Radiance

by Shayne McClendon

  “Give me a second. Give me just a second.”

  Her mind reeled with the knowledge that Harper helped her best friend when he was starting out because he was grateful for his discretion about the man he loved.

  Brie had another revelation. “It also led to the correct assumption that you weren’t disgusted by the thought of their relationship. It made you more appealing.” She grinned. “You wouldn’t have thrown up pesky emotion all over them.”

  Natalia laughed and the beautiful sound drew smiles from around the café. “I adore your pesky emotion.”

  “That they can keep their two worlds completely separate shows an incredible strength of will.”

  “Neither of them would risk Harper’s reputation on the kind of women wealthy men tend to pick up like lost pennies.” She shook her head and blonde curls bounced. “Without the luck or, you know, the ability to read.”

  Brie lost it completely for almost a minute. “That’s so wrong. I’m sure some of them are smart.”

  “They’re few and far between. It’s enough to make me grind my teeth at social functions.” She winked. “You’re the kind of trophy powerful men should want. The perfect package.”

  “Hardly, Natalia.”

  “Men like the flash, sometimes the Victoria’s Secret label on their ass, and then bitch like children when the poor dumb thing turns out to be all fluff, no filler. You have lots of good filler with your brain, heart, and pretty boobies.”

  The blonde mouthed the last bit and Brie didn’t know if she’d be able to pull herself together.

  “Gabriella.” Her laughter strangled and she glanced up to meet Harper’s eyes. Elijah stood beside him. “Natalia, always lovely to see you.”

  “Hello, gentlemen. Did your plane set you down on the roof? I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground.”

  “We wanted to surprise Brie.” The addition from Elijah visibly stunned Natalia. “I do speak, Lady Roman.”

  “Beautifully, as a matter of fact,” she answered. “I’m going to take Brie’s advice and nap.”

  “Allow us to escort you back to the building,” Harper said. Natalia looked as if she’d object. He added firmly, “Please.”

  Frowning, the blonde nodded. To Brie, she said, “Come, darling. We need to go.”

  Confused at her friend’s change of mood, Brie quickly gathered her bag and the four of them left the cafe. Everyone was strangely quiet and she hated being so slow with the cane.

  “I’m sorry I’m holding everyone up,” she murmured.

  “Nonsense, Brie.” Natalia tugged her hair from behind where she walked side by side with Harper.

  Both men were quiet and she wanted to ask if they were okay as they approached the building awning.

  A long black van sped toward them, a front wheel jumping the curb. The side doors started to open before it rocked to a complete halt.

  Elijah said coldly, “Cover.”

  Harper grabbed Natalia roughly and wrapped his arm around Brie’s waist, carrying her to the front doors. Henry opened it and he all but threw them into the lobby as the concierge came out from behind the desk.

  He barked, “Safe room. Call Winters.”

  Then he raced back to the street and Brie shoved grabbing hands away from her. Distantly, she heard Natalia scream her name. Her leg gave way at the front glass and she stared through the window on her knees.

  Several men wearing masks, dressed in black, were in a battle with Elijah and Harper on the sidewalk. She watched the men fight back to back, the bodyguard moving faster than her eyes could follow.

  It seemed to go on forever.

  They disabled several of the attackers before the rest of the security team landed in the thick of things.

  “You need to come with me, Brie.” Carlo tried to lift her but she fought him. “I have to get you to safety.”

  “No! I’m staying here! I have to stay here!”

  Just then, Harper met her eyes over Elijah’s shoulder. The bodyguard’s body protected his completely, pressing him against the van. Elijah’s other hand held one of their attackers suspended by his throat against the vehicle.

  She watched Harper’s lips move and Elijah glanced over his shoulder. His eyes went wide when he saw her at the window. He dropped the assailant and kicked him in the head.

  His hand on the back of Harper’s neck, the bodyguard walked him close to the front of his body, barking orders at his team. They stepped over several downed figures and entered the building lobby.

  Elijah dropped to one knee beside her. He kept Harper with him, forcing him to kneel as well.

  “Brie. Let go, Brie.” It was only then she realized she still held the metal framing around the front glass. “Come away from the windows. Let’s get you to safety.”

  Lifting her fingers away, she nodded. Her head felt dizzy and her stomach felt upside down. “I-I don’t think I can get up.”

  “Let me help, Brie,” Carlo told her gently.

  Turning to the concierge kneeling at her side, she noted a bruise forming along his jaw. “Did I…did I hit you?”

  “You were upset. It was an accident. Let’s make sure you’re safe.” Nodding to Elijah, the concierge helped her stand. “You landed on the floor pretty hard. Wrap your arm around my shoulders and I’ll try to find your cane.”

  “I’m sorry, Carlo. I didn’t mean to hit you.”

  “I know, pretty girl. No harm done. Natalia is probably about to lose her mind so let’s get to her as quickly as possible.”

  The trim man helped her to a space behind the lobby desk she’d never noticed. The tile pressed in to reveal a safe room.

  The moment she entered, Natalia grabbed her from Carlo and collapsed on a padded bench.

  “I am telling, darling. You scared about ten years off my life.” Holding her shoulders, she gave Brie a sharp shake. “When trained people with guns tell you to get to safety, you fucking do it and let them do their job.”

  “I didn’t know what was happening and it made me panic.” Then she burst into tears and Natalia hugged her tightly. “I need to be told things so I don’t react badly.”

  “It’s alright. Everything is alright.” To someone else, her friend said, “Get a blanket. I need to warm her up.”

  Instantly, a soft blanket wrapped around her but Brie couldn’t stop shaking.

  Lifting her hands, Natalia hissed. “Jesus, Brie. You snapped your nails to the quick.” Electric blue eyes lifted and there was a long pause. “I didn’t know it was so powerful already. Now I understand your reaction.”

  All the adrenaline left Brie’s body in a whoosh and she zoned out, shaking and confused.

  She didn’t know how many minutes passed when she realized Hudson crouched in front of her. He held her shoulder hard.

  “Gabriella.”

  She blinked. “I…I messed up.”

  “Everyone messes up.” He smoothed a lock of hair from her face. His other hand held Natalia’s so tightly his knuckles were white. “You’re both safe. That’s the important thing.”

  “Those men…they were after Harper.” Hudson nodded. “They would have kidnapped him, hurt him. He and Elijah could have been killed fighting back.”

  “Violence is an unfortunate side effect of money.”

  Brie rubbed her temple hard. “I didn’t realize. I thought Leonard was a precaution. I’m so naïve. I didn’t think…I never thought it would touch people I care about.”

  Hudson tried to reassure her. “The people trusted with our safety are well trained, Gabriella. Don’t worry. The main goal is mostly money.”

  “This attack was in retaliation for my purchase of a factory that laundered money for the Albanian mob.” Harper’s voice drew Brie’s gaze. “It’s always something but Elijah is very good at what he does and he hires other people he trusts.”

  He sat beside her. “How are you, Gabriella?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “You’re a horrible liar.” He lifted her fingers
and took in the damage to her nails. “You fought hard.” She didn’t know what to say. He lifted silver eyes to stare into hers. “Thank you.”

  She frowned. “For splitting everyone’s attention during a crisis and potentially making a bad situation worse?”

  “No. For caring.” He gathered her close and kissed the top of her head. “Elijah will be back soon. He’ll demand you join us and I agree that you must.”

  “He’s going to be angry.”

  “That won’t be his reaction. Rest.”

  Listening to the beat of his heart, she fell asleep.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Warm hands smoothed along Brie’s face and neck, bringing her out of a bad dream in a wonderfully peaceful way.

  Meeting Elijah’s lovely green eyes, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Come, Brie.”

  Bending, he lifted her in his arms and walked out of the safe room to the elevators. Several armed men accompanied them. They were clearly hardened fighting men.

  “Soldiers?” she asked aloud.

  “Most of Elijah’s team is ex-military,” Harper replied. “They’re the best at what they do.”

  “I’m glad.” Meeting the man’s eyes nearest to her, she said, “Thank you for getting there so fast.”

  Surprise crossed his face. “Of course, ma’am.”

  Three members of the team went room by room in Harper’s apartment while the other half remained with them in the hall.

  “Clear, sir.”

  Elijah nodded. “Help with containment and bunk downstairs. We’ll meet in the morning.”

  Without another word, he carried Brie inside.

  “You can take me to my apartment.” He didn’t respond.

  Walking into a bedroom, he set her down carefully on a platform bed and shrugged off his jacket. He opened a concealed cabinet and removed a black metal box.

  Resting it on the bed beside her, Brie realized it was a sophisticated medical kit.

  Harper stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

  Removing nail clippers, Elijah carefully trimmed her broken nails. With a tweezer, he extracted several metal splinters. When he was satisfied, he cleaned the tips and applied bandages to two that took skin and bled badly when they broke away.

  He unlaced her boots and took them off. When his hands settled over the closure of her pants, she numbly lifted so he could shimmy them from her lower body.

  Her eyes widened at the heavy bruising and swelling around her knee. Elijah broke an ice pack and wrapped it there. Reaching behind her, he pulled a blanket around her shoulders.

  Settling back on his heels, he watched her intently. Swallowing hard, she asked, “Are either of you h-hurt?”

  “Minor scratches. Nothing serious.”

  She nodded and exhaled. “Are you angry?” He shook his head slowly. “I didn’t know what was happening. I reacted badly.” Scrubbing at the tears that slipped down her cheeks, she added, “I’ll do better.”

  “You do everything exactly as you should.”

  He raised himself and put his arms around her. Cupping the back of her head, he held her as she cried out her stress and fear. After several minutes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him hard.

  “Thank you for being so good at what you do. I’m really fucking happy you trained Harper.”

  “How do you know I trained him?”

  “You wouldn’t have trusted it to anyone else and he fights like you.” She inhaled deeply. “Had I not been acting like those ridiculous women I can’t stand in movies, I’d have registered how fabulously fluid you are when you fight together. I’ll just point that out now.”

  He chuckled and hugged her harder.

  A while later, she leaned back to look at him. “I’m glad you’re both safe, that you weren’t hurt. I want to ask questions but I’m terrified of the answers.”

  Elijah used a damp cloth Harper handed him to wipe her face and smoothed her hair behind her ears with his fingers.

  “Most threats are thwarted before they’re carried out.”

  “That’s a relief.” Tilting her head, she frowned. “Elijah…why were you at the café? How did you know I was there?”

  “Carlo told me you’d gone for coffee.”

  As understanding dawned, Brie put one hand over her mouth. “You…you knew about the threat and you wasted precious time to get me back to the building.” Shaking her head, she was suddenly angry. “You can’t do that. You can’t!”

  “Brie.”

  “Either of you could have been hurt or killed and it would have been my fault.” She reached out to hold his shoulders. “Elijah, you can’t ever do that again.”

  “We agreed we had to get you,” Harper told her. “We came in covertly and the team was on their way. He wanted me in the safe room. I refused.”

  “Of course you did! You couldn’t let him go out there alone while you were safe. Not after…oh my god.” She shook her head. “You can’t let me mess up your routine. I can’t distract you! Neither of you would survive without the other.”

  “Gabriella…”

  “Brie…”

  They addressed her at the same moment but she was shaking again. “No! I’m fucking new here. I don’t fucking count!”

  Elijah gripped the back of her neck tightly, his gaze intense. “You fucking count to me.”

  “I don’t have priority over a relationship that spans forty years. Some woman who’s been around five minutes doesn’t get saved first. Not today, not ever!”

  “She damn well does if you know she fucking loves you.”

  His kiss shorted out her ability to think. It was rough, almost savage, and it went on and on. It blanked out everything but the feel of him, the taste of him.

  When he broke it, she pulled him back in a frenzy and took another. He gave her exactly what she needed. He kissed her until her anger and anxiety began to lessen.

  It took a long time.

  Leaning back, he whispered, “A woman has never loved me.”

  She held his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. Resting her forehead against his, she replied, “You’re a man who’s ridiculously easy to love, Elijah.”

  “You’re the only person who’s ever thought so.”

  “That’s not true. Harper just hides how easy it is to love you. He doesn’t want to seem weak.”

  “Gabriella. How the fuck do you know so much?”

  Most would have thought he was angry but Brie knew he wasn’t. All the time she’d spent with Hudson helped her navigate his mannerisms.

  “I’m astute.” She shrugged lightly. “One day, you’ll see that.”

  He didn’t answer but she could feel his stare.

  Gathering her close, Elijah kissed her head. “I’m going to feed you. It helps with the aftershocks.”

  She nodded against him and he lifted her to her feet.

  Wearing a sweater that cleared the top of her ass and fuzzy socks, she cleared her throat in embarrassment.

  “Um, I need to put pants on.”

  Harper raked his eyes down her body and took in her delicate pink boy shorts. “That would be a shame. Eat, then pants.”

  Looking at him, she raised a brow. “That sounds kind of shady, Harper.”

  He shrugged. “You have a remarkable ass. You shouldn’t cover it just yet. Let me get my pleasures where I can.”

  Laughing, she went to take a step and almost hit the floor. Elijah caught her. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  “You banged it pretty bad,” Harper said softly.

  “If it wasn’t already weak it wouldn’t be a problem.” She was so angry she wanted to cry. Again. She growled under her breath, “You start bawling and I swear to god, you silly bitch.”

  Gritting her teeth, she straightened and took a deep breath. “Do you have my stupid fucking cane around here?”

  “I like your feisty side.” She grunted and Harper winked. “I particularly enjoyed kiss my ass, Delki
n…that made me hard.”

  “You’re obviously a glutton for punishment.”

  “You have no idea.” Bending, he picked her up and carried her into the dining room. Setting her on a chair, he explained, “I don’t know what happened to your cane.”

  “I hope it got run over by a bus,” she mumbled.

  Elijah walked in the kitchen and started removing the makings for sandwiches. “You’ll have another one in the morning.”

  Tilting up her face with the side of his hand, Harper kissed her and she forgot what she was about to say. She reached for him and held the back of his head.

  A long time later, he lifted his face, changed his mind, and took another kiss. She moaned softly as her tongue coiled with his.

  Eventually, he let her go and stared into her eyes. “Don’t love me, Gabriella.”

  She sighed. “I’m doing my best.”

  “Elijah will love you. You love him.” She didn’t respond. “That will be enough.”

  “You really have no idea how the human heart works, huh?” She shook her head. “Go be stoic, Harper. I’ll watch.”

  A few minutes later, they joined her at the table with positively enormous sandwiches and drinks. She stared at the creation for a long time before picking up her knife and cutting it in half, then cutting the half into two equal pieces.

  Pushing her plate across the table, she gestured at it, “I don’t move around much. I’ll tackle this side.” Grinning, they each accepted a section. “This is less overwhelming.”

  She placed her napkin over her lap and Elijah followed the movement with a frown.

  “I have to maintain manners at least.” His eyes flicked up to hers. “I shall expose myself the moment I’m done.”

  “We don’t eat with women.” The statement from Harper surprised her.

  “At all?” She tilted her head when he shook his head. “How the hell have you managed to avoid it?”

  “They aren’t here long.” He lifted his glass of wine.

  She burst out laughing before she could stop herself. “Well, that’s one way. Do you keep little snacks they can take with them?” She winked. “I imagine they must not have much strength left when you shuttle them out the door.”

  Watching the infamously stern Harper Delkin snarf white wine was one of the best experiences of her life.