by Michelle Kee
Krista picked up her cup, moved off her stool and to his side. She leaned in and kissed him. “You’re welcome. Now, I have to go grab a shower. I got a meeting with Jerry to go over the itinerary for New York.”
Ethan stood. “I think I could use a shower myself.”
Catching his meaning, Krista laughed and walked away, adding a little more sway in her hips. Ethan was right behind in a flash.
***
Krista and Jerry sat in his office in downtown Austin finalizing the itinerary for New York. "Okay, you got hair and make up for GM America starting at seven. Your segment will air at eight thirty. After we wrap there, you have a meeting with the publishers just make sure all is good, which shouldn't take too long."
"And then we're free the rest of the day right?" Krista asked.
"Seems that way, but you know how these things can go. Now, onto day two. You'll be at the Today studios from eight till a little after ten thirty, give or take. After there we have that book signing in SoHo. Got us lunch reservations at Tavern on the Green. Then we're off to Howard Stern's studio for his show."
"God, I don't even like his show. Why did I agree again? Oh yeah, cause Danny's a fan." She groaned.
"Well, be glad you won't be expected to play with a robotic dildo on the show." Jerry teased.
"Asshole." She laughed, slapping his arm.
"Yeah, yeah.” Jerry grinned comically. “After Stern, you've got that children's hospital gig. Next stop is..." Jerry was interrupted by his secretary.
"Sorry to interrupt Jerry, but this just arrived."
"Huh, I wasn't expecting anything. Thanks Patsy." Jerry said, taking the box. He sat it on his desk and turned back to face Krista. "Now, where were we?"
“You were just telling me about the children’s hospital.” Krista answered.
“Right. Okay…”
That was as far as he got when the world that was Jerry’s office was uprooted, tossed around and then slammed back to earth. Krista found herself tossed across the room. She heard an earth shattering explosion, felt a surge of heat wash over her before her hearing went all muffled and a ringing sounded faintly. She must have blacked out for a moment or two, because when she opened her eyes again she saw a war zone.
The large, spacious second floor office that was Jerry’s was in shambles. The windows had blown out, part of the windows frames were hanging and swinging in the breeze now blowing into the room. Jerry’s desk was on fire and laying in pieces around the room. Groaning, Krista sat up. Her hearing was slowly returning to normal. She could hear screams and the blare of the fire alarms.
“Jer…Jerry? Jerry answer me!” Krista yelled, stepping over what was left of his ergonomic chair. She let out a hiss when she rubbed at her temple. “Jerry!”
A groan to her right had her turning. Slumped at the base of the wall length mahogany bookcase, was Jerry. Krista began screaming for help as she stumbled to his side. She began coughing as smoke continued to waft through the room and knew that despite the busted open windows, they had to get out of there. Making a decision, Krista grabbed hold of Jerry around his upper torso and began dragging him toward the door.
***
Ethan slammed into his seat when Tony slammed on the breaks. He jumped from the SUV and sprinted for the building. Firemen, police, EMT's and reporters were filling the courtyard of the office building that had housed Jerry's office. He scanned faces, looking for one face in a sea of faces. He had been on a call with Jimmy when Gage had barged in telling him there had been some kind of explosion at Jerry's office. Ethan knew Krista had an appointment that morning with Jerry to go over the final itinerary for New York.
"Ethan. Ethan. BOSS!" Gage yelled. Ethan faced his second in command. "Calm down brother. We'll find her."
"Gage, what if...she..." Ethan tried to speak.
"Don't." Lance spoke up. "Don't do that to yourself. We don't even know what happened here or if she was even still here."
Ethan closed his eyes and called on his steel nerves. His guys were right, letting that icy fear take over wouldn't do anyone any good. When he opened his eyes again, he felt a bit calmer. "Okay, spread out. Tony, check with building security. Gage, Grant, I want you two to take the EMT's and Fire Department. Lance, you're with me. Watch your sixes. If this is her stalker, he's just escalated and big time and he could still be here watching."
Ethan and Lance moved through the crowd. Ethan spotted the one person he knew he could get some information from. "Wilson!"
An older man turned and found Ethan. "Blackstone, what are you doing here?"
Ethan shook the detective's hand. "My current client, Kris James brings me here. Her agent Jerry Summerland has an office here and they were meeting this morning."
Wilson's eyes filled with sorrow. "Our reports say that the center of the explosion was in the vicinity of Mr. Summerland’s office. Building security got Mr. Summerland out, but he was in rough shape. He's been taken to St. David's."
"What about Ms. James?" Lance demanded.
"That I don't know. I arrived just as they drove off with Mr. Summerland. His secretary was talking to my partner over there." Wilson answered pointing to the left.
Ethan turned and headed that way, with Lance right behind him. They found Wilson's partner, Detective Ingram talking to an older lady. "Mrs. Kinley, is there anything else you can tell me?"
"Jerry...Mr. Summerland, seemed surprised, about receiving the package I mean. He said he wasn’t expecting anything. I had just sat back...at my desk when everything went...crazy. the room shook, there…there was this explosion and I was knocked out of my chair."
"Was Ms. James inside with Jerry?" Ethan interrupted.
Patsy and Ingram faced Ethan and Lance. "Y…yes. She was screaming for help. Saying...Jerry was hurt. I…I was in shock and couldn’t seem to move. By the time security got to our floor, Ms. James had somehow managed to pull Mr. Summerland from his office."
"Where is she now ma'am?" Lance asked gently, kneeling beside here.
"They, took her to the hospital. St. David's I think. She seemed okay, scared but...she was walking and had actually dragged poor Jerry out of the office." Patsy explained.
“Thank you ma’am.” Lance said.
"Ethan, what's up man?" Ingram questioned, pulling Ethan and Lance off to the side as the EMT’s took Pasty away.
"Ms. James is our client." Lance spoke when it was obvious Ethan was incapable.
"Ethan!" Tony called out as the rest of Blackout hurried to Ethan and Lance. "Bumped into Martinez. He says Kris was alert and ambulatory. After they loaded Jerry into a bus, they took her to the same hospital to be checked out. Martinez said he looked at her himself. She had some cuts from the windows being blown out, a cut on her shoulder, bumps and bruises, but she was responsive. He suggested she be taken in to check for a concussion."
"She's alive though?" Ethan forced out.
"Yeah boss, she's alive. Come on, I'll get you St. David’s." Lance answered.
Ethan nodded. "Gage, you and the others see what you can do here. I'll...I'll contact Nick."
Grant laid his hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Go to her Ethan. We got this. You take care of your woman. Ooh rah?"
Ethan gave a curt nod and let Lance lead him to the SUV.
***
Krista fidgeted with her hands. She hated hospitals, well, hated when she was the patient. She had spent a month in this very hospital she sat in when she was a kid after being in a bad car wreck with her Aunt Carmen. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get the sight of Jerry out of her mind. When they got her situated into the room, she had asked about him, but no one would answer her.
The door flew open, startling her. The most beautiful sight she had ever seen filled the doorway. Ethan. Her six foot three, big, bad, warrior stood staring at her. She climbed off the hospital bed, wringing her hands, her mouth opening and closing, trying to form a word. Finally, she squeaked out a single word.
"Ethan."
&nb
sp; In two large strides, he was across the room and had her wrapped in his arms. The fear, the anger, the worry, she had been holding back for the last half hour erupted from her in harsh sobs. Unable to speak, she clutched his shirt, burying her face in his shirt. His head laid atop hers, stroking her back.
"Sshh. It's okay baby. It's alright." He whispered.
"God...oh God Ethan. Jerry...he...they won't tell me..." She sobbed.
"I'll see if I can find out about him." Lance spoke up quietly from the door.
Krista lifted her head and faced Lance. "T…thank you Lance."
Lance gave her a nod and gentle smile, the first she had ever seen from him, then left them alone. Ethan moved them to the bed, pulling her onto his lap as he sat. Krista once more laid her head against his chest over his heart. "I've got you Krista."
"Christ Ethan, when that package blew..." She shuddered in his arms. "I hit the wall. Took me a second to realize what happened." She shuddered in his arms before continuing. “My ears were ringing for a minute. When they stopped, I started looking for Jerry. I found him but he wouldn’t answer me. Through the smoke I found him at the base of his bookcase. I got to him, started yelling for help. When I didn’t hear anyone coming I just grabbed him and started dragging him toward the door.”
"You did just fine baby. Just let me hold you now." She nodded. "Christ woman, when Gage told me there had been an explosion at Jerry’s office, I think my heart stopped. All I could think was getting to you. Seeing you with my own eyes."
"I was so sure I would never see you again Ethan. I just wanted you there to tell me Jerry would be okay." She sniffled.
Holding her securely, Ethan eased back onto the bed. Slowly he felt her body relax and her breathing even out. Only when he was sure she was asleep, did his own body relax a little. He would relax more he knew once he had a situation report on what happened at that building and on Jerry's condition.
'Christ, Krista could have been killed! How did this fucker get that close to her and Jerry?' His mind screamed.
The door opened and Nick came rushing in. He visibly relaxed when he saw Ethan holding Krista. "Thank god. Is she...."
"She seems okay, shaken but okay. An EMT friend of ours was there and said she was alert and moving. Hell, Nick she dragged Jerry out of his office." Ethan whispered.
Nick quietly moved the chair closer and stroked her hair. "That sounds like her. Always thinking of others before herself." Nick then lifted his gaze to Ethan. "Reminds me of a little boy I used to know." Ethan wanted to squirm. He opened his mouth but Nick beat him to it. "You and Krista always did look good together son."
"Nick, I..."
"You what? Care about her still? Christ, anybody with two eyes can see that much. My question now is, what are you going to do about it? Hmm?"
Ethan didn't think, just spoke. "I’m not giving her up again Nick. I’ve gone the last fourteen years without her and now that I have her again I can’t picture my life without her again. I WON’T go without her.”
“Have you told Krista any of this?” Nick inquired with a slight smile.
Ethan looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms. “Not in so many words, but she understands what this means for us being together. I’ve made sure this is one hundred percent what she wants. She said she wants to see this through and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Good. May I offer just a bit of friendly, manly advice?” Nick said.
“Sure.” Ethan nodded.
“No matter what, always be honest with each other. You know Krista better than anyone except her brothers, me and Debbie. Even if you think she shouldn’t hear it, don’t keep it from her.” Nick replied.
Ethan chuckled a little. “Nick, I don’t think Krista would let me keep anything from her. I don’t believe in secrets anyway. You start keeping secrets and things go bad, fast.”
“Very true.” Nick agreed.
Both men looked up when Lance slipped in. "Jerry's in surgery now, it could be a while. He was unconscious when they brought him in. That's about all they'd tell me."
"I'll go talk to the nurses and let them know where to find me. I'll also call his parent's in New York." Nick said.
Nick patted Ethan's shoulder, stood, shook Lance's hand then left the room. Lance moved and took up Nick's seat. The two men were silent as Krista slept peacefully in Ethan's arms. Lance leaned forward, forming a steeple his fingers under his chin.
"Tony texted me a bit ago. From what he was told, it looked like the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb. Fuck." Lance hissed.
"I know."
"What are we going to do now? This guy just escalated."
"I want you to reach out to Cain and Jimmy. You and the guys work with them and figured out what you can. I'll talk to Krista and see what she wants. She may want to still go on with the New York trip, then again she may not. If she does, we'll come up with something."
Lance lifted a brow. "You're not going to talk her out of it if she does?"
Ethan sighed. "You want to try and do that? Lance, she fucking drug her unconscious friend from a burning office. She's got bigger brass balls than most Marines."
Lance cursed. "I don't like it boss."
"I'm with you there, buddy, but it's her choice." Ethan stated.
Chapter 8
Krista sighed exiting her bathroom, wrapping the towel around her head. She had been released from the hospital that morning. They had kept her for observation overnight. Her shoulder had felt a bit stiff and other than some bumps and bruises, she was cleared. Ethan had stayed with her the whole time while his guys were out in the field gathering what information what they could.
She moved to her bed and sat at the foot of the bed just staring out in a kind of daze almost. Before leaving the hospital she and Ethan had gone to see Jerry. He was still unconscious, but he was out of the woods. The explosion had knocked him into his bookcase which had resulted in a broken leg, broken arm, several cracked ribs and a concussion as icing on the injury cake.
"Krista, you alright?" Ethan asked, bringing her back to the moment.
"Why? Why go after Jerry if I'm the target?" Krista sighed as he sat beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders.
"I don't know. Grant and Hawkeye are with Jimmy and Cain going over the evidence from the bomb. Hopefully we'll have some answers soon."
She laid her head on his shoulder. "What now?"
"That's up to you Krista."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I know you had no other plans this week. Next week is light enough that I feel alright with you keeping those engagements."
"What about New York?"
Ethan lifted her chin. "If you want to keep them, then we will. Myself, Hawk and Gage will go with you."
Squaring her shoulders, she spoke. "I want a no bull shit assessment Ethan. I mean it, I want your honest opinion. Would it be too risky to keep my engagements in New York?"
"Had you asked me that a week ago I would have said the risk was minimal. In lieu of the attack yesterday, yes the risk would be high. He proved he's closer than we think and he's good enough to get close enough to deliver or have a bomb delivered."
Krista stood and began pacing. "I figured as much. Alright. I can still do the interviews via skype for Today and Good Morning America. I think I could even still do the segment with Howard Stern via phone. I'll call the publishing house and fill them in."
"I can do that if you want. Tony could probably rig something up for you so you can call in your interviews." Ethan replied.
"Then we have a compromise. See, I can be reasonable." She teased.
Ethan chuckled. He stood and pulled her to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? I'm still a bit shaky. That was a close call. It pisses me off that he hurt Jerry, that he's in my hometown starting this shit. I want to nail his cowardly balls to a tree with rusty nails."
"Ouch."
"Right now though I just want to go out and blow something up."
Ethan pulled back a little. "That I believe I can help you with. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes."
Krista narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?"
"Just do as I said woman. You'll like it." He grinned.
Fifteen minutes later they were in his truck and were heading out of the city. As much as she tried to get him to tell her where he was taking her, he was staying tight lipped. She just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Slowly she felt herself begin to relax as they drove through the rolling hills. When He turned off the highway onto a dirt road, she frowned.
