Marc looked at Chad, accepting his nod, and moved down the steps carefully as the ATF agent walked up. “I’d suggest you let me take over, but I’ve got the feeling you’d tell me to go to hell,” the agent said, trying to lighten the tension.
“You’d be right,” Chad agreed.
“I’ve got part of a uniform you can use and something for her head.” The agent handed the headgear to Chad, who slipped it on, providing protection to his face. He watched as the agent moved behind Dani, placing the headgear on her as well. He then looked to Chad for more instructions. “What do you need me to do?”
“I’m going to work to cut the tape off her midsection. Put the oil in a bucket and, when I release it, I’m putting the whole package into the oil and we’re getting the hell out of here.”
The agent left and returned a minute later with a container full of oil, placed close to Chad’s kneeling body. “I’ll set it here for you and when you’re done, we’ll take care of it while you get her to safety.”
The next ten minutes crawled as Chad methodically sliced the tape from her midsection. Looking down, Dani said, “Chad, cut my pants and blouse. Just take them away so that you don’t have to pull the tape back.”
Nodding, he knew it was a good plan, but felt his hand shake slightly as his knife passed through the cloth. This made the work quicker and within a few more minutes, he had the taped package, with the material clinging to the back, in his hands.
Looking into her eyes, he whispered, “Don’t move. Stay with me.”
A tear slid down her cheek as she fought to hold it back. Yearning to reach out to touch his face, she simply nodded. “Always.”
Chapter 30
Dani watched as he stood, ever so carefully, and placed the package into the container full of oil. The agent then walked steadily to the door where he was met by another agent. They took the container out to their explosive storage container.
As soon as the agent passed through the door, Chad scooped Dani in his arms and, shielding her from prying eyes, moved to a protected area of the yard. Monty had already set up a safety perimeter for them, keeping the media in the background.
Tossing his helmet to the ground, Chad carried Dani to the Saint’s van, where Blaise was waiting with a blanket. Her arms wound tightly around his neck and his arms, shaking, refused to let her go.
“Come on, brother, at least sit down with her so I can check her out,” Blaise ordered gently.
“Her clothes were cut away. Get another blanket.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Chad watched as the other Saints formed a protective circle around them, keeping any prying eyes away. Marc grabbed a blanket from his SUV and jogged over to wrap it around her.
“I’m fine,” she protested as Blaise shown a light in her eyes. “I’m not hurt.”
Blaise looked her over, but with some of the tape still attached to her body, it was difficult to ascertain any injuries. “We’ve got to get this tape off. Do we still have some WD-40?”
Bart ran to his vehicle and came back with an aerosol can of the spray lubricant. Blaise looked at Dani and explained, “I’m so sorry, honey, but this is going to hurt no matter what I do. I’m going to let Chad keep holding you while Marc sprays it around the ends. As we lift up the end of the tape, we’ll keep spraying.”
She smiled weakly. “I think if Chad was willing to sacrifice himself to save me…I can sacrifice a little skin.”
Chuckling, they arranged themselves and began working on the tape on her arms. The process took over thirty minutes, during which she clung to Chad’s arms as he held her tightly, offering his strength to her.
Roscoe made his way over to the van, his progress halted by the semi-circle of Saints. He stood toe to toe with Jack, his jaw set. Finally, giving in, he looked around at the group, saying, “You did good. You don’t follow orders for shit, but you did good.”
“Not our job to follow your orders,” Jack clipped, his taciturn voice hard.
With a sharp nod, Roscoe turned and walked away. In his place, Mitch came over. Nodding to Jack and Monty, he said, “She okay?”
“She will be,” came the answer.
Nodding, Mitch dropped his head, staring at his feet for a moment. Finally, lifting his gaze back to the Saints, his eyes settled on Jack’s. “I’m sorry. Really, fuckin’ sorry.”
“Wasn’t your fault, man. Don’t take that on.”
“A fuckin’ task force working out of D.C. and they don’t bother to tell me when a cell is sitting in my back yard. I fuckin’ understand need-to-know, but I promise you, heads will roll over this one.”
Jack clapped his hand on the agent’s shoulder and said, “You do what you’ve got to do, but this was not your fault.” He waited a moment, letting the words sink in, and then smiled as Mitch stared back. “It’s been great having a friend at the FBI as we work together, but if you ever get tired of the bureaucratic bullshit, you know you’ll have a place with the Saints.”
Chuckling, Mitch nodded, seeing acceptance in the eyes of the others around. Looking over Jack’s shoulder into the van, he smiled at Chad and Dani. “You know you’ll have to be interviewed, but that can wait until tomorrow.” With a slight wave, he headed back to his team.
The tape finally off her arms and legs, Blaise added cream to her skin, telling Chad to have her keep out of the shower for at least a day to give the ointment a chance to work on her abraded limbs.
Jack gave the nod to his men, and said, “You did good. Everyone. We need to debrief tomorrow. I suggest we meet at Chad’s place to make things easier on Dani.” Getting the nods from all around, they moved to their vehicles.
Luke, from the driver’s seat, said, “I’ll take you two home.”
As the van moved away from the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, now swarming with ATF and FBI agents, Chad tucked the blanket tighter around Dani.
She reached one arm out, sliding her hand through his hair and down to cup his jaw. Holding his gaze, their eyes remained locked on each other.
“You’re safe, babe.” He moved his hand down to her protruding stomach, saying, “You and our baby girl.” His thumb captured the tears flowing down her cheeks, before leaning forward to kiss them away. Moving his mouth over hers, he sealed his vows with his lips.
*
The next day, the Saints met for their initial debriefing at the compound before heading to Chad’s house. Mitch was present, Jack having taken him into their conference room.
“So Jahfar and Fazan were working undercover for the ATF,” Mitch said, still shaking his head at being kept out of the loop.
“I get that it took Fazan two years to be placed with Muhammed’s group,” Chad said, “but what about Jahfar? Was he at MES because of Dani?”
“According to what I finally got out of Roscoe, it was pure coincidence that Jahfar and Dani were hired by the same company and about the same time.”
Doubtful expressions appeared on every Saint’s face at the same time. “No fucking way,” Chad cursed.
“I know, I know,” Mitch agreed, “but according to Roscoe, Fazan had discovered that Ethan Petit at MES was in contact with Muhammed. So the ATF planted Jahfar at MES to see what he could discover. It appears that even Roscoe and Jahfar were surprised to learn that Adam’s widow was there also.”
“What was Ethan’s motive? What was he doing?” Cam asked.
“Looks like he’d been targeted by the terrorist group…they have their eyes and ears open for anyone that might be of assistance to their cause. Ethan fell for the oldest trick in the world,” Mitch explained.
“Holy hell,” Jude bit out. “He screwed around and was blackmailed.”
The others looked to Mitch for confirmation and were greeted with his nod. “Yep, he stepped out on Cybil, who was not only his girlfriend but also his boss. It seems he was more than willing to do what he could to keep that piece of information hidden.”
Marc, his expression thoughtful, asked, “You think he ha
d any idea of the scope of what he agreed to?”
Shrugging, Mitch answered, “I’ve got no idea. Probably not. Probably panicked and, once in, always in.”
“And Adam?” Chad asked.
“It’s like what you heard from Roscoe. It appears that Adam entered the dating site as a joke, but when he realized what was happening with the recruiter, he went to his superiors at the ATF. They had him continue to play along to acquire as much information as possible. That was supposed to be his only involvement with the task force, according to Roscoe. But then, things began to heat up and Adam got nervous.”
“Nervous? Adam nervous?”
“Yeah. It seems he became afraid that the recruiters would catch on to what he was doing and he was afraid of blowback on Dani. So, he resorted to an attempt to leave clues for her to believe in him if things went wrong.”
“The key. The note in the safety deposit box. The notebook,” Chad stated. “Any one of those things might have easily been missed by her.”
Mitch and the others nodded. “Yeah, it seemed as though he had watched one too many bad mystery movies. But he desperately wanted her to know that he wasn’t one of the bad guys…and certainly didn’t work for terrorists.”
Jack glanced at Mitch and said, “Why didn’t Roscoe speak to Dani when Adam was killed? He could have alleviated a lot of her angst.”
“Got no idea, man. I’m so disgusted with the taskforce right now. I’m afraid it’s tainting everything I’m feeling about my government job.”
Chad sighed heavily, shaking his head, gaining the gazes of everyone in the room.
“You okay, man?” Marc asked, looking into the tired face of his friend.
“Gotta tell you, my mind’s still reeling,” Chad admitted. “I felt all along that the Adam I called friend would have never become involved with terrorists, but when the evidence began to pile up, I wondered what the hell he was doing.” Rubbing his hand over his face, he continued, “But no matter what a cock-up he was with his marriage, the truth of the matter was…he was a good man.”
The Saints were quiet a moment before Monty asked, “How’s Dani?”
Chad leaned back in his chair, the fatigue evident from having been up all night with Dani. He gazed around the table, noting the concerned faces of every person there. Smiling despite the exhaustion, he replied, “She’s fine. The baby’s fine. I took her to see her doctor early this morning and everything’s good.” Sighing, he admitted, “We didn’t sleep much last night. The events continued to play over and over for both of us, so rest was elusive.”
He looked over to Mitch and added, “She’s going to want to know everything he was doing, but I don’t know what the taskforce will allow.”
Shaking his head, Mitch grimaced as he replied. “We’ll tell her anything she wants to know. Fuck the taskforce!”
That drew laughter from the group along with sounds of Hell, yeahs calling out. As the Saints completed their debriefing, Jack nodded toward Chad and said, “How about we continue this meeting at your house. The women are there with Dani already.”
Eyeing his boss, Chad gave him an appreciative chin lift. “Thanks, man. I know she’s anxious to hear everything.” Looking over at Mitch, he added, “Come on over and join us at my house.”
Breathing easier having the case close successfully, the Saint adjourned, smiles all around.
*
Later that night, after everyone had left, Dani and Chad lay in bed, processing everything they had learned. Utterly exhausted, she lay her head on his chest, enveloped in his strong embrace.
“It’s all over, babe,” he said, his hand stroking her lustrous hair, easing the tension from her body. “I want you to have sweet dreams for our baby and know that I will keep you safe.”
“I know,” she murmured, “thanks to your willingness to sacrifice yourself for me.”
“Dani, I would walk through fire for you. Live and breathe and die for you. I’ve felt this way a long time and refuse to let one single day go by that I don’t tell you…show you…prove to you that my heart is yours.”
Chapter 31
Five months later
The sound of a cry filled Chad’s ears, as he supported Dani’s back during her final push. He had stayed by her side during the long labor, his body aching while knowing her body had done all the work.
The doctor held up their daughter, red and squalling, her little arms and legs moving with indignation before being taken by the nurse. Chad wiped the perspiration from Dani’s face, peering into her green eyes, sparkling with happiness as well as unshed tears. Kissing her lips, he said, “You did it, babe. God, I love you so much.”
Laughing through her tears, she turned her gaze over to the corner where the nurse was weighing and measuring their newborn, before bringing her over.
“Is she all right?” Dani asked, suddenly nervous. She eyed the nurse carefully, her hands reaching instinctively for her baby as they laid the infant on her chest.
“She’s absolutely perfect,” the smiling nurse answered. “She’s seven pounds, eleven ounces and nineteen inches long.”
The baby blinked at the lights and Dani could have sworn she looked right at her. Chad lowered his head, gazing at his daughter. Hesitantly he reached out his large hand, placing it on her back. A blanket was brought and wrapped across the back, allowing their daughter to snuggle tightly to her mother.
The nurse smiled at the new family and asked, “Do you have a name picked out?”
Dani cooed to the baby, lost in the world of new mothers, as Chad glanced up at the nurse. “Her name is Amanda,” he replied. “It means beloved.” He leaned over, placing his lips on the top of his daughter’s head and whispered, “And you are, little one. Beloved.”
Four years later
Amanda sat on the couch, her reddish hair glistened as the sun shone through the window, shining on the silver framed picture held in her chubby hand. Staring at the three, smiling faces in the photograph, she grinned. She knew their story by heart, having heard it so many times as her favorite bedtime story. Her little finger reached out to touch each figure.
First was the tall man on the left, with dark hair and a big smile. Amanda thought he looked as though he had just told the others a joke. Or maybe thought of something funny but had kept it to himself. Adam, her father. Strong and brave, mommy tells me. He was a hero and would have loved me very much.
Her gaze moved to the pretty woman standing between the men. Mommy. Grinning, Amanda loved seeing her mother’s smiling face between her two favorite men. She thought her mommy was the prettiest girl in the world. I want to grow up to be just like you.
Next, her finger moved to the tallest of the group…daddy. His eyes were not focused on the person with the camera, but were glancing down at the woman in the middle, a small smile curving his lips. Amanda loved that expression. She saw it many times when her daddy would look at her mommy. Grinning, she realized he looked at her with the same smile.
Her heart leaped, just then, as she heard his old truck pulling into the driveway. Yelling in delight, she gently tossed the picture frame onto the sofa as she barreled out of the door, running to greet her daddy coming home from work. Waving her hands wildly in the air, screaming her greeting, she giggled when he swooped her up into his strong arms, swinging her around.
“Hey, baby girl,” he greeted, kissing his daughter’s head before seeing Dani walking out onto the porch. Her titian hair, pulled back from her face, showcased her porcelain complexion, the sprinkle of freckles still across her nose. Black leggings hugged her legs as a long blue shirt hung below her ass. Chad’s eyes immediately dropped to his wife’s arms, where she held a small, dark-haired baby. His son. Hugging his daughter tightly in his arms as he walked to Dani, not stopping until he moved directly into her space. Continuing to hold Amanda with one arm and wrapping the other around Dani and his son, he surrounded his family in his embrace and in his heart…and life was now complete.
The End
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Other books by Maryann Jordan
(all standalone books)
All of my books are stand-alone, each with their own HEA!! You can read them in any order!
Saints Protection & Investigation
(an elite group, assigned to the cases no one else wants…or can solve)
Serial Love
Healing Love
Revealing Love
Seeing Love
Honor Love
Alvarez Security Series
(a group of former Special Forces brothers-in-arms now working to provide security in the southern city of Richland)
Gabe
Tony
Vinny
Jobe
Love’s Series
(detectives solving crimes while protecting the women they love)
Love’s Taming
Love’s Tempting
Love’s Trusting
The Fairfield Series
(small town detectives and the women they love)
Carol’s Image
Laurie’s Time
Emma’s Home
Fireworks Over Fairfield
I love to hear from readers, so please email me!
Email
[email protected]
Website
www.maryannjordanauthor.com
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Amazon author page
www.amazon.com/Maryann-Jordan/e/B00JIAMYN4
More About Maryann Jordan
As an Amazon Best Selling Author, I have always been an avid reader. I joke that I “cut my romance teeth” on the historical romance books from the 1970’s. In 2013 I started a blog to showcase wonderful writers. In 2014, I finally gave in to the characters in my head pleading for their story to be told. Thus, Emma’s Home was created.
Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 26
