Sweet Surrender
Page 21
Bella smiled at how cute the couple looked and instantly could feel the chemistry between the pair. She was happy to think about that while she ate instead of her own problems.
When the donut was gone and the coffee mug was being refilled by Calvin, she asked, “Any news?”
He nodded. “They put out an APB on the guy and found out he’d been staying at a hotel two blocks away from here.”
Bella shivered and sipped her coffee to warm up. “Did they get him?”
“No, he gave the officers the slip. Left all his things in the room, though, and they impounded his parents’ car, which he drove out here. They also have the gun he used to shoot his parents, Fredrick, Kenny, and Michael.” Calvin smiled. “They think it’s the only gun he had.” He sobered. “There’s video from Michael’s place of the murder. It confirms that it was Eddie.” Calvin put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe I hired the psychopath.”
Bella touched his face until he looked up at her. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have.” He closed his eyes.
“The man is a psychopath. What’s the thing everyone says about them? No one who knew them knew the darkness hidden beneath?” She shook her head. “Sure, the guy creeped me out, but I would have never guessed he was capable of cold-blooded murder.”
“Right.” He nodded. “We’re on a flight heading home this evening. Think you can pack?”
She glanced around. “What about…”
“Maggie’s going to stay here and make sure everything else of yours gets shipped off. They’ll keep the police detail here to watch her until they catch Eddie.” He leaned closer and whispered. “I think Maggie and officer Tom there have a thing going.” He chuckled.
Bella glanced over and nodded as the couple whispered something to each other. “I think you’re right.” She smiled. “It would be nice to have something good come out of this mess.”
He held onto her. “I’ve already got something pretty damn good.” He kissed her on the top of the head. “What do you say we go pack?”
It was surprisingly easy to pack up her things, despite knowing that she would never return to the apartment.
Maggie helped her toss the rest of her personal things in the empty boxes that would be shipped with the rest of her stuff. She stuffed her suitcases with items that she would be taking home on the plane.
Calvin’s suitcase sat filled by the door already. He spent his time out with the police, trying to get any information he could to them about Eddie.
When her room was bare, she glanced around and thought about all the good times she’d had here. Most of the ones that came to her included Calvin.
“I’m going to miss you,” Maggie said as she hugged her. “I’ve arranged for your interviews to be rescheduled at a studio closer to you in New York for next week. I also got you booked to play on a little show. You may have heard of it. Saturday Night Live?” She smiled.
Bella squealed and then hugged Maggie again. “I could just kiss you,” she said with a smile.
Maggie laughed and held up her hands. “Oh no, I don’t go for skinny white girls.” Her eyes darted towards the door.
“No.” Bella smiled. “I think you like tall, handsome, blue-eyed cops.”
Maggie glared at her. “Girl, that man has some lips I’d like to…” She shook her head and smiled. “His body’s not too bad either.” She laughed and hugged her again.
“Well, you’ll have plenty of time with him. Calvin’s out there arranging to make sure he’s on your security detail.”
Maggie chuckled. “I knew I liked your man for a reason.” Then she turned towards her. “Be happy.”
“I am.” Bella smiled.
“I hate that you’re going to be so far away from me, but we can make this work. I promise you.”
“I know you can do it.” She smiled. “I hired the best of the best.”
Maggie laughed. “Suck up.”
“I learned from the best.” She hugged her friend again.
She tried not to cry as they pulled away from her apartment complex for the last time. But tears rolled down her cheeks when she glanced back as they rolled towards the airport.
Then she turned to Calvin and wiped them away.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Better than okay.” She smiled. “I’m going home.” She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was the best thing Bella could have said to him. He’d been worried for so long that she wouldn’t want to return with him. Part of him kept telling himself that he didn’t deserve her, while other parts kept screaming at him to take what pleasures he could while he could.
When the cab pulled into the airport parking lot, he helped unload all Bella’s luggage to the curb. She’d packed as much as she had because it would be two weeks before her stuff would be shipped out to them.
He didn’t mind the extra bags he’d put in the back of the cab for her, since they were all being checked in at the curb at the airport.
“I’m going to go check-in.” She motioned to the kiosk stations just inside the door while he waited for the baggage claim employee to finish checking in all her luggage.
“Why don’t you wait for me?” he suggested, not wanting her to stray too far from him.
“Calvin, it’s just a few feet away.” She smiled up at him. “We’re in a crowded airport,” she reminded him. “This way, we can have a little extra time before our flight to get a glass of wine and maybe some dinner.”
“Fine.” He sighed as he brushed his lips across hers once more. “Stay within sight,” he murmured.
“Yes, sir.” She stood back and saluted him with a laugh.
“I love you,” he said and kissed her again.
She stopped and her smile slipped slightly as she looked into his eyes. “I love you too.”
He felt his heart skip and then she moved away, and he was called to move up in line as the employee helped him start to shuffle their bags onto the conveyer belt.
The man had just handed him the last baggage claim ticket when he heard a commotion as people screamed and ran out of the doors less than five feet from him.
“He has a gun!” someone screamed, causing everyone around him to run in the opposite direction or to crouch to the ground.
He froze as his eyes scanned the area that he’d last seen Bella. As he rushed through the doors, he saw Eddie twist Bella’s left arm behind her back.
As he rushed towards them, he watched in horror as she fought to escape Eddie’s grip on her.
He was less than ten feet from them when Bella finally broke free. But instead of running away, she jerked her body back and flung it at the skinny man, sending them both flying to the ground.
He heard the gun go off just before it was knocked free of Eddie’s hold, and it slid across the ground towards him.
He took a second to kick it further away from the man’s reach before he gripped the guy’s shirt. Pulling him up to his feet, he plowed his fist into the man’s face, knocking him to the ground again. Calvin rushed to him again and picked him up a second time.
Eddie fought to get free of Calvin’s hold as a string of curse words echoed in the now almost empty airport lobby. Calvin was working on pure adrenaline as they fell to the ground. His fists continued to plow into the man’s face until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“I think you’ve got him, son,” an older black cop said as he stood over him. “Let us deal with him now.”
Calvin glanced around and realized that Bella was sitting on the floor where she’d knocked Eddie to the ground. She was holding her left wrist and watching him with concern.
“He’s a murderer,” he told the cop. “He’s wanted by the police for five murders. His name is Eddie Simons.” He moved over to Bella. “Are you okay?” he asked, feeling his voice pitch.
“I think my arm is broken.” She touched his face with her right hand. “You�
��ve got blood.” She touched his lip and he felt the sting of where Eddie had gotten in a lucky punch to his lip.
“I’m okay,” he assured her, then he ran his eyes over her. “The gun went off.” He touched her face.
She glanced around and then motioned to one of the kiosks and laughed almost hysterically. “I think he only killed a machine this time.”
“My god.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
He vaguely registered the claps and cheers of the bystanders as he held onto Bella. They sat on the airport floor and watched as the police handcuffed the unconscious Eddie. They had to wait for the ambulance to arrive, but he knew automatically that Bella’s arm was indeed broken.
Eddie was hauled away shortly after he gained consciousness and instantly began to spew curse words and lies to the police. Shortly after Eddie was hauled away, Captain Elizabeth Feller arrived, just as they loaded Bella into the back of the ambulance.
Bella wanted to go to the hospital in a taxi, but the captain convinced her to take the ride in the back of the ambulance instead.
“If you show up in a taxi, by the time you get there, every reporter will be waiting for you. The ambulance, with a police escort, will be there before the reporters get wind of what happened.”
The captain even convinced them to allow him to ride along and assured them that their luggage would be delivered back to her apartment before the end of the day. He’d handed her over the baggage claims and somehow knew that he would never see his underwear again.
Hell, as long as Bella was safe, he didn’t care.
The captain was wrong, though. When they rolled Bella out of the back of the ambulance, a string of paparazzi was already waiting for them.
“Damn,” he growled as he tried to shield Bella.
“It’s okay.” She rested her head back and smiled up at him. “It’s not me their taking pictures of. It’s you. You’re the hero that saved me.”
He glanced over and sure enough, the cameras were pointed in his direction as questions were shouted at him.
There were questions directed at Bella too, but most of them were about how he’d singlehandedly taken down a killer with a gun at the airport.
He wanted to laugh at the vague description, but then realized that’s exactly what had happened.
Bella was instantly moved into a private room. He was thankful for it, since he didn’t want to deal with the group of people trying to get a picture of them.
They waited in the room until she could be rolled in for an X-ray.
He called Ben and filled him in as she rested back, holding her arm close to her chest.
“Hey,” he said when Ben answered the phone.
“Hey, did you get on the plane yet?” Ben asked.
“No.” He sighed. “Something came up. You might want to turn on the TV.”
“Shit, what happened now?” Ben asked. Instantly, he heard Sarah in the background berate him about the language. “Sorry,” Ben said to his wife, and Calvin heard his friend turn on the television in the background. Then Ben was silent as he watched the news report of what had happened at the airport. “Shit, man, are you and Bella okay?”
“Yes, your sister is alive and well.”
“Hi, Ben,” Bella called out with a smile. “I’m fine.”
“We think she has a broken wrist. We’re waiting in line for an X-ray. Other than that,”
“Calvin has a fat lip,” Bella broke in.
“It’s nothing.” He frowned down at her.
“He took out a killer.” She smiled up at him and reached with her good hand for his. “And I love him.” She laughed.
“Okay, so they don’t have her on drugs yet, but I think it’s shock.” He frowned down at her as he joked.
“My god. Do you know how many gray hairs you two have given me in the past few weeks?” Ben said. “Wow, there’s footage of my sister tackling the ass—” Ben cleared his throat as Calvin heard Sarah complain again. “Sorry, the bastard down,” Ben said with a chuckle.
“There is?” Calvin flipped on the television set and changed it to a news station and hit the mute button.
Sure enough, they watched as Bella tackled Eddie.
“What were you thinking?” Calvin asked Bella with a frown.
“I was thinking… he had a gun and could have just shot me.” Her frown grew. “Or you.”
He took a deep breath as the scene changed and suddenly, he saw himself rush over and pull the man up to his feet and then plow his fist into the guy’s face.
“Okay,” Ben said into his ear. “You win. You punch way better than I do.”
Calvin couldn’t help it, he laughed as he watched Eddie fold under his fists.
“Shit,” he sighed as he watched himself lose control and continue to plow his fist into the unconscious man’s face.
“Yeah, intense,” Ben said in his ear. Then after a moment of silence Ben said, “Calvin?”
“Yeah?” He turned off the set and closed his eyes.
“Thanks for saving my sister.”
“Any time.” His eyes opened and landed on Bella, who was looking up at him like he was a superhero.
He waited almost an hour while her arm was x-rayed. A doctor confirmed it was broken at the wrist, and another nurse came in to put it in a cast.
He laughed at her when she picked pink as her cast color and watched the woman wrap the material around her entire arm to secure it.
Once it was done, he asked the nurse to borrow her pen. Leaning over Bella, he blocked her view as he worked on writing out his message to her.
“Marry me?” was spelled out in large letters so she could read it clearly.
When he finally let her see what he’d written, she laughed and nodded her head as she cried out, “Yes!” over and over again.
The nurse laughed and then relayed what had happened to several of her collogues.
Bella asked for the pen and wrote a large “YES” under his question.
Of course, at that point, word had gotten out that they had Bella Rothschild in the emergency room and requests for pictures ensued until they got her release papers.
He was slightly shocked that the nurses wanted his picture as well.
“You’re as famous as she is,” the older nurse had said. “After all, you’re the one who took out the madman and saved the woman you love.” She smiled up at him.
He felt a little foolish, but then he turned and saw the love in Bella’s eyes and any strange feelings disappeared. He had the most important thing, the thing that mattered most to him, and she’d promised to be his forever.
Epilogue
Standing on the pebble-ridden beach, she held the pink cast close to her body and took in the fresh air. She was finally home.
It seemed like it had taken years to get back here instead of two weeks.
When strong arms wrapped around her, she sighed and relaxed into a warm chest.
The weather was already turning and the leaves on all the trees were growing brighter. She’d missed the fall season so much. Now, it felt as if every feeling, every sense, she had was heightened.
She’d heard that near-death experiences could have that effect. But she knew it had nothing to do with what she’d gone through, but what she’d almost lost.
Watching Calvin rush towards Eddie that day, she’d had several moments of panic at the thought of the madman turning the gun on the man she loved.
She’d tackled Eddie not for herself, but for her future. The one she was going to build with Calvin, here, on this very spot.
She turned easily into his arms and wrapped her good arm around him as she looked up at the house, she now called home.
The home she planned on raising their kids in. The one she never wanted to leave for very long again.
She’d always wanted to sing, and she planned on continuing that dream, just as long as it didn’t interfere with her new dream. Of being Mrs. Bella Winters.
“Happy?” he as
ked as he held her.
“Very,” she answered with a sigh.
“Welcome home,” he said just before he kissed her.
Also by Jill Sanders
The Pride Series
Finding Pride
Discovering Pride
Returning Pride
Lasting Pride
Serving Pride
Red Hot Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Return To Me
Rescue Me
A Pride Christmas
* * *
The Secret Series
Secret Seduction
Secret Pleasure
Secret Guardian
Secret Passions
Secret Identity
Secret Sauce
* * *
The West Series
Loving Lauren
Taming Alex
Holding Haley
Missy’s Moment
Breaking Travis
Roping Ryan
Wild Bride
Corey’s Catch
Tessa’s Turn
Saving Trace
* * *
The Grayton Series
Last Resort
Someday Beach
Rip Current
In Too Deep
Swept Away
High Tide
* * *
Lucky Series
Unlucky In Love
Sweet Resolve
Best of Luck
A Little Luck
* * *
Silver Cove Series
Silver Lining
French Kiss
Happy Accident
Hidden Charm
A Silver Cove Christmas
Sweet Surrender
* * *
Entangled Series – Paranormal Romance
The Awakening
The Beckoning
The Ascension
The Presence
* * *