by Cara Carnes
“What do you want?” Phil glared. “Is this about that cunt?”
The urge to punch the bastard rode Jesse hard, but Rice had put her ass on the line to give him time alone with Phil. Any injury would support the bastard’s claim that this happened. Nothing else would. Jesse would make sure there was no evidence of the altercation.
“Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna tell me everything about the night on the CD. Then you’re going to tell me where the rest of your stash is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You get three strikes, Phil. I’ll secure protective custody for you. Otherwise you’re gonna find yourself in a world of hurt very, very soon. Word will spread you’re talking to the feds about Flores. The Devil Horns. Then I’ll make sure folks know you were tied up with the Marville Dogs going down.”
“I wasn’t!”
“Doesn’t matter. A pretty little rich white boy like you won’t last long behind bars. Add in the fact that everyone assumes you talked, and you won’t last the first night.” Jesse leaned in. “If you do, I’ll be there. I’ll make sure you hurt until I get what I want from you.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You hurt her. You stole from her. You tried to destroy her.”
“She deserved it!” he shouted. “I knew she didn’t love me, but she said yes to save her mom. Ellie was such a sweet fuck, too. I’d spread her legs and slide in and lick her tears away. She always cried, you know. At first. I made her look me in the eyes when I fucked her so she couldn’t pretend I was you.”
Jesse punched the man’s stomach. “Don’t you ever speak her name again.”
“I’ll do a lot more than that if you don’t let me go, Mason. You have no idea what I can do to that cunt.” The man laughed.
Unease crawled through Jesse. There was more in play than they realized. Perskins thought he had a hidden card left to play, which meant he likely did—one which involved Ellie somehow.
“Where’s the CD?” Jesse asked, opting to switch back to the subject at hand. The sooner they got the evidence they needed, the better.
“I’d rather talk about Ellie. I heard you can’t fuck anymore.” Phil smirked. “She wasn’t ever good at it anyway, you know.”
A growl rumbled from Jesse, but he didn’t physically react. That’s what the bastard wanted.
“Leave,” Nolan ordered as he clicked on a Bluetooth he wore. “Z, I’m taking over. Give me what you have on Perskins so far.”
Jesse turned. “This is mine.”
“No.” Nolan shook his head. “We don’t have time for him to mess with your head. This is mine. I’ll get what we need.”
Jesse couldn’t argue because rage consumed him. Images of Ellie crying as the bastard… He punched the nearest wall beside him. Sheetrock crumbled beneath the impact.
“Lock it down,” Dallas growled in his ear. “For Ellie. Walk away. Nolan’s got this.”
Jesse turned and left. He trusted his brothers with his life on a daily basis, but this felt bigger. More important. Because this was about Ellie. This couldn’t get fucked up.
Ellie sat in her hospital bed and watched the women gathered around her. Frustration rose within her, but she kept quiet because she recognized well-meaning diversions when she saw them. Momma Mason had just left with Ellie’s mom.
Now that it was only Bree, Rhea, Riley, Zoey, and Vi, the time for answers had finally arrived. She waited until the four women had hooked up the laptop they’d brought to the small television. They positioned themselves on the chairs and floor beside the bed.
“Where’s Jesse?” Ellie asked.
Bree’s eyes widened as she looked at the others. Vi, in typical badass brilliance, offered no visible response. She paused the video they’d started and glanced up. “He’s taking care of something but should be back soon.”
“What’s he taking care of? A mission?”
“He’ll be here soon,” Vi said.
“What if it were Jud? You’d want to know.”
The woman rubbed her lower stomach, a habit she’d developed, no doubt from watching Mary do the same. Ellie smiled. Vi was going to make an excellent mom. Everyone at The Arsenal was thrilled to see the next generation of the Quillery Edge being born so close together. Was she having a boy or a girl? Would she find out or be like Mary and wait?
“I told you we should tell her,” Rhea said. “She deserves to know what’s going on. She’s got a head injury, but she’s not an idiot. She knows something’s up. Isn’t not knowing more stressful?”
“Jesse, Dallas, and Nolan are overseeing search warrants the DEA and FBI obtained on all Phil’s properties and financial holdings,” Riley said.
“Riley!” Vi looked at the woman. “We agreed to wait until after it was over.”
“I’m with Rhea. She needs to know. As Jesse’s little sister, I’m glad she cares enough to want to know. Y’all didn’t see her this morning being all protective and growly with the nurse who was getting too loud. I did.”
Heat rose in Ellie’s cheeks. Riley and her mom had walked in on Jesse sleeping in Ellie’s hospital bed. He’d slept for a solid five hours, despite numerous nurse visits and foot traffic. While she was glad he’d finally rested, she was more than a bit concerned about him working too hard.
Mary and Dylan entered the room. Ellie smiled as he helped Mary get situated in the chair Bree vacated. Red tinged the woman’s cheeks as she looked at Ellie.
“The seizures went off without a hitch. Everything was exactly where Phil said it’d be,” Mary said. “Nolan was quite thorough in a rather alarmingly calm fashion. Clearly we’ve underestimated his interrogation skills.”
“He was terrifying,” Zoey admitted. “He never even touched Phil. I took notes.”
“Of course you did,” Ellie said. The woman had piles of notebooks filled with insights and facts she’d learned while working at The Arsenal. “If you fill one more bookshelf, Gage will have a fit.”
“No, he won’t,” Vi said. “He’s totally whipped.”
Zoey smiled. “I am, too.”
Ellie chuckled. The couple was adorable together. “I’m ready to go home. I miss Harry and Hermione. I even miss Dobby.”
“Poor Dobby. No one names him first,” Bree grumbled.
Vi’s kitten and puppy were growing rapidly. Zoey’s cat, Dobby, was the newest addition to The Arsenal’s pet collection. All three had become Ellie’s companions in the office area over the past few months.
“You don’t miss them. You just hate hospitals,” Rhea said. “I don’t blame you, though. You’ve likely spent too much time in them with your mom’s illness.”
She had. Guilt kept her fidgeting in the hospital because she knew the people gathered around her had added everything she usually did for her mother to their own daily routines. No one had commented, much less complained.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for looking out for Mom and making this look so easy when I know it isn’t.”
“I’m glad we’re finally able to help you,” Riley said. “You’ve done so much for all of us. And Mom. God, we would’ve been totally lost without you there to get everything sorted before she came home.”
Heat rose in Ellie’s cheeks as her gaze flitted to Dylan, who stood against the wall with his arms crossed. A smile crossed his face when their eyes met. “She’s right. I’m glad you’re back in our lives, Ellie. I’ll admit I had my reservations, but I’m glad to see I was wrong. You’re good for him.”
Ellie swallowed. Dylan was the first of Jesse’s older brothers to approve of her with him in any capacity. She wasn’t sure what to say. Then a flash of pain crossed Mary’s face. The brief, barely discernible glint of discomfort startled Ellie. Had she ever seen the woman hint at anything remotely painful?
She remained silent and studied the woman as everyone around them spoke. Mary had positioned herself in front of Dylan so he couldn’t see her face. The tall back of the
chair hid the brief flashes of tension moving through her body. Ellie had gotten good at reading pain, though. She’d had years of reading her mom’s varying levels of discomfort.
Mary had come to check on Ellie and give her an update even though she was hurting.
No, she was in labor! The realization thundered through her as the conversation continued. Ellie reached down and punched the nurse call button.
“The FBI has possession of all the financial records and recordings, but they’ve agreed to let us process them all through HERA,” Mary said. “They’re bringing everything to us in a secured transport once it’s been logged in at the San Antonio facility. It’ll take a few days to get.”
“Damn red tape,” Zoey muttered.
The nurse entered and glared at everyone in the room. Nomad Memorial had given up on enforcing the “one visitor” rule with Ellie before she’d even woken up. “Did you need something, dear?”
Well, this was going to be awkward.
“Do you have a wheelchair you could bring in here, please?” Ellie asked. She looked at Mary. “I’m sorry, but you should really go check in.”
Everyone’s attention shifted to Mary, who winced with another flash of pain. Dylan cursed and moved around to crouch in front of his wife. “You’re in labor?”
“I think so. For several hours.”
“Sweetie, you’d know if you were in labor.” The woman laughed. “No doubt it’s just back pain. I had that a lot with my first one.”
Ellie realized the nurse meant well, but women as tough as Mary didn’t respond to pain the same as mere mortals. She’d once been beaten and tortured and had still not given up any information on the security system she and Vi had created. Anyone who endured that level of brutality wouldn’t think twice about enduring a few contractions without comment to make sure everything was running smoothly before she delivered her child.
“How long?” Dylan asked.
“A few hours,” Mary admitted. “I’m fine. These things take forever. The contractions aren’t even that close. I’m still a good four minutes apart.”
“You’ve been in labor for hours and didn’t say anything?” Dylan asked as he stood and lifted her into his arms.
“Put me down, Dylan!”
The man laughed and kissed her. The fusion of mouths was hot, hungry, and filled with enough love and joy for Ellie to feel across the room. “Hush, wife. We’re going to go have our baby.”
“Oh. My. God!” Riley exploded. She yanked out her phone and started punching like a mad woman. “Yay! I’m going to be an aunty again.”
Ellie leaned back and smiled, despite the sense of loss rolling through her. That moment wouldn’t ever be hers with Jesse. Her eyes burned from the pain ravishing her as she watched the man carry Mary out. Who needed a wheelchair when you were married to a Mason man who loved you senseless?
“Is it hard?” Bree asked in a whisper.
She and Zoey watched Ellie as if expecting an answer.
“Is what hard?”
“That could’ve been you. With Jesse,” Zoey said.
“I’m thrilled for them. Jesse’s going to be a terrific uncle, but yeah. I’ll admit knowing he’ll never be a father kills me because he’d be a great dad.”
“And you’d be a terrific mom,” Bree said as she wiped her eyes. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer, but I see how much this must suck for you. Yet you’re sitting there happy as a clam.”
“I can live with never having Jesse’s child. I can live without a lot as long as Jesse’s in my life,” Ellie said.
16
I can live with never having Jesse’s child. I can live without a lot as long as Jesse’s in my life.
Jesse paced.
“Jesse.”
He expended a breath and turned to face Sinclair. The woman had a knack for showing up when his thoughts tornadoed. “Mary’s having her baby. Phil’s on ice. We’ve got the evidence we need to figure out what happened years ago and put him away a lot longer.”
“I heard. Congratulations.” She sat in the seat nearest him in the small waiting area he’d found. “Everyone’s wondering where you slipped off to. I think half of Resino is in the hospital’s waiting room.”
Likely more. “We wanted lots of kids. The more the better,” he commented. “I always hoped we’d have girls who looked like her. Boys, too, if they had her smile.”
“How does Dylan having a baby make you feel? We’ve never chatted about Dallas’s boys.”
“I’m happy for them both,” he said. “This isn’t about that.”
“Then why are we here?”
“I slept,” he blurted. “In her hospital bed. With her. Hours. Nurses went in and out and I slept like I haven’t in years. I know my nightmares aren’t fully under control, but I woke up feeling hopeful. I’m terrified, Doc. All the excuses I’ve had for staying away are gone. She’s burned every single one down without pause. She told them she could live without having my child. She could live without a lot as long as I was in her life.”
“How does that make you feel?”
“Terrified.”
“Is that all?”
“I don’t deserve her,” he whispered. “I don’t deserve…”
“Love?”
Love. Jesse sat. Shock rolled through him as the truth smacked him in the face. Sure, he’d known she still loved him because he loved her more than he ever had.
“I need you to promise me something, Jesse. I don’t take this request lightly.” The woman paused, as if measuring his ability to handle what she was about to say. “I’ve read the journals you’ve shared with me. I know there are more you’ve kept to yourself. Nothing in them concerns me when it comes to you pursuing a relationship with Ellie. And when I say relationship, I mean a sexual one because I’m certain you can get that part of your life back in some capacity.”
Jesse swallowed. He wanted to try. For the first time since he’d escaped, he wanted to try and be the man he’d once been with Ellie. “What are you saying, Doc?”
“What I haven’t read is what concerns me,” she said softly. “I read the medical reports from when you were first admitted, Jesse.”
He stood. Paced.
“Have you had nightmares about what was done to you? The rapes?”
Jesse stilled. She’d known. Likely all along because Sinclair was good at sussing out what wasn’t said. What wasn’t written on paper. No, it’d been in the medical reports—the unredacted ones he’d given permission for her to obtain. Only one other copy of them was on file, and it was in hard copy. No one got them unless he gave his permission. It was the sole consolation he’d been given by Uncle Sam, except for a medal.
“I’m not asking you to talk about it, Jesse. I know you aren’t ready to trust me with the details, but I need you to promise me you’ll go slow with Ellie.”
“I wouldn’t ever hurt her,” he growled.
“Have you talked with her about your captivity?”
“No, but I want to.” Jesse ran his hand through his hair. “I brought my journals.”
“Good. They’ll be difficult for her to read, but they’re a step in the right direction.”
“She’s in a hospital recovering from a brain injury. I don’t have the right to burden her with this,” Jesse said.
Silence. Translation—he already knew what he needed to know, and she expected him to work through it on his own. He loved Ellie and wanted a relationship with her—in whatever form it could take. From everything he’d seen, experienced, and overheard, she wanted the same.
So she needed the ugly truth about everything that’d happened to him because those monsters reared their heads whenever they wanted.
The door opened. Cord stepped in and stilled. He glanced between Sinclair and Jesse. “Sorry, didn’t meant to interrupt.”
“No. We’re done,” Jesse said. “Any word from the parents-to-be yet?”
“The doctor was paged,” Cord said with a grin. “You r
eady to be an uncle again?”
“Yeah.” Jesse chuckled. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Pandemonium had broken out in the large waiting area they’d taken over. Bubba had most of the locals who’d dropped in corralled off on one end of the room, while operatives and family had taken over the other. Ellie was sitting with his mom and her mom.
“Ellie,” Jesse said. He crouched in front of her and cupped her face. “Are you okay? Should you be out of bed?”
“The doctor said it was okay.” She smiled at him and stroked his face. “I wanted a dose of happy. I’m bored off my ass. I want to celebrate with everyone.”
Jesse smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here with us. I can’t believe she waited so long.”
“The doctor said she was already dilated six centimeters when they admitted her,” his mom said.
Jesse wasn’t exactly down for the details, but he laughed and smiled with everyone around him. The only thing that mattered right now was celebrating the new life about to enter this world. Ellie winced a couple of times and kept her head angled downward. He shifted slightly to pull the sunglasses he always carried with him out and slid them onto her face.
She looked ridiculously cute in them. The large lenses swallowed her face. He chuckled, leaned forward, and kissed her cheek.
“I can’t wear sunglasses inside, Jesse,” she said with a laugh.
“You can do anything you want. No rules, Peanut. Remember? We don’t set boundaries,” he said.
“It’s a girl!” Dylan said as he entered the waiting area, his voice a soft whisper Jesse somehow heard over the din of conversation. “Come with me.”
Then he motioned and headed out of the waiting area and down the hall. Silence echoed through the area as everyone followed.
The room was small, but accommodated the crowd. Jesse rolled Ellie’s wheelchair through the group. Mary smiled, but exhaustion was evident on her face as Dylan kissed her, then took the small bundle from her arms.
Dylan was on a trajectory course for their mom, who teared up and fanned her arms as she stood alongside Ellie’s mom.
“A baby girl,” she whispered.
