“Are you the feds?” one of the gamblers asked in horror.
“All of you stay exactly where you are. Nobody move!” Seth ordered, weapon drawn. “Go find him,” he whispered to Linc.
Linc nodded and darted back into the darkness toward the back wall of the stage platform. He noticed another door off to his right. Slightly ajar. He sprinted for it and jumped into the room, turning to slam the light switch. It was a small dressing room, and Ricky whirled around in a blinking daze. He was doubled over on his knees in the closet, surrounded by stacks of costumes and accessories he had haphazardly yanked out. Ricky’s hands were buried in an antique chest, and when Linc stepped closer, he saw that it was filled with cash.
“You again.” Ricky sighed, looking deflated.
They could both hear the police backup arriving, pouring through the backstage area and audible on the other side of the heavy red curtain in the lounge. The lights all flickered back on. Seth came running into the dressing room, handcuffs ready, with a trail of cops behind him.
“I got this! Get Gentry!” Seth yelled.
Linc spilled out of the room, looking around through the groups of officers in uniform and the employees moving about the backstage area now. He heard Gentry call out over the din.
“Lincoln!” she cried.
He turned to see her at the back of the stage platform, looking down at him with tearful eyes. His heart leapt into his throat as he moved like lightning to reach her. He stretched his strong arms out to her and she all but jumped into his embrace. He caught her easily and swung her down, wrapping her in his arms and kissing the top of her head. She still smelled like strawberry shampoo. Like heaven. Like home.
“I saw you just… just before the dark,” she panted against his chest.
“You’re safe now. I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair.
Seth came running up to them and Gentry lit up. She opened her arms so that both men could hug her close. They held her while the world spun around them. The cops arrested Ricky, who didn’t put up a fight once he realized he’d been caught. The storeroom gamblers were filed out, as well, but the officers took care to keep them shielded as much as possible from the crowds as they cleared the building.
In the midst of it all, without any thought to who was watching, Gentry leaned up on tiptoe to kiss Linc on the lips. She then turned to Seth and did the same, and Linc felt his heart pound with adoration for her, respect for Seth, joy for the magic they had discovered in this spectacular woman. They held her and kissed her and murmured the words they’d all been feeling in every heartbeat since the moment they first met.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too”
“I love you both.”
All the details could be sorted out later. Linc and Seth knew the case was almost over now. They had all the necessary pieces, and they trusted their fellow officers to take it home.
For now, they had someone else to take home.
Epilogue
Gentry
THREE MONTHS LATER...
“It’s the kind of magic love, like I always dreamed of,” Gentry sang, her fingertips stroking dulcet notes from the piano keys in harmony. “The sweetest break I ever knew was when my heart split clean in two.”
She looked up from the piano to smile at Linc and Seth, who were lounging on the sofa in the living room listening to her play. She paused and picked up her pencil to scribble a note in the margins of her sheet music.
“What do you think so far?” she asked.
“Beautiful,” Seth said.
“Incredible,” Linc agreed.
Gentry giggled and stood up. “You guys would never tell me if it was terrible anyway, would you?” she teased.
“As if you could ever produce something terrible.” Seth snorted dubiously.
“See? I’m going to have to ask Faith for an honest opinion,” she said, sauntering over to them on the couch.
Faith was her new manager, who’d taken over for Ricky. She was a lively, energetic woman who was more supportive and well-connected than Ricky had ever been. Not to mention, she was easier to talk to.