The Perfect Couple (Last Stand #4)(100)
Author: Brenda Novak

"I guess I owe her one." His breath rattled in his chest. "How’d she know where to send you?"

Tina put down the gun. "She told me Tiffany said you were on your way to Tommy’s cousin’s house."

Tiffany had betrayed him? He couldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it until he’d had a chance to talk to her. "And you remembered our families having Thanksgiving here."

"Yes. For my own peace of mind, I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t do it. I’m your mother, Colin. I will always be your mother."

"So you came to kill the monster you created?" He attempted another laugh but couldn’t quite manage it.

Tears filled Tina’s eyes as she sank to her knees. "I didn’t come to kill you, Colin. I came to save you from yourself. I’ve been trying to save you all along. But now–" her gaze shifted to Zoe and Sam "–now I can see I’m too late."

Using the wall for support, she pulled a cell phone out of her jacket pocket and called 9-1-1, but it didn’t take more than two minutes for the police to arrive. And, to Zoe’s relief, Jonathan was with them.

Zoe’s daughter was in the same hospital bed she was in. After what they’d been through, she couldn’t let Sam out of her sight, even though she was safe and would be fine.

Smoothing her daughter’s hair, she managed to kiss her temple despite a broken jaw. The morphine she’d been given numbed the pain. The doctors were planning to wire her mouth shut in the morning so it could heal properly; they’d already set her hand in a cast.

It would be a while before she was back to normal, but she was alive.

She had Sam. And Jonathan sat sleeping in the chair by her bed. She had no idea what would happen, but there was something between them–something that hadn’t been there with anyone else.

"Mommy?" Sam murmured.

"What, baby?"

"Where’s Colin?"

"He’s in a different hospital."

"Will he live?"

Zoe hoped not. Colin didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as other people. Not after what he’d done to Toby and Sam and those other children–and to his own father. Fortunately, Toby was doing better. The doctors expected a full recovery. The same was true for Sam. But the other two children…

"Probably. You were in treatment earlier, when Detective Thomas came in, but he said the bullet missed Colin’s heart."

"Because he doesn’t have one," Sam grumbled.

Zoe chuckled softly. "That’s true."

"So…will he go to prison?"

"For the rest of his life, baby." She didn’t mention the death penalty, although she believed it would be a possibility. "You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore."

"What about Tiffany?"

"Tiffany’s dead. She drove her car over an embankment. They found her maybe an hour ago."

"I don’t know how to feel about her," Sam said.

Zoe stared up at the ceiling. "Neither do I."

"Do you think Colin will be sad?"

"Detective Thomas said he cried like a baby when he heard."

"So maybe he loved her after all."

"As much as he was capable of loving."

Sam snuggled closer. "I thought I’d never see you again."

"I couldn’t have settled for that."

"Where’s Anton?" she asked as if she’d only just noticed he wasn’t around.

Zoe considered her answer. A lot had changed in the past ten days.

She’d seen Sam’s real father, spoken to him, accepted money from him and thought she might tell Sam about him someday. She no longer needed his money for a reward but she had a feeling he’d want her to keep it. She planned to talk to him about it. Besides everything that had changed with Franky, she’d also broken off her engagement to Anton, moved out…"I guess he’s at home."

"He’s not going to come see us? He doesn’t care that we’re here?"

"Unless it’s already been reported on the news, he doesn’t know. We–we’re not together anymore."

Sam lifted her head. "You broke up?"

Zoe nodded. "After what happened to you, I realized that we weren’t…what we should’ve been."

Sam didn’t react right away. "Does that make you feel sad?" she asked tentatively.

Zoe shifted her gaze to Jonathan and saw that he was no longer sleeping. His eyes were heavy lidded, but he was watching them, listening.

"No, that doesn’t make me feel sad."

"Good. So it’s just us again?"

"For now," she said.

She laid her head back down. "Does that mean I can have another dog?"

Zoe hugged her tighter. "Yes. And I’ll never take him away from you again."

"I’m sorry about Anton. I–I know you wanted to marry him. I tried not to screw it up for you, but–"

"You didn’t screw it up. It’s better like this. But we should probably have someone call and tell him you’re okay. Or maybe we’ll do it ourselves, in the morning. Make sure he’s heard."

When Sam fell silent, Zoe thought she’d drifted off to sleep. But then she spoke again, in a whisper this time. "Your P.I. friend seems nice."

Zoe met Jonathan’s steady gaze–and his smile. He was sitting near the window, had Sam’s back to him. "He is nice."

"I love the way he looks at you," she said.

Zoe loved the way he touched her, too. Just seeing him there made her crave physical contact, if only the brush of their hands. "How does he look at me?" she asked.

Sam’s voice sounded dreamy. "Like he thinks you’re beautiful…"