Page 94 of About Yesterday
He ran to the three bound and gagged and quickly cut them free. They immediately jumped in and joined the fight.
His leg ached, slow bleeding from a fucking bullet burn. He wasn’t letting any of these assholes get away. He ran for the one who had kneed him in the gut and smashed a roundhouse kick into his face.
The laceration on his arm opened wider as he nailed the next in the nose, finishing the asshole with a stiff kick to the groin and another hit to knock him to the ground.
As the room cleared, Ursula pushed to her hands and knees.
Foothills Police came in sirens blazing to finish the job, having waited for Asher’s signal that no hostages were in danger.
Without stopping to chat, Cole ran outside and yelled for Trace.
“Cole,” she shouted, her relief echoing across the night.
He turned in the direction of the sound and saw her smiling down at him from the roof. Right above the dented gutter.
The tree had grown, and Trace easily jumped back onto the new branch that had taken the place of the one they’d broken so long ago, her feet dangling before she released and dropped to the ground.
18
Epilogue: Come rain or shine
Lightningsurroundedthebeachhouse, arcing from cloud to cloud, sometimes shooting straight down into the ocean. Record high tide. Waves crashed violently against the protective rock wall. Wind screeched as it whipped around the house, knocking the outdoor table over, and flowerpots rolling across the yard with each heavy gust.
Trace stood in the main bedroom, looking out at the storm while the guests celebrated despite the change in plans. Glasses clinked as wine was poured, appetizers coming out of the oven and shared before they even made it to the platter. It was supposed to be a lovely ceremony on the Hawaiian beach, secluded and sandy and sunny.
Nothing ever quite goes according to plan.
Any minute, Trace would go join them. Right now… she needed the quiet. They probably should have waited longer.
But, she’d found the perfect dress. White because she wanted a little piece of tradition, strapless because it was elegant, and a slit up to her mid-thigh because it was daring. She’d planned to go barefoot, but with the weather, she was glad she’d brought cute boots. Still damp from her brief trek out to the rental car, the waves in her hair were wild.
The footsteps behind her were light with a sneaky tiptoe, but she knew who had come in the room. From behind, arms wrapped around her middle, gentle kisses trailed up her bare shoulder. “I love you,” Cole murmured against her skin as he worked his way up to her cheek, the bruise almost completely healed.
“Hi,” she answered, leaning into him.
“Think we should have waited until spring?” he said, smiling as he held her tight in his arms.
“Nah,” she said, a laugh under her breath. “This is much more us.”
“Shitty weather?”
“Better than perfect. It’s so gorgeous out there.”
“Yeah,” he murmured.
She turned to face him and traced her fingertips up his arms, pausing at the wound, still red but healing. She was getting way too adept at removing stitches, but at least there hadn’t been as many this time. “I know what car I want,” she said, tilting a teasing grin at him.
“Yeah?”
“Something with a big front, more horsepower, so, ya know, I can bash through garage doors. Maybe bulletproof.”
“We will never need any of that again.”
“Who knows? You may have other people after you, and if I’m going to be a decent sort of rescuer, I’m going to need the right equipment.”
He groaned and squeezed his hands at her hips. “You’ve rescued me enough. Maybe you’ll let me rescue you next time.”
She tipped her head back as a witchy laugh rose in her throat.
