Page 128 of Shadow

Sabrina approached and motioned for the service hallway. “Let’s go into Tyson’s office,” she whispered.

In the office, Ripley dropped onto the couch, and Olivia sat next to him. Sabrina slipped out, saying she was going to find the first aid kit.

“Tell me what happened.”

“It was a setup, like you suspected. But I had a bit of backup, so we handled it. Brian has been arrested; his career is over.”

“Fiona is dead.”

Ripley nodded. “I just got off the phone with Gage right before I got here. Sad.”

“How did she die?”

Ripley shook his head. “You don’t want the details. They’re still investigating, but right now it looks like a suicide. Something tells me it was made to look that way, though. The note she left said she was ashamed of herself for trying to kill you, but she couldn’t stand the thought of seeing you and me together. We think she vandalized your house of her own free will after she saw me in your parking lot the day after the fire. If she weren’t close enough to listen, we would have looked very intimate even though we were fighting.”

Olivia shook her head. “I feel so bad for her. If someone did kill her, I hope they go to prison.”

Ripley nodded solemnly. “They will. I’m almost positive Brian used her obsession with me against her. He’ll pay. It doesn’t make sense why he chose to go that route. But he’s power hungry and paranoid so that means he was making some stupid decisions.”

“But is it over? Can we go home?”

Ripley pulled her into his lap and kissed her tenderly. “Yeah, baby girl. We can go home. There’s still a mess to clean up, but my part in it is done.”

She wrapped him tight and kissed him deeply. “I can’t wait to pick up my cat and take you home. You know you’re moving in with me, right?”

Ripley chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Will you marry me?” she blurted.

“I’m supposed to be the one to propose,” he protested.

“It’s the twenty-first century. Get with the times, man. And answer my question. Will you marry me?” It had initially been a spontaneous question, but she meant it and prayed he said yes.

He trailed a finger over the charm that laid against her throat and his lips curled into a lazy smile. “Yeah, baby girl. I’ll marry you.”

“Let’s do it at Exposure with all our family.”

He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the couch.

“I’m an asshole. You’re sitting here bleeding and instead of taking care of you I’m trying to plan a wedding. I’ll go check on that first aid kit.”

He gripped her waist and stopped her from leaving his lap. “You’ll do no such thing. You’re going to sit right here in my lap and let me hold you. I’m not bleeding out. It’s just a few scrapes.”

She relaxed against him again and closed her own eyes until Sabrina poked her head in with the first aid kit.

Olivia took it from her and doctored the cut on his forehead first. He hissed when she cleaned him up with the antiseptic wipe, but he stayed still and let her put antibiotic ointment and a bandage on it. Then she moved to cleaning up his knuckles.

“Will you tell me what happened out there?”

Ripley shook his head. “Not much to tell. We got there, and Brian was ready for a fight. But he’s always been more suited to being behind a desk, so I kicked his ass.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Looks like he got a few hits in. Why was he doing all of this?”

“I told you I had dirt on him, right? Well, at first, he thought pushing me into retirement would be enough. But then his name got added to the shortlist to be named CIA director, and he got paranoid. Paranoia makes people do stupid things, and Brian was already a little stupid to begin with. When he found out I was being called to testify against Upwood, he thought I was going to use what I had to flush his career down the toilet. But he did that himself.”

“So, it’s really over?”

Ripley picked up her hand. “It’s really over. And I’m home for good. And as for the wedding, we can have a ceremony at Exposure if you want, but I want a big wedding with more than just our club family. Our relationship has been overshadowed by so much that I want to celebrate our commitment in front of as many people as possible. Your employees, your convention friends, my old colleagues. Everyone.”

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