by Caisey Quinn
The beeping stopped, but he didn’t finish his sentence.
“I don’t know what it means that I’m almost glad there was a threat to the city because it brought us back to each other. I think it means I’m a horrible human being,” she confessed.
Chase placed his hand in hers and pulled her in for a forehead kiss before maneuvering so that they were both lying in his hospital bed. “The circumstances might not be ideal—hell, they’re downright horrific—but we’re here now. Together. I wouldn’t change that for anything either.”
Vivien sighed. She had something for him, something she wasn’t even sure he wanted, but now seemed like the time to give it to him. “Chase . . .”
“Hmm?” He nuzzled against her so sweetly she almost wanted to tell him never mind.
“I have something . . . something you may not even want. But after what you told me about your dad at Fort Jackson I couldn’t help but look him up.”
He’d told her about the abuse, about the neglect, and the ways in which his father had turned to alcohol and violent behavior after Chase’s mom had died.
He stiffened beside her. His embrace grew tense and less welcoming. She looked up at him and waited for his eyes to meet hers. “It’s in my bag. I won’t force it on you. I just wanted you to know. I have it if you ever decide you want to know what he’s been up to over the years . . .”
“I won’t,” Chase said evenly. Her hurt feelings must’ve shown on her face because he squeezed her reassuringly. “I appreciate you looking into him though. I know some people might need closure or whatever, but I don’t. I have everything I need right here.” He kissed her gently on the lips before switching off the overhead fluorescent light the last nurse to check his vitals had left on. “Let’s get some rest.”
“I should move.”
His demeanor had changed noticeably, and she worried now had been the wrong time to mention the background check she’d run on his dad. But it didn’t feel like there was ever going to be a “right” moment.
Chase grunted and tightened his grip. “Don’t you dare.”
She smiled against his chest. “Good night, Chase.”
“Night, Red.”
***
Vivien woke up at sunrise, as she tended to do.
She was disoriented for a few moments before realizing she was in a hospital bed next to Chase. Lowering her feet to the floor, she decided to surprise him with breakfast. She used her phone to look up a few places he’d mentioned and placed an order from the one he’d seemed the most enthusiastic about taking her to. A place called Biscuit Love.
A few text messages later and Annalise delivered her order to the door.
“I can’t stay,” Annalise whispered. She gestured to where Chase was snoring lightly. “But let him know I came by, and call if you need anything.”
Vivien thanked her for picking up the food and assured her she would call her later.
Traveling down the avenue the group had decided to pursue the night before, she spent most of the morning researching Eric Lewis and trying to find any presence of him online that might lead to links to his acquaintances.
By the time Chase woke up she had a few leads to follow up on but nothing substantial.
“Babe . . . you outdid yourself,” he said through a mouthful of steak and eggs on a giant biscuit. “You have to try one of these.” He handed over a biscuit-like donut with some type of blueberry filling.
“Oh, wow.” It was Heaven in her mouth. She savored the sweet moment in the midst of so much bitter turmoil.
Chase kissed some blueberry goo off the side of her mouth and smiled.
“I will never get tired of waking up next to you, Red. Even in the hospital and even if you don’t bring me breakfast.”
Her heart felt as if it might just melt right out of her chest like the warm blueberry compote oozing out of her biscuit-donut thingy. “Well, technically Annalise picked it up and delivered it. I just clicked a few buttons online and put in my credit card information.”
Chase grinned. “God, I love technology . . . sometimes.”
I love you, she thought to herself. After everything that happened she wondered if she should just start saying it every other sentence.
Pass the coffee. I love you. How was your day? By the way, I love you. What should we have for dinner? Did I mention that I love you?
After sitting up half the night watching Chase’s fitful attempts at sleep and now watching him joyfully eat his favorite breakfast, she contemplated what she would do if the situation had been reversed. If he’d faked his own death to protect her and then shown up years later.
She didn’t know for certain, but she did know that they’d caused each other enough pain. Their past was messy and complicated but she vowed then and there to keep their future free of unspoken words and hurt feelings. No more secrets and no more lies. Chase seemed to be trying to be honest about his feelings and she knew that was hard for him. But one thing was still plaguing her. His hands shook. The tremor was infrequent and barely noticeable but she’d seen it. And she knew what it could mean for his career. But he hadn’t said a word about it. Not to her, anyway. She made up her mind not to push. He would discuss it when he was ready. She already felt as if she’d overstepped her bounds nosing around about his dad. But after losing her parents the way she had, she couldn’t imagine one of them being alive so close by and having no contact at all. But then she’d had a very different brand of parents. Whatever they faced, bombers, tremors, career and personal setbacks, they’d face it together from now on.
Vivien didn’t know how their futures would fit together, with her working for the Bureau and him in Nashville. Chase ate with the joyful abandon of a child and it made her happy that she was able to give him that. Watching him, she knew one thing for certain.
She was never letting go of him again.
Which meant she wasn’t going to rest—not really—until whoever was behind the bomb threats was found and apprehended.
“Chase?” Vivien stopped clearing the debris from their breakfast and faced him.
His eyes turned to hers. “Yeah, babe?”
She took a deep breath, gathering four years’ worth of frustration and longing and heartache in her chest and prepared to let it go. “I love you.”
Before he could respond, she put her hand up to halt his words. “You don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know how I felt.”
Making a male noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh, Chase reached out and pulled her to him. She bumped his table tray as she tumbled into the bed beside him.
“Chase!”
He pulled her into his arms and pressed his forehead to hers. His eyes were closed, so she waited.
“I don’t have to say it back, she says,” he began quietly. “Believe me, Red, I know that. Want to know what else I know?”
Vivien raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”
He sighed contentedly. “I know that I love you too. I love you more than I ever knew was possible.” His grip tightened briefly. “The way I was raised, the reason military life was easy for me . . . there was no love in my life before you. There was no light. Nothing to lose. Nothing to miss. Nothing to risk. And now . . . Now that’s all there is. For four years that’s all there’s been. Loving you. Missing you. Wishing I could’ve told you. Wishing I could’ve had more time with you.”
“Sounds easier the other way,” Vivien said without thinking. She wanted to throat-punch herself. Sometimes she truly was honest to a fault.
Chase nodded. “It was easier. And emptier.” He gave her a hard look before kissing her softly on the tip of her nose. “I love you, Viv. Some days our jobs will be hard and will make our situation difficult. And some days, all I will have to be is a man who loves you. Those will be my favorite days.”
“Whatever else I am, an agen
t for the Bureau, an officer of the law, undercover, back from the dead, I will always be the woman that loves you right back. Always.” She relaxed against him and felt her throat constricting with the overwhelming emotions of the moment. How she felt safe in light of everything that was happening, she didn’t know. She just knew that she did.
It wasn’t a candlelit dinner or a picnic on the beach.
But it was perfect.
Sometimes that’s how it was. Sometimes the most romantic moment of your life happened on scratchy sheets in a sterile-smelling hospital room. She smiled at the man beside her—the man who was made for her—and decided that she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nineteen
Light duty sucked.
Chase was on his final day of pushing paper, and he couldn’t have been more excited to get back out in the field. He didn’t know how Annalise did it day in and day out. He was literally going crazy.
The only bright spot had been Vivien’s nursing him back to health after work every evening. With her staying with him, he was able to call her detail off. Plus she was set on making him dinner—or ordering in dinner because they spent as much time possible focusing on the case—and cuddling him to sleep every night, so it was almost easy to pretend there wasn’t a maniac on the loose out to blow them all to kingdom come. But there was, and Chase was ready to get back to tracking his ass down sooner rather than later.
He had only about an hour left on his shift when the call came in on his line as if the universe was granting his wish.
Eric Lewis had been spotted at a bar on Broadway, dressed like a tourist, and behaving like he was in need of medication. The bartender had recognized him from the news photo that had named him a person of interest in the investigation.
“I’m going,” Chase informed his team after he’d briefed them quickly on the call. “It’s my last day on light duty but I’m not letting the scumbag slip through my fingers again.”
Vivien’s disapproval was written all over her face but she didn’t object. “I’ll ride with you” was all she said.
He appreciated her concern but was grateful that she didn’t disrespect his authority in front of his team. This wasn’t the first time they’d had to check their personal feelings at the door because of professional responsibility and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.
Officer Chan volunteered to come in case backup was needed. Officer Campbell had recently been added to their team per his begging the Captain to include him, so he rode with her.
As they sped through town, neon lights passing by in a blur in the darkness, Vivien held on to the side of the door.
“Not exactly the tour of Nashville I’d planned to give you,” Chase offered.
“I prefer high speeds and sirens wailing, so no worries.”
Despite the lighthearted banter, tension was building in Chase’s chest to the point it felt like someone was sitting on it.
“If Lewis is armed—”
“Wait for backup,” Vivien finished for him. “I know protocol, Officer.” She winked and he took that as confirmation that she understood that he was concerned too.
No one knew better than him what a badass she was, but that didn’t mean he was ready to watch her face off with a psychopath.
When they arrived at the bar, they pulled up at the back entrance and radioed in to let the other units know their location. They eased out of the vehicle, guns drawn, using a series of hand signals to gesture which side each one of them would take.
Chan and Campbell arrived and followed suit. Chase directed them to cover the front entrance while he and Vivien covered the back. “Go in—make it obvious you’re looking for someone,” he told Chan. “That will force him out the back. Where we’ll be waiting.”
He waved two fingers to Vivien to indicate he wanted her on the other side of the door.
Blood rushed in his ears. He didn’t want her on the other side of the door. He didn’t want the woman he loved anywhere near this—a potentially deadly confrontation with a man who planned to blow all of them sky-high.
That wasn’t fair though. She was an intelligent and highly trained federal agent. This was her job as much as it was his. So he swallowed his fears and nodded to her that they were both in the correct position.
He waited for the confirmation to come over the radio that Lewis had been spotted. When it did, he stepped back and prepared for the door to open.
“He’s on the move,” Chan’s voice came through the speaker in his ear. “Coming your way.”
“We copy,” Vivien answered. “Holding position.”
Lewis must’ve tripped over something or been in a fight recently, because when he exploded out of the back door, the first thing Chase noticed was that he already had a black eye.
“Stop! Police!” he ordered, reaching for Lewis, who took off into the alley, skirting the tactical SUV with surprising speed. “Fuck.”
“I love when they run,” Vivien said dryly, sprinting toward the SUV.
Chase pursued Lewis on foot, his boots pounding heavily on the sidewalk as he dodged tourists and businessmen and women in a human obstacle course.
“Agent Montgomery in pursuit,” Vivien’s voice came through the radio. “I have a visual.”
“Don’t lose him,” Chase commanded. “I’m just around the corner.”
“Campbell fumbled our keys,” Chan barked into the radio. “But we have your six. Or we will . . . when butterfingers gets the damn car started.”
“He’s heading down an alley off Second,” Vivien told them. “Toward Demonbreun.”
He didn’t bother correcting her mispronunciation of the well-known Nashville street. Now was definitely not the time.
“Slow down, Agent Montgomery,” Chase bit out while trying to catch his breath. “I’m trying to keep up on foot and backup fell behind.”
“I’ll lose him if I do,” she answered as her taillights disappeared from his sight.
She wasn’t contradicting him since he’d ordered her not to lose him. But she ignored his directive for her to slow down. Chase cut through an oyster house parking lot at full speed.
“Your twenty, Agent Montgomery. What is it?”
Silence deafened him before her voice came through. “He cut through a park and disappeared inside a warehouse of some sort, I think. But it’s closed. I’m going to pursue on foot.”
“Wait for backup,” Chase ordered. “Do not go in alone. I repeat, wait for backup.”
She didn’t respond.
“Damn it. I said wait for backup. Do you copy?” When there was no answer, he tried again. “Agent Montgomery, do you copy?”
When her voice came through the line it was a whisper. “I’m going in. He’s inside. Went in through a delivery entrance.”
Chase’s heartbeat relocated itself to throb inside his skull. “Fall back. Just keep eyes on the entrance. We aren’t close enough to you. That’s an order.”
“I’m already in. I don’t think he’s armed,” Vivien practically hissed over the radio at him.
“I don’t give a damn what you think,” Chase practically roared as he ran full speed toward a shipping and receiving warehouse near the Johnny Cash Museum. “I said fall the fuck back.”
Adrenaline surged in his veins, overpowering the voice in the back of his head telling him to take it down a notch.
He’d been so glad she hadn’t challenged his authority, and here he was, trampling over hers like Godzilla on a radio channel where several other officers could hear. But the thought of Lewis hurting her, the thought that he might be too late to help her, it was driving him on onward like a man possessed.
“We’re here,” Chan’s voice came through the line. “Splitting up and heading around to cover both side exits.”
Chase flattened himself against the brick building beside the delivery entra
nce he was fairly certain Vivien and Lewis had both used.
“I’m at the delivery entrance. Trying to get eyes on Lewis.” He was hoping to get eyes on Vivien first, but there was no reason to announce that to his listening audience.
Chase took several silent steps past stacks of cardboard boxes. He didn’t hear footsteps or breathing or a single sound that indicated anyone else was nearby. Holding his gun and flashlight at the angles he’d been trained to, he made his way through the maze that seemed to be a back storage room. A scurrying sound caused him to turn abruptly, but a closer look revealed it was just a small rodent of some sort.
“Clear in the back,” he said quietly over the radio.
“No sign of him at the east wing exit,” Officer Chan announced.
Before Chase could open his mouth, the loud pop of gunfire came over the channel.
His heart leapt into his throat. “Agent Montgomery, what’s your twenty?”
“Be advised, suspect is down,” Officer Campbell’s voice informed them evenly. Chase was surprised at how calm the usually anxious man sounded. “I repeat, suspect is down at the west exit. Calling a bus.”
Chase jogged around to where Vivien and Chan were circling Lewis, who lay bleeding from his head on the sidewalk. Campbell didn’t look the least bit winded or rattled and Lewis showed no signs of being armed, so Chase couldn’t figure out why he’d had to open fire. “Where’s the GW?”
“I didn’t shoot him so there’s no gunshot wound, Fisk,” Campbell informed him with an eye roll. “I fired my weapon into the air to startle him. He ducked. I smacked him in the temple with my Glock. Easy peasy.”
Chase bristled at the excessive arrogance in Campbell’s tone. “Way to completely ignore standard operating procedure, Soup.” Chase wasn’t always by the book either but he didn’t need Lewis hollering police brutality when he came to.
Campbell’s steely gray eyes met Chase’s in a challenging glare. “We needed to bring him in. Now we can. Next time I’ll do it your way and just ask him nicely. Would you prefer I send him an engraved invitation with an RSVP card?”
