The Passion & Vows Series

by Fiona Davenport

  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.”

  I’d only met Alex once before the wedding and a few times after, but Eden’s father trusted him implicitly, which backed up the impression I had of him. I didn’t hesitate to put Eden’s life in his hands. I knew he loved her like a sister and would do everything he could to protect her. Eden grabbed my hand as I gingerly slid off of the hospital bed and stood up, holding the side rail with my other until the brief sensation of vertigo passed.

  “There’s a safe house just outside the city that isn’t being used right now, completely off the grid,” Alex explained.

  “I need access to a secure computer, though,” Eden insisted. Her hand was gripping mine so hard her knuckles were white. I carefully unclenched her fingers and kissed the back of each one.

  “I don’t want you near this anymore, Sunshine. You promised that if you were in danger, you would back off.” I tried to keep my tone soothing, but inside, I was raging at the thought of her being further involved. Over my dead fucking body.

  She turned pleading, ocean blue eyes on me and I felt a small fissure in my determination. “I’m so close, Isaac. With Alex’s help and a little more digging, I think I can find out who owns the bank account. And, I need to get my hands on a copy of the environmental report they released. The more I think about those double payments, the more I think it was a bribe.”

  My instincts were a jumbled mess and I didn’t know whether to follow my head or my heart. I pulled her close and met Alex’s steady gaze over her head.

  “It’s completely secure,” Alex informed me. “And, I’ll put her in touch with my best tech guy. I’m sure he can get his hands on all the reports, as well as the evidence that went into it. If they don’t match up, it will at least give us a direction to focus on. The whole process will go faster with them working together, and he can make sure that she doesn’t trip anymore fail safes.”

  Eden lifted her head from my chest and gasped, clearly offended. “I didn’t leave a trace!” I heard the tiniest thread of doubt in her voice, and Alex dropped his eyes to her with a sympathetic smile.

  “You are one of the most talented and intelligent people I know, kiddo. But, you’re still young and fairly new to the scene. There was a very sophisticated security measure installed on their system and once you inserted the bug, it tripped it. You didn’t leave a ghost trace behind, but all they had to do was access the banks security video. It didn’t take them long to tie it back to you.”

  “Dammit,” Eden grumbled.

  I sighed. “Would you stop swearing, Sunshine?”

  She glared up at me. “Really? Right now?”

  To my complete and utter shock, I felt my face heat just a little. I was fucking blushing. “Habit,” I mumbled.

  Evie started laughing and looped her arm through Eden’s. “Come on, let’s get you two out of here.”

  Alex turned towards me, but hesitated, silently asking if I needed help. I shook my head and though I wobbled for the first few steps, I eventually steadied and was able to walk out unassisted.

  A black town car glided to a stop right in front of the exit and a man with a buzz cut, black suit, and an ear piece alighted from the driver’s side. Wow. They were pulling out the big guns. However, instead of the sight giving me comfort, it ratcheted up my anxiety at Eden’s connection to the situation.

  The man came around and opened the back door for Eden, Evie, and I to climb inside onto the back bench seat, while Alex took the front passenger spot. “Can I use a phone?” I asked, realizing I had no access to communication.

  Alex looked over his shoulder and frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I need to let my partner know I’m going to be unreachable for a while, and I especially need to speak with my co-counsel, Natalie, since she’s going to have to step up to first chair in this case, and she needs to get the court to put my client into protective custody.” When Alex still looked dubious, I steeled my tone and held his stare with a determined one of my own. “It’s not just Eden’s life or my own on the line. And, I can’t let my client down.”

  Evie sat forward and laid her hand on Alex’s shoulder. Their eyes met as they silently communicated and finally, Alex sighed and tossed a phone back to me. My dexterity was a little slow, but I managed to catch it.

  I placed a call to Jax first. I’d have to convince him to allow Natalie to stay on the case. I didn’t trust anyone but him to back her up, and he didn’t know the case well enough to take over. I had to do it without revealing too much, and I felt like I was walking on a very thin tightrope. With Evie’s help, I managed to prove that simply defending Mark wouldn’t put his wife in danger. Eventually, he agreed, making sure I knew I owed him “fucking big time.” Next, I called Natalie and filled her in on as much as I could as well. She told me not to worry (fat chance of that) and she would handle everything.

  She asked to speak to Eden and I handed the phone over. Something Natalie said caused Eden to laugh and the sound was like coming home. Eden had always been a bright ray of sunshine, energetic, happy, full of life. As we worked on the case, she’d gotten more serious and hadn’t smiled as much. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it until that moment. Fuck owing Jax, I would forever be in Natalie’s debt for bringing my sunshine to the surface again.

  After hanging up, Eden handed the phone to Alex, who promptly removed the sim card and tossed it out the window. Eden frowned. “I thought you said it was a secure line?”

  “It was,” he affirmed. “But, it’s likely your phones at the office have been tapped and if you call a tapped phone from an untapped…” he trailed off, making a circling motion with his hand like he was saying, etc. etc. “Better safe than sorry,” he warned.

  It wasn’t long before we were pulling to the parking lot of a small, nondescript apartment building. The driver parked, then quickly exited the vehicle and jogged to the front door and typed a code into the keypad under the handle. He went inside and came back out about three minutes later, returning to his seat behind the steering wheel. “All clear,” he said gruffly.

  Eden, who was sitting on my left, leaned around me to whisper to Evie on my other side. “Does the CIA specifically recruit guys who grunt and have permanently scowling expressions on their faces?”

  Evie laughed. “It seems that way sometimes.” Her door opened, and Alex helped her from the car before I scooted out and did the same for Eden.

  We swiftly made our way into an apartment on the third floor, the inside as bland as the outside. A computer was set up on a scratched up wooden desk in one corner of the room and Eden made a beeline straight for it. Before she could get far, I snagged her around the waist and held her back. “You need to eat and rest, Sunshine. Everything else can wait.” Her stomach backed me up when it growled loudly.

  “I will, but—” she started to argue and I cut her off, splaying an open palm over her middle.

&nbs
p; “You’re eating for two, Eden.” At those words, she stilled, coming to the same conclusion, which was conveniently punctuated by another gurgle from her belly.

  I took her hand and led her over to a brown, corduroy couch. It was ugly as hell and clearly a relic from the 90’s, but it looked comfortable. “Lay down while I get you some dinner, then you can talk with Alex’s contact at the CIA and maybe, do some work on the case from here.” I wasn’t committing to anything until I talked to this Martin guy personally.

  She opened her mouth, no doubt poised to debate the issue, but wisely stayed quiet and swung her feet up so she could stretch out. Alex and Evie were standing by the door, talking in hushed tones but they quieted and turned to face me when I reached them.

  “Is the kitchen stocked?” I inquired.

  “Yes, but we can also send an agent to grab takeout,” Evie answered. “We’ve got someone on the back and two on the front.” She wandered to the desk and pulled a stack of menus out of the top drawer, handing them to me. “I’m going to stay here with you both, but Alex is going back to check on our kids and then go to the office. He wants to use the SCIF room to try and run down a couple of leads.”

  We put in an order for food and spoke for another couple of minutes before I crept over to check on my wife. I was sure Eden would be pissed when she woke up and realized she’d fallen asleep. But, I was extremely grateful to see her resting. Eden had suffered a few minor bruises from being thrown into the door when the blast shoved my car over. Then after the stress of worry over me, being in the hospital, and the mountains of other stress weighing her down, I could see she was dead on her feet when we arrived. She was still coming down off of the adrenalin high, and I was afraid she would burn out before she recognized the signs.