Later that evening, she was surrounded by her friends and family in the comfort of her own home.
“I’m fine, really. You don’t have to put your lives on hold for me.” Heather tried to reassure everyone she was fine, but Rebel could see through her carefully crafted façade.
After everyone left, she attempted to rest and relax, but it was fleeting. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father hanging from the broken steps. She saw the terrified eyes of the other victims looking to her for answers she didn’t have. She saw the building collapse on her, trapping her under an enormous amount of solid concrete inside a metal cage.
She was certain she’d die in that cage. That it would become her tomb, and she’d suffer an agonizingly slow death she couldn’t do anything about. She made the mistake once of turning on the television and watching the news. The list of the identified victim’s names scrolled across the bottom of the screen; each one was harder to deal with than the previous. When the footage of the attack scene filled the screen, it triggered a full-on panic attack.
Over the following few days, sleep mostly escaped her because the visions turned into nightmares, and she’d wake, screaming and crying. When Kay showed up, her eyes red and nearly swollen shut from crying, Heather knew they’d found her father before her mother had spoken a word. They’d found his body several yards from where Heather had been trapped, but he hadn’t been sheltered by the steel frame. He’d been buried underneath the concrete that had caved in on the stairs below him, where many other victims had been trapped despite her attempts to tell them to go back up.
As far as injuries sustained, she felt blessed to only have a broken ankle, hairline fractures in her ribs, and too many cuts, scrapes, and bruises to count.
It was the psychological injuries she wasn’t confident would ever fully heal.
“Good morning, my love.”
It was early morning, and they were still in the bed, facing each other. Rebel had been her lifesaver—both literally and figuratively. He’d gotten her out of that concrete tomb, and he’d been by her side through every episode of anxiety she’d endured since.
“Good morning, honey. You didn’t sleep at all last night,” she observed. “I can tell by your eyes.”
“You don’t need to be concerned about me. I’m the one who’s worried about you. You didn’t sleep much at all, and you were screaming and crying in your sleep.”
She dropped her eyes to focus on his chest, trying to hide the fear that had a tight grip on her. “I’m sorry if I woke you. Just having bad dreams.”
“Don’t be sorry. When that happens, I wrap my arms around you and whisper in your ear. Your entire body relaxes against me, and you go back to sleep. I’m glad I’m here to help you.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too, Brax. They haven’t caught Rashad yet, have they?”
She glanced up at his face and caught the flash of murderous rage before it was quickly masked again. “Not yet. Is that what’s scaring you so badly? You think he’ll come back after you?”
She nodded, and tears slipped from her eyes before she could stop them. “That, and I’m really not ready to attend my daddy’s funeral today. How can I say goodbye?”
“You don’t, sweetheart. Your love for him won’t end today, and you don’t have to say goodbye to it. His love for you didn’t end with his death, he took it with him. You’ll miss him. You’ll wish he were here. But you never have to say goodbye.”
“Is that how you dealt with it?”
“With losing Dalton? Yes. It took me a while, but I eventually realized that, and it helped me.”
“Thank you. It does help to look at it that way.”
“Back to Rashad. How much do you think about that? How often does he frighten you?”
“All the time,” she admitted reluctantly.
Rebel stroked her face with his hand, wiping the tears from her eyes with the pad of his thumb. “You don’t have to worry about him ever again. Very soon, he’ll be no more than a memory. Memories can’t come back to life and hurt you.”
“Is he dead?” she whispered.
“Not yet.” But he will be.
“You know where he is?”
“I know exactly where he is at all times.”
“But you haven’t taken him in yet?”
“I’ve been waiting until you were feeling a little better, a little more secure. When I go get him, I’ll have some people come to keep you company while I’m out. It won’t take long. But no one has moved on him because his ass is mine. Now that I know he’s causing you most of this fear and anxiety, I’ll close up this case very soon. Today, we’ll pay our respects to your father.”
Every pew in the expansive church was full with friends, family, and employees who wanted to pay their respects to the man who was larger than life. Many who made it out of the building had asked if they could speak at his memorial, to share what he’d meant to them. Kay was so moved by the requests to honor her late husband she couldn’t deny them.
One after the other approached the pulpit with their written speech in hand, but most never even referred to their notes. The graphic memories of how he’d sacrificed his own life to save theirs in the stairwell that day were forever etched onto their psyche. Notes would never do the actual event any justice.
When Heather rose and walked toward the pulpit, Rebel watched her in shocked amazement. She hadn’t mentioned to him she would be one of the speakers at her father’s funeral. The events had weighed on her heavily enough, and he was genuinely concerned reliving that day in front of everyone would be her breaking point. He sat on the edge of the pew, ready to spring into action and carry her out if that’s what it took to save her.
He watched as she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She picked up a tissue and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, already fighting back the tears before she’d uttered the first word. She hid the slight tremor in her hand by gripping the sides of the podium. This was killing her, but she still faced it like a champion.
“Listening to all your stories of how my daddy saved you has been a blessing in disguise. I can’t describe how very much I have dreaded this day, this service, and facing what it’ll mean to my family when everything is said and done. But each of you has given me back a piece of my father to hold on to for the rest of my life, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“I’m not here to share the story of how he also saved my life, which he did. That’s not something I can talk about just yet. But I do want to share with you a very different story about my father from that same day. You see, I went to his office to talk to him because he was rarely home while the acquisition process was underway. I love my dad very much, and I needed him to understand and support a decision I’d recently made.”
Brax sat motionless and waited for her to continue, to share with him and the rest of the congregation why she went to his office on that day of all days.
“He had offered my husband a job so we could stay here in Houston and be together as a family. Brax accepted it so he could be with me. He agreed to leave behind a business he’d help build from scratch, a group of friends who are as close as family to him, and a life he was accustomed to in Miami—all for me. Because he loves me.
“That day, I told my father about two decisions I’d made and wanted to explain why they were so important to me. The first one I told him was Brax and I have decided to start a family soon. He was thrilled about that, about the prospects of being a doting grandfather and spoiling the baby even more than we could.
“The second decision was that I couldn’t let Brax give up everything he’d worked so hard to build into a success just because I didn’t want to give up what I was comfortable with here. It wasn’t fair to my husband because I can be a nurse anywhere. So, instead of him moving here to work for my dad, I’d move to Miami and be a nurse there.
“What I thought would end up in a huge fight became the best conversation I’ve ever
had with my father. We broke down walls that had been between us for years. We cried, we forgave, we healed, we loved. He asked me to pass on a couple of messages for him—from that conversation and then again after he saved me—because he knew he wouldn’t make it out.
“Mom, he asked me to tell you he loves you and he’ll be waiting for you.
“Brax, he asked me to tell you he loves you like the son he never had. In his office, he talked about some mistakes he’d made years ago, things he allowed you to believe but he never meant. He intended to ask for your forgiveness, and he said he’d be honored if you’d allow him to call you ‘son.’ He was proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished, and he was supportive of my decision to move to be with you.
“I’m sharing all of this personal information about my father with you to say this… He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes. He was stubborn and hard-headed at times. He was a hero. He saved my life. He saved many of your lives. All of these qualities and characteristics made him the man he was.
“We all have some variation of these qualities. So, in honor of my father, I simply ask this…in some way, it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, be a hero to someone else who needs your help. You never know when one small thing you do makes a big difference in someone else’s life.”
After she took her seat next to Rebel again as the music played, he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her into his side, instinctively protecting and shielding her. He leaned over, his lips grazed her ear, and whispered to her. “I’m so proud of you for doing that. I know how hard that was for you to do. Are you sure you want to leave Houston, and move to Miami with me? Do you need time to think about it?”
She met his gaze with her tear-laden eyes. “I’ve thought about it for a long time now, my love. My mind was already made up before all this happened, but this has only reaffirmed to me I’ve made the right decision. You’re everything to me, Brax, and with you is the only place I want to be.”
When they left from the graveside service, Rebel noticed a familiar pair standing off to the side, patiently waiting for them to approach. He glanced over at Heather as she raised her hand to her face and wiped away the tears that continued to fall.
“Babe, I told you there was someone I wanted you to meet the night we got you out of that hole. She’s here now, and I think you’d love her.”
“Okay, Brax. Who is she?”
He led the way, holding her hand and giving her silent reassurances. “Heather, this is Robin. She worked with me, almost nonstop, until she locked on to your scent.”
Heather leaned down in front of her and was instantly drawn into her expressive brown eyes. She fondly stroked Robin’s shiny coat. “Thank you for finding me, Robin. You saved my life. You didn’t even know me, but you kept working without being asked or forced to do it. I owe you everything, sweet girl.”
Robin leaned into Heather, placing her head against Heather’s chest. Heather lowered her head until her forehead rested on top of Robin’s head, the two bonding and blocking out the rest of the world.
“Babe, this is Tim. He’s Robin’s handler, and he was out there helping, too. Tim and Robin were the key to my sanity out there.”
Heather looked up at Tim. “I can’t thank you enough, Tim. It’s humbling and overwhelming when I think about how you and the others voluntarily put your own lives in danger to save complete strangers.”
“We enjoy helping others. It gives us a sense of purpose, really. I have to tell you Robin has never bonded with anyone like she has the two of you. She has acted like she was in mourning for the last few days. Now that I see her with you, I know she was. She’s claimed you as her family.”
Rebel and Heather exchanged glances. “Are you saying you want us to take her?” Heather asked.
“If you’ll love her, give her a good home, and treat her like family. She wouldn’t have attached herself to you if she didn’t sense you were good, honest people.”
“I’d love to take her home with us, Tim. But I’d feel guilty taking your dog from you.”
“She is a great dog and I love her, but she’s not my only one. As sad as she’s been lately, I really think she’d rather be with you.”
“Then she’s welcome to come home with us,” Rebel replied. “I don’t know how to repay you for this.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Give your love to Robin and we’ll call it even.”
The men shook hands then Heather stood and threw her arms around Tim’s neck. “Thank you so much,” she choked out. “Thank you.”
Rebel collected Robin’s things from Tim’s vehicle and took his two ladies home to rest.
Later that evening, Rebel and Heather were alone in their home, drained from the emotional toll the day had taken on them. Heather was stretched out on the couch with her head in Rebel’s lap while he lovingly massaged her head. Robin had stretched out on the love seat, content and cozy in her new home. Within minutes, Heather was sound asleep, sleeping better than she had since the whole ordeal began. Her breaths were even and her muscles were relaxed. For once, she wasn’t having nightmares, reliving being buried alive, existing in fear.
Her eyes fluttered and she opened them, looking up at Rebel. Her hand followed her gaze, cupping his face in her palm and running her fingers through the stubble of his beard. “I’ve missed you, Brax.”
“I’m right here, baby. I haven’t left.”
She pushed up on one hand, only wincing slightly at the pain in her side. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
She covered his lips with hers, teased them apart with the tip of her tongue, and then claimed ownership of his mouth. She moved cautiously, minding her injuries, and straddled his lap.
“I mean like this,” she purred. “This is how I’ve missed you.”
His fingers threaded through her short black hair before gripping a handful and holding it tightly. He tilted her head to the side, exposing the sensitive area of her neck, before he voraciously feasted on her succulent skin.
“Yes,” she hissed in ecstasy. “I love how that feels.”
He moved lower, removing her shirt and tossing her bra on the floor. He covered her breast with his mouth and sucked her hardened nipple between his teeth. The slight pain from the graze of his teeth mixed with the pure pleasure of his tongue was a recipe for bliss. Before she realized it, she was flat on her back, the clothes on the lower half of her body had been removed, and Rebel was working his mouth down her stomach.
He pushed her legs farther apart, flicked his tongue against her clit, and thrust his fingers deeply into her. She moaned loudly in pleasure, and her fingers gripped his head. She writhed underneath him as the warmth of his tongue started from the bottom edge of her wetness and made its way up to her clit. When he sucked it into his mouth, the sensory overload had her screaming his name.
“I want to taste you, baby. Come for me,” he demanded, then eagerly dove back in, resuming his exploration of her body, relishing in the taste she left on his tongue. “Damn, you taste good. I need to be inside you now.”
“Take me. Take what you want.”
He grasped both of her legs, his cock poised at her entrance, and she held her breath and waited for him to surge into her. His welcome intrusion into her body caused sensations to roll through her entire being, stretching and filling her in the most erotic and pleasurable way. He leaned forward, covering her body with his, and sealed their intimate connection. He allowed his feelings to pour out into her through his eyes, through his touch, and through his heart. She accepted his love and returned her own through every kiss, every caress, and every tantalizing breath.
Their bodies slick with sweat, their hearts pounding against their chests, they made love for hours. Rediscovering one another. Reconnecting after a harrowing event. Reestablishing the connection that had carried them through so many happy and sad times throughout the years.
Their love was stronger than the blast that had rocked their world.
It
was more powerful than the terrorist who had threatened their existence.
It was more consuming than the fear that had tried to tear them apart.
It was alive.
24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Over the next few weeks, Rebel watched Heather become stronger and seemingly more like herself, until the sun went down and darkness covered the world like a heavy blanket shrouding the light. Her external wounds were healing, but the psychological injuries were still taking a toll on her.
He’d waited until he was certain she could manage without him continuously being at her side. Then he arranged for Brianna, Chaise, and Amelia to keep her company while he went out to finish his job. When Brianna suggested the whole family spend the day together to initiate a return to normalcy, Rebel heartily agreed.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. There are a couple of loose ends Tucker and I need to wrap up.” He sealed his promise with a kiss while he lovingly stroked her cheek. “Introduce Robin to Amelia while I’m gone.”
“All I want is for you to be careful and come back home to me. Say it. Promise me.”
“I promise. I will be careful, and I will be back home with you before you even know I’m gone. Our house will be full of people, and they’ll keep you very occupied. I have to go meet Tucker now, babe. I love you.”
“I love you, Brax.”
He opened the front door to leave and was greeted by a large group of their friends and family. “Look, babe. Some of our guests are already here to see you. I’ll be quick.”
“Oh, good! I’m glad they’re here.” Heather walked to the door to greet their friends, but Rebel felt her eyes boring into his back until he was out of sight.
Rebel drove to their rendezvous point, parked his truck, and walked in silence alongside Tucker over the last two blocks to their final destination. Rebel opened the front door, walked inside, and quickly assessed the scene. Tucker inclined his head toward Rebel and closed the door behind him on his way back out. Rebel moved around the small, dilapidated house, arranging the supplies and perfectly setting the stage.
Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) Page 23
