Page 92 of Montana Freedom

I hit my knees beside him, Emma still with me. “Phillips. Why?”

He groaned, the words strained. “Simon shoots for the head. I couldn’t let that happen. He’s dead?”

“He’s dead. We need to get you back and to a hospital.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Keep pressure on it.” He was bleeding, but the bullet was still in his leg and blocking the flow. As long as he got to a hospital soon, he would be okay. I clicked on my radio. “This is Daniel. I’m with Phillips, half a mile to the south. He’s been shot in the leg. We need medical support and a stretcher. Simon Derine is dead.”

For three heartbeats, there wasn’t any response. Then Noah’s voice crackled through. “En route to you. And when we get home and all of this is over, we’re going to have a conversation about you going off alone like that, got it?”

“Got it.” He had every right to call me out. It hadn’t been the right move, and I knew that. The three of us were lucky to be alive. Right now, I didn’t care.

I pulled Emma to me and held her while we waited for the lights to appear. Not long after, they did, the FBI reaching Phillips and helping him and then taking possession of Simon’s body, handing me the keys to Emma’s cuffs that he’d had in his pocket.

Time seemed suspended. All I wanted was to take Emma somewhere alone where I could hold her and revel in our passion for each other over and over again until we were satisfied—which was going to take a while.

They wanted to check us out too, but we were fine. They could check us out as long as I didn’t have to move away from Emma. Still, we hung back behind the others.

I turned her to me and kissed her. I kissed her with everything that had been inside me since I’d realized that she was missing and that I loved her. Ilovedher.

And she loved me. She’d told me, and I’d barely even processed it.

“I love you,” I breathed. “I love you and I have loved you, and for whatever reason, it didn’t surface until I saw that tracker driving away. I’ve beenout of mymind, Emma.”

She clung to me, fingers digging into my shirt. “I meant what I said. I love you, and you’re the thing that kept me alive. If I died, I knew it was going to be fighting because of you.”

I kissed her again, wrapping her up in my arms so tightly it almost hurt. “You left a trail for me.”

“It was a long shot. But you saved my life, Daniel. Again.”

I pressed my forehead against hers. “Simon is gone. Agent Jones is in jail, which I’ll tell you about, and you’re free, Emma. You’re free to go wherever you want and do whatever you want.”

I knew what I wanted, and I’d never been surer about anything in my life. But Emma had all of hers in front of her, and if she wanted to go elsewhere, I would support her even if it destroyed me inside.

“I want to come home,” Emma whispered. “I don’t want to leave.”

“Thank god,” were the only words I could get out before I kissed her again. “I don’t ever want you to leave, Emma. Stay with me. I’ll build you a bigger house, and you can do whatever you want with your life. There are no limits. I just want you to do it with me.”

She reached her arms around my neck. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Hey!” Liam called from the direction of the camp. “You two lovebirds want to come assure people you’re still alive?”

I kept my arm around Emma’s body and her tight against my side as we walked. She had her fingers wrapped and her head checked, but we would be seeing Dr. Gold as soon as we got back.

Now that the FBI and SWAT were on the ground, it was nice to relinquish the responsibility. Phillips would live and had already been bundled into a car and was being driven to the nearest hospital. There were prisoners—men from the Riders who had surrendered and who I was sure would make a deal with the FBI. But with Simon’s network still in place for the moment, who knew if they would be safe in witness protection?

Hours later, after the FBI took our statements, we were ready to go. They would contact me later about being the one to shoot Simon, I was sure. But I didn’t regret it. He was about to kill Emma and me.

Still, we were dragging on our feet as we got back into the helicopter. Emma and I were pressed against each other, her leaning her head on my shoulder. If I could keep her in my house and in my arms for a solid week, I would.

Liam chuckled over the headset. “You guys trying to become a single being over there?”

“I didn’t realize that was an option,” Emma said sleepily. “If it is, we’ll investigate it.”

A laugh burst out of Liam. “Good to know. I’m glad you’re okay, Emma.”

“Thanks.”

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