by Rhonda Lott
"Tell me what they did with the bodies and please tell me that you made sure Liston is truly dead this time."
"Yeah, he's currently missing the back of his head. The bastard was one step ahead of us this whole time, because he knew us so well, he knew every move we could possibly make." Kennedy grunted. "He used Pope and in the end killed him. He was the one who killed Hartwell and would have killed each of us."
"What about Pope's men?" Eli asked.
"The Bureau took care of all the bodies, the dead and the living. The director has called us all in for questioning."
Eli flinched, then turned to his friend. "Not going."
"Yep, that's exactly what I told him."
Eli slid Kennedy a raised brow.
"Don't give me that look. Erin is a part of Alpha Team now. No one leaves until we know she's going to be alright."
The door opened and Nurse Ballard stepped out, her eyes scanned the room. Eli's heart seized, fear like he'd never know before gripped him. He'd faced a laundry list of frightening shit, but nothing as devastating as the thought of losing Erin.
"Mr. Sessions?" she called out.
Eli moved quickly to her side. "Right here."
"Ms. Talley is awake and asking for you."
He felt relief wash from his head to his feet, making him weak at the knees, but one look into the eyes of Erin's mom brought him up short.
"Mrs. Talley, you should go in first." Eli urged Erin's mom.
Mr. Talley stepped forward. He was a big man, tall as Eli and fit for his age. His eyes were the same warm brown as Erin's. Right now his expression was one of deep consideration. "No, son. Our baby is alive and if you're the person she needs to see first, and by the look of you, you need to see her as well, then you head on in there. We can wait."
"Thank you, sir." Eli didn't need to be told twice, he followed the nurse, almost running into the back of the poor woman in his urgency.
Patients' rooms were arranged in a circular pattern around a central nurse's station. Erin's room was right in front of the station. Nurse Ballard indicated for him to enter. Erin was hooked up monitors and had IV tubes in her arm. She had her eyes closed and her chest moved evenly up and down. How small she looked there, surrounded by machines, her hands folded neatly across her stomach.
Pain and guilt, heavy and thick clogged his throat as he sat down in a chair next to her bed and gently picked up her hand. He feared she would be cold, close to death as she'd been, but her hand was warm. She squeezed his fingers slightly.
Eli's eyes shot to her face, through half closed eyes, she gazed back at him and he broke. All the pressure, all the fear, crashed down on him. Tears fell and Eli had to touch her, to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He placed his head on her shoulder and let the tears fall. Were they tears of joy that she'd made it or quilt for putting her there, he didn't know. He only knew that they fell for the first time in his adult life because Erin was his world, his heart, his every goddamn thing.
"Hey Elroy, no more tears. I'm ok." Her voice, raw and low brought a warmth to his heart.
Eli clamped his eyes down tight, forcing the tears back. She'd called him Elroy, his sweet love was back.
"Hi Elsa. I'm sorry baby. I love you so fucking much." Eli kissed her hand, the one that only God could make him let go. He brushed back her bangs and kissed her forehead. Erin sighed deeply.
"My parents, they're safe right?"
"Yes, they're right outside waiting to get in here to see you." A small uplift came to her lips, eyes clouding and sliding closed.
"Gonna kill that bitch Liston, he shot you." She slurred the words and then slipped under.
There she was flat on her back, recovering from surgery to remove a bullet from her body, and she was making plans to kill the man that shot him. Oh yeah, his girl was going to be fine. He sent up a prayer of gratitude. He wasn't the lead agent or the famous author, He was the man Erin loved. The southern guy who was staying in Wayland GA with his feisty, fearless, small town girl.
EPILOUGE
A dream. She woke thinking that she was still in a dream. Eli had her wrapped tightly in his arms. Morning light was streaming in through their bedroom window. He had left it open a bit and the room felt cool just the way she loved it. The coolness of the early fall morning gave her an excuse to snuggle in closer to her man.
"I'll never get enough of this." Eli's sleep roughened voice whispered in her ear before he took a nip on the lobe.
Erin was wide awake now, boy was she ever. Reaching her hand back between their bodies, she grasped his erection. "And, I'll never have enough of you."
Eli groaned and rolled her beneath him. He kissed her with the same intense, devastating effects he did that first time in his old barn. Only, this time she wasn't scared of him. Two months had passed. As soon as she was released from the hospital, Eli moved her into his dream house. Two whole months of bliss. It felt like they were two parts of a whole that had finally made it together.
Erin's blood caught fire as Eli nipped on the sensitive spot right behind her ear and gave her incredibly hard nipple tweaks with his fingers. She wasn't in the mood for fooling around. Sleeping shirt over her head, no panties to bed made for happy mornings, she opened her thighs for him. Eli moved between her legs.
"Is this what you want, baby?"
"Yes and yes."
Eli chuckled, then pushed inside. He stilled there for a moment, looking deep into her eyes. "I love you."
Then he fucked her. He didn't make sweet love to her, no, he fucked her hard and fast and she loved every spine tingling moment of it. Too quickly paradise beckoned. In her mind, she wanted this to last all day, but her body had other thoughts. She tilted her hips and with each of his deep plunges, he hit her clit. Erin exploded. Flew apart at every nerve ending then fell back together. Eli let go with a soul shattering groan and full body spasm. He fell to the bed next to her.
If he touched her she would most likely come again. So she didn't touch him until she had better control of her electrified body. Eli's chest was moving more evenly now. He took her hand and kissed her palm, placing it on his heart. Erin didn't turn over or even look his way. She knew. Her heart felt what he felt, connected, complete.
Eli's cell phone starting ringing and someone starting knocking on their door at the same moment. "That had better not be my dad coming to take you hunting, or fishing, or God knows what." She grumbled as they both scrambled around the room dressing quickly.
"You're one to talk. My mother and sisters only call to talk to you now. I don't believe they even ask about me anymore." Eli pouted.
"I'm lovable, you know that." She threw him a smile as she slipped out the bedroom. Eli caught up to her and swatted her, but, before opening the door.
Alpha team stood on the front porch. The four men piled inside, with hugs for Erin and fist bumps for Eli. Erin was bubbling up inside with happiness. They hadn't seen the guys for weeks. They disappeared after her recovery. Eli joined them in Washington to debrief the Director, but after that they were in the wind. Now the big, bad ass agents were shooting the shit with Eli, acting as if they had never been apart.
"So, what have you been up to, Lead and Lady Lead." Jayce asked, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I thought I told you not to call me Lead, Romero." Eli gave his friend a glare.
Rough laughter boomed through the room. Erin sat on the arm of Eli's chair. Her man might not show it, but he was glad to see the guys. He had been closed up in his office finishing the second book in his thriller series. He could use the break.
"We have a proposition for you." Kennedy said, sitting forward. "I put some feelers out to some clients I knew from my days as a police officer. Put up a site and BAMB." He tossed a three inch thick folder on the coffee table. "All requests for help. The four of us put our money together and was thinking of starting a private investigation company. Not you're run of the mill type shit. We will focus on people who are being abused or threate
ned. None of that following cheating husbands and shit."
Eli was nodding his head. "That sounds good."
"Good, you know we are going to be like fucking Robin Hood." Jayce quipped.
"We're here to ask you to join as our boss. I say boss, because you got a problem with Lead." Blake said.
Erin grinned. Eli needed this. Yes, she wanted to answer for him, but bit her tongue. He worked his book, fiddled around in the yard and went on excursions with her dad, but something was missing. This was it. His team, cases to work.
He looked up at her, she nodded. "Alright, I'm in. Only one request. We work from here. Wayland is our home and we don't want to leave."
"Awesome." Said Kennedy. "All we need to do now is choose a name and a first case."
Erin jumped up. "I know what you can name the business. Alpha Team Five Investigations, since it's only five of you now."
Blake frowned. "That's bull, Erin. Alpha Team Six Investigations, cause you're a part of us." His statement was met with a round of head nods and yeah, fuck yeah.
"I'll be our first case." Brennan stepped away from the window. As usual, he was the quiet, brooding member of the men. He tossed a newspaper on top of the files. "That woman in the picture. The paper says she's the wife of Bruce Cochran, Bruce is running for Mayor of Wayland. He is suspected to be running guns up from Mexico."
Eli frowned. "That sounds like something we should leave up to the feds or the locals."
"No, that woman, Casandra Underwood isn’t Bruce's wife. She's mine." Brennan said, folding his arms across his chest.
Erin watched as Brennan's usually unreadable face flashed with a sudden sadness that tore at her heart. No words were spoken, by the guys.
"Looks like we got our first case." Eli stood. "Alpha Team Six Investigations is open for business."
Erin held back as the men went in search of drinks to toast their new adventure. She didn't think for a second that returning Eli's laptop would lead to this, but she was damn glad it did. She was in her beloved town, with the man she loved. Now, as an official member of this team, she had better get busy and kick the guys into action. They had to get Brennan's wife back pronto.
FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading ELI (Alpha Team Six book 1). Brennan's story is up next with the rest of the guys coming soon. I hope that you enjoyed Eli and Erin's tale and if you could, please leave a review on Amazon. Thank you again for reading.
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