“Oh, damn,” she said.
He immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry, love.”
“I hope not. It felt good,” she said with a laugh. Then she cupped his face and kissed him.
That was enough to spur him on. Over and over he thrust into her, her moans growing louder each time he drove into her. Before he was ready, he felt his orgasm simmering, but he wanted to wait. He wanted Elle with him.
“Oh, yes, Graeme,” she moaned, just as she bowed off the wall. Her orgasm caused her inner muscles to tighten against his cock, pulling him deeper into her hot, wet core. He could hold back no longer. Shouting her name, Graeme gave himself over to pleasure. As he felt himself fall, she cupped his face and kissed him. That one act connected them on a level that he had not known existed, had never experienced before.
Several moments later, he stumbled to the bed, and they fell on top of it together. She sighed, the sound filled with contentment.
“Mo chridhe,” he said, kissing her temple. “I love you, Elle.”
She didn’t stiffen this time. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tighter. It wasn’t the end goal, but it was definitely a step in the right direction.
Pleased, he let her snuggle closer as they both drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
“What are you doing today?” Graeme asked her, as he held a strawberry up for her to eat.
She leaned forward and licked the tip of it.
“Bleeding hell, woman,” he said.
She smiled, keeping her gaze locked with his, as she took the entire strawberry into her mouth. There was something so wonderfully decadent about being fed strawberries and cream by Graeme. It helped that they were both still naked.
She chewed it and swallowed, then grabbed the champagne. “What did you ask me?”
“I asked what you were doing today.”
“I’m not sure,” she said, but before she could continue, her mobile went off.
Graeme frowned, but she just shook her head. They both understood the job and what it took from them. She wasn’t supposed to be working today, but she knew Graeme understood.
“Dr. Middleton.”
“Elle, it’s Will.”
She smiled. “Oh, good morning, Will. Did you need something?”
“Yes, I need to have my blood sugar checked again. I hate to bother you, but I thought maybe I could stop by tomorrow.”
“What does he want?” Graeme whispered.
She covered the mouthpiece. “Will has to have his blood sugar checked. He has a thing about needles, so I do it for him every six months.”
“Elle?” Will said over the phone.
“Sorry. Tomorrow won’t work because I have court.”
“Damn.” He paused, and she knew he was working it through in his head. “I might have to go to a regular doctor.”
She heard the worry in his voice, and it registered, but just barely. She knew Will didn’t want to go to the doctor because last time he passed out. With her, he seemed not to have that issue. But she was having a very hard time concentrating. Graeme had lifted the sheet and was now pulling her legs apart.
“Um, why the rush?” she asked, and almost moaned when she felt Graeme’s tongue tease her slit. Bloody hell.
“I want to be sure before I go in for the insurance exam. If it is high, then I need to really watch it. I have about a week.”
“Uh, a week isn’t going to fix everything.”
“I know that. I just want to be prepared before I go.”
Graeme pressed her thighs further apart, then slipped his tongue inside of her. She barely kept in the next moan that vibrated in her throat.
“Uh, how about this morning?”
He paused. “Yeah, I can come by, but I don’t want to make you come all the way back to Honolulu.”
“No worries. Del and Emma had their wedding last night, and I stayed overnight.”
“That would be brilliant if you could do that.”
“About an hour?” Graeme added a finger and started to tease her clitoris. “Um, make that two.”
“Good. I’ll meet you at the lab like last time.”
“Okay.” She didn’t wait for a goodbye. She shut her phone off and let it fall to the floor.
Graeme moved up her body. “Now, what are you going to be doing for the next two hours?”
She smiled and slipped her hands up his arms to his shoulders. “You.”
He laughed and tumbled them over the bed.
* * *
Graeme’s mobile rang just as he took the ramp to H-1. He needed to hit the grocery store, and then pick up Dumfries. He had special plans with Elle tonight, and he wanted to make a nice dinner to soften her up.
“Hey, Adam, what’s up?” Graeme asked.
“Do you know where Elle is?”
“No. Is there a reason you need to talk to her?”
“No, but I thought both of you would like to hear the news. I found the cop who was using Chester as a CI. It took a little bit, but Captain Pham actually is the one who remembered.”
“Well, spit it out.” Graeme demanded.
The moment he heard the name, his blood ran cold.
“Where are you?” he asked.
Adam paused. “I’m on my way back to Honolulu on the H-3,” Adam responded.
“Bloody hell.” Graeme spat out.
“What the hell is the matter?”
“Elle is meeting with the man who is doing everything in his power to cover this up,” Graeme responded. “Get back to TFH headquarters as fast as you can.”
He clicked off his phone, then turned on his siren. Slamming on the gas, he sped around cars and took the exit to Valkenburgh Street so he could turn around. He just prayed he got there soon enough.
* * *
Elle stepped into the exam room and realized the lights had been left on. She frowned. She knew for a fact they had been turned off on Friday.
“Hello? Will?”
There was no answer, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of not being alone. She hadn’t had these kinds of feelings since her first year on the job. She had always wanted to be an ME, but the truth was, she had to get over the feeling of being watched by dead bodies.
She smiled as she grabbed up a needle to draw blood.
“What are you doing here?” Drew asked.
He startled her so badly, she almost dropped everything she had been gathering up.
“Andrew Franklin, you should know better.”
He smiled. “Sorry. I stopped by because Cat said she left a file she wanted to read over. Why do they always want the hard copies?”
Elle shrugged. “Depends on what I’m looking for, but I know a lot of the team is kind of old school. They say they can read it better on a piece of paper.”
“And what are you doing? I thought you and McGregor would be staying in today too.”
“That’s presuming a lot,” she said.
Drew winked. “Just know that you two left before the bouquet being thrown.”
She felt her face heat, but she just shook her head. “Graeme has a dog he had to leave with a neighbor, and Will called.”
“Oh, another blood sugar test?”
She nodded.
“He just needs to give up drinking.”
She set everything on the counter, making sure she had everything she needed. “Kind of hard when you own a bar.”
“True. Well, I’m going to grab that file up and then head out. We’re going to have dinner tonight,” he said smiling and wiggling his eyebrows.
Then he slipped out. She heard him jog up the stairs, and she couldn’t stop smiling. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Drew had amazing patience. The brick wall Cat had up would have to be demolished, and Drew would do that, piece by piece.
She had everything ready when she heard Will coming down the hall.
“Hey, Will, come on in. I have everything set up.”
Will stepped into the room,
his face pale, his mouth a straight line.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?” she asked, concern filling her. There was a chance there was more wrong with him than just the high blood sugar.
It was then she saw the gun.
“What the bloody hell are you doing?” she asked.
“I need those files, Elle, and you’re going to give them to me. I need to destroy everything.”
Her blood went cold. “I-I left them at home.”
“Lies.”
Well, yes, partially. Will should know that all the paperwork had been filed. Sure, if there was no proof, it would be easy to get it thrown out of court, but not with an eyewitness. That meant he was planning on using that gun. “No. I was in town for the wedding. It was last night. I left everything at my house.”
He studied her for a second. She kept her chin raised and her gaze steady.
“Fuck. Okay, let’s go. If you try anything, I’ll shoot you.”
She didn’t even point out that if he shot her, he would never get those reports he thought she had. When he motioned with his gun, she did as he ordered.
“You’ll be seen on the CCTV.”
He snorted. “You don’t think I have someone who can help me with that, do you?”
Her heart sank. They went out the back way, and it was then she noticed Drew’s car. He was still there, but she didn’t want him getting involved. Hopefully, he would see them and call for backup.
“Seems your boyfriend isn’t around.”
“He’s meeting me here later.”
He dug the gun further into her ribs.
“Don’t lie. I’ve been tailing you. He’s on his way home, more than likely to check on that damned mutt.”
She glanced around the parking lot. This was the employee parking area, and only TFH really parked there. HPD folks parked in their own lot down the street.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
He snorted. “You know why.”
“So, your informant killed Jenny. You are an accessory after the fact, but the public will barely notice.”
It wasn’t true, but she was grasping for any kind of a lifeline. He laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “You really aren’t that smart, are you, Dr. Elle? I killed Jenny.”
“What?” she asked, as she slowed her steps, hoping that either Drew might be getting help, or he was staying out of the way. He was the only other person in the building at the moment.
“I killed her. She saw us doing a buy. She knew my face.”
Cold seeped deeper into her soul, as she tried her best to come up with some kind of way to slow him down. If Drew was getting help, the more time she could give him, the better.
“So you killed her. Just like that?”
She couldn’t even keep the horror out of her voice. Killing an innocent for money was the lowest of the lowest.
“I needed the money.”
“Oh, so that makes everything okay then. I mean, what does one little girl mean in the world compared to your need for money?”
He pushed her against her car. She hit it hard, but did her best not to let him see that it hurt her.
“The high and mighty doctor passes judgment. Do you know what it’s like to have nothing? To come from nothing? Of course you don’t. You had everything handed to you. I was about to be forced out, with nothing. They were ready to clean house, and I was one of the ones who was going to be kicked to the curb. I had just enough years to force retirement, but it wouldn’t be enough to live on. I would have had to get a job as a fucking rent-a-cop. How the fuck do you think I opened the bar? Not on a bleeding cop salary, I can tell you that.”
The sound of a foot against gravel caught her attention. It had to be Drew. Fear sliced through her blood. Oh, damn, she hoped that he would have just called someone. Again, the same sound, and this time, Will heard it too. He turned in the direction of where it had come from, still holding onto her. He fired his gun, and she took the opportunity to push him away. She heard him shooting the gun again and again. Glass shattered, and Will screamed in frustration. She ran to the other side of her car, then kept running to take cover behind a bigger SUV that sat a few spaces from hers. Will kept shooting his gun and screaming. What the bloody hell was he doing? The shooting would bring attention to him. She covered her ears as she crouched down, hoping that Will would not come looking for her.
At that moment, tires squealed against the pavement as she watched Graeme come racing into the parking lot. He headed full barrel toward Will, who turned and started firing at the truck.
* * *
The bastard had lost his damned mind, Graeme thought. He had bulletproof glass, but the wanker just kept shooting at his truck. He didn’t stop but he did slow down. Still, he ran right into Will, and watched as the gun fell from his hand. Will fell back onto the pavement. He parked the truck and jumped out, his handcuffs in his hand.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
He turned Will over on his stomach and cuffed his hands. He pulled him off the pavement and slammed him against his truck.
“Elle, are you okay?”
“Yes, I am,” she said, running toward him. The knot in his stomach loosened and the ice in his blood melted. The smile on her face was the most beautiful sight in the world.
“Why didn’t you just kill me?” Will asked.
“Because you need to be held accountable and face up to what you’ve done.”
“Where’s Drew?” he asked Elle when she reached him.
“He’s over near the building.” She looked at Will. “I hope it hurts.”
Graeme smiled as he watched her walk away. The woman definitely had a mean temper.
“Drew?” she called out.
He paid little attention as the ambulances, along with Adam, pulled into the parking lot. The noise almost deafened him, since both had their sirens going. The moment the sirens cut off, he heard Elle scream.
He shoved Will at Adam, then ran toward the sound of Elle’s scream. He found her by the door, pressing on Drew’s neck. Blood seeped between her fingers. Drew was gurgling as a thin line of blood dribbled out of his mouth.
“No. No. No.”
She kept repeating the word over and over.
“Elle?”
She didn’t look at him.
“Get an ambulance,” she yelled. The medics were already rushing toward her.
“I think the bastard hit an artery.”
The EMTs looked at one another.
She glared at them while she kept her hand on Drew’s chest. “I’m a doctor, you idiots.”
He knew she wasn’t thinking straight. Both of the EMTs knew her, had worked with her more than once.
“Dr. Middleton,” one of the EMT’s said. “Let us take care of him.”
She still refused to move, and he knew Drew needed to get to the hospital as fast as possible. He went to her. “Let them take care of him, love.”
She shook her head. “I know how to fix it.”
Anguish dripped from every word, and he knew she wasn’t thinking clearly. “They can get him the help he needs faster. Come here.”
She blinked, and he took her hand. He motioned with his head to the EMT. The man was smart enough to catch on. He pressed his gloved hand against Drew’s neck. Graeme pulled Elle to her feet.
“Pulse is thready,” the older EMT said. “Drew. Drew, can you hear me? We are going to get you to the hospital.”
They had him up and on the gurney in record time. They were running to the ambulance as Elle tried to pull away.
“No, you need to stay with me,” Graeme said. “Where are you headed?” he asked the EMT.
“We’re headed to Tripler. There was a pile up on the Pali, and they were sent to Queen’s.”
“Thanks.”
One EMT climbed into the back of the ambulance, while the other one slammed the doors and rushed to the driver’s side. The sirens blared once more as the ambulance sped off.<
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“We have to go to the hospital.”
He studied her and recognized the signs. Her eyes were glassy, and she was breathing too fast. She definitely could be going into shock.
“I think you should see a doctor.”
There was no doubt about it, she was in shock, and he didn’t know how much trauma this might cause her.
She was shaking her head, but he ignored her. “Let’s go. Adam, can you process that bastard?”
He nodded. “We’re taking him to the hospital too.” He threw Graeme some keys. “I’m glad I brought my truck with me today. Take it. I’ll get a ride with Floyd.”
“Come, love, let’s get to Tripler.”
As Graeme helped her into Adam’s truck, Elle’s teeth started to chatter. Definitely shock. He grabbed a thermal blanket they all carried in the backseats of their work vehicles and covered her with it.
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Just humor me, love.”
She apparently decided to not fight him on it. He shut her door, then rounded the hood of the truck. As he started the truck, he prayed that Drew made it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Over an hour later, Elle paced the hallway outside of the surgery wing; the smell of antiseptic filled the air. She’d used her credentials and McGregor’s size to bully their way into the restricted area. She didn’t regret it. Now though, she was trying to keep calm, even though her pulse was still elevated.
What she did regret were her actions. Why had she not called out to Drew? Why didn’t she just tell him to run when she’d heard the footsteps behind them? If she had, there was a good chance he would not have been hurt.
“Love, maybe we can get you some scrubs.”
Elle shook her head and kept pacing. She wanted to be there, wanted to know right away.
A nurse came out, and she heard a doctor yell, “He’s crashing.”
She rushed to the door, but McGregor held her back. “Love, stay here. You will only get in the way.”
She knew he was right, but she didn’t like that he was right. She gave him a nasty look and pushed away from him.
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