Out of Time Read online

  “Just like at the hospital.” Ben shifted, and Levi caught a glimpse of a Ranger uniform. Oliver.

  “A little poison taken the right way sure does make a guy look innocent. Of course, if things had worked out at the hospital, Quin would be dead.”

  Levi pulled his gun, waiting for just the right moment, praying he’d know when that was.

  “Take the gun, Zarvy. I know you’ve got the stomach for murder. Of course, if you kill me a letter will be sent to every news organization in the state outlining the plot against the governor and naming you as conspirator. Make sure you don’t kill me.”

  Now! Levi mouthed, slamming the door against the wall as he threw himself into Oliver. The Ranger went down with a huff of breath and a shouted curse.

  “It’s about time. I was wondering when you’d join the party,” Ben grumbled, his gun pressed to Hank Zarvy’s head.

  “Hey, if you’d told anyone where you were going…” Daniel cuffed Rodney Tanner, ignoring the man’s sputtered protest.

  “We can discuss that after they tell us what they have planned for our lunch guests.” Ben cuffed Zarvy, shoving him toward a couch.

  “Poison in the champagne. A quick easy way to get rid of more than one person at a time. Fortunately, the champagne cart met a wall on the way to our VIPs.” Levi dragged Oliver to his feet.

  “And your girlfriend met the butt of a revolver. Sorry about that, but these things happen.” Oliver shrugged and smiled.

  “So do these.” Levi pulled back his fist, stumbling backward when Ben dragged his arm down.

  “He’s not worth it.”

  “You’re right. He’s not.” He nearly spit the words, slamming cuffs onto Oliver’s wrists. “Have fun rotting, Drew.”

  He didn’t look back, didn’t bother explaining where he was going, just left the Lions and the Rangers. Left a man who should have been a comrade and friend.

  Greg’s killer.

  He took the stairs, racing down two at a time and rushing out into the lobby.

  “Levi! Over here,” Corinna Pike called out, waving frantically from a small crowd that had formed near the ballroom. She looked small and delicate, her dancer’s body clad in a flowing black dress, the gauzy sleeves splattered with what looked like blood. Melora Hudson stood beside her, her hair ruffled, her face pale.

  “Are you two okay?”

  “Is Ben?” Corinna grabbed his arm, her fingers cold through his shirt.

  “Fine.”

  “Thank the Lord,” she whispered. “I was trying to help the woman who was hurt. She just…collapsed. There was blood everywhere. Just like with my father.” Her voice caught, and she raised a shaky hand to her mouth.

  “We’ve caught his killer, Corinna.”

  Her eyes widened, her hand dropped away. “Who?”

  “Oliver Drew.”

  “What!”

  “Ben will explain. I need to find…”

  “Clear a path, folks,” an EMT boomed as he wheeled a stretcher out of the ballroom.

  “Susannah.” Levi ran with the ambulance crew, his pulse pounding painfully.

  Susannah’s pale, bloodstained face was still and empty as death.

  “You coming?” the driver asked, and Levi nodded, flashing his badge and hoping they wouldn’t try to keep him from riding to the hospital. No way would he leave Susannah again.

  “Susie?” he shouted over the roar of sirens, his hand shaking as he touched her cheek. His body shaking.

  Please, God. Let her be okay.

  “Doubt she can hear you, buddy.”

  “How can I not with him screaming in my ear?” Susannah mumbled without opening her eyes.

  “Can you open your eyes, ma’am?” The EMT leaned forward, flashing a penlight toward her eyes.

  “I’d rather not.” But she did, her eyes clear, emerald and not quite focused.

  “Can you tell me your name?”

  “Susannah Jorgenson. It’s March 6. I got knocked over the head by a rogue Texas Ranger, and if Levi screams in my ear again, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” She closed her eyes, splotches of blood garish against her pallid skin.

  “What if I whisper?” He leaned close, his lips brushing her ear, his pulse racing with desperation. He needed to keep her awake and talking and aware. If he didn’t, she might slip away.

  “Depends on what you say.”

  “What if I say you’re the bravest most beautiful woman I’ve ever met?”

  “I might tell you to keep talking.” She opened her eyes, offered a weak smile.

  “What if I say that the day you walked back into my life was the best day of my life?”

  “I’d say that you must have had a pretty sorry life.”

  He laughed, his knuckles skimming her cheek, feeling warmth and life beneath her skin.

  Feeling the future. A future shared with the woman he loved.

  “Actually, Susannah, my life has been pretty good, but reconnecting with you…that’s made it nearly perfect.”

  “You’re a charmer, Levi McDonall, and you know what?” She grabbed his hand, pressed a kiss to his palm.

  “What?”

  “I think I just might like it.”

  He laughed again, the sound mixing with the scream of ambulance sirens filling the air, filling his heart as he and Susannah rode into the future together.

  EPILOGUE

  She’d been to a lot of weddings, but none was as perfect as this one. Susannah couldn’t help smiling as the bride and groom exchanged a kiss. A love forged in difficulty and destined to last forever. She felt that as surely as she felt her own heartbeat.

  The strains of the processional filled the Alamo chapel as the couple began their first walk together as husband and wife, Ben dashing in his tuxedo, his face glowing with love for his bride. Corinna breathtaking in a gauzy dress that hugged her figure. The bridal party followed. Gisella looking lovely in her bridesmaid dress, somehow outshining the other three attendants. The four men dressed in Texas Ranger garb were dashing, handsome.

  “Beautiful. Just beautiful,” Susannah breathed.

  “The couple or the men?” Jennifer Rodgers, Anderson Michaels’s fiancée, whispered as the bridal party followed Ben and Corinna down the aisle.

  “I was talking about the couple, but I’ve got to say, the men are spectacular,” Susannah replied as Daniel Riley, Anderson Michaels, Cade Jarvis and Levi passed by, their black cowboy boots tapping on the floor.

  They were all stunning, but Levi…

  Levi eclipsed them all.

  As if he sensed her thoughts, he turned and met her eyes, his face blazing with a love that left her breathless.

  A love forged in difficulty.

  Destined to last forever.

  She’d been so afraid to believe in it. So afraid to trust that God really was working His plan and way through the troubled times.

  But she wasn’t afraid anymore. Not of the dark. Not of her nightmares. Not of the future that stretched out before them.

  “Come on. We’d better go stake our claim before every woman at the wedding starts going after our men,” Jennifer urged, and Susannah didn’t have to be told twice. She hurried out of the chapel, walking past the old oak tree and into the Alamo gardens. Corinna and Ben had been given special permission to have their reception there.

  Susannah paused at the entrance, inhaling the sweet spring air, watching as the couples she’d grown to know and love during the past few months paired off, hands twined, arms clasped, love glowing. Six couples formed through the struggle to find Gregory Pike’s murderer. Susannah hadn’t known the man, but she thought he’d be pleased that his daughter and the Rangers he’d cared so deeply about had found happiness.

  “You look beautiful.” Levi walked toward her, his expression serious, his eyes scanning her face, and she smiled, reaching for his hand, pulling him closer.

  “So do you.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.” He frowned, and she laugh
ed.

  “It is.”

  “Then I accept. So, why are you standing here by yourself?” His fingers threaded through her hair, his touch light, but more compelling than any other man’s had ever been.

  “I just want to drink this day in, memorize it, so when tough times come, I can remember how God blessed so many people during such trying circumstances.”

  “You know what I want to remember?” He pulled her close, looked down into her face.

  “What?”

  “How you look right now. In that blue dress with your hair falling all around your shoulders.”

  “Remember when you told me we’d come full circle? Friends. Then not friends. Then friends again?”

  “Yes.”

  “I think the Rangers of Company D have come full circle, too.” She shifted, turning in his arms so they were both facing the reception area.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’ve all made peace with your losses. Moved forward with your lives. Found what you were looking for.”

  “I think you’re right, Susie. Proving that Senator Huffington was a member of the Lions of Texas was the final piece of the puzzle.”

  “The events leading up to that were definitely a time of discovery. Rodney Tanner, Hank Zarvy and Oliver Drew are going to be tried for murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking. Marcus has already pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault. Quin Morton is recovered and serving as a witness for the prosecution. The Lions of Texas have been destroyed, their organization scattered, their drug trade stopped.”

  “But it’s not all we’ve discovered,” Levi said.

  “I know that Huffington was a Lion, but there’s no proof he had any knowledge about the plot to kill—”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “No?”

  “I’m talking about what we discovered when we looked into each other’s eyes that first night at the Alamo. That we’d never really lost each other. That we’d always been part of each other’s hearts.”

  “And always will be,” she whispered, standing on tiptoe, pressing a kiss to his lips.

  “Break it up, you two. We’ve got a picture to take,” Gisella Hernandez called out, and Levi looked into Susannah’s eyes.

  “Ready?”

  “For what?”

  “Pictures.”

  “I’m not in the wedding party.’

  “This isn’t going to be a wedding party photo.”

  “No?” She let him tug her toward a small group gathering in the center of the garden.

  “It’s a photo of the members of Company D and of the people they love. I thought we’d hang it on the wall in our living room.”

  “Our living room?” She stopped, not sure she’d heard correctly.

  “Ours. I think this fall would be a great time for a wedding.” He pulled a jeweler’s box from his pocket, and her heart leaped, her mouth went dry.

  “You can’t do this here. It’s Corinna and Ben’s wedding, and it’s just—”

  “Perfect!” Corinna called out.

  “I talked to them about it a month ago. They agreed that, after all we’d all been through together, this would be the best place to tell you how much I love you. How desperate I am to share my life with you.”

  “Desperate?”

  “I don’t know any other way to be when it comes to you.” He smiled, opening the box, pulling out a ring.

  A beautiful ring that she could barely see through her tears.

  “So, what do you say, Susannah? Will you marry me?”

  “Say yes!” someone shouted.

  “She’d better. If she doesn’t, he’ll never live it down,” someone else responded.

  Daniel. Susannah was almost sure of it, and she turned to look. Saw all of them standing together. Daniel and Melora. Gisella and Brock. Anderson and Jennifer. Cade and Paige.

  Ben and Corinna.

  Love forged through trial and through pain. Love built on shared experience, founded on trust, steeped in faith.

  Love like the love she shared with Levi.

  She turned back to him, her hand shaking as she held it out, her heart soaring as she met his eyes, saw his love for her there.

  And then she did exactly what everyone was begging her to do.

  She said yes.

  Dear Reader,

  After struggling to recover from a brutal attack, Alamo Ranger Susannah Jorgenson is clinging to her faith and doing her best to get her life back. Haunted by the past, she faces every day with trepidation. When she’d asked to serve as the head of security at the opening ceremony of the Alamo’s 175th anniversary celebration, she knows it’s her last chance to prove she can continue to do the job she’d always loved. As Susannah works with childhood friend Texas Ranger Levi McDonall, she learns that the most difficult trials often lead to the most profound blessings.

  I hope you enjoy reading the last book in the Texas Ranger Justice series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. I love to hear from my readers. You can visit me at shirlee-mccoy.blogspot.com or drop me a line at [email protected].

  Blessings,

  Shirlee McCoy

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Susannah is honored to be chosen as head of security for the opening of the Alamo’s 175th anniversary celebration, but she’s worried about her job as an Alamo Ranger. Why?

  She knows she’s going to be working closely with the Texas Rangers, but has no idea that she’ll be working with Levi. What are her thoughts when she sees him for the first time?

  Levi has fond memories of Susannah. Even when they were kids, he wanted to protect her. What impact does that have on his work relationship with her?

  Susannah feels the need to prove that she can continue her work as an Alamo Ranger, but she’s worried that her fear will keep her from doing her job. What character traits keep Susannah working despite her fear?

  Do you see those traits as strengths or weaknesses?

  How does Susannah’s past affect her relationship with Levi?

  Why is she hesitant to share with him what she’s been through?

  Does knowing about Susannah’s past trauma change Levi’s feelings about her? Why or why not?

  Levi feels that he failed Greg Pike by not getting to his house in time to save him. Do you think this makes him more protective of Susannah?

  Levi has a job to do, but he can’t deny the attraction he feels for Susannah. How well is he able to balance his personal and professional interests?

  Susannah knows that God has never abandoned her, but she does mourn her past and the changes it brought to her life. Have you been through experiences that have changed you in very deep and fundamental ways?

  How have you come to terms with those changes?

  The most difficult times in our lives often teach us the most valuable lessons. What lessons have Levi and Susannah learned through their experiences?

  How does learning those lessons bring them closer to God and to each other?

  Did you suspect who Greg’s killer was, or was it a surprise?

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Shirlee McCoy

  for her contribution

  to the Texas Ranger Justice miniseries.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0631-1

  OUT OF TIME

  Copyright © 2011 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entire
ly coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Love Inspired Books,

  ® and TM are trademarks of Love Inspired Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.LoveInspiredBooks.com

  *The Sinclair Brothers

  **Heroes for Hire