“Beth, Lily.”
“Why are you wearing that?” Lily asked, standing up, her face turning pale.
“Because I’m an ATF Special Agent. I’ve been undercover since I took over your father’s church. It’s taken me this long, and over forty agents, to shut down a pipeline which carried drugs and firearms through nine different states.”
When Lily’s pale face flushed with color, Shade knew she was remembering the different times she had confided in the pastor she admired.
Lucky continued, “When Cash joined the military, he never forgot you two. He was especially sickened with Beth’s treatment, and he knew it wouldn’t be much longer before Lily would be receiving the same. Shade’s father, Will Hunter, had retired, so Cash asked him to stop by Treepoint to check on you two.”
Lily’s eyes flew to Shade at the mention of his father, the former sheriff.
“I was going to tell you when Dad came back into town next week. Think, Lily; why would I hide that from you when I’ve confessed to much worse than that?”
Lily nodded. Thankfully, she seemed to believe he was telling the truth.
“When he stayed here those few days, Will decided he liked it enough to stay indefinitely. He and his wife both were tired of moving around so much and wanted a break from it.
“They settled here, and as you both know, it wasn’t long before he gained enough respect to become sheriff. That’s where his military training came in handy. He soon discovered the pipeline and notified the proper authorities.” Dean walked farther into the office, leaning against the corner of Knox’s desk.
“This is where the conversation becomes confidential.” Lucky stared at both of the women, giving them a silent warning. “I had left the military and joined The Last Riders. I had been in the Seals and had served as a military chaplain, but when I left the service, I no longer felt the call to serve as a pastor, so I left that part of my life behind. But I wasn’t content. I missed the action of being in the military, so when the CIA approached The Last Riders to become a paramilitary group, we accepted.
“That’s how we ended up in Treepoint to begin an investigation. The ATF offered me a position as a Special Agent to lead the investigation, but I had to go undercover to do so. The people who had begun developing leads ended up dead, so I waited for a way to enter the community that would be above suspicion.”
Beth cut in. “Our parents’ deaths created the perfect opportunity.” Her face had gone as white as Lily’s as she gazed at Razer.
“Sadly, yes. I’m sorry.” Dean paused then continued, “I became Pastor Dean and began my investigation. It’s taken me all these years to gather enough evidence to win my cases. I was a week away from making my arrests. I even had the warrants ready to go, but it all came crashing down today. “
“Why today?” Beth asked.
Shade silently watched Lily’s reaction to Lucky’s bombshell, knowing Lily only wanted to get away.
“Because of Lily. We pooled all our available resources together, but to do that, I had to break my cover.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily said. Even after learning she had been betrayed by Dean, she was apologizing.
“Thanks to Shade’s quick thinking, we were able to serve the warrants in a two-hour mass bust and arrested three-fourths of the people we were after, and we’re confident we’ll be able to locate the remaining ones.”
“How?” Lily asked, visibly relieved.
“We had interagency cooperation. It was one of the deals Shade made for The Last Riders. In return, they sold the pending patents’ right to a technical computer system for pennies on the dollar than they would have made.
“One of the conditions was that they had to use their technology to help find you.”
It was the use of the planes which had cost both him and Lucky. It required special clearance and technology which were only used to find terrorists in other countries. Unless the agencies all agreed, with the permission granted by an office of extreme power, they would have never found her in time. When Lily’s location had been pinpointed, the Porters had been close by and had moved in with enough fire power and skill to save her.
“When you were located, the Porters were the closest. That’s how they got there first. They’re never going to let us live it down. They want Dustin’s record expunged for their cooperation. I’ll see they get what they want. They deserve it.” Lucky stood up straight, looking at Lily.
Lily took a shuddering breath, stepping forward. She reached up, kissing Lucky on his cheek. “Thank you.”
Shade stood hastily. No matter how hard he tried and what he owed for Lucky’s help, he couldn’t stand to see her touch him.
“Don’t you dare,” Lily said, pointing a finger at him.
Shade managed to control himself, taking a seat back in the vacant chair.
“I think you just returned the favor,” Dean said, smiling at Lily.
When Beth would have gotten up, Razer pressed her back down in her chair with a hand on her shoulder.
“I have to go. I still have a lot of reports to finish today. I also have to find a new minister for the church.” Lucky smiled wryly.
“You never know … You missed the military when you left it; you may miss the church,” Lily said hopefully.
Dean looked at both sisters briefly before going to the door and opening it. “Perhaps. I was blessed to meet two angels, so miracles can happen. We’ll have to wait and see,” he said, closing the door behind him.
“Show-off,” Shade said, standing up. “I called you an angel first, remember that.”
Lily laughed, breaking the tension. “Can we go home now?”
“Yes,” Shade said, still irritated
“Can I make a stop on the way and see my dad?” Lily asked.
“Yes.” Shade personally thought the man who had kidnapped Lily deserved to be behind bars. He didn’t give a fuck if he had only done it to keep Lily safe from his enemy. Lily’s father King had been the one the ambulance had been called for, having been shot before the Porters had arrived.
Lily laughed at his short responses, reaching up to kiss him on his cheek. “Does that make it better?”
He smiled down at her as he put his arm around her shoulders. Fuck no, he thought to himself, but it will do until we get home.
Lily turned to her sister. “Would you like to go, Beth?”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to meeting him. When I first saw him, when he brought you, Dad said he was from the adoption agency.”
“That reminds me, Lily. That strongbox you found contained your fake birth certificate. Cash sent it off to a buddy of his, and they tracked down your real one. It came in the afternoon mail.” Knox handed it to her.
Lily took the envelope and stared down at it. Shade placed his arm around her shoulder, leading her out of the office. She didn’t need the paper. Lily was Beth’s sister, his wife, friends with a group which had sacrificed millions of dollars to keep her safe. No, she didn’t need it any longer. Shade had already known that when he had told Knox to send for a copy of it for her. Lily would have it for when she needed it, but other than that, it was just a piece of paper.
Neither parent listed on that certificate deserved the child they had created. One was dead, and the other deserved to be for the childhood Lily had suffered.
She wanted to give King a chance, and because Lily wanted it, Shade would try to bury his feelings. If the fucker screwed up again, however, then he would be the one buried.
* * *
Shade lay on his side in the bed, watching Lily brush her hair.
“What’s going to happen to him?” she asked.
“Not much, since you’ve already told Knox you weren’t kidnapped, and it was just a family reunion. Several government agencies aren’t very happy with you right now.”
Lily shrugged, not concerned. “How about that man who was after him?”
“He’s a different matter. Since he believes in letting everyone do
his dirty work for him, he wasn’t hurt. He’s in Knox’s jail, waiting for the Texas Rangers to come and get him. I imagine he’s planning more song and dance, holding the whereabouts of those women to himself.”
Digger, the man responsible for the attempts on Lily’s life, was a piece of shit who had mistakenly assumed he was capable of outsmarting everyone.
“I hope not. I’m going to pray for him to let those women go tonight.”
“You do that, Lily. I have a feeling he’s going to need your prayers tonight,” Shade said, stroking her back.
Digger was going to need more than prayers; he was going to need a miracle.
Lily set her hairbrush on the table then stood up, her violet eyes staring down into his. “It’s my turn.”
Shade’s grin widen as he scooted over on the bed, patting the mattress. During the short time they had been married, when they had sex, Lily preferred for him to make love to her gently. The newness of their relationship and being around the women club members had her instinctively needing the reconfirmation of his feelings for her. He understood and didn’t care how he had her.
Lily shook her head. “Uh-uh. I want you to stand up.”