Rushing forward, she looked down at Gypsy peacefully sleeping. “How is she?”
Blaise smiled at her, though the lines on his face indicated his fatigue. “I can’t fucking believe it, but I think she’s going to be fine. The bullet missed all her organs and mostly went through the muscle. She lost a lot of blood, but Annie brought some from her clinic.”
“Oh, thank you,” Grace effused, her eyes not leaving his until he dropped his gaze reluctantly back to Gypsy. Grace stepped over to the woman, wanting to touch Gypsy, but uncertain what was allowed.
Annie’s smile warmed Grace’s heart as she nodded, “You can touch her. It’s okay. She’s sedated and, I promise, she’s not in pain.”
Bending down, Grace laid her hand gently on Gypsy’s shoulder before continuing the rest of the way down. Placing her head right next to the still dog, she breathed in her scent, nuzzling her fur. Silent tears began to fall, dropping onto Gypsy’s coat.
Annie blinked back tears of her own as she watched the agony play out in front of her. Glancing over at Blaise, she saw tears sliding down his face as he completed the stitching. Reaching over, she touched his shoulder, whispering, “I’ve got this. Go to her.”
Nodding his thanks, Blaise looked up as he placed the suturing materials back on the tray and pulled off his bloodied gloves. Standing behind Grace, crowding into the small space, stood the rest of the Saints. Every one of them. And, more than a few, quickly blinking while swallowing hard.
Walking around, his work on Gypsy now done, he focused on the woman holding his heart. He bent his body over hers, plastering her back to his front, laying his head next to hers. Whispering into her ear, he murmured comfort as his huge arms encircled her. After a moment, he raised up, lifting her upper body as he moved.
She turned, her cheek pressed against his chest, her arms holding tightly around his waist. The couple stood, silent…no words could possibly convey their emotions.
Annie quietly turned off the anesthesia machine and removed the endotracheal tube. Giving silent instructions to the men in the room, Chad and Jude walked over and assisted her in lifting Gypsy down to a soft pad on the floor. Bethany stepped forward and whispered to Annie, “I’ll help clean up in here. Just show me what to do.”
Marc came up to the couple in the middle of the room and said softly, “Blaise, you need to take care of Grace now. You’ve done all you can for Gypsy. Go get Grace, and you, cleaned up. We’re here for now. Come back down when you’re ready.”
Blaise felt, rather than heard, his friend’s concern, but knew he needed to see to Grace. “Babe, come with me and, I promise, we’ll be right back to be at her side.”
With that, he bent to scoop her up in his arms, carrying her out of the room and up the stairs. Kissing the top of her head as he walked into the bathroom, he glanced at their reflection in the mirror. Exhausted, bloody, complete total messes. And yet, seeing them together, he knew he was looking at the most beautiful sight in the world.
Chapter 31
Stepping into the warm shower after stripping both of them, Blaise maneuvered Grace where the water would hit her back. Taking the shower gel, he lathered his hands and then smoothed them over her body.
She leaned her head back allowing the water to cascade from her hair to her toes. Her gaze pinned his with unspoken words of love. A tremulous smile curved her lips as she took a shuddering breath. Letting it out slowly, she finally said, “Thank you.”
He moved closer, his hands now washing her hair, fingers massaging her scalp, keeping his gaze on her. “Babe, thank you.”
Her brow crinkled in question as she asked, “For what?”
Bending down, he whispered, “For staying alive.” His voice shook and he captured her lips before she could see the tears forming in his eyes once more.
For several long minutes, they stood, bodies pressed together, arms holding fast, as their lips met. Taking away fear. Soothing grief. Passion mixed with love.
Finally, pulling back, he said, “I want to take you to bed. I want to hold you in my arms all night long and never sleep for fear of losing one minute of my life not seeing you.”
Her easy smile pierced his heart, and he reluctantly added, “But we have a houseful of people downstairs who want to check on us. But when they leave…”
“Then I guess we’d better get down there,” she agreed, still grinning. “The sooner they can check on us, the sooner we can get on with our lives.”
*
By the time Grace and Blaise made it downstairs, Angel, Sabrina, Dani, and Evie had arrived and Mitch was just walking into the house. The group had moved into the living room where drinks and snacks the women had brought were being enjoyed.
Annie stepped over to the couple and hugged Grace. “We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Annie Douglass, a friend of Blaise’s. He’s helped me out when I had rescue animals that needed to be boarded so I was glad to have a chance to pay him back.”
“Please sit down and have some refreshments,” Grace offered, waving her hand toward the breakfast bar loaded with goodies.
“Thanks, but I need to get home. My husband, Shane, is sitting up waiting for me while keeping an eye on our kids.” She hugged Blaise before saying her goodbyes to the rest of the group.
Mitch walked over next, saying, “Grace, we’ll have to have an official statement from you, but I’d love to go over more of what you know combined with what we know, if that’s all right.”
Blaise started to protest, but Grace placed her hand over his chest and said, “Honey, I really want to do this. I know we’re all exhausted, but I’m ready.”
Kissing the top of her head, he moved into the living room, settling down in one of the comfortable chairs with her in his lap, unwilling to be apart from her.
Once everyone had sat down, covering all of the furniture and most of the floor space, Mitch rubbed his hand over his tired face and smiled at Grace. “Why don’t you tell us what you remember now? We’ll start with that.”
Sucking in a deep breath, she nodded, looking at the expectant faces of the crowd. The crowd of friends…ones who cared…ones who charged out into the night to save her. An emotion jolted right to her very marrow…I’m not alone anymore. Armed with that knowledge, she plunged ahead.
“I now remember what happened that night, although I don’t understand why or who all was involved.” Casting her mind back, she could now see the events taking place. “One of the TSA secretaries asked if I would deliver a package to the TSA at the Charlestown Airport since I lived nearby. It was not a problem and, in fact, I thought I might see Jocelyn. I arrived there and was walking towards what I thought was the terminal when I saw Douglas Wilkins. Before I could greet him, I could see he was deep in conversation with a tall, well-dressed man and I didn’t want to interrupt. They walked to another vehicle and as Gypsy and I neared the white SUV, Gypsy indicated there were drugs there. Not sure what to do, we moved out of sight and then watched as Douglas got into his vehicle and drove away. So I followed him.”
Blaise grunted underneath her, drawing her attention to his glare. “Babe, you never fuckin’ go after someone on your own. You always have someone take your back.”
“I know that now, but—”
“No buts about it,” he continued. “That was reckless.”
Glaring back, she retorted, “Do you want to hear my story or not?”
The others cried, “Yes,” in unison, causing her to smirk in triumph at Blaise. He shot her a warning glance, which only made her smile wider.
“I followed him and waited on the road after he turned down a lane. A deputy car came by and asked if I needed help. It turned out to be Jocelyn. I guess I now understand why she was in the area, but at the time, I simply thought it was a stroke of luck. I told her what I’d seen and she told me to follow her and she was calling for backup. Obviously, she didn’t and I was following her blindly, assuming she would never lead me into danger.”
She qui
eted, her mind now remembering the event clearly. A gentle squeeze from Blaise brought her back to reality. Blushing, she said, “Sorry. It’s so weird to actually remember everything now.”
“You take your time,” Bethany said. “Don’t let these men bully you into talking more than you want.”
Laughing at the incredulous expression Jack had on his face as he stared at his wife, Grace said, “No, it’s fine.” Allowing the moment of mirth to ease her thoughts, she continued. “Once we got there, we went to the barn and there were several men loading packages from the white SUV into the plane.”
“That would have been Joe Savine,” Mitch supplied. “He legally owns the property but has ties to the cartel. Also, Ricardo Guzman, the highest member of the cartel we’ve been able to capture was the tall, distinguished man you saw with Douglas.”
Digesting this information, the group turned back to Grace, eager to hear the rest of her story.
“It only took a moment for me to realize Jocelyn was part of the group and that she had not called for backup. While they argued, I took off running with Gypsy at my side.” Shaking her head, she said, “This’ll sound weird since I haven’t been able to remember anything for so long, but tonight was like déjà vu.” She saw the understanding expressions on all the Saints and their women, as they stayed riveted to her.
“I managed to get to my car, with Gypsy jumping into the back seat as trained, and I sped off. I thought I was okay, at least, to get to a town. Then, well, you know the next part. What I didn’t find out until tonight was that it was Jocelyn who was in the white SUV chasing me down the mountain. She’s the one who bumped me off the road. And she climbed down the ravine to see if I was dead. Assuming we were, she took my purse and phone.” Heaving a deep sigh, she added, “And left me for dead. I suppose it was her luck that, when I woke up, I had no memory.”
Blaise drew her attention as he said, “I wonder if that’s why you were so afraid of going to the police. Subconsciously you associated fear with the uniform.”
Her gaze held his warmly as she saw the agonizing concern etched into his face. Reaching up, she cupped his jaw, her thumb smoothing the creases. Turning back to Mitch, she admitted, “So that’s all I know. All I remember. But now can you fill in some of the hows and whys for me?”
Mitch leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his knees, piercing her with his gaze. “Absolutely, but first, I’ve got to say that you have been amazing throughout all of this. From the moment you climbed out of that ravine, before any of us knew you, to right now…you took care of yourself perfectly. You…and Gypsy.”
Smiling widely, she nodded her thanks. “I don’t think I could have done it without her. Not to begin with. And then without you,” she added turning back to Blaise.
A slight squeeze acknowledged his feelings as his heart overflowed once more.
“So what I can add at this time for all of you, but especially for Grace,” Mitch began, “is that DEA had the Savine farm on their radar for about six months but didn’t want to get just him. They wanted the man higher up on the totem pole and that was Ricardo Guzman, a cousin to the Guzmans of the Sinaloa Cartel that Cam and Miriam were escaping last fall. They were hard to catch because the Cartel can afford to pay, and pay well, to keep their business secret.”
Leaning back, he continued, “They finally got a break when an informant told them that Ricardo was coming into the country to oversee a shipment himself. What they now know is that Jocelyn was the person who would take her pretend drug dog to the Charlestown airport when called and would pass the shipments coming in from the private planes. We don’t know why yet, but the money the cartels flash around is addictive. She would sign off on their paperwork and that was the extent of what she had been involved in…until you made an appearance. Frightened of both being discovered and facing the ire of the cartel, she had to eliminate you.”
Shuddering, Grace leaned back against Blaise’s firm chest as his arms enveloped her.
“You okay, babe?” he whispered.
She nodded rather than answered, and he shot Mitch a look. Catching the need to hurry it along, Mitch said, “Douglas was on their payroll as well. He would recruit willing dog handlers who could be trusted by the cartel. He was also in on the deliveries and made trips to the Savine farm.”
The group released a collective sigh as the investigation came to a close…at least for the Saints. Mitch stood, saying, “Well, I’m heading out now. Grace, we’ll get the official statement from you tomorrow. For now, I’ve got serious as shit report writing to finish.”
Jack stood and walked Mitch out of the house and down to his vehicle. Looking at their FBI contact, who had become a good friend, Jack said, “You ready to quit? Ready to try something new?”
Chuckling, Mitch said, “Yeah…more than you know. Got some things going on…some family issues. I’ve got some decisions to make, but I’ll fill you in on them at a later time.”
“You know you’ve got a place here with us,” Jack said. “I’d be proud to call you a Saint.”
Grinning, Mitch acknowledged, “I’d be proud to work with you, Jack. Hell, with all of you. But not sure life’s gonna take me in that direction.”
Nodding, Jack met his friend’s gaze and smiled. “Understood. You do what you’ve got to do, but always remember…no matter where you go, you’ve got Saints at your back.”
*
The crowd having left, lingering only long enough for handshakes and hugs, Blaise alarmed the house with Ransom at his heels. Looking down, he said, “Come on boy, let’s go find Grace and Gypsy.”
Walking into the clinic room, his eyes immediately landed on Grace as she sat cross-legged on the floor next to Gypsy, who was comfortably resting. Struck with the comparison to the first time Grace had been in his clinic room with Gypsy, he could not believe all of the changes that had occurred since then. Talon was curled up in Grace’s lap sleeping. Grace lifted her gaze to Blaise as he walked in and sat across from her.
“Do you really think she’s doing okay?” Grace asked, her face a mixture of concern and trust.
Complete and total trust in him. He felt the punch to his gut at her expression. “I think she’s going to be fine. She’ll sleep well tonight.” Looking down at his watch, “What little of the night there is left.”
She tried to stifle a yawn but was unable to hide her exhaustion. Standing, he took her hand in his and pulled her gently up after scooping Talon from her lap and sitting the sleepy kitten on the blanket next to Gypsy. “Let’s go to bed. She’ll rest for several more hours and then I’ll get up and check on her.”
Sleep did not come easily to either of them. After watching her toss and turn, Blaise finally rolled his large body over hers, pinning her to the bed, holding his weight up on his forearms. Brushing the hair back from her face, he peered down at her, memorizing her face, relishing the feel of her body underneath his.
Lifting her arms to his shoulders, she dug her fingernails in slightly, the feel of his heavy body on hers comforting.
“We’re not sleeping, babe,” Blaise stated the obvious.
Grinning, she responded, “You got something to take our minds off everything that happened?”
Pressing his erection against her hips, he nodded. “Yeah, I can think of one or two things that might just make us forget.”
She giggled, squeezing his shoulders. “Blaise, I’ve been trying to remember for a very long time and now you want me to forget?” she teased.
Leaning closer, until his lips were a breath away from hers, he said, “You deserve nothing but good memories, sweetheart. So yeah, I want to take away all your bad ones.”
His lips touched hers, soft and gentle to begin with, before taking them possessively, erasing her cares and worries. And then, with his body rocking hers into the wee hours of the morning, he gave her nothing but perfect, new memories and a promise of forever.
Chapter 32
A year later
; “Perfect,” Grace said to the trainee. “Keep your animal calm and quiet as they approach the person in the wheelchair.” Nodding encouragingly to the young woman, Grace scanned the others in the circle. After she completed the training for companion dogs for the elderly, she became a certified trainer herself.
“I heard you used to be trained for security with a drug-sniffing dog,” one of the trainees said, clearly impressed and eagerly waiting for her explanation into the career shift.
Smiling, she nodded. “I was. It’s a noble profession, but,” giving a little shrug, she continued, “sometimes life takes us in different directions than we originally thought.”
“I’d think that going from that action packed world to this would be kind of a downer,” he continued.
“Not at all,” she replied. “Now that I truly understand myself, I like the direction my life has taken.” Just then, Gypsy trotted over, nuzzling her mistress’ hand as the class ended.
Squatting, she threw her arms around her dog’s neck, burying her face in Gypsy’s thick fur. “We know, don’t we girl. We know who we are…who we love…and who loves us.”
Just then a car honked and Gypsy barked. Standing, Grace smiled as the tall, handsome man came stalking straight toward her. Her dog went bounding toward him, receiving the first attention as Grace’s heart sung. Yeah I know who I am, who I love, and who loves me. No more mystery. Running, she jumped into Blaise’s arms, safe in his embrace.
Several years later
The trees in the park were in full green regalia as the summer sun beamed warmly on the families enjoying the weekend. A large pond, surrounded on three sides by thick trees, sported picnic tables and benches along the perimeter.
Two small children were running around the grass, laughing and playing with a large German Shepherd cavorting with them. A woman sat on a blanket in the shade, keeping an eye on the activities.
A man saw them from the distance and began to approach. The children were too entertained to notice him. The dog, growing slightly deaf, did not hear him approach either. His eyes dropped to the woman on the blanket. Long, dark hair blowing behind her in the breeze. A pink top with white shorts showed off her beautiful body…one he knew intimately. He halted as the scene in front of him stole his breath for a moment. Everything he wanted…needed…was right in front of him.
Remember Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 25
