He takes his hand off of my face and runs it through his hair. The short strands stand up in a mess and I realize he must have been doing that a lot recently.
“You kept closing your eyes and all I could do was sit there next to you, helpless, holding my hand to your shoulder. Promise me you’ll never throw yourself in front of another bullet again. I don’t know if my heart could take it.”
Speaking of his heart . . .
“Did you really tell me you love me, or did I imagine that?” I whisper.
He smiles, reaching over and grabbing the hand of my arm that isn’t bandaged and bringing it up to his mouth. He closes his eyes and kisses my hand.
He moves my palm to the side of his face and holds it in place before opening his eyes again and smiling at me. “You didn’t imagine it. I love you.”
I smile back at him and instinctively know he’s telling the truth. About everything—his conversation with Ted and how he feels about me.
“Did you really mean it when you told me you loved me back, or was it just because of the blood loss?”
Hearing the wariness in his voice surprises me. Dallas has always been such a force of nature, so strong and sure of himself. Seeing him vulnerable like this tugs on my heart.
“Don’t worry; the blood loss only gave me the courage to say it out loud,” I tell him with a smile.
He gets up from the chair and leans forward, pressing his lips to mine.
“You did it, baby. You solved a murder,” he tells me happily as he pulls away and looks at me.
I did, didn’t I? It feels good to know I made the right decision with my life for once. I took a gamble and it paid off. Sure, I got shot in the process, but I found Richard’s killer and fell in love all at the same time.
“Oh, your mom stopped by earlier. She apologized again for being a bitch to me at dinner. What is going on with her? She seems like a completely different person. It’s a little scary,” Dallas says.
The nurse walks in the room then and sticks a needle into my IV, letting me know the pain I’m feeling will be gone in seconds and to call her if I need anything.
“My mother is going through a phase,” I tell him with a smile as the nurse leaves the room, remembering the words my mother said to me about my hair at dinner.
“I think it’s more than a phase. She asked me if I had any cute single friends.” Dallas laughs with a shake of his head.
I feel the medicine coursing through my veins and a pleasant, numb feeling takes over my body. My head feels heavy and my eyes start to droop. All in all, getting shot was worth it.
“Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up. I love you,” Dallas whispers.
Letting my eyes close, I feel his lips against my cheek and I allow the pain medication to pull me under.
Before I doze off, I hear the faint sound of Dallas’s voice one more time.
“Don’t be mad, but I’m never letting you out of my sight, ever again,” he whispers.
Shame on him for thinking I’d be mad about that now.
EPILOGUE
Three months later . . .
Can you idiots all shut up for a minute; I need to make my speech,” Kennedy tells the room loudly.
Everyone stops talking and stares at her. She holds up her champagne glass and we all do the same. Just like usual, all of our friends and family are gathered in the office of Fool Me Once Investigations to toast to the end of another case.
Stephanie and Melinda were both arrested for the murder of Richard Covington, but Melinda immediately confessed to everything. She reiterated the fact that Stephanie knew nothing of her plans and that she was completely innocent. It took a few days for the police to verify her statements, and after that, Stephanie was free to go.
Melinda is still in jail awaiting trial and last I heard, Stephanie wasn’t planning on ever visiting her. Something about the drab color of the jail putting the third star of Jupiter in her energy field. Since the story of Richard’s murder being solved made the news, Stephanie had no choice but to come out of the closet. Unfortunately for Melinda, she’ll be waiting a long time for Stephanie to ever thank her for clearing her name. Stephanie is now dating a nutritionist from her gym named Wendy.
The board of directors from Richard’s company was so pleased with the speed with which the case was solved that it decided to foot the bill for the police department and upon my insistence, Dallas and I split the fee right down the middle.
Looking over at my friends, I see the diamond engagement ring sparkling on Kennedy’s finger as Griffin puts his arm around her shoulders. Paige and Matt have their arms around each other too. Kennedy’s brothers, Ted and Bobby, are sitting at Paige’s desk and mine with their feet on top of them. Kennedy’s father, Buddy, and her uncle Wally are bickering with each other in the corner, and Paige’s mom and Matt’s dad are holding hands, sitting on a couple of chairs by the front door.