Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(93)

Black clicked off the phone and closed his eyes. He’d been extremely lucky. Lucky he’d left for the shelter when he had. Lucky that the white van had been parked at the end of the alley. Lucky that, considering he and the team hadn’t discovered what was going on before Woolf made his move, all the women and children had gotten out of the building alive.

They’d learned a valuable lesson with this case. Their handler might be extremely smart, but he was also very human. They couldn’t rely on him for every scrap of information in the future. Teamwork was vital in their line of work, and their team included Rex. He wasn’t just a voice on the phone. If they were going to be successful, they needed him as much as he needed the rest of the team.

Black had no idea if Arrow had talked to Rex yet about his missing wife and the team’s offer to look into her case, but without a doubt it had to be done. Rex couldn’t go on the way he was, and the team couldn’t continue with their rescues knowing their handler didn’t trust them with the most important case of his life.

Shifting on the bed, Lowell winced when he moved his leg the wrong way. His knee hurt like a son of a bitch. But he’d heal. As would Harlow. They’d move on with their lives, and he’d be able to take her on many more dates in the future. At the moment, that was all that mattered.

He fell asleep thinking of all the different things he could do with Harlow, and how much fun they were going to have for the rest of their lives.



A couple of weeks later, Harlow sat next to Lowell in The Pit and watched as their friends played pool. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt his hand tighten on her thigh, where it’d been resting.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Harlow nodded. “Perfect.”

“Your parents get off all right?” Morgan asked as she stood to the side of the pool table, waiting for her turn.

“Yeah,” Harlow said. “I love them, but it was time. They were driving me crazy.” Her parents had rushed to Colorado Springs when they’d heard about the fire and had stayed until they were satisfied she was all right.

“They just wanted to make sure you were one hundred percent healed before they left,” Lowell told her.

She sat up and faced him. “I know, but honestly, I was fine not too long after the fire. It was you who wasn’t okay.”

And he hadn’t been. Catching Milo had torn a bunch of ligaments in his knee, and running on it, climbing onto the top of the truck, and subsequently catching both her and Jasper hadn’t done him any favors. He’d had surgery and was currently seeing a therapist, but it still obviously hurt him.

Jasper had fared about the same as her, suffering from severe smoke inhalation, but she was happy to hear that he was doing well. As a kid, his body had bounced back faster than hers had. The other children were also fine. The entire community had rallied around all the residents, and every single one of them had new apartments to live in. Some were even in the same complex, so they could continue to see each other on a daily basis.

“I’m fine,” Lowell said.

Harlow rolled her eyes. He was such a guy. He was sitting there wearing a knee brace and wincing when he moved the wrong way and still insisting he was fine. Whatever.

“It was nice to meet your parents too,” Allye said. “I thought maybe you were hatched out of an egg or something.”

“Watch it,” Lowell growled, reaching for her, but she laughed and jumped out of range.

“So . . . did all the parents get along?” Gray asked, wrapping an arm around Allye’s shoulders and pulling her into his side.

“They did,” Lowell told his friends. “I think Harl’s folks are even planning a visit to Orlando in the near future.”

“Wow. That’s great!” Chloe exclaimed.

Harlow nodded. “Yup. Although I’m not surprised. My parents are very easy to get along with. And it doesn’t hurt that the Lockards lived in Topeka for a while. They even know some of the same people. So are you guys ready to take my sample cooking class next week?” she asked.

Chloe, Allye, and Morgan all nodded at the same time.

“I can’t wait to get cooking lessons from the Chef Reese.” Chloe grinned.

Harlow rolled her eyes. “I just want to make sure I’m not doing anything too hard for my first class. I want the women who take the classes to feel comfortable making healthy gourmet meals, but not feel intimidated.”

“I’m sure you’ve picked the perfect meal,” Allye said.

“And we’re happy to serve as your guinea pigs,” Morgan threw in.

Just then, Ball entered the back hall, carrying a trayful of drinks. He was walking extremely carefully so he didn’t spill anything. He placed the tray on a nearby table and sighed in relief.

“Jesus, I don’t know how waitresses do that shit,” he said.

Ball handed out the drinks, beers for the guys—except Black, who got a glass of water on account of the meds he was still taking—a bottle of water for Allye, and margaritas for Chloe, Morgan, and Harlow.

Then he nodded at Gray and stepped back.

Gray cleared his throat and put his beer on the table. Then he faced Allye and took the bottle of water from her.

“Oh my God,” Allye said quietly, as if she knew what was coming.

“I was going to do this when we went up to Denver, but obviously that didn’t happen. So, I figure the second best way to do it is while surrounded by our friends. Allye Martin, you are the most important person in my life. I can’t imagine not spending the rest of my days with you by my side. I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?”