sentence has the word sorry in it, I don’t want to hear it. As far as I’m concerned, this whole episode is over, and I’m closing the book on it.” Her voice turned serious. “I owe you my life, Sam. Thank you for what you did. Not only for last night, but for Jarred too. I can finally breathe easy knowing no one is out there trying to hurt or kill me.”

She held his face between her hands and leaned in and kissed him. “I love you,” she said against his lips, then took it deeper.

Sam couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to lay her down in bed and make love to her. He remembered the ring in his pocket and brought the kiss to an end with a nibble at her soft lips before he leaned away. She wouldn’t leave this room without making him a promise.

“I love you.” He kissed her gently again. “I have one problem. I’m tired of you calling me your fake fiancé.”

“No problem. You took care of my stalker fiancé. There’s no reason to carry on with the whole fake fiancé bit. I promise, I won’t make jokes about that anymore.” She crossed her heart with her index finger and leaned in to kiss him again.

He leaned back and dodged her lips. He needed to get this out. “That’s all well and good, but you see, I do like the fiancé part.”

“What? What are you talking about?” she asked, confused.

Anxious and feeling mischievous, he pushed her back onto her heels. The surprised look on her face helped ease his nerves. He kneeled beside the bed and took the ring out of his pocket. Holding it up to her with one hand, he held her other hand in his and said, “I love you, Elizabeth Hamilton. I want to make a life with you. I want to have a family and grow old with you. I can’t live without you. Will you marry me?”

She never took her eyes from his, even though he held a gorgeous diamond ring up to her. She couldn’t care less, and that said everything about her priorities.

A brilliant smile bloomed on her lips when she said, “Yes. Oh, yes, Sam, I’ll marry you.”

He let out a deep breath, slipped the ring on her finger, and stood and gathered her into his arms. Last night his future looked bleak and dark, and now he saw a bright and happy future with this woman, with his Elizabeth. He kissed her forehead and both her eyelids even as tears spilled down her cheeks. He wiped them away with the pads of his thumbs, careful of the swelling around her right eye. Kissing her cheeks, he finally found her mouth.

“Ellie Girl, your ass is hanging out the back of your gown.” The Judge covered a laugh with a cough.

Elizabeth didn’t care whether she was buck-naked standing on the Embarcadero in front of Pier 39 at that moment. She and Sam were getting married.

“John. That’s our daughter you’re talking about,” Rachel laughed out. “Elizabeth, darling, please cover yourself. Hello, Sam. How are you today?”

Sam held her face and kept his forehead to hers. Elizabeth settled back into bed. After covering her and making her comfortable, he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm. “I’m perfect, now.”

“Dad, Mom, Sam and I are getting married.” Her parents’ eyes lit up, and they both came to the bed and held her close.

“Congratulations, Elizabeth. I knew you two were perfect for each other,” Rachel said, beaming.

“Are you sure, Ellie Girl? I can have him locked up for something if you’d rather,” the Judge teased in a serious voice. “I’m sure I can frame him for something.”

“I’m sure, Dad. Sam is my future. We’re getting married, I’m going to open a new restaurant in his sister’s building, and soon we’ll have babies.” She smiled at Sam as he smiled back at her.

“Well, those are some big plans. We’ll get started on the wedding as soon as you’re well.” Rachel’s eyes went misty thinking of her little girl walking down the aisle.

“Dad, will you do a couple of things for me?”

“Sure, Ellie Girl, anything.”

“Go use that wonderful Hamilton clout and get me out of here. I’m going home with my fiancé.” She ran a hand over Sam’s hair and down his cheek. She wasn’t about to spend another minute without him, and she certainly didn’t want to spend another day lying around a hospital room.

“Elizabeth, you’re seriously injured, and you have a concussion. You can’t leave the hospital,” Sam said, worried about her.

“He’s right. If they won’t let you go home in a few days, I’ll spring you,” her father said lovingly. “What else do you want me to do? You want something else very much, and I can tell by the light in your eyes it’s a doozy.”

“You know me so well. I want you to marry Sam and I next Saturday at his family’s ranch in Colorado.”

“Elizabeth, we can wait until you’re feeling better,” Sam said, shocked she wanted to marry him immediately. “You have time to plan the wedding you want.”

“That is the wedding I want. I want to be married on the ranch you love with your family and my family. I don’t want to wait to be your wife.”

Her mother smiled down at her. “Elizabeth, a wedding on the family ranch is a splendid idea, but you haven’t considered a few details. Darling, you can’t be serious about doing it next Saturday. We have to get you a dress and order flowers and food, not to mention getting permission from Sam’s family to use the ranch and setting things up.”

“I’m sure between you, me, Jenna, and Summer we’ll get everything done. Sam, your family won’t mind, will they?”

“Hell no. They’ll be thrilled. I’d marry you anywhere, but the ranch is perfect. I have a house at the lake. We can stay there before and after the ceremony. Jack and Summer both have spare rooms for your brothers, and there’s the cabin for your parents. There’s plenty of room for everyone.”

“Sam, I love your enthusiasm,” Rachel chimed in, “but Elizabeth, you’ve forgotten something important. Your face. You don’t want all of your wedding photos to show your bruised and swollen face. I don’t think a week is enough time for it to heal.”

Elizabeth wanted to marry Sam right away, but she didn’t want to look back on their special day and have any of the past few days’ ordeal mar any part of their wedding.

“All right, make it three weeks, but not a day longer. I’m going to be Mrs. Sam Turner by the end of the month.”