the ones he’d seen in Lynne’s clinic.
Swiveling his head, he caught sight of Lynne standing at the edge of the tunnel with what looked like a rifle in her hand. That’s why she’d been so eager to get to her truck, he acknowledged with a flare of pride. She’d known she had the tranquilizer gun in there.
Shaking off his strange sense of unreality, Kir turned back toward Parker. The man was grimly moving his arm to point his gun in Lynne’s direction, his actions sluggish but still deadly. Without hesitation Kir leaped forward, planting his shoulder in the middle of the bastard’s chest as he drove him to the ground.
Parker collapsed like a limp doll, the drugs Lynne had shot into him taking full effect. But just to be sure—okay, it was just because he couldn’t resist temptation—Kir untangled himself from Parker’s limp arms and sat up. Then, not bothering to check if he was awake or unconscious, he slammed his fist directly into the middle of Parker’s face.
Bones crunched as the man’s nose was broken and blood spurted from a split lip. Feeling amazingly better, Kir turned his head to send Lynne a wide smile.
“Good shot.”
Epilogue
Although it was mid-April, spring was more a promise than a reality as Lynne slipped out of Kir’s SUV. At least the snow had melted. A good thing, since she had on heels for the first time in years. And she’d replaced her heavy parka with a light shawl that matched her beaded black gown.
Waiting for Kir to join her, she took a moment to appreciate the sight of him attired in an exquisite tailored suit that had arrived with the rest of his belongings from his condo in Boston. Right now the majority of his stuff was piled in his father’s house, but Lynne knew it was a temporary arrangement. Already Kir was sketching out blueprints for a new home to be built on his grandfather’s land. It was a huge, sprawling farmhouse that included five bedrooms, an enclosed conservatory, and a fenced meadow that would be perfect for kids and pets, including King, who’d become a permanent fixture in her home. He warned her that he hoped to have several of each.
Warmth spread through her as she allowed her gaze to sweep over his starkly male features and hard body shown to perfection in the dark suit. She’d expected him to disappear after the sheriff had finally arrived at the air base and Parker had been hauled away. Now that the killer was locked up and the mystery of the list left to Kir by his father was solved, there was no reason for him to remain in Pike.
But he had.
Each morning Lynne woke to find herself wrapped tightly in his arms. And each night she came home to discover a warm meal waiting for her.
It was . . . paradise.
Slowly, cautiously, she began to trust in his promise that he was there to stay. Just as she began to depend on his companionship to fill the emptiness that had been a part of her life as long as she could remember.
The only disruption in the smooth, welcome peace of Lynne’s life was Kir’s secret project.
She knew he was working on something he promised would help raise funds for her shelter, but he refused to explain what he was doing or allow her to help. It tested her control-freak personality to the very limit of her endurance. At last he’d told her to buy a new evening gown and get ready for her surprise.
Not sure what to expect, she allowed Kir to lead her up the stairs of the local VFW hall. The three-story brick building was the only spot in town that had a large enough space for a decent-size crowd to gather. Unless you counted the community center at the lake, a place that could only be used a couple months out of the year.
They entered through the double oak doors and climbed the stairs to the top floor. Stepping into the long, narrow room, Lynne came to a startled halt.
“Oh my God,” she breathed. The room had been transformed from a plain space with wood paneling and a low ceiling to a spring fairyland with twinkling lights draped from the ceiling and trellises decorated with her favorite pale pink roses lining the walls. At the very back a long table had been arranged with uniformed servers offering plates of hors d’oeuvres and fluted glasses of champagne.
It wasn’t the decorations,