John walked up next to us.
“We had a little chat before you came down. We have him on camera admitting to watching the building, breaking into your car and assaulting Heather. I can have him charged with trespassing, petty theft, vandalism, assault and we have enough evidence to get a Protective Order to stick, but they only last a year.” He paused to be sure I was listening. “I wanted you to see him and hear the shit that’s in his head. Some of that is probably because he’s high on God knows what – but whatever it is still started in his head. You need to press charges for what happened at the club. You have witnesses to the assault. He needs to be put away or this won’t stop until he’s dead. Or you are.”
Jason guided me back to the security office a few feet away. When we walked in, I realized one full wall of it was a window into the room where Dan was still yelling. I flinched away from the sight and Jason rubbed my back and told me “It’s one-way glass, baby. He can’t see you.”
But he was still in there ranting and raving, even though we couldn’t hear him. His nose was bleeding again, maybe that was part of why John took an extra minute to join us outside. I had to turn away from the window anyway – because I didn’t want to see him even if he couldn’t see me.
John put a cardboard box on top of the table beside me and he and Jason exchanged a look before he opened it. The box already had ‘evidence’ tape across the lid, but it hadn’t been sealed around the box yet. John pushed the box closer to me so I could see what’s inside.
“This was all in the trunk of the car he stole – along with a few receipts for some of it, proving it wasn’t in there when he stole the car.”
Coils of bright yellow nylon rope, two big rolls of duct tape, a box cutter, a handgun and a balloon attached to some kind of belt or something filled the box. I slid my eyes to Jason and pointed and the last item.
“It’s an inflatable ball gag. It…keeps you from being able to talk… or scream.”
Oh. Okay then. Tie me up, gag me, cut me, shoot me…. The room around me got a little darker and I felt my knees give way beneath me. He really was going to kill me.
~Jason~
I felt her start to sag against me. With an arm behind her back and one under her knees, I carried her a few steps to a chair and sat down with her in my lap.
“It’s okay, Emma. Take a second. I know it’s a lot.” I kissed the top of her head and cradled her against me. She’s fought believing the worst about her ex for a long time now. She’s not that kind of woman – which is one of the things I love about her. Because I will never be that kind of man. My life has taught me to set my expectations of people low so I’m not disappointed. I always prepare for the worst because, in my mind, it’s a lot more likely to be the case than not.
John crossed the room and crouched down so that he was eye-level with her.
“Emma. You’re going to have to talk to the police. They need to know about the club, but you also need to tell them about what he did when you were getting divorced. You’ll have to give official statements, but you’ll probably need to testify in court, too. I already called my contact at the local police department and he’s got a unit on the way, when they get here-“
I feel Emma turn her face into my neck and press her face to my skin. She’s done. That’s enough. I stood up, holding her tight against me, forcing John to stand, too.
“John, we’ll talk to the police tomorrow. It can wait. He’s in custody and she needs time to come to grips with all of this. It’s after one in the morning. We’re going back to my place. I’ll call you in the morning and we’ll figure out what needs to happen.”
John opened his mouth to argue and, for the first time, I let my anger and frustration show on my face. I’m fucking serious here and I don’t care that he’s my boss. Tough shit. She’s my woman. Her safety and comfort trumps his red tape. He can take it out on my ass later but, for now, she’s all that’s important. Period.
John’s phone rang and I heard him tell Frank to show the officers to the basement in five minutes. I took that as my cue and carried Emma to the elevator. She was perfectly still in my arms, but her breath against my neck was still coming too fast and shallow. I knew she wasn’t sleeping.
When we got back to my apartment, I tried to get her to stand beside me so I could unlock the door to the apartment. She held onto my neck for dear life. I pulled her up so she could wrap her legs around my waist and slid a hand under her ass to hold her still. Once we got inside, I locked the door and left the lights off.
I sat on the side of the bed with her in my lap and just held her. She was starting to freak me out a little. After a few minutes, I whispered that I needed to take our shoes off so we could lie down. She let me slide her off my lap but stayed pressed against me as much as she could. I took my boots off in the dark and unloaded my pockets and holsters onto the nightstand before turning to her.
I pulled her shoes and socks off her feet and leaned her back to unfasten her jeans and wiggle them down her hips. Once she was in her panties and t-shirt, I pulled the covers back and patted her hip so she would slide up to the pillow. I saw the glint of light reflect off her eyes when she reached for me and tugged on my t-shirt. After pulling it off over my head and tossing it toward the end of the bed, I slid in behind her and pulled her into me.
I curled myself around her as much as I could and pressed a kiss just behind her ear. “It’s over, Em. You’re safe. I’m staying right here. I love you.”
She didn’t say anything but I felt a tremble run through her. Slowly her breathing slowed down and matched mine. I felt it when her body finally relaxed into me all the way.
Every time I closed my eyes I saw the inside of the trunk of that car. Listening to that bastard scream at her, I had no doubt that he would have done a lot more than just kill her. Of all of it, the gag was what sent me over the edge. The idea of Emma being helpless and unable to scream – the idea of him doing anything to her that would make her scream – it was something that I know I’ll never be able to wipe from my mind.
The world is full of evil people who do terrible things every fucking day. I’ve seen more in my 37 years than the average person would in several lifetimes. But I chose this life. I chose to put myself on the front lines and face the monsters of the world myself so that people like Emma wouldn’t have to.
I accepted, long ago, that there would be things I’ve done or seen that would haunt me forever. I’ve held men – my own fucking men – in my arms as they’ve taken their last breaths. I’ve killed innocents when orders were given to take out entire buildings in search of a guilty few. I’ve walked away from people who needed my help because my mission didn’t include stopping to aid them. I’ve held crying widows after delivering the last words spoken by their husbands. I saw into the mind of an evil bastard whose sole intent had been to harm the most important person in my life.
It’s the last of these that freezes my lungs and squeezes my heart. That feeling of helplessness that swamped me when I saw what was inside the trunk washes over me again. The possibility that I could have failed, could have lost her and Mia… is the hardest thing for me to even contemplate.
Before Emma, my life was all about the mission. Working for RED-Stone gave me a way to try to balance out the debt I owed the universe, a way for me to make up for all the things I did in the name of duty to my country. Every person I helped RED-Stone save, every arms dealer we took down, every government mole we sniffed out – they all put a little tick mark on my side of the sheet. I went from mission to mission.
Sure, I played poker with some of the guys and made a day of going out to the practice range with Tex or one of the other special forces guys from the office. But I didn’t invest my time in people. I didn’t have relationships outside of my job because they served no purpose. I didn’t have anything to give someone else because I put everything I had into the company. I didn’t see a need for it, either. If I wanted sex, I could get sex without the other
complications. But even that wasn’t a priority. You learn to live without a lot of things when you’re in the field for months on end. I just hadn’t realized that I’d learned to live without someone caring about me. Just me. Because it’s not the same for someone to ask if I’m okay to do my job or if my injury will heal before the next mission.
That’s something Emma has in spades. She cares – about everyone – and expects nothing. She puts other people before herself but is shocked when someone tries to help her without wanting something in return. She is good and kind and she is the light I never realized was missing in my darkness. I never knew how dark the darkness was until her light shined into it.
I can’t go back. I need her too much now.
Chapter 21
~Emma~
I was alone.
I knew he wasn’t in bed with me before I even opened my eyes. Behind my eyelids, last night played like a movie. Each moment seemed like an out-of-body experience.
All that time that John and Jason kept pushing me to press charges. They told me it was serious, that Dan was dangerous. I never really believed it. I was so stupid about everything.
I could hear Jason’s voice drifting from somewhere else in the apartment. I know I have to deal with this today. I have to give statements and press charges and talk to police. I have to face the fact that Dan has become a monster and is trying to ruin my life one way or another. He’s hurt people I love and he’s taken us away from living our lives the way we want to live them. I have to end it – for all of us. This is on me now.
But I want to lie here and ignore it all. I don’t generally condone living in denial, but I think maybe I’d like to try it for just a little longer. Because reality isn’t my friend today.
When I finally opened my eyes, Jason was crouched beside the bed. He needed to shave and he looked exhausted. But he was easily the most wonderful thing I’ve seen in…forever. I stretched out my hand and ran it over his rough jaw, cupping his cheek.
He smiled softly and cradled my hand in his own.
“I love you so much,” I whispered.
His eyes closed and he turned his face and kissed the palm of my hand. “I love you, too, Em. I don’t deserve it, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be a man who does.”
After a moment, I tugged my hand back so I could sit up in bed.
“Time to face the music,” I said, dread and worry in my voice.
“The hard part is behind you, babe. Today will be long and frustrating but, after it’s over, we can put it behind us and move on.” He stood beside the bed, waiting.
“Okay. I need to call Carla and take a shower.”
“I already talked to her. Jax stayed with them last night until the police took Dan into custody. She’ll keep Mia until we’re finished today. She told me to tell you not to worry about anything. Mia loves being at her place and she can stay as long as we need her to stay.”
I nodded my head at his words. When I slid off the edge of the bed and stood, he pulled me into him and wrapped me in his arms. Safe. Warm. My favorite place. After a moment, he kissed my forehead and pulled away.
“You get ready and I’ll make you breakfast.” As I walked past him toward the bathroom, he patted me on the bottom. I just shook my head and laughed quietly. Such a man.
An hour and a half later, John met us at the police station with RED-Stone’s attorney in tow.
“Emma, this is Aiden Jones. He’s going to stay with you throughout this whole process. Jason and I have to give our own statements today and we can’t be in the room while they’re taking yours, but Aiden can. If they ask you a question you don’t want to answer, you tell Aiden. If you need a break, you tell Aiden. He’s the best there is, so you trust him and do what he says, okay?”
I shook Aiden’s hand and tried to smile when he said hello. I was starting to think I was going to lose what little breakfast I managed to eat earlier.
Jason turned me toward him. “Emma. Everything is going to be fine. We just have to make it through today, okay?”
“Okay. One more day.”
He placed his lips against mine for a moment. “One more day, baby.”
~Jason~
I watched her follow the attorney into one of the interrogation rooms at the station. My gut was screaming against letting her out of my sight, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. One more day.
John and I were taken back separately to provide statements. Fortunately, today anyway, my actions fell under self-defense since the fucker was armed when I ran into him behind the building. I gave a cleaned-up version of everything that’s happened since I first noticed the car outside our building through last night. Obviously, I don’t tell them about hacking cameras or satellite footage or anything else that could get my ass in trouble. Thanks to Uncle Sam, I could even pass a lie detector test swearing all I did was run a plate number and notice a stolen car parked outside the building.
Without discussing any of it, I know John will do the same. This is the life we’ve chosen – to live just outside the law while walking the line as often as possible. We keep what we do to ourselves for the most part and try to let the rest fall under the umbrella of ‘security.’ Thanks to the media and Hollywood, the general public actually believes that it’s normal for security to be armed at all times or monitor cameras constantly. That helps us to a degree. But the police don’t fall in the same category, so we have to be more careful with them. We don’t like lying about anything – but we all know the benefit of telling them only what they need to know.
Three signed statements, two interviews, a recorded deposition and four hours later, I was waiting in a hard-ass chair in the lobby of the station. Emma was still inside. I told John to go home. It’s Sunday and he hasn’t seen Heather in days. He agreed as long as I promised to pick up Mia and bring both of them to his house for dinner. It was about the last thing I want to do, but I knew Emma would want to see Heather, too. And, having been threatened by Heather in the past, I wouldn’t put it past her to junk punch me when I’m not looking if I don’t do what she wants. That woman should work for John instead of just marrying him. She could come in handy in some of our interrogations….
I had just stood up to ask the cop sitting at the front desk how much longer when I saw her. Pale, hollow-eyed, exhausted – the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. She walked out beside the attorney and crossed the lobby to me. She curled her arm around my waist and snuggled into my side as I spoke to the attorney.
“Five damn hours? Is she done?”
“She’s done until the trial dates are set. She’ll have to go through preparation to testify at the trial, but that’s a long way off.”
I sighed. “Okay. Thanks for being with her today.”
“Sure. You folks have a nice night. I’ll be in touch about court dates.”
Emma thanked him and we headed toward the doors and out into the afternoon sun. Emma stopped walking, closed her eyes and tipped her head back. The sun bathed her in golden light, turning strands of her hair to copper and burnished gold. I turned and threaded my fingers through her hair, pulling her closer to me. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me.
“Everything really is going to be okay,” she said. Then she leaned up against me and kissed me hard.
I kissed her back, pulling her tightly to me as I swept my tongue along her bottom lip and slipped into the heat of her mouth. Her soft moan as I stroke my tongue over hers sent blood rushing to my cock.
We were standing outside a police station for God’s sake. I forced myself to pull back.
I kissed her softly before taking her hand and drawing her down the sidewalk to my SUV.
“Let’s go home,” she sighed as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Home. After my mom died, I stopped calling any place ‘home.’ But this woman…. She is my happy place, my true North, the love of my life, the keeper of my heart…she IS my home.
~Emma~
I snuggled Mia close and sniffled back a few tears. I had never been quite so happy to see my baby girl. She was completely oblivious to the danger we had been in and the awful things that have been going on – and that’s exactly how it should be. I will never tell her that the man who helped create her became an unrecognizable bastard who planned to kill me. Someday I will have to explain the circumstances of her birth and my divorce, but all she needed to know now and years from now is that she is loved and wanted and that I will keep her safe always.
After a moment, I stood, holding Mia. Carla and Jason were near the door smiling at me. Jason held his arms out for Mia and I readily handed her to him. She laughed and rubbed his scruffy face with her little hands. Carla hugged me close and whispered in my ear.
“This man loves you, Emma. You and Mia, both. You love him back and keep him. He needs you just like you need him.”
I pulled back from her and smiled with tears in my eyes. “I will Carla. Thank you.” She patted me on the back as I pulled Mia’s diaper bag over my shoulder.
Jason told me that we were supposed to pick up Mia and go to Heather’s house once we were done downtown. I guess she’d been all over John since things happened last night and she was furious when he told her not to come to the building when she heard what happened with Dan. Heather does not like being told what to do – and she really doesn’t like being told ‘no.’
And that’s how we ended up retelling everything over fettucine alfredo with chicken and garlic bread at Heather’s dining room table. I knew that Jason and John made their stories tamer. Heather and I shared an eye-roll over that at one point when Jason explained that he walked out the door and Dan was ‘just there’ so he punched him and knocked him out. We let them carry on, but it’s not because we’re dumb.
Heather kept Mia next to her and let her eat everything she wanted off Heather’s plate. I gave up trying to tell her what to do – ‘Auntie’s house, Auntie’s rules,’ she reminded me. It all felt like such a normal night.
Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1) Page 19
