Her Very Strict Captain by Carpenter, Maggie (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

you down. I’m not sure why I didn’t,” he said wistfully. “Anyway, I ended up accepting the undercover gig, but honestly, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When you showed up at the mansion calling yourself Beth Cameron, I was thrilled to see you, then horrified, and furious at you for putting yourself in such a dangerous situation.”

“But I—”

“But nothing,” he said angrily, cutting her off. “You had no business being in that hell hole. I was determined to get you out of there. I tried to intimidate you and scare you so you’d leave, but you didn’t.”

“Danny,” she said softly and pulling back, “what about my partner?”

“Manny,” Dan muttered with a heavy sigh. “I tried to save him. It was one of Conchello’s wild boys who started firing through that office door. As soon as he did, I shot him, but I didn’t know if you or Manny had been hit. That’s when more of Conchello’s soldiers raced up the stairs. At that point, all I could do was pretend I couldn’t get the door open. I was praying you two would be able to find somewhere to hunker down, or take up positions to defend yourselves. I’ve been through a lot, but those were probably the most terrifying thirty seconds of my life,” he said, shaking his head. “Lizzy, I was shocked when I heard you’d leapt into the pool from that terrace. How the hell did you do that?”

“Danny, my dear, dear Danny,” she mumbled, moving her arms around his neck and staring at him. “I was a diver in college, and those extra seconds gave me the time to get out there and fly into the pool. You were trying to save my life, and you did.”

* * *

As her words washed over him, Danny could no longer hold back the deep emotion swirling through his heart. Holding her tightly, his eyes watering up, he fought to swallow the hot lump in the back of his throat.

“Lizzy, being around you all that time and having to act that way, it almost killed me. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, you were right.”

“I’d seen so many lives destroyed by drugs. I went into Conchello’s organization wanting to get him so badly it was all I could think about. But after a few months I felt like I was drowning in a black swamp with no way out.”

“What will you do now?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t risk going back to my old life, and I don’t want to. Daniel Miller has to disappear and I have to start over. I’ll be using my old surname, Sullivan.”

“You’ll always be Danny Sullivan to me, and now you look like him again,” she said softly, shifting in his hold, then taking a breath, she murmured, “Danny, I have to be honest. Being with you, it’s amazing and wonderful and I’m so happy and I still love you. The thing is—it’s different from how I love Scott. We’re just getting off the ground, but I’m crazy about him, I really am.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Lizzy, I’m not here to rekindle our teenage romance. I’ve seen you and Scott together. You’re a match. Don’t get me wrong, I still love you too, but we’ve both changed, though for the record, my need to look out for you will never go away.”

“I feel exactly the same, but why is this so hard?” she sniffled, fresh tears trickling from her eyes. “It’s like, I’m finally with you again, but I’m losing you too, even though I’m not.”

“Mom told me our first love is always special, but we grow up and life takes on separate journeys, and look, you’ve found someone you have a great connection with.”

“I do, it’s incredible,” she said with a sigh, her lips curling in the hint of a smile. “Is there someone you’re crazy about?”

“Being undercover for so long I couldn’t get involved, but I have just met someone. There’s a spark. I think there might be something there.”

“She’d better treat you right, or she’ll have me to answer to.”

“I’ll let her know,” he said with a chuckle.

“Danny, thank you for taking such a risk and coming here.”

“I had to, and I think I had an angel on my shoulder. That Jeep provided me with everything I needed to change my appearance, and get over to this island to find you.”

“Speaking of finding me, what is that photo I heard about?”

“Oh, you mean this,” he said, breaking into a smile as he retrieved his wallet. “I was at our coffee shop one morning and I picked up the community newspaper. There was a picture of a local girl at a swimming meet at Pepperdine, and there you were, all grown up, standing in a group around her. I bought a print of the picture and cut you out,” he said, handing it to her. “It never left my wallet.”

“This is amazing. Look how short my hair was. I kept it like that because of diving.”

“I couldn’t find a photo of you anywhere. I had to use this.”

“I’m kind of speechless, but in a good way. So—what will you do now?”

“I have an idea,” he said thoughtfully, “one I believe will be a win for all of us.”

“What is it? You mentioned it, so you have to tell me. That’s our rule.”

“Yep, you got me,” he said with a grin.

It only took him a few minutes to explain, and when he’d finished she broke into a wide, happy smile.

“Danny, it’s brilliant, you’re brilliant, and I’ll do everything I can to help you make it happen.”

Chapter 29

Scott had just finished his meeting with the agents embedded with the catering companies when his phone rang. The endless series of calls was expected, but glancing at the screen and unexpectedly seeing Elizabeth’s name, he broke into a smile.

“Hi, I’m glad to hear from you,” he declared. “I was going to call you shortly. The boat to pick you up is