by Dana Mason
Brian leaned over Erin next, checking her pulse again. At his touch, she tried to shake her head. "Erin, honey," Brian said.
She shot up, but Brian leaned her back down. "No, stay down."
Her eyes welled up, and she lifted her hand and tried to touch the back of her head. "Melissa," she cried out, looking around frantically.
"She's right here," Brian said, holding her down. "Don't panic, babe. It's okay." Brian glanced over at Jeffries. Johnny had him on the ground and cuffed. Blood ran from his nose, too. He looked almost as bad as Melissa.
Brian scrambled back over to Melissa, lifting and resting her head in his lap. The bleeding had subsided, but she was still out of it. He took her face in his hands and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Lissa…Melissa, can you hear me?" His voice cracked. "Please open your eyes."
Ali leaned over them, crying, and Brian grabbed her arm. "Ali, can you check on Matty? I have Melissa. Will you see if Matt's okay?" Ali looked horrified at first then shifted quickly and rushed to Matt's side. Johnny approached, too, and knelt next to Matt. He checked his pulse and at the same time, he leaned over to check his breathing.
"He's breathing." Johnny examined him carefully. They all noticed the small puddle of blood at the base of his skull at the same time. "Don't touch him, Ali. I've already called it in. Fire and paramedics are on the way."
Chapter Fifty-Four
Melissa woke up in the dark. When she reached out, she found warmth. She inched her aching body closer until she got the skin-on-skin contact she'd been searching for. Once her face touched his bare chest, she felt at home.
When Brian's hand came up and caressed her, she tried not to openly flinch, but she couldn't hold back the infinitesimal jerk as his finger brushed her sore cheek. "Sorry, baby." He lifted his hand from her face and tilted to look at her. "How are you feeling?"
Instead of answering, she looked around. "What happened?" The movement sent a sharp pain through her chest, and she remembered Jeffries' body weight on top of her. She lifted and brought her hand to her throat and gasped. "Where's Erin?"
"She's fine, sweetheart. She's in her bed and in much better shape than you."
"Matt?" she said, turning to see him.
"Matt is fine, too. He's pissed as hell, but his injuries weren't serious…a concussion." Brian tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You certainly got the worst of it."
"What happened?" she asked again, feeling her face and rubbing her hand gently across the bruises there.
"Jeffries hid out in your warehouse," Brian said. "He broke in through a window."
"When?"
"We're not sure." He shifted her slowly and leaned over, propping his head on his elbow. "How do you feel?"
"Groggy…achy." She winced and touched her nose. "And sore. I guess it can't be too bad since I'm home with you and not in the hospital."
"You also have a concussion, but I promised the doctor I'd keep a good eye on you if he let you come home. You didn't want to stay there. Don't you remember?"
"No, I don't remember much of anything," she said, finally able to see his face in the dark.
"I'm sorry," he said in a heavy voice. "I shouldn't have left you unprotected."
"Unprotected? What are you talking about? You couldn't have predicted this."
"I should have known. Jeffries is unstable. I should have expected something."
"Stop it." She reached up to touch his face.
Brian wrapped his hands around her and pulled her into his chest. "If something would have happened to you…"
Melissa rested her cheek to his chest again, letting the feel of his beating heart relax her.
"Your sister freaked out. It's the only reason we got there so fast.
She started screaming and grabbing her chest and throat. She couldn't breathe and kept shouting your name."
When he shuddered, Melissa squeezed him, relieved they were all okay. "I guess this twin thing comes in handy sometimes."
"Yeah, no kiddin'." Brian kissed the top of her head.
"So…Jeffries was arrested?"
"Oh yeah. Johnny got him" he said. "He's going away for a long time. ICE got more evidence off his computer than I care to think about. He's been producing child porn for years…selling to pedophiles all over the internet." He sighed and said, "Johnny and I were working on the case before Julie's death, but when ICE picked it up, we were pulled off."
"How on earth did he get away with it for so long?"
Brian chuckled humorlessly. "He had a lot of people in this community fooled. A master-fucking-manipulator. Most of his biggest supporters were also parents of his victims, including Julie. I think that was part of his game. Gain fans and then abuse their kids. People were so sure of him; they never worried about their kids in his care. And, well…we've seen firsthand how he manipulated the kids."
"I'm sorry, Brian."
"No, baby, I'm sorry. I should have had Mark put a man on you…you and Erin." Brian took her hand and kissed her palm. "It's over though. We can rest easy now."
Melissa stared into his eyes and into her future, smiling.
"We've gone full circle," he said. "And I can't wait to share the rest of this life with you."
Chapter Fifty-Five
Ten months later…
"Wake up." Ali whispered, leaning in toward Melissa's ear. "It's your wedding day, sweetheart. Get up." Melissa's eyes blinked open and she looked into her sister's smiling face. "In eight hours, you'll be Mrs. Brian Hammel. Are you ready?" Ali was kneeling on the floor next to Melissa's bed with a coffee mug in her hand.
Melissa smiled and slowly sat up then reached for the coffee. "I'm more than ready."
"I have something for you?" Ali sat on the bed and lifted a white paper bag in the air in front of Melissa.
Melissa squinted at the bag. "You brought me something from the drug store?"
"Yes, ma'am, I did." Ali opened the bag and pulled out a pregnancy test. "I'm not pregnant, yet I'm experiencing a lot of morning sickness."
Melissa laughed. "Welcome to my life." She reached for the test and said, "This is some tradition we have going…" Her eyes locked on Ali's. "You really think I'm pregnant?"
"I believe you are, and there's only one way to find out." Ali grabbed Melissa's hand and pulled her into the bathroom. "It's simple. All you have to do is follow the directions on the box." She handed her the test and turned out of the bathroom.
Melissa followed the directions, then stared at the stick as she stepped out of the bathroom. "How long does it take?"
Ali took the stick and held it up to the light. "It shouldn't be long— Oh my God, Melissa, look!" Ali grabbed her sister and hugged her so fiercely Melissa had to fight for air. "Oh my God!" Ali pulled back and had tears in her eyes, as did Melissa.
"What's the racket about?" Brian asked as he stepped into the room. "What's wrong?"
Ali handed the stick back to Melissa and said, "Bye." Then she rushed to hug Brian before leaving the room.
"What was that about?" Brian asked.
Melissa covered her face as uncontrollable tears rushed down her cheeks.
"Hey…" Brian went to Melissa and put his arms around her. "It's our wedding day. Why on earth are you crying? Why are you so upset?"
Melissa held out the stick, burying her face in his neck.
"What is this?" He took the stick and looked at it.
Brian's breathing pitched and his arm tightened around her. "Lis, what does this mean, sweetheart?" he whispered. "Is this good news or bad?"
"That depends on how you look at it," she mumbled.
"Are we having a baby?"
She nodded into his chest. "Yes."
"Oh my God, Lissa." He withdrew from the embrace and looked into her tear-streaked face. "We're having a baby?"
She nodded again and smiled.
"Are you happy?" he asked at the look on her face.
"Yes…aren't you?"
"I'm thrilled, sweetheart. Only
one thing could make this more perfect."
She looked at him, confused. "What else could you want?"
"He kissed her lips then traveled down to kiss her bare mid-drift where her cami was too short. He knelt down in front of her and cupped her hips with his hands. He then turned his head to rest his cheek on her stomach.
"Two," he whispered.
"Two?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair.
"Two beautiful little girls would make this perfect…" He grinned against her stomach and said, "Twins."
Want more of the Embrace Series?
Dangerous Embrace, Embrace Series 1
Sometimes Love is Worth the Risk.
Sarah Jennings wants nothing more than a quiet life—alone! Raised by an eccentric mother, their life on the road only taught her how to run away from hard times. When she finds herself in an abusive relationship, this lesson serves her well. Eight years later, she's settled, happy and less fearful than she's ever been in her life, until one brutal act of violence changes everything. Injured and afraid, Sarah wants to run again, but Mark Summors refuses to let her go.
Mark's passionate about his job. He devotes his life to protecting people, only this time he's protecting his future. At least, Sarah Jennings will be his future once he convinces her she loves him.
When Sarah agrees to let Mark help, she doesn't anticipate just how important of a role he'll play in her future or how the violence in her past will come back to threaten them both.
Precious Embrace, Embrace Series 2
A new love, a missing child, a family found.
A second divorce and a new baby wasn't the vision Alison Hayes had for her future. Now a single mother with two young boys, she wants to focus on her kids and what's left of her stagnant career. When Detective Johnny Rhay Bennett breezes into town with his country-boy accent, she wants to run. She doesn't need another man in her life, or another reason to make people talk. But when her worst nightmare becomes a reality, Johnny is the only person who can pull Ali out of her despair, forcing her to stay strong and not give up hope of finding her missing child.
Who falls in love after a one-night stand? Johnny Rhay doesn't believe it's possible until it happens to him. With Nashville in his rear-view mirror, he's determined to convince Alison she loves him too, even if it means moving to the West Coast. Ali's not easy, and she's living on just this side of bitter after her divorce, but Johnny doesn't care. He's up for the challenge. At least, he believes he's up for it until baby Micah is stolen right out from under his nose. Now Johnny has to keep it together and get that sweet little boy home safe before his dreams of having a family vanish too.
