Page 121 of When He Protects

The blue lights from the patrol cars were flashing in a bright swirl. She ignored the lights. And the cops. And everything but Tyler. “You won’t be,” she promised him. She’d found her hero. Esme did not intend to let him go.

“You’re my non-negotiable,” he told her. “Forever.”

He kissed her and all of the terrible fear, the pain, the grief that had nearly smothered her since she’d left the motel—it finally vanished. There was no room for anything but happiness. Hope.

And love.

Sometimes, maybe the good guy did fall for the bad girl.

Sometimes, you meet someone…and you know right away that the person is trouble.

Sometimes, you could also meet someone and know you were staring at your forever.

Tyler was her forever. “Je t’aime,” she told him. “Je t’aime.”

I love you.

Epilogue

“I have something for you.”

Esme sent a slow, seductive grin Tyler’s way. She was currently sitting on the edge of Grayson’s desk in the FBI office while they waited for Grayson to come and give them a final report, but if Tyler was in the mood to play, she could certainly enjoy some fun with him.

He bent down on one knee before her.

She lost her grin. “What are you doing?”

He opened his hand. “Thought you might like this back.”

Her ruby ring—her grandmother’s ruby ring—lay nestled in his palm. “Tyler!”

“And, uh, I was also thinking…maybe you’d like to…date me?”

She took the ring. Slid it back onto her finger.

“After we dated a while, we could?—”

“Tyler.” She cut through his words by sighing his name. “You married me first, and now you want to date me?” A pretend marriage, granted, but it could not be forgotten.

He was still on one knee. “I actually want to marry you. For real this time.”

Wild hope flared inside of Esme.

“But I’m trying not to rush you. The Feds and the CIA have just completely cleared your name.”

They probably shouldn’t havecompletelycleared her name because she had been guilty of some crimes.A few.Maybe more than a few. But the people in charge had been overeager to make amends, especially since one of their own—Thaddeus Caldwell—had been as dirty as sin. The joint task force had gotten to work on Esme’s behalf. They’d erased all references to her being the Fox from the dark web. They’d also put out a trail of breadcrumbs that indicated the deceased Thaddeus had actually been the Fox.

After all, you couldn’t put a bounty on a person who was already dead.

Esme was free and clear. She’d agreed to provide more information to Grayson and his team. Because she was helpful like that.

Grayson had been patched up at the hospital. He’d been pissed as hell at Thaddeus, and with Grayson’s testimony—plus the recorded evidence that Ronan had gotten because, yes, he had been wired—Esme and Tyler were both being celebrated for bringing down some very dangerous individuals.

Esme wasn’t exactly sure which government agency Ronan had really been working for while he played the role of a hired killer. Though it was certainly a role he’d played well.

At the first opportunity, Ronan had apologized for drugging her. And for not contacting Tyler sooner. It seemed Ronan had waited a while on contacting Tylerbecause he’d needed to be absolutely sure Jorlan would be alone for their meeting. Once the location had been secured and Jorlan’s presence guaranteed,thenRonan had texted Kane and Tyler.

Apparently, Ronan hadn’t trusted Esme not to blow his cover, so he hadn’t told her that she wasn’t in danger from him. She had no idea where he would have gotten the idea that she was not the most trustworthy woman on the planet.

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