Risky rescue, p.19
Risky Rescue, page 19
part #1 of Finnegan First Responders Series
“Yeah.” Thankfully, his boss didn’t take offense. “Trust me, that was already part of my agenda. Enjoy your two days off, Finnegan.”
“Yes, sir.” Quinn hurried back outside, anxious to find Sami. Scanning the area, he finally spied her sitting out on the pier, her face lifted to the sun. He strode over and dropped beside her. “Sami? How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She turned to look at him, squinting against the bright sunlight. “How did it go with the commander?”
“Good.” He tried not to frown at the awkwardness between them. “By the way, Bridges was clean. My brother Brady and Marc Callahan ended up arresting Doug’s boss, Hugh Morey.”
Sami’s jaw dropped in shock. “Jeb wasn’t the only traitor working for the cartel?”
“No, he wasn’t.” Quinn edged closer so he could put his arm around Sami’s slim shoulders. “The good news is that you’re safe now. With Jeb and Hugh out of the way, I’m sure the Robles cartel will take a break from running fentanyl through the Great Lakes.” He scowled. “Especially since the Coast Guard will be on hyperalert for anything remotely suspicious.”
“That’s good news.” Sami said the words, but her expression didn’t look happy. “I need to follow up with the LA DEA office. I have key information to give them.”
Quinn didn’t want to talk about work. The DEA or the Coast Guard. He drew her closer. “Sami, you said you remembered your foster sister, Rita Gomez, had died because of fentanyl. Is that the only reason you broke off our engagement?”
She hesitated for a long moment, then leaned against him. “Yes, Quinn. Rita didn’t die of an overdose of fentanyl, though, she was murdered, along with her husband and two-year-old son. Apparently, they tried to get out of the cartel, so they were shot to death.”
“That’s awful,” he murmured.
“I didn’t want to leave you, but I felt obligated to head to California to search for the truth. That’s when I was approached by the DEA to go undercover to infiltrate the Robles cartel. They faked my death, created an identity for me, partnered me with Jeb, and set up Emilio as my contact. They sent me into the organization, and my ability to speak some Spanish, along with my experience here helped get me embedded in the Great Lakes pipeline.”
The danger she’d placed herself in made him feel sick to his stomach. He wanted to yell at her for doing such a thing but managed to bite his tongue.
What if Kyleigh, Alanna, or Elly had been killed by a drug cartel? He would have done the exact same thing without a second thought.
No, he couldn’t blame her. Even if she had hurt him. As if the breakup wasn’t bad enough, he’d thought she was dead. Gone, forever.
“I knew it was a risk,” Sami said, reading his mind. “But I thought Jeb had my back. We grew close in those early months. I never suspected he was dirty. Not until the night I confided that I’d learned the identity of the highest level drug cartel leader operating in the region. That night two cartel members came after me.” She shook her head in disgust. “I hate to know how many people died because of his greed. Emilio for sure, but how many others?”
“I don’t know, Sami.” He felt bad for her. Being betrayed by someone you trusted was never easy. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I was scared out of my mind when you were taken from the strip mall.”
“It’s my fault for splitting us up.” She sighed, looking up at him. “I’m sorry you had to be in a position to rescue me for a second time.”
“I’m not sorry. I insisted on being involved in bringing you back.” And he’d have done it again in a heartbeat.
“I feel awful that you found my fake death notice.” Her tortured gaze met his. “I hadn’t anticipated that.”
“Yeah, that was rough.” Another understatement but there was no point in rehashing the past. He was more interested in the future.
Their future. If they had one. There was only one way to find out.
“I’m glad I was here for you because I love you, Sami.”
She gaped. “You do? Even after everything that happened?”
“You mean ditching me to run across the country to seek justice for a sibling?” He kept his voice light and teasing. “Yes, I do mean it. I never stopped loving you.”
“Oh, Quinn.” She beamed, this time her smile fully reflected in her eyes. “I love you too. I didn’t want to leave you, but it didn’t feel right to ask you to wait for me. Not when I had no idea how long I’d be gone.”
“Say it again,” he urged.
She smiled gently. “I love you. I wanted to tell you on the helicopter, before you dropped into danger, but . . .”
“You didn’t want everyone else to hear?” He chuckled, then shouted at the top of his lungs, “I love Sami Lopez!”
“Quinn, what are you doing?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a goof.”
“No, I’m just a man in love.” He lowered his mouth and kissed her, the way he’d wanted to when they were safely aboard the chopper. And when they’d gotten here to headquarters.
And—always. He never wanted to stop kissing her.
“Well, I see you two patched things up.”
The familiar dry tone forced them apart. Quinn looked over his shoulder to scowl at Colin. “Why are you here? Can’t you see we’re busy? Go away. Come back later.”
“Quinn.” Sami lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “That’s no way to treat your family.”
He sighed and reluctantly released her. He stood, then drew her upright beside him, then faced his younger brother. Colin wore his firefighter uniform, indicating he was on the job. “A better question is what are you doing here, Colin? Don’t you have fires to fight or people to patch up?”
“Normally yes. But you didn’t answer any of our group text messages.” Colin gave Quinn a narrow stare. “Since my firehouse isn’t too far from here, Rhy asked me to check in on you.” Colin waved at the boxy fire station ambulance rig. “We came over here to fill up with fuel, just so I could make sure you weren’t hurt.”
“I told everyone on the text message loop that I was fine.” Quinn loved his family, but sometimes their overprotective attitude went a little too far.
“Yeah, well, Rhy takes his role as head of the Finnegan family seriously.” Colin shrugged, then grinned. “So what happened? Are you going to fill me in?”
“Not now.” Quinn wasn’t in the mood to rehash the last few hours all over again. Especially since he’d have to have the same conversation with Rhy, Tarin, Kyleigh, Brady, Aiden, Alanna, and Elly too. “I have two more days off work. I’ll bring Sami to family dinner on Sunday. We’ll fill the family in then.”
“Cruel to make us wait, bro,” Colin protested. “How much do you want to bet that Rhy will pry the story out of you and Sami before then?”
“No deal.” Quinn made a shooing motion with his hand. “Go, get back to work. No malingering allowed.”
“You’re such a pain,” Colin complained. Then he shook his head, clapped Quinn on the shoulder, and smiled at Sami. “See you Sunday.”
“Be safe, Colin,” Sami called as his brother jogged back to the rig.
Colin waved a hand, then jumped into the passenger seat. Minutes later, they were gone.
Quinn pulled Sami back into his arms. “Now, where were we?” he teased.
In answer, Sami wound her arms around his neck, drawing him down for another kiss.
“Quinn!” He wanted to groan when he heard Brady’s voice.
“We’re not even at the homestead, and it’s still like being in Grand Central Station,” Sami muttered.
“Sorry.” He turned to face his brother. The serious expression on his face made his gut clench. “What happened? Did Bridges take a turn for the worse?”
“No, but the FBI received a somewhat cryptic message from a man named Emilio Vasquez.” Brady looked at Sami. “Do you know him?”
“I—do, but Jeb said he’d killed him.” Sami grabbed Quinn’s hand. “Wait. Jeb didn’t actually say that but led me to believe it! Emilio is alive? We need to get to Shady Lane!”
“No need, Vasquez is on his way here. He said he didn’t trust his former contact and feared for his life. He asked the FBI to keep him safe.” Brady sighed. “I had a feeling he meant you, Sami. That you were his former contact. I thought you would want to be involved in this.”
“I am, but I didn’t recognize him when we were in Shady Lane.” Sami’s gaze was stricken. “And yes, of course, I want to be involved. Emilio needs to know about my amnesia and that Jeb and Hugh are no longer a threat.”
Quinn released Sami and nodded. “I agree.” As much as he would rather spend his two days off with Sami, they needed to wrap up the loose ends. Besides, the Sami he knew and loved had taken her job as a cop just as seriously as he did. “Let’s go meet with him.”
Brady flashed a knowing grin. “You have a few minutes before we hit the road. You know, in case you’d like to pick up where you left off.”
“Don’t be a brat, Brady.” Quinn gave his brother a hard stare. “First Colin, then you. Should I expect Rhy to show up next?”
“Well, Rhy is planning to meet us at the Bureau,” Brady admitted. “He wants to hear the entire story too.”
“Of course he does.” Quinn sighed.
“So much for waiting until family dinner,” Sami teased. “Good thing you didn’t take Colin’s bet.”
“I should have known better.” He gathered Sami close and kissed her again, ignoring Brady’s keen gaze. “Don’t think this lets you off the hook, though. You’re still coming to family dinner.” She arched a brow, and he quickly added, “Please? I love you so much.”
“I love you too. And yes, I’ll come to family dinner. But I will likely need to head back to LA to wrap up some loose ends on the case.”
“I don’t mind as long as you come back to me.”
“Yes, Quinn. I will absolutely come back.” Her serious gaze held his. “You have my heart.”
“As you have mine, Sami.” Quinn wrapped his arm around her as they headed toward Brady’s waiting SUV. He knew the rest of the summer would be busy, with his being with the Coast Guard and her wrapping up things in LA.
But love was worth waiting for.
Epilogue
Three weeks later . . .
Sami drove up the driveway of the Finnegan homestead, parking behind Quinn’s repaired SUV. Her time in LA had been spent in endless meetings to assist in getting more members of the Robles cartel arrested and charged with drug trafficking. Taking down the head honcho she’d discovered before Jeb had tried to kill her helped tremendously. Emilio Vasquez had given them some additional information too. He was then rewarded with a new name and identity. She knew Emilio was currently living someplace in Florida per his request. She kept him in her nightly prayers.
Only after all the higher-ups had been satisfied there was nothing more she could tell them about the Robles cartel had she been allowed to relocate back to Milwaukee. Quinn had insisted she stay at the family home rather than moving into a short-term rental.
Since she’d needed to get her old job back before she could rent an apartment, she’d agreed. Elly had been thrilled, and Quinn often stopped over between shifts, which was nice. Rhy and Devon had made her feel at home. None of the Finnegans had held her previous breakup with Quinn against her, especially after hearing the entire story. She was touched by their sweet acceptance of her being back together with Quinn.
While Sami enjoyed Elly’s company, and getting to know Devon too, she knew this arrangement couldn’t last forever.
She’d need to find a place to live very soon.
It was Friday evening, and this was Quinn’s first full weekend off since the five-day emergency leave he’d taken to keep her safe while she had amnesia. He’d had other days off, of course, but not over the weekend. Quinn had assured her he wasn’t being punished by his commander, but that he was doing his part to pay his teammates back for the extra shifts they’d taken for him.
Fair enough, she’d thought.
This weekend, Sami intended to ask Quinn to help her find an apartment close to his condo. He wouldn’t want her to leave the homestead, but that was too bad. The Finnegans were great, but they were always around. She and Quinn needed time alone together to reestablish their relationship.
Although personally, she had fallen back into the old routine so easily it almost felt as if she’d never left. As if that time she’d spent in LA and those endless months, eighteen of them working undercover, were nothing but a blur. Even the nightmares she’d experienced after killing Jeb had faded.
She tapped the code into the alarm system and went in through the garage door. Quinn jumped to his feet and swept her into his arms. After a long kiss, he pulled back to look down at her. “Well? How did it go?”
“They gave me my old job back.” She grinned when he let out a whoop. “Apparently, working undercover and nearly getting killed was a boost to my resume.”
“Hey, they know a great cop when they see one,” Quinn said proudly.
“That they do,” Rhy agreed. “We’re happy for you, Sami.”
“Thanks.” Rhy and Devon were so sweet the way they clung to each other, Rhy’s hand often resting over Devon’s slightly rounded stomach. Their shining love was the gold standard for the rest of the family.
Even for her and Quinn.
Quinn grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go outside.”
“Dinner in an hour,” Devon called as they headed to the back door.
Sami raised her hand to indicate she’d heard.
Quinn deactivated the alarm, then drew her outside. He took a moment to reactivate it, then tugged her into the shade of the large maple tree.
“Finally, some alone time,” he whispered, before kissing her again.
When they needed to breathe, she said, “Yeah, about that. I think it’s time to find a place of my own.”
“I’d rather you wait a bit.” Quinn reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. “I thought about taking you back to the fire tower for this but figured we should start fresh here. Near our family. I love you, Sami. Will you please marry me?”
“Oh, Quinn.” Tears misted her eyes when she saw her old engagement ring nestled inside. “You kept it.”
“It’s yours, Sami. I bought it for you.” He took the ring out and slipped it onto her ring finger. “Marry me.”
“Yes, Quinn.” She wound her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“Promise me you won’t leave without telling me what’s going on,” he murmured.
“I promise.” She gazed into his warm brown eyes. “I’m never leaving you again.”
“I like the sound of that.” He cradled her close, kissing her again. After a few minutes, he said, “Oh, and one more thing.”
“Should I start making a list?”
“Maybe.” His smile faded. “Let’s have a small wedding at the church. No big extravagant ceremony. Just our family and closest friends. A September wedding would be good, don’t you think?”
“This fall?” She tried not to stare at him as if he were crazy. “So soon?”
“Yes. The sooner the better.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Stay here for a few more weeks. I’ll put my condo up for sale, and we’ll find a nice place that we both love.”
“A small intimate wedding and a house of our own,” she murmured. Her heart swelled with love. “Sounds perfect, Quinn.”
“Not as perfect as you.”
She wasn’t perfect and neither was he. But together, they were complete.
* * *
I hope you enjoyed Quinn and Sami’s story in Risky Rescue. I’m having a blast with the Finnegans and their Callahan cousins. Are you ready for Colin and Faye’s story in Scorched Secrets? Click here!
Dear Reader
I’m having so much fun with my Finnegan First Responder series! These noble men and women put their lives on the line to save the innocent. And it’s been wonderful to bring in the Callahans too. For those of you who enjoyed my Callahan Confidential series, you’ll love catching up with members of the family as they cross paths and support the Finnegans. And you know there will be a large family reunion at the end.
If you enjoyed Quinn and Sami’s story in Risky Rescue, take a moment to check out Scorched Secrets, Colin and Faye’s story. Anyone choosing to purchase any eBooks or audiobooks (including these new Finnegan stories) directly from my website will receive a 15% discount by using the code LauraScott15.
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Until next time,
Laura Scott
Scorched Secrets
Chapter One
Emergency department physician Faye Kimble squinted against the bright sunlight piercing the horizon as she walked to the parking garage on aching feet. She hated working night shift. Sleeping during the day was unnatural. Her body clock thought that when the sun was up, she should be awake too. The good news was that after working five days straight, all of them twelve-hour night shifts, she had the upcoming weekend off. Three long, glorious days.
Was it pathetic that all she wanted to do was stay at home, sleep, eat, and binge-watch shows from her favorite streaming service? Yeah, she needed to get a life.
Stifling a yawn, she headed down the cement stairs to the lower level of the parking garage. This was the area with designated physician parking spots. An orange glow at the end of the aisle up ahead made her frown.
