Page 69 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

There had to be more. He hadn’t planned on it, but he had fallen hard for this vulnerable, yet smart and sexy, woman. She had stood up in the face of adversity and was about to win. They had to have a future together.

But this wasn’t the time to think about that.

He finally broke away from Savannah, as much as he hated to. He looked down at her ecstatic face.

“Here’s what I want to do now. I intend to take this recording to the police, of course, but first I want to get a copy of it. I know enough cops I can trust, including Spencer and my brother Rafe’s fiancée, Kerry. But I want to make sure this doesn’t get misplaced, intentionally or otherwise.”

“Great idea,” Savannah said, still smiling but a bit less so. “Where will you get it copied? Do you have any equipment that’ll do it in your office, or do you know someone you trust enough to do it?”

He nodded. “I may not adore all my family members, but most of us do care enough to help each other whenever possible. My brother Callum is a bodyguard, and you wouldn’t think someone like him would have technological equipment as part of his profession, but Callum does. I’ll call him from my car and head to his office. I don’t know if he’s working at the moment, but unless there’s something going on right now, he’ll meet me there and we’ll get this copied right away.”

“Sounds good.” But Savannah’s tone didn’t sound as enthused as before.

“It is,” he said. “I want you to stay here, where it will be safer. Even if you get your disguise on, I don’t want the cops to see you until I turn the recording over to them and they have a chance to listen to it. I’ll come get you then, okay?”

“Sure.” Savannah looked up at him again. “But make it fast. Please. I can’t wait till I’m cleared and this is all behind me.”

“Me, too.” Grayson unplugged the recorder.

He took Savannah into his arms then and gave her a long, deep, celebratory kiss.

“Hey, girl,” he said when the kiss ended and he had stepped back just a little, looking down into her gorgeous green eyes. “In case you can’t guess, I’ve fallen for you. Hard. See you soon.”

“And I’ve fallen for you, too,” she said, making him smile.

Then he left.

* * *

Savannah paced the inside of the bunker after Grayson left. She wanted to clap, to cheer, to run outside and restart her life. With Grayson in it. Forever.

But she knew it was too soon.

After Grayson got everything handled, took a copy of the recording to the police and made sure they listened to the right part, he would return here for her. He’d promised.

In the meantime, she simply had to wait.

Not so simply, though. She at last had more than hope. This horrible time would soon be over.

For now, she just needed to be patient.

Right.

Grayson hadn’t been gone long, and Savannah needed to occupy her mind as she waited. She spent a few minutes sitting on one of those folding chairs and checking things on her burner phone but nothing captured her interest. She put the phone down on the chair beside her.

Work on Grayson’s first responder website idea? She wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

She wasn’t hungry, so she didn’t try eating another of those sandwiches.

Looking around, she spotted the tall, thick bookcase that didn’t look as it if belonged out here in this former mineshaft. The shelving looked potentially unstable and likely to collapse on this uneven floor and spew the many kinds of books on it onto the vinyl tiles. It seemed surprising that it hadn’t toppled in the earthquake a few days ago, but maybe the shaking hadn’t been too bad right here.

Who knew when Grayson had brought the bookcase to this bunker? It had probably been when he was a kid, and she gathered that it hadn’t fallen over yet. Or at least he hadn’t mentioned it, and she saw no damaged parts.

In any case, she approached it for the first time and looked more closely at the books on it. They ranged from thrillers to biographies and travel guides to all sorts of countries.

To her own surprise, she picked out a fiction book that was apparently about a first responder. She was fascinated not only by Grayson h

imself, but also what he did.

---