Maggie gaped at Hannah.

  “Sorry, I have no boundaries when talking about the team. They protected me, and I’m alive because of all of them. So I feel like a mom who can ask anything to be sure they aren’t hurt.”

  “And you think I’m going to hurt Jackson.”

  “Not intentionally, but you’re both obviously struggling with something. I’d hate to see it keep you from finding that ‘happily ever after’ I think you both deserve.”

  Maggie wasn’t sure about deserving any such thing, but she couldn’t go against Jackson’s wishes and tell Hannah about Alison nor explain her issues with Jackson.

  “Are you worried about him?” Hannah asked.

  “Of course. Don’t you worry?”

  “Yeah, sure, but I’ve come to accept that Gage needs to do this.”

  “Jackson does, too.”

  “If you want him in your life, you find a way to live with the danger.”

  Maggie’s phone rang and seeing her friend Stacey’s name, Maggie eagerly grabbed it in hopes that she’d been successful in recovering DNA. “Did you get anything?”

  “Hello to you, too.” Stacey laughed.

  “Sorry. You’re doing me a favor, and I haven’t even said thank you for that.”

  “Glad to help, and yes, I do have a DNA profile.”

  “Yes!” Maggie jumped to her feet. “Can you email it to me so I can have the sheriff search CODIS?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll do it the minute I hang up.”

  “Then thanks and goodbye.” Maggie chuckled.

  “Call me when this is all over and let me know how it worked out, okay?”

  “You got it.” Maggie disconnected and dialed Nate. “My friend was able to get a DNA profile from the sample. I’ll have it in a few minutes and will forward it to you.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Will you call me if you get a hit?”

  “Of course.”

  As he disconnected, her phone alerted her to a new email. She found the message and attached the DNA profile from Stacey. Maggie forwarded it to Nate, then sat back down to wait for Nate to call back. Maybe soon Lyle Vetter would not only be in custody, but they’d have the murder victim’s name as well.

  16

  Jackson hit the water. Plunged deep into the cold. Thankfully, their thermo suits could handle the frigid temps. And their suits were front zip. Meant they weren’t even exposed to the cold that ran along the back zipper of many wetsuits.

  He swam to the surface and looked for the boat through his goggles. He flipped on his side and started for it as did his teammates. Gage taught them all the combat sidestroke. CSS was a mix of traditional sidestroke, front crawl, and breaststroke developed by the SEALs. This stroke used core muscles and reduced body drag, meaning they could move faster.

  He reached the boat first. He was familiar with Zodiacs from his days in the service, and they were still used by the military, law enforcement, and rescue squads worldwide. He immediately began unfolding it, the other team members joining him. Once it was open and the floor was secured properly, he opened the automatic inflation valve to start filling the buoyancy tubes with CO2. Less than four minutes later, the tubes were firm, and they climbed aboard.

  Jackson opened the case for the motor, and he and Alex got it mounted on the back while Riley readied his rifle, and Eryn and Gage took overwatch.

  Alex started the motor, and the team took their positions. Riley at the bow, his rifle resting on the boat, Jackson and Eryn behind him, their rifles aimed to his sides. Gage took his place on the floor to keep Vetter from seeing him. They counted on Riley’s shot to distract Vetter, allowing Gage to slip over the side and hang tight while they pulled closer to Vetter.

  Their bodies were protected by the boat, but water sprayed their faces as the boat road up the choppy waves and plunged down the other side. Usually on a mission this intense, Jackson’s focus was fixed on the op, but the waves took his thoughts in an odd direction today. Waves of trouble had rolled into his life for as long as he could remember, and he’d failed at trusting God to keep him from sinking into the depths.

  Wasn’t it time he started clinging to God like he was clinging to this boat as he rode out the chop?

  Maggie mentioned God being there even when she didn’t feel His presence. Jackson had always known God was there, too, even when Jackson let the waves of trouble take him under. Wasn’t it about time he started to rely on God more?

  “Ready for the shot.” Riley’s voice came over the earbuds of their portable comm unit.

  Jackson shifted his focus back to the op and lifted his goggles to his forehead for a clearer view ahead. “Gage, you’re on standby.”

  “Roger that,” Gage replied.

  Jackson saw Riley shift, and his finger drop to the trigger. He popped off a shot. It found its mark. Vetter’s boat slowed immediately. He turned to look back at the engine.

  “You’re a go, Gage,” Jackson said.

  He heard Gage slide over the edge of the inflatable tube, but hardly a splash sounded as he slipped into the water. Jackson was always amazed at how fluid Gage was, barely making the water move on insertion. SEAL training taught him incredible covert skills.

  Alex raced their Zodiac past Vetter, and once on the south side of his boat, Alex swung around and came up on Vetter’s stern. The Zodiac lightened as Gage let go of the boat. Alex continued to circle Vetter to draw attention away from Gage.

  Vetter ran from one side of the boat to the other, his face confused, but he didn’t call out. He just watched them, eyes wide.

  Jackson saw Gage pull up on the boat. Vetter started to turn in Gage’s direction.

  “Ahoy, Lyle Vetter,” Alex’s voice boomed from a megaphone. “Prepare to be boarded.”

  “No way.” He shoved his hand in his jacket pocket.

  He was likely going for a gun. Jackson lifted his rifle, ready to take Vetter out if he managed to get a gun pointed in their direction. His hand came out of his pocket holding a weapon. He started to raise it.

  Gage moved up on him. Three feet. Two. One. His good arm went around Vetter’s neck, and the gun in his other hand pressed against Vetter’s forehead.

  “Drop the weapon,” Gage shouted.

  Jackson waited, holding his breath as one good shot from Vetter in their boat’s direction could take out the inflatable tubes. But he dropped the gun, and Alex piloted them slowly forward until they were parallel with Vetter’s boat. Jackson hooked it and slipped onto Vetter’s boat. He took zip ties from a pouch on his dive jacket and restrained Vetter’s wrists behind him.

  “Told ya you could do it,” Jackson said to Gage.

  His boss grinned, and Jackson knew succeeding at something that was once second-nature was even sweeter now as they overcame the obstacle in their lives.

  “Am I under arrest or something?” Vetter asked.

  “Or something,” Jackson answered as he stared at the man who’d attacked Maggie. With the guy’s round face and beard, Jackson had no problem believing he was the man at the Summit subdivision.

  “What do you think we might be arresting you for?” Gage asked.

  “Selling guns.”

  “Yeah and what else?” Jackson asked going along with the fact that this guy thought they were the police.

  “I dunno.”

  Jackson jabbed the guy in the chest. “How about killing your partner?”

  Vetter cringed, and Jackson instantly knew this guy had indeed killed Scott. Vetter didn’t need to confess. His eyes were already doing so. He opened his mouth.

  “Don’t bother denying it,” Jackson said. “Guilt is written all over your face.”

  “But I—”

  “But you should just confess the murder. It will go easier for you.”

  “I’m not going down for this alone.”

  Jackson couldn’t believe he actually admitted to it. “You had help.”

  Vetter nodded.

  “Who?”

  “Garrett North.”

  Jackson’s mouth fell open. He thought the kid was guilty of something illegal but not murder. “Garrett helped you kill Scott?”

  Vetter nodded. “He’s the real leader in our operation. Scott and I’ve just been making and selling the guns. We’ve done it for years. A few here or there. But Garrett hooked up with Scott for some marketing project and Garrett took over. He set up the darknet storefront, and we’ve had a hard time keeping up with sales.”

  Jackson was all too familiar with this deep part of the Internet. It was only available through a special browser where criminals hid their identities to sell any number of illegal things. “Why did Scott have to die?”

  “He wanted out. Said he was graduating soon and didn’t want this to follow him. I was cool with it, but then Garrett said Scott knew too much. That if we didn’t want to risk getting caught we needed to get rid of him.”

  “And so you just went along with it?”

  “He had a good point.”

  “Right. Like there’s ever a good reason to kill someone.” Jackson shook his head and caught sight of a Coast Guard cutter headed their way. Blake must’ve sent them to arrest Vetter, and Jackson had but a moment to get answers before the crew descended on the boat and took over.

  Jackson looked back at Vetter. “So it was you Dr. Turner bumped into in the lecture hall the night you killed Scott.”

  “You know about that?”

  “Saw the video.”

  He grimaced. “Just our luck that the university was recording things. We thought we were in the clear and then the video shows up out of the blue. There I was for the world to see. Walking into the classroom.” Vetter shook his head. “Then she had to go and bump into me. I knew it happened, but hoped she forgot all about it. But when I saw the video, I panicked. I thought the police would talk to her, and she would identify me.”

  “Prepare to be boarded,” the male voice came over a speaker as the cutter pulled up alongside them.

  Jackson wanted to take a swing at Vetter, knock him senseless for all he put Maggie through, but he stood back to watch as the guardsmen took Vetter into custody. Blake and Nate would have to figure out who had jurisdiction over Vetter, but Jackson thought the murder would trump the explosion, and Nate would take over. Jackson would call Nate on the way home and tell him about Garrett, too, so Nate could arrest the jerk.

  And then…then Jackson could breathe again.

  Or could he?

  Maggie no longer needed his protection—at least from a killer—and she was free to walk out of his life for good.

  Still on the patio despite the overcast skies, Maggie’s phone rang from the small side table next to her lounge chair. She’d been waiting for this call from Jackson, but she still jumped.

  “Hello,” she answered, surprised at how breathless she was in anticipation of hearing his voice.

  “Op went perfectly. We apprehended Vetter, and the Coast Guard took him into custody. We’ll be home in about an hour.”

  “Look at him calling the little woman like a rookie,” Alex teased in the background.

  She didn’t like that Jackson was getting razzed, but she did like the sound of being the “little woman.” Thing was, if that ever happened, she would insist on calls like this for every op, and that meant her guy would get teased all the time. She would feel bad about it, but he was man enough to handle it.

  “Did Vetter admit to killing Scott?” she asked.

  “Yes, and he said Garrett was part of it all.”

  “Garrett, really? I mean, he was a real jerk—but a killer? That’s crazy.”

  “I know, right? Anyway, you don’t have to worry anymore. Vetter can’t hurt you.”

  She sighed out her relief. The threat to her life was over. Really over. She was no longer in danger and was free to go back home. Back to work. To leave without Jackson. She didn’t like the sound of that, but she did have to go home. Not before they talked tonight, though. “Since I have your truck, do you want me to pick you up when you land?”

  “I can get a ride with the team.”

  “I don’t mind picking you up. In fact, I’d like to do it.”

  “Then if you want to, go for it. You’ll hear the chopper. Just head over when you do.”

  “See you then.” Excited about seeing Jackson again, Maggie got up and went in search of Hannah. She found her in the kitchen, the kids at the island having a snack of cheese slices and crackers.

  “I heard from Jackson,” Maggie said.

  Hannah looked up. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything went fine, and now they’re on their way back.”

  Hannah exhaled as she smiled.

  “I have a favor to ask.”

  “Anything.”

  “The team will be back in about an hour, and I want to cook dinner for Jackson. Could I raid your pantry and garden to find something to make for him?”

  “Have at it.” Hannah grinned. “I think Jackson is about to hear how you feel before the night is over.”

  Heat rose up Maggie’s neck. “I’m still not sure what I plan to say, but yeah, we’re going to talk.”

  “You’ll have to come over for breakfast and tell me all about it. Seven o’clock.”

  Maggie didn’t even want to think about the morning, because it meant leaving. “We’ll be heading back to Ashland tomorrow, so that will be up to Jackson.”

  Hannah narrowed her eyes. “You’re going? But why?”

  “Vetter’s in custody. Means the danger is gone, and I need to go back to work.”

  “Right.” Hannah chewed on her lip.

  “What?”

  “Big ears in here.” She gestured at the kids staring at them and quickly dragged Maggie out of the room. “You could join the team.”

  “What?” Maggie laughed. “That’s craziness.”

  “No. Think about it. They could use your forensic anthropology skills.”

  Maggie actually gave the idea a bit of thought until she hit an obstacle. “They wouldn’t need me full time, and I have to support myself.”

  “Then do what I do.” Hannah clutched Maggie’s arm. “I’m a sketch artist, and I work freelance. I take jobs when it fits in our schedule.”

  Maggie considered Hannah’s suggestion. “It could work, I suppose. I already freelance outside my teaching job. But there’s no need to move here. I can stay in Ashland and offer them my services when needed.”

  Hannah’s hand dropped. “But then you wouldn’t be here.”

  “You’re assuming an awful lot here, Hannah.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like Gage would need to offer me a job.”

  Hannah waved her hand. “All I have to do is suggest it, and he’ll do it.”

  “You sound so certain.”

  “I am. We’re still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship.” She winked.

  “Jackson would also have to want me here. And even with freelancing, there’s not enough work. I’d still need my teaching income.”

  “Not if you were married to Jackson. You could live here on the compound.” Hannah smiled. “I’d love to have you here. Eryn would, too. And Coop’s getting married in a few months to Kiera. She’d like it, too.”

  Maggie gaped at her new friend.

  “What? A girl can dream, can’t she?” Hannah chuckled.

  “And that’s all it is since Jackson’s not ready for more. Shoot, I may not be either.” Maggie didn’t want to continue this discussion when there was no point in it. “Now about that food.”

  Hannah started back to the kitchen. “I have a nice piece of fresh salmon if you’d like that.”

  “Jackson loves salmon, so that would be great.” And Maggie had just the perfect marinade that was easy and quick. “Mind if I make a marinade for it here? I need soy sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, lemon pepper, and garlic powder.”

  “I have all of that. Let me gather it while you raid the garden.” She grabbed a small tote from open shelving and passed it to Maggie.

  Maggie gave Hannah a quick hug.

  “Can I help?” Mia asked.

  Maggie turned in surprise. “Sure.”

  Hannah stroked a hand over Mia’s blond curls. “This one loves to pick veggies. Especially peas. Though I have to warn you that more of them end up in her tummy than in the tote.”

  Mia giggled, her sweet little tone tugging at Maggie’s heart.

  Hannah retrieved a large plastic bowl and handed it to Mia. She jumped down and started for the door. They hadn’t gone more than a few feet when the precious child slipped her hand into Maggie’s. Maggie’s heart instantly melted, then pain came rushing in and replaced the joy.

  Maggie looked at their hands together. She could be holding Alison’s hand. If she’d lived. Maggie could have shared this moment, so many moments with her daughter. Going out to gather fresh veggies. Cooking or canning and freezing them.

  Maggie always wanted to have her own garden and chickens. The scene unfolded in her mind. Early morning on their property under a glorious sun and puffy white clouds. Her child gathering eggs and coming inside to the family sitting down to a big breakfast of scrambled eggs. A family that included Jackson and two additional children.

  She wanted a child. Really wanted one. The thought hit her upside the head, and she stopped at the patio door. She was shocked, and at the same time, overjoyed that she could think such a thing. Of course, Jackson would be the only man she would ever consider having a child with.

  But he wasn’t ready for that. Neither was she. Not really. She’d only begun to hope again, and she had no idea if that was a fluke, and the all-consuming sadness would return.

  She slid the door open and followed Mia to raised garden beds in the corner of the yard. Hannah said the members of Gage’s team helped Gage build the beds and fill them with quality garden soil instead of the sandy coastal soil.

  What a blessing to be surrounded by this family of coworkers. Maggie could easily imagine living among them. Their different personalities and gifts would make for a lively group. And also for some challenges, she suspected, as there were plenty of egos on this team, too.

  Maggie stopped by a tall trellis of peas and looked at Mia’s eager face. “Do you want to pick peas?”