“Don’t say anything,” he says, holding up a hand. “Let me apologize for this. For Rena. For getting you mixed up in this. For taking too long getting here.”
I wave my arm to the helicopter and police vehicles. “I did this. This is my fault, Lincoln. I made a deal with Rufio. They’d take me as human capital and you and Turner would be free from all of this drama.”
He narrows his eyes. “You really didn’t think I knew about that, Maeve? Really? I’d hoped you would tell me on your own, but of course I knew. All those conversations are recorded in jail. It was given as evidence almost immediately.”
I look away, embarrassed. “I wanted to tell you, but I wanted to keep you safe. I felt responsible because she’s my sister.” I nearly choke on the word. “I should have told you.”
He sighs long and hard. “You should have, but I understand why you didn’t. I’m at fault too. I’ve been chasing the cartel for weeks. We’ve been after Rena for more than one reason. Every time she flew here to stalk you and us, she was transporting drugs. A lot of drugs. That’s why I was able to get in on the investigation. They needed our help in taking them down. Hunting them down.”
Now it makes sense why Rena’s boss let her do whatever she wanted. She was doing him favors. Big ones. “Wow,” I admit, circling my wrist. “That’s where you were at when you couldn’t tell me?”
He nods. “At least I knew she wasn’t fucking with you and Turner if I was hunting her and her men. This is the biggest drug bust in U.S. history. Rena managed to successfully evade authorities for so long because she was so unpredictable. Because she was also obsessing over… us.”
“We’re to blame. Great,” I deadpan.
Lincoln picks up my left hand and slides my ring back on. “The man that brought you out found it next to you and handed it to me. I assume the answer is yes now that we have no secrets between us?”
“You still want… me?” My voice trembles. “After I abandoned you after the helicopter crash?” My gaze lands on the chopper in the field and I close my eyes. Saviors, not foes, I remind myself. “I will spend my whole life making it up to you and Turner.”
Lincoln looks away sheepishly. “That was a little me, too. They told me if you and I had a little distance between us, the cartel wouldn’t suspect a hit this big.” His cheeks flare red. “I’ll never not want you. Sure, I was upset, but I was upset for a lot of reasons, but I would never truly turn away from you, Maeve.”
“I don’t know what I did to deserve your love, but I’m not going to be afraid of it any longer,” I whisper.
He wipes at my face, but he’s wearing rough, brown gloves, so he apologizes. “Ah, out of habit. Here,” he says, taking off a glove and then using his actual thumb instead. “How does it feel? Catching the world’s most notorious drug smuggler?”
“How does it feel for you,” I counter. “Turner’s mom.” It comes out like chalk because the woman I just spent time with resembles a lot of things, and a mother is not one of them.
He shakes his head proudly. “You’re Turner’s mom.”
I smile, and even though I don’t feel like I deserve that honor, I fully intend on embracing the role. “Okay,” I say.
Lincoln’s returning smile is something for the record books. “This probably isn’t allowed while I’m working, but I can’t resist.” Leaning over, slowly, ever so slowly, he presses his lips against mine. They’re warm, they’re trembling, they’re home.
The kiss makes me more emotional than I was moments before, and tears sneak out. “I love you.” Then snot happens, and he holds my face, pulling away, hitting me with the same smile.
“God, I love you, Maeve Ahern. More than words.”
“I love you too,” I say, sucking the snot back up, and feeling like a bedraggled mess. “How did you find me?”
He looks caught, pressing his lips together. His gaze flicks to my neck. “Well, I assumed you’d take off the ring, but I knew you wouldn’t take this off.” He rolls the lighthouse between his fingers. All three of us found you,” he says. “I had a tiny tracker that gave general GPS coordinates installed before I gave it to you. We’ve been following Rena for weeks, and the damn neighbor could have ruined everything by tipping you off.”
That makes me smile. “Riley. I mean, she is pretty obsessed with you, do you expect anything less? You’re the resident man candy in the hood. Should I feel exploited, because I don’t. I’m so glad it happened this way.”
He levels me with a look. “No, thank you.”
“Fine, fine.” I wipe my nose with my sleeve. “What will happen next?”
His gear makes a lot of noise as he shifts position. “You’re going to be in interviews for the rest of the day I’m sure. I’ll meet you at the house tonight. I know that thing is big enough to hold one more. My boss won’t say anything about me spending the night with you after what happened today. Right now, I need to get back to our makeshift base to file the reports. I’ll be as quick as I can. I want to be with you.”
“In the helicopter? You have to ride in the helicopter?”
He nods, smile fading from his face. With the hand that’s still ungloved, he strokes the side of my face. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I won’t,” I say, and for the first time, I mean it. “Today changed everything. I’m not scared anymore. I could have lost you forever and the thought was unbearable even if I thought I was doing it for you.”
Lincoln smiles warmly and looks devastatingly handsome. “You’re really doing it for me right now,” I admit.
He laughs. “Who would have thought it would take an actual rescue mission to get you fully on board. If I knew earlier, I would have staged something. I’m sure Isaac would have agreed.”