Page 68 of Stopping Short

I shift Harper to the side and slide off the couch. Her brows tug together as she watches me go down on one knee. I fish the box out of my pocket and hold it between us.

“I’ve known you were the one for me for years, Harp. Every night when we talked on the phone, it just reminded me of how no one else would ever be good enough. How you were the only woman I could imagine spending the rest of my life with.”

“Jackson,” she whispers, brushing a tear from her cheek.

“I think we’ve spent too much time apart. I want to marry you as soon as possible. I want to start a family with you and live our happily ever after. Will you marry me, Boots?”

She laughs at her nickname as more tears stream down her face. She’s smiling ear to ear as she nods her head.

“Yes! I wouldn’t want to spend forever with anyone else!”

Chapter 43

Harper

Four weeks later

“Wait… you what?” I stare at Mason, Dad, and Peck like they just told me pigs can fly.

“I took him down so hard, he’ll never be able to crawl out of the hole.” Mason smirks.

“Ok, but… like… can you explain what that means?” I scrub a hand down my face with frustration.

“We all know how I feel about human trafficking or running drugs and guns.”

“Obviously.” I roll my eyes.

“Well, I recorded the conversation between you and Evan. I had a gut feeling it could be important.” He grins to himself like he’s so proud of his gut feelings.

Honestly, he should be. Mason’s gut feelings have kept so many people I love and care about alive and for the most part uninjured.

“With the information he gave you, I was able to figure out where Dennis was running his operations out of. With the help of the boys in blue, we took him down. He’ll be sitting in a jail cell for the rest of his life. There’s zero chance of parole.”

“He was worse than the guys who took your mom and Kels,” Dad says softly.

“Are you serious?” I let myself fall into a chair as I keep my eyes locked on Dad.

Obviously, the details of what happened to Mom and Kelsey have been kept from me since I was little when it happened, but I’ve learned bits and pieces to know they’re lucky they got away. If Mason and Dad hadn’t been there, the two of them would’ve suffered for the rest of their lives.

“Dennis had a long rap sheet when I looked into him after you moved in with me. The guys who arrested him this morning told us it’s tripled since then. And with the new charges…” He shakes his head. “There were so many girls there, Harp. He had girls as young as six being held in the warehouses. We were able to save them and reunite them with their families.”

“But how many have gone through there already?” I whisper.

“It’s hard to say, but I think a few of the guys they arrested will rat on Dennis. Anything to make sure they don’t have to do as much time.” Mason folds his arms over his chest. “People like Dennis rule by fear. If he’s in prison, no one will fear him anymore. These guys will roll over like puppies. They care about themselves, not their boss.”

“I’ve already talked to some of them. The chief asked me to since I’ve been in their positions before.” Pauly smiles softly. There’s so much guilt in his features and I'm sure he’s thinking about the awful things his family did to the people they took. “I’m encouraging them to speak up. Telling them if they help us find the girls who have already been moved to their destination, they can avoid jail time.”

“Is that true? They’ll be able to avoid jail entirely?” I glance between the men.

“No clue! But they shouldn’t trust some random guy, they should be asking for everything in writing. I’m not a cop, lawyer, or judge. I have no clue what can be done.” Pauly smirks.

“They probably won't avoid jail, but their sentence could be lighter than it would be without them cooperating,” Dad adds.

“What about Evan?”

“Evan will be in prison for a long time. He was dumb when he trusted Dennis. The gun he shot Maddox with is tied to multiple other shootings and killings. Dennis was hoping Evan would use the gun so the shootings would be linked to Evan instead of him. The man was smart.” Mason shakes his head. “But not smart enough.”

“Nope. You don’t mess with our families.” Dad grins.