Page 37 of Jason Bourne
Jason found me at the nurses’ station, his brows drawn. “Have you seen Forest?”
I shook my head, scanning the hallway. “Not since he took Marcie’s statement.”
“He disappeared ten minutes ago. Probably dodging Zoe. He looked like a man headed for the firing squad.”
I snorted. “Smart man. She can eat people alive when she wants to.”
Jason smirked, leaning in close. “Guess he’ll have to come out of hiding eventually.”
Behind us, Forest appeared down the hall, calm as ever, hands in his pockets like he hadn’t been missing at all. Zoe trailed him a few moments later, her hair a little mussed, but her stride pure steel.
“See?” Jason said. “Told you he’d surface.”
I gave him a sideways look. “And Zoe didn’t kill him. Miracles happen.”
Jason laughed, the sound rumbling warm in my chest, but something about the way Zoe avoided my eyes made me wonder what I’d missed.
I didn’t push. Not tonight.
Because Marcie was safe. Harris was still behind bars—for now. And Jason was at my side where he belonged.
The rest could wait.
43
LANE
The morning after the shootout, the whole town seemed to know what had happened. Word spread faster than wildfire on this mountain. By the time I stepped into the diner for coffee, half the locals had already turned to watch me.
“Deputy Brewer,” old Mrs. Kline called from her corner booth, “you been keepin’ us safe, I hear.”
I flushed. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”
She harrumphed. “Don’t play modest. Folks around here have been needing someone like you. A woman we can talk to. It’s tough to tell these hotshot SEALs what we think they ought to do. Now we have you.”
Her words stuck with me as I crossed to the counter. Jason was already there, sipping his coffee, that infuriatingly calm expression plastered on his face.
“Told you they’d come around,” he said quietly.
“I’m not sure I’ve come around,” I muttered. But when the waitress slid me a mug on the house, I felt the warmth sink deeper than the coffee.
Forest, Fraiser, Nate, and Rush filed in next, drawing nods and waves from the regulars. Zoe slipped in behind them, already thumbing through a case file, pretending not to notice the way Forest’s gaze lingered a little too long. She’d still been asleep when I left the house, so her sudden appearance didn’t surprise me—Zoe always had her own timing.
Jason leaned closer, his arm brushing mine. “This is it, Lane. This is what it looks like when you belong somewhere.”
I looked around—the chatter, the nods, the quiet sense of respect that wasn’t given lightly up here. And for the first time since I pinned on the badge, I believed him.
I turned to Zoe. “Be back in two weeks. Jason asked me to marry him, and I’ve decided to say yes.”
Jason stood, grinned like a fool, and swept me off my feet. His kiss landed hard and sure, five years of stubbornness and waiting finally crashing down to nothing. The diner erupted in cheers and a few wolf whistles.
A throat cleared. We turned to find Mrs. Kline watching us with the satisfaction of a matchmaker. “We’ll have the wedding in the town center so the whole mountain can come watch our Deputy Sheriff marry one of our very own SEALs.”
I frowned. “I was thinking a small wedding.”
“Do you want Frasier Mountain residents to have their feelings hurt?”
I sighed, but couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my mouth. “I guess not. Fine. I’ll let you and the other ladies take care of the wedding while I take Harris to the city with Zoe.”
