by Bella Grant
Beau reached the front porch steps as the first rumble started. The force of the blast threw Eddie and Beau out onto the gravel drive as debris fell on and around them. Eddie heard him scream her name, but black spots filled her vision. Pain consumed her body. This was it, the end. It was all over. She thought she heard him call her again, felt his hand brush her face, but then the world went dark.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jackie slammed on the gas after they heard the explosion from a few miles away. It took them too long to sneak out with the techs, and when they were finally on the road, they had to dump the guys somewhere before they could hightail it to the house. She pushed hard enough to nearly put the accelerator through the floorboards when the smoke rose above the trees. Gareth was on his cell, furiously trying to get all possible backup to the first safe house and sending out orders to keep Reinhart under surveillance at the base and out of the way until they could confirm or deny their suspicions of his involvement with Shane.
Jackie pulled up to the front gate, the headlights lighting up what was left of the house, and her stomach plummeted. “Holy shit,” Jackie muttered, trying to keep her hands steady on the wheel while Gareth got out of the car to open the gate. She couldn’t drive the Mustang through. Two black SUVs blocked the drive, so she left it, getting out and yelling for Savage and Sage.
They pulled out flashlights as they moved, pushing rubble to the side, coming across several bodies of men dressed in black, men they didn’t recognize. Jackie became frantic as she searched, not finding a trace of either one—
“Gareth! I found Savage!”
At first, she hadn’t been sure if it was a hand or not until she got closer and saw the rest of him lying quite still except for his very shallow breathing. Jackie checked his pulse quickly, noting all his injuries. Lucky for him, none were too serious, but he was cut pretty badly and not from the explosion. Rubble covered another body next to him, and when she cleared it off, found his other arm wrapped tightly around Eddie.
“Gareth! They’re here!”
“Are they alive?”
Jackie knelt beside Eddie’s body—bloodied and bruised from the explosion—and when she found the gunshot wound, her heart stuttered.
“Be alive… Please be alive,” she whispered and pressed her fingers to Eddie’s neck. “They’re alive! Where are the medics?”
Barely five minutes later, after Gareth and Jackie pulled them both from the rubble and Jackie worked to keep pressure on Eddie’s wound, the medics arrived, loaded the two up in record time, and raced off to the nearest hospital.
Jackie watched it leave then joined Gareth in reporting what had happened to Admiral Bard, a man they knew they could trust, making sure to give all details that would link Reinhart and Shane to Hugh. Admiral Bard immediately relayed orders back to the base to take Reinhart into custody to await questioning. Then he dismissed them, and they headed to the hospital.
Part of Shane’s body was found, torn and shredded, but Hugh’s remained intact out in the gardens, his face still frozen in a look of disbelief, staring up into the night sky.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Around two the following day, Beau was wheeled out of the emergency care unit and placed in a room by himself. Gareth visited him and assured him Eddie made it through surgery, and though she wasn’t awake yet, her chances were good. Beau listened as Gareth ran over the gambit of her injuries, each one cutting him deeper. He’d let that happen to her. After he swore he’d keep her safe, he let her get shot.
“Beau, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Gareth soothed. “Both of you are lucky to be alive after the explosion. Hell, you killed the asshole who did this to you both in the first place.”
“I know,” he muttered. “I need to see her.”
“Can’t yet, but I’ll see if I can pull some strings.”
Beau tried to pass the time listening to Gareth talk about things that didn’t matter when Jackie came in, her face drawn, carrying a vase of yellow tulips for the table.
“What the hell are those for?” Gareth asked with a laugh, but Beau didn’t care about the flowers.
“Jackie, how’s Eddie?” he asked quietly. She wouldn’t look at him. “Damn it, Jackie.”
“She slipped into a coma. The doctors aren’t sure why. Something about head trauma.”
“I need to see her,” Beau said and, grunting from the pain, swung his legs over the edge of his bed, grabbed the IV pole, and slowly limped for the door. “What room?”
“Savage, you can’t just march in there,” Gareth said, but Beau turned his steely glare on the man and Gareth hung his head. “Let’s at least get you a damn wheelchair.”
Gareth found one quickly, and Beau sat in it, his hands clenching the arms as Gareth pushed him through the hospital. When they reached the door, the doctor stopped them, telling Beau he couldn’t see her yet.
“You will let me see her or I will punch you into next week, Doc,” Beau snapped.
The doctor glared right back at him but shook his head with resignation. “Ten minutes, that’s it, then you have to get your ass back to bed.”
They moved through the sliding door, and the second Beau saw her, he lost it. His body shook with rage at the cuts and stitches on her face and arms. The bruises covering her face were dark purples and blues, and he knew under her robe was a bandaged gunshot wound because he hadn’t gotten to her in time.
“Gareth, can you give me a minute?” he mumbled, his voice tight as he fought back the hot rage boiling within him.
The door opened and closed, and Beau rolled himself closer to the bed. Shaking, his hand slipped under hers, holding it gently as a single tear slid down his face to land on her battered skin. She survived everything they’d thrown at her before, and she was going to survive this. She had to.
“Eddie, I know you can hear me,” he whispered. “You are not allowed to leave me. Do you understand? That is an order. You will not leave me.” He moved closer, kissing the back of her hand as his other smoothed the hair from her face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, but I’m here now and you are going to open your eyes and walk out of here.”
The machines beeped and hummed around her, but Eddie didn’t open her eyes. Beau watched her face, refusing to look away for even a second. His mind drifted back to the first time he saw her, knowing in that moment he never wanted another woman so badly in his bed and in his life. She commanded a fire—and a mouth—to match his. Eddie was the only one in this world who could tear him apart and fit the pieces back together in the same breath.
She was meant to be his.
The machines beeped again and suddenly flat-lined. Beau’s heart stopped as nurses rushed in, telling him he needed to leave, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He moved to the side, yanking the IV out of his hand so he could stand and watch.
It took two male nurses to hold him back as they tried to revive Eddie, charging the paddles once, then twice, and watching her body convulse with each hit drove him to growling like an animal in his despair.
“Eddie,” he whispered her name then yelled it when, after the third attempt, the doctor called time. “No! She’s not dead!” His voice broke, and he threw the two nurses aside, storming the bed. “No, you can’t leave me. I won’t let you!”
“Sir, you need to back away,” the doctor said calmly. “She’s gone.”
But Beau wasn’t ready to let Eddie go. He pressed his lips to hers and held them there as he whispered. “You come back to me right now. You hear me, damn it! Come back to me!”
His fist hit her chest, and the nurses moved in to pull him back. He fought against them, yelling and cursing. They were at the door when a gasping breath filled the room, and everyone froze.
“Beau.” The faintest whisper, but he’d heard it.
“Eddie! Get off of me!” Beau charged forward. Eddie’s eyes were open, searching for him. “I’m here, Eddie. Right here.”
Her green gaze, once so cold, now stared ba
ck at him with a need so fierce his entire body stood frozen over her. “Beau… I’m sorry.”
He laughed, fighting back his own tears of relief. “For what?”
“Dying… again.” She closed her eyes as a smile lifted her lips, and Beau leaned in to kiss her.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m here with you, Eddie, and I’m not going anywhere.”
***
A few weeks later, Beau was released and told to take a few months’ leave until everything was straightened out. Eddie was transferred to a hospital nearby, having to stay a while longer, and he used the time to do something he never thought he would do again. When he wasn’t at her bedside, holding her hand tightly in his and watching over her while she slept, he bought a plot of land out in the middle of nowhere—one hundred acres—and got the plans together for a new house since his last one had been blown to pieces.
Eddie worked hard at recovering, and after some convincing from him, agreed to one final surgery on her knee. That was a week ago. So far, it was all good news. She was doing what she was told, for once, which gave Beau the time he needed to get the house off to a good start. A new home for him and Eddie.
He was there, staring at the construction that had started, when the rumble of an engine coming up what would be their dirt driveway distracted him from his thermos of coffee. A blue Mustang parked next to his Chevy Silverado, also new, and Gareth emerged.
“Well, I didn’t expect to see you any time soon,” he said happily, shaking Gareth’s hands.
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d swing by and check out the new place, and Jackie asked me to spy on the new plans,” Gareth said, surveying the land around them and nodding in approval. “You sure do have a good eye. Eddie will be really happy here.”
Beau took in the surrounding land. “I hope so. The doctor said if all goes well, she’ll be able to get here soon enough. She tried to talk me into kidnapping her yesterday.”
Gareth laughed. “Doesn’t surprise me.” He saw the blueprints on the tailgate of Beau’s truck and walked over to check them out. “This looks like it might take a while.”
“It will, but it’ll be worth it.” He rolled up the plans on his tailgate and couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “She’ll like it.”
He was going to bring her out to the land over the next few days as long as he could sneak her out from under her doctor’s nose. He’d only been away from her for three days, but he missed that damn woman with her hard eyes and stubborn attitude. More than that, he missed her touch and the scent of her hair. He wanted Eddie so badly it hurt, and he was tired of waiting. She was too, if her frequent annoyed texts of threatening to sneak herself out of there were any indication.
“What are you smiling about?”
Beau shrugged as he glanced at Gareth. “Kidnapping Eddie tomorrow and bringing her here.”
Gareth patted him on the back. “Well then, I guess I’ll let you get to your plans. Tell Eddie I said hi.”
Beau watched him drive off and got ready to leave. When he came back, the woman he’d fallen in love with would be at his side, and maybe his life would turn out the way he never thought it could.
***
Eddie’s face was bright as she sat in the passenger seat of the truck, watching the land pass by the window. “Where are you taking me?”
Beau’s lips twitched, but he didn’t answer. His grip on her hand tightened, and she squeezed back. She’d recovered well enough from her injuries, and as far as she could tell, her bum knee might actually be in working order soon enough. The cane was only temporary, she told herself. Only temporary.
“Seriously, where are we going?”
“Patience, Eddie. You’ll ruin it.”
“Ruin what?”
His chuckle was deep and warm. Eddie wanted to curl up with him and listen to it as they made love, holding each other close. She was tired of waiting for her new life to get started.
They pulled off the two-lane blacktop road, and the truck bounced over the rough terrain, driving farther and farther into nothing. When the first bits of building came into view, Eddie’s heart thudded faster. And by the time Beau pulled to a stop, her eyes lit up and she jumped out of the truck, forgetting about her bad knee.
“Damn it, Eddie.” Beau cursed and hurried around to help her as she staggered forward.
“I’m fine,” she said but clutched his arm anyway. She stared at the house currently under construction. “A house. You brought me to a house.”
“Yes, I did,” he said, laughter under his words.
“Whose house, Beau?”
“Whose do you think? Eddie,” he said and pulled her around to face him, “you are the most stubborn, pain-in-the-ass woman I’ve ever met. You drove me crazy from day one, and I know you’ll keep doing it, but I’m building that house for us.”
Eddie reached up to hold his face, bringing him down so she could kiss him. Her lips moved hungrily against his, and he wrapped her in his arms. She was warm and safe, despite everything they’d been through, how mad he made her, and how he would continue to drive her insane if they did stay together. Eddie didn’t give a damn. She wanted Beau, and she was not going to let him go.
“I’m going to take that as a yes, you’ll move in with me?”
Eddie sighed, leaning into his shoulder. “How could I ever resist?”
SIX MONTHS LATER
It was pitch black on the old dirt road that led to Beau’s house, and from the looks of the lightning coming from the mountains, rain wasn’t too far away. His bike roared faster as he rode with his eyes almost shut up the winding dirt road. The house loomed up out of the grove of trees which had been newly planted three months before, just as everything was being finished. He pulled into the garage as the first drops of rain tumbled out of the sky.
Beau closed the garage, noticing the old Chevy truck parked on the other side and wondered if she was home already. All the lights in the house were off, but something big and furry was there to greet him anyway.
“Hey, Admiral, yes, I see you. Get down, you big oaf,” he said quietly to the giant husky Eddie and he had adopted right after they’d started their lives together. “Where is she, huh?” Beau calmed the dog down, dropping all his stuff by the door. Admiral lay back down on her massive pillow, wagging her tail and wanting attention, but Beau headed up the stairs to the bedroom.
He jumped over the two steps that creaked and tread quietly down the hall after taking off his boots to carry them. Quietly, he opened the door and muffled his laughter as he walked into the room. Eddie’s duffel was dropped carelessly on the floor by the door, and she was passed out diagonally on the bed, her boots still on as well as her coat and hat.
Shaking his head, Beau removed his jacket and moved to the bed. He removed her boots, her hat, and her coat as she grumbled at him in her sleep. Finally, he picked her up and tucked her under the covers, positioning her in the right direction, and climbed in beside her. She automatically rolled over and snuggled into his chest, a smile spreading across her face.
He pulled her in close, shutting his eyes to go to sleep as well when she started talking, scaring the hell out of him. He jumped and almost fell off the bed.
“A bit jumpy tonight, are we?” Eddie said with a laugh, helping him get situated again.
“I swore you were asleep.”
“I was until you picked me up.”
“Well, I’m not sorry,” he said, smiling as he stroked her hair. “Now, what were you saying before I fell off the bed?”
“We have a wedding to go to in two days. I was just happy you got back in time so I wouldn’t be dateless.”
“Wedding?” Beau asked, confused before he remembered. “Oh yeah, those two are finally tying the knot.”
“They’re both finally home at the same time. So how was your trip—kill anybody important?”
“Nah, just another warlord in Central America. Nothing too exciting,
” he mumbled. “You?”
“I gave some drug dealers a package.”
“Package?”
“Yeah, those drugs were to die for… They didn’t even see the bomb.”
Beau sighed. “What am I going to do with you… blowing people up?” he asked as he drifted off to sleep. Eddie kissed him on the forehead and settled down herself as they fell fast asleep, both happy to be home and sleeping in an actual bed again.
***
The wedding was extraordinary. Jackie and Gareth married at a park under a beautiful, white, lighted gazebo that sat on the edge of a lake. Eddie and Beau were with the rest of the small guest party on the lawn, tiki torches lighting the area as the sun set behind the gazebo just as Gareth wrapped his arm around Jackie’s waist and dipped her to kiss her. Everyone cheered and whistled as Gareth let her up, and they walked down the makeshift aisle.
The reception was immediately after, and once the toasts were spoken and the food eaten, the partying began. The bride and groom found Beau and Eddie, and the two couples caught up on everything, exchanging what details they could about the trips they’d returned from.
“Oh, by the way, we have something for you,” Eddie told Jackie while Beau pulled a manila envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Gareth.
“Do I really want to know what this is?” he asked, flipping the envelope over in his hands until Jackie finally yelled at him to just open the damn thing.
Beau and Eddie waited while they pulled out two plane tickets and a brochure along with other paperwork and just stared at it, their jaws dropped and eyes wide. Eddie laughed as she nudged Beau saying, “I think they like it.”
