“My wife,” I explained, scrambling to come up with an excuse for her behavior. “She’s a little overly emotional since she became pregnant. And loud.”
His face morphed into a knowing smirk and he opened his mouth but before he could speak, Eden came rushing through my door. “Isaac! You won’t believe—oh.” She stopped short when she saw the portly, older fellow sitting across from me. “I’m so sorry!”
He grinned, and the appreciation in his eyes as he looked her up and down prompted me to jump to my feet. I rushed around my desk as I spoke. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Levine. We’ll contact you next week.” I spoke firmly and held out my hand, making it very clear that we were done.
After he shook my hand, Eden stepped forward with hers out and I grabbed on to it, tugging her into my side. She shook her head, clearly exasperated, but kept her attention on Mr. Levine. “I really do apologize for interrupting.”
“Next week,” I interjected before he could respond and glared at him until he was out the door.
“Isaac!” Eden gasped. “That was so rude!”
I chose to ignore her comment and simply lifted her into my arms, stalked to my chair, and settled her on my lap. “Sunshine, what have I said about that mouth of yours?” I rumbled with frustration lacing my tone.
Her hands fisted and went to her hips, her eyes shooting daggers at me. I tried, but failed, to contain my smile and from the steam coming out of her ears, it seemed it only pissed her off more. It was fucking adorable and I loved the stuffing out of her.
“You don’t want our baby hearing that kind of language, do you?”
This took the wind out of her sails and I grinned victoriously.
“I guess you’ll have to start watching your language too, then. No more telling me you want to fuck me,”
Yeah, that’s not happening. I immediately scowled but didn’t agree or disagree. “What has you so worked up, Sunshine?” We’d been back from Grand Cayman for three days and she’d been irritated at how long it was taking her to get any information. She must have finally found something.
Her face lit up and she started to almost hop around in my lap. I laughed and pushed her hands off of her hips so I could take their place and hold her still.
“I found several wire transfers out of that account and traced their destination. Remember that guy from the environmental studies company? The leader of the team who died?” I nodded and she continued, “He received one of the transfers. The best explanation is bribe money.” She put her hands on my shoulders and stared into my face. “Isaac, I think he falsified the environmental report that SO&G just released.”
Leaning back in my chair, I mulled over her assumption. She was most likely correct. A doctored report was one thing, but the fact that this guy was also “conveniently” deceased was sending up major red flags. “And the other transfers?” I asked.
“They all went to the same person. I have a name, but it’s a dead end.” She peered at me for a moment, clearly chewing on something in her mind. “I was thinking about calling Alex and seeing if he could make any headway with the name.”
Alex was a family friend and also happened to work for the CIA. Bringing them into the loop would blow this investigation wide. There would be too many involved parties to keep the firm’s name out of it and by extension, Eden. I started to shake my head in denial and Eden winced.
“You already called him, didn’t you?” I sighed.
She blinked her big, blue eyes at me innocently. “I thought maybe Evie might have heard the name,” she explained in an unusually subdued manner.
I froze. A memory from a random conversation with Eden’s father popped into my head. Victor’s nephew, Weston, was a CIA agent and had alluded to the fact that Alex’s wife, Evie, was rumored within the Company to have been a CIA assassin. If Eden wanted her input, it likely meant Eden thought... I almost blew the roof of the building with the force of my roar. “What the fuck, Eden?!?!?!? You think this guy might be a hit man?”
She put her hands on my cheeks and kissed my lips, trying to calm me down. It wasn’t working. “It was just a theory, babe. It could be nothing at all.”
“You’re done,” I barked. “I don’t want you anywhere near this case from now on.”
“Isaac,” she pleaded. “I think I can figure out who owns the bank accounts. I just need more time.”
I was already shaking my head by the time she finished. “No. I’m not willing to risk it. And, have you forgotten you’d also be risking our child?”
A mutinous twinkle entered her eyes, and her lips firmed into a straight line as she glared at me. “Of course not! But, my pregnant ass is sitting behind a damn computer. I’m not endangering myself or the baby.”
My protective instincts were screaming at me and I decided it was time to take her home. I wanted to be in our house, where I knew she was safe, and I could discuss this rationally.
“Let’s put this on ice and go home, Sunshine,” I suggested, though, my tone brooked no argument. “We’ll grab Chinese on the way.” At the mention of her favorite food, she perked up a little, but was still frowning at me.
I lifted her off of my lap and stood, putting on my suit coat and grabbing my briefcase. Then I walked her over to her office to collect her things before making our way down the hall to the front lobby. Before reaching the elevator, I popped my head into Jax’s office.
“Hey,” I called, interrupting an embrace between him and Natalie. She jumped and tried to scurry out of his arms, but Jax held tight and kissed her again. I laughed and when he lifted his head, his eyes were full of irritation. “What the fuck do you want, Isaac?” Natalie smacked him on the shoulder and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.
“I’m taking Eden home. I’ll be out for a couple of days, but we’ll still see you Sunday night for dinner?”
Jax nodded brusquely. “Yes, now get the fuck out of my office so I can kiss my wife in peace.”
Eden was giggling hysterically from behind me and the sound melted away a lot of my tension. “Carry on, lovebirds!” she trilled and tugged on my jacket, leading me away from the office.
Holding hands, we took the elevator down to the underground parking garage. Before we reached the sub-level, I pulled Eden into my arms and kissed her thoroughly. “I love you, Sunshine. You and our baby are everything to me. Everything. My only sunshine,” I told her raggedly. She smiled and pecked my lips once more as the doors slid open.
“I know.”
Still clasping her hand tightly in mine, I walked her over to the parking spot next to mine. The pregnancy was already taking its toll on her and she’d been sick and overly tired in the morning, so she’d driven herself to my office a little later in the day.
“Why don’t you ride with me and we can have someone come and get your car tomorrow?”
Eden shrugged and smiled. “Okay. Can you get my bag from the car though?” Her face flushed with happiness. “It has my copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting in it. It’s tucked into the console between the front seats.”
“Sure, Sunshine.” I hit the remote to unlock my car and helped her into the passenger seat. Then I jogged around to the driver’s side of her car and grabbed the handle. The keyless entry disengaged and I pulled the door open.
The loudest crack of thunder I’d ever heard filled the garage and my ear drums popped with the force. My back radiated with pain as it hit something hard and I realized I’d been thrown from the car, right before my head hit the ground and everything went black.
Chapter 9
Eden
“Isaac!” I screamed, the sound muffled by the ringing in my ears. I fumbled for the door handle and practically fell from the car. I dazedly noticed that his Audi had been pushed halfway into the parking spot next to it by the force of the blast. As I raced to his side and dropped down to my knees, I tried not to consider the damage it had done to him if it had been strong enough to move a car like that. “Please be okay,
” I chanted over and over again as I ran my hands over his body.
He didn’t move, not even the tiniest bit, at the feel of my hands. Not even when I slid them over his face and into his hair. Feeling something wet, I stifled the scream that bubbled up in my throat when I pulled my left hand away and found blood on it. With trembling fingers, I yanked my phone from my pocket and dialed 9-1-1. I’d only just finished stammering out the details to the emergency dispatcher when Isaac moaned my name.
“I’m here,” I whispered into his ear after bending low. “Don’t move. Help is on the way.”
“What happened?” he muttered, his words slightly slurred.
“I’m not sure,” I answered as I pushed at his shoulders to keep him on the ground. I refused to let him move until the paramedics got there and confirmed it was safe for him to do so. I’d share my suspicions with him after we were away from there and he was at the hospital. But they’d better hurry up and get there before Isaac’s head cleared and he put two and two together on his own.
His gorgeous gray eyes opened, and I cried in relief as he scanned my face, his worry for me clear in his gaze. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I confirmed, deliberately not mentioning how my shoulder ached from slamming against the door of his car after the explosion. I was damn lucky he’d gotten me settled into the Audi before he’d gone for my bag because it had protected me from most of the force of the blast. Seeing my strong husband lying there, I refused to even consider what might have happened if he wasn’t the kind of man who saw to his woman’s comfort first. It wasn’t because I was worried about what could have happened to me, I never wanted to see Isaac hurt in my place—even though it was exactly what he would want. But I was pregnant with our precious baby and what happened to me, happened to him or her too. When I felt his hand move to reach up and cover my belly, I knew he was thinking along the same lines as I was. “We’re both good.”
My answer was drowned out by the sound of sirens, and we were quickly surrounded by a bevy of emergency personnel. After they’d checked him over—which only happened following a cursory examination of me which Isaac insisted upon—and started to strap Isaac onto a board to load him into the ambulance, my heart raced in fear. I couldn’t be separated from him, not without knowing he was going to be okay.
“She comes with me!” he barked out, sounding like he fully expected everyone to jump at his orders.
“Sir,” one of the paramedics started to say, only to be cut off before we knew if he was going to argue or not.
“My wife is pregnant with our child, and her car just exploded. If you think I’m going to let her out of my sight, you’re insane. Either you let her in here with me or I’m getting the fuck out of here, and we’ll find our own ride to the hospital.”
“Isaac,” I interrupted softly. I desperately wanted to be in that ambulance too, but not if it came at the cost of Isaac’s wellbeing.
“She’s coming with us,” the paramedic blurted out, making the whole argument moot. “I was just trying to explain that it’s safer for her up in front. Riding in the back is probably the most dangerous place to be in the ambulance.”
“Shit, sorry,” Isaac grumbled.
The ride to the hospital was insanely fast as we raced down the streets with the sirens blaring. The emergency room staff were ready and waiting for us when we arrived, and Isaac was seen by a doctor right away. The sight of a couple police officers hovering outside his exam room made me feel a little safer, but it also worried me because explaining the situation without admitting to the laws I’d broken while searching for information was going to be difficult.
They stayed out of the way for hours, until after the medical staff had completed their neurological exam of Isaac, where they assessed his motor and sensory skills, hearing and speech, vision, coordination and balance. They followed it up with a CT scan to look for bleeding or swelling in his brain and an x-ray of his back to confirm he hadn’t suffered any fractures during the fall. But once they were done and confirmed that the worst of his injuries was a concussion, the officers were joined by two detectives and I knew they weren’t going to wait any longer.
After a quick conversation amongst the four, the detectives walked towards us. “Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, we’re with the Baltimore police department. We’d like to speak with you about the explosion.”
“I’m sure you would, but it’s not going to happen.” I’d been so focused on the detectives that I hadn’t noticed the man and woman who’d approached our little group from the side. Not until those words were bitten off in a tone I was quite familiar with while growing up since Alex Shaw’s parents had lived next to mine. He was closer to my sister’s age than mine, but I’d always felt like I could talk to him because he never judged me—not even after he found out the trouble I’d gotten myself into after Isaac had managed to secure me a deal with the FBI—and was smart as a whip himself.
“Who are you?” the detective barked out as Alex and Evie stepped in front of Isaac and I, blocking us from their view.
Evie slid her hand behind her back, reaching for mine and giving it a comforting squeeze. I’d never been more grateful to see my friends before than I was right then. Not only because they would be able to offer a buffer between us and the police, but also because I knew Isaac and I were in way over our heads and they would be our best bet for staying safe.
“Alex Shaw, CIA.” He flipped open his wallet and showed them some form of identification as he answered.
“The CIA doesn’t have any jurisdiction here,” the other detective argued.
“Maybe not, usually,” Alex conceded. “But the Harveys are under our protection, and I’m not going to risk their safety so they can answer your questions while they’re vulnerable here.”
As soon as the word “vulnerable” left Alex’s mouth, Isaac was pushing himself off the exam table to face off with the detectives himself. “I would be very careful about how you proceed, or else you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit.”
“Lawyers, always threatening to sue,” the first detective scoffed.
“If anything happens to my wife because you delayed us from leaving with Agent Shaw—“the threat of bodily harm or death I was sure Isaac was about to issue was cut off by the ringing of the detective’s cell phone and Evie’s soft voice.
“You’ll want to answer that,” she informed him. “It’s your boss. Or maybe even your boss’s boss.” Then she tugged me forward until I stood next to her. “Are you guys ready to go? Because the detectives won’t be a problem since they’re about to be told you’re leaving with us.”
Damn, I wanted to be like Evie when I grew up.
While the detective answered his phone, I voiced the question I’d had since they’d swooped in to save us.
“How did you get here so fast?”
“I tried calling a couple times after I got your voicemail message. When you didn’t pick up, I was worried we might be too late. So we got Emmy and Ash situated with friends and hopped on a chopper to get here as quickly as possible,” Alex explained.
Between my car exploding and the urgency with which Alex and Evie rushed here to intervene, it was obvious that my theory had been on the right track. If only the timing had been another hour or so in our favor, they would have had a chance to warn us. “I’m not sure where my phone is. The last time I remember having it was when I called for help after the explosion. I don’t know what I did with it after that.”
“You don’t have yours with you either, right Isaac?” Evie asked. “Because if so, we need to disable it immediately so it can’t be used to track our location.”
Isaac patted his pockets, presumably searching for his phone before he recalled that he’d changed into scrubs before his scans.
“I have it,” I admitted, pulling it from my purse and handing it over to Evie.
“Wait a second,” Isaac muttered, rubbing his temple. “I’m not firing on all synapses right at
the moment, so maybe it’s taking me longer to figure out what you all seem to have already realized. Who do you think is going to try to track our location?”
“The rogue CIA assassin who’s set his sights on Eden,” Evie answered.
“Fuck,” Isaac groaned. “We need to get her to a safe place. Now!”
“And you, too,” I added. “I refuse to let our baby grow up without their daddy.”
Chapter 10
Isaac
If only my head would stop pounding, I could wrap my brain around what the fuck was happening at the moment. Unfortunately, despite my only serious injury being a concussion, it had definitely addled my mind. All I could focus on was getting Eden and our little one somewhere safe. I sat back down and took a deep breathe.
“Sunshine, I want you to go with them, but I’ve got to get back to the office and deal with the shit storm that is about to hit. I took the case and I can’t just leave my client twisting in the wind.”
“You’ll have to figure something out, Isaac,” she retorted. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at me. “We go together, or we don’t go at all.”
“Fuck, you’re stubborn.” I wasn’t naïve. Even if I got her to a safe place kicking and screaming, she’d figure a way out and get herself into trouble. I decided to placate her for the time being.
“All right.” Her shoulders sagged from the lost tension, her face radiating relief.
Alex nodded and picked up his phone, stepping away to make a call. The detective who answered his, finally hung up and reluctantly grumbled an excuse of some kind and they left us.
“So...” Evie drawled out with a raised eyebrow. “Baby?”
Eden’s face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. “I’m finally pregnant.”
Evie threw her arms around Eden and hugged her tight. “I’m so happy for you. I know you’ve been trying for a long time.” Her cheeks pinkened a little. “I’ve kept myself in the loop by nagging your mom for news,” she laughed.
Alex returned at that moment, sliding his phone into his pants pocket as he approached. “I’ve got a place set for you two.”
For You, I Will (Sex & Vows #1) Page 6
