Page 91 of Reckless

On shaky legs, he went back to his desk and grabbed his phone. Noting it was an unidentified caller, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Was this them? Were they calling to tell him he was a dead man?

“Hello?” he said breathlessly.

The same androgynous voice as before said, “Your target has been located. Once the package is secure, you will be notified of the pickup location.”

Astounded, he tried to ramble out a thank-you, but the line was already dead. Dropping the phone, he covered his face with his hand and then let out a giant belly laugh. He’d been worried about nothing! So what if people were trying to find him? They wouldn’t succeed. And when the girl arrived, he’d force her to do what he wanted, get rid of her, and then he would be set for life.

His day had finally arrived.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Francine, Wisconsin

“Xavier, would you like more potatoes and gravy?” Mallory asked.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you.”

Jazz couldn’t help but smile at the meal Xavier had consumed. That was his third serving of potatoes and gravy. The first two had disappeared off his plate before she’d finished half of hers. Mallory Allen was a wonderful cook, and Jazz loved watching her man enjoy his food.

Her man. Xavier was hers. He had asked her to marry him. He was going to be her husband. She was going to be his wife. Jazz could barely comprehend the magnitude of what had occurred in the last twenty-four hours. First, she had thought it would be at least a week or two more before she would see Xavier again. When he’d shown up at the door, she’d been astounded. But then for him to propose to her? She’d gone from being absolutely blown away to…whatever level followed that one.

Gazing down at the beautiful round diamond sparkling on her finger, Jazz could only marvel at what it signified. She, Jazz McAlister, was engaged to Xavier Quinn!

“Jazz, are you not hungry, dear?”

She jerked her head up to see everyone’s eyes on her. “Sorry. Sort of in a daze.”

Mallory laughed softly and sent a warm look to her husband. “I remember when Ed proposed to me. I was in a daze for weeks.”

Grabbing his wife’s hand, Ed brought it to his mouth for a kiss. “Best decision I ever made.”

She winked at her husband and said, “Back at ya, my love.”

Jazz released a happy sigh. Some people did stay in love long after they said their vows. Serena had told her that Ed and Mallory had been married for almost forty-five years, and having observed them over the past couple of weeks, she knew without a doubt they were still in love and totally devoted to each other.

As if reading her thoughts, Xavier squeezed her thigh. It had been almost twenty-four hours since he’d proposed, and with the exception of going to the bathroom and taking a shower, he had not stopped touching her. She’d never noticed what a tactile person he was, and she totally loved it.

They’d spent the day together, and she had shown him all the different delights of country living, including milking cows, feeding chickens, cuddling lambs and goats, and playing fetch with Rosco and Rusty, the Allen family dogs.

In the midst of all that, a lot of Serena’s family had shown up to say hi and offer their congratulations. News traveled fast in Francine.

“Have you two talked about setting a date?” Serena asked softly beside her.

Taking a sip of the champagne Serena’s parents had insisted on opening to celebrate the engagement, her nose twitching at the bubbles, Jazz shook her head. “Not yet.”

She didn’t know Xavier’s view on engagements. As far as she was concerned, tomorrow couldn’t be too soon. She felt like she’d waited a lifetime for this man and wanted to be his wife as soon as possible.

“You know,” Serena continued softly, “my dad is an ordained minister.”

Her eyes darted to Serena’s, and she saw the gleam in her eyes. Wouldn’t that be something? Would that freak Xavier out to suggest having their wedding here, before they went back home?

“I don’t want to scare him off,” she whispered back.

“Scare him off? Girl, that man’s so crazy about you, I think he’d say ‘I do’ here at the table if he could.”

She laughed and sent Xavier a look, trying to read whether she should bring it up. When his cellphone buzzed, she took that as a sign to keep quiet. There would be plenty of time to talk about weddings later on.

Figuring it was an OZ team member calling to congratulate him, Xavier swallowed another mouthful of the best mashed potatoes and gravy he’d ever eaten as he answered his phone. “Quinn.”