At last, the ADA’s hands inched into the air. Another agent rushed forward and dragged Mia out of the booth as more agents swarmed in.
Four men were on the ground with FBI decked out in head-to-toe swat gear kneeling on their backs.
Half a dozen agents rushed the ADA and pinned him to the booth.
Mia clutched at her dress, pulling the scraps up to hide her naked breasts, as she ran out of the bar and to safety.
25
DAMIEN
His hands couldn’t wrap around her fast enough. Mia shook and trembled as the tears slipped down her face.
“It’s okay, you’re safe.” Damien kissed her hair and smoothed her back as she held the tatters of her dress over her chest. Huge, shaking sobs started deep inside her and Damien crushed her against his body.
Seeing Mia fall apart was worse than torture. “You were so brave, babe. And it’s over. They’ve got him. He can’t hurt you.”
She buried her face in his shoulder. “Th-they w-eren’t coming in…I kept trying, but they weren’t coming in…Did I get enough?” She sobbed out the words between giant gulps of air.
“I don’t know, Mia. I don’t know.” He would give anything to trade places with her. She had been so brave to walk into that restaurant all alone. To sit there and offer herself up to a man like Willows. His stomach turned just thinking about it.
Damien shrugged out of his shirt and slipped it over her head. Let the FBI get a good look at his tats and scars. He’d earned every damn one, but none compared to the pain and suffering his woman had just gone through.
The mother of his unborn child deserved to be put on a fucking pedestal, not almost killed under the FBI’s watch. Listening to her egg that bastard on made Damien almost explode.
He ran his hands through her hair, over and over in soft, gentle strokes, until an agent stopped beside them.
“We’ve got a safe house two miles from here. If you would come with us, we’ll debrief you on the way.”
Damien nodded and scooped Mia up into his arms. Carrying her into the waiting van might be overkill, but he wasn’t taking a chance with her. Not ever again.
Five hours later, an exhausted Mia snuggled up against his chest on a couch in an FBI-provided hotel room.
Her hair was still wet from the shower and her skin smelled dewy and fresh. He wanted to stay like that, just the two of them, and help her forget everything she’d been through.
The phone rang. Damn it. He answered.
“It’s Agent Clausen. Thanks to Mia’s work today, we secured a full confession from Steven Willows. He agreed to roll on Marcelo in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.”
Damien frowned. He’d have liked to see the man put out of his misery. Prison would have to do. “And Marcelo?”
“We conducted a sting this afternoon in an attempt to apprehend him. Unfortunately, he was killed in a shootout with our agents. We have a majority of his employees in custody. The rest are being tracked down.”
“So it’s over?”
“The judge signed off on your immunity agreements. You are both in the clear for any prosecutions.”
Damien exhaled. It was more than he’d dared to hope for.
“You’ll need to testify against Willows in a few months when he stands trial, but our office is working with the Federal Marshals to secure your new identities.”
“Thank you, Agent Clausen.”
The agent paused. “How is she?”
Damien glanced down at the woman who’d changed his whole world. “She’ll be fine.”
“Good. We’ll be in touch tomorrow. Enjoy your night.”
Damien ended the call and wrapped his arms around Mia. “It’s all over. Marcelo is dead. The ADA gave him up in exchange for the feds not pursuing the death penalty.”
Mia sat up. “What about us?”
Damien smiled. “Full immunity.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Thanks to you, I’m no longer a wanted man.”
“You should be thanking Melanie. She’s the one who made it possible.”
Damien glanced at the locket lying on the side table. An agent had recovered it from the scene and delivered it that afternoon. He hadn’t put a bullet in Willows’ head, but he’d done better. With Mia, they had managed to take down the man his sister had been after so many years ago.
It wouldn’t bring her back, but it meant she died for something worthwhile. He closed his eyes and saw her warm smile back when they were young, before the world snuffed it out.
With a jagged exhale, he turned his attention back to the present.
Even with scrapes and bruises and dark circles under her eyes, Mia was the most beautiful woman in the world. “I might not be the man you thought you’d end up with, but I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for my past, Mia.”