by Janie Crouch
“Damn it, woman, are you all right? What the hell were you doing, tackling him like that?” Evan looked like hell. Half his shirt was bright red with blood from his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” She wasn’t sure if she should apply pressure to the wounds, or if that would just cause him more pain without really helping him. “Somebody cut him loose.”
One of the guards immediately sliced the plastic ties that bound him to the chair. Evan wrapped his arms around Juliet, pulling her into his lap. “Where’s the other psycho?” he whispered in her ear.
“Dead. In our room. Long story.”
“And the codes?”
“Safe in the place they need to be. In good hands. Even longer story.”
Evan raised his eyebrow at that, but said nothing. Juliet was sure that, like her, he was just glad something had gone right in this whole brouhaha.
Vince Cady made his way over, followed by his son. The older man looked aghast. “Lisa, Bob, I cannot believe this has happened while you were under my protection. My men are already investigating. It looks like the Ukrainians went to great lengths to circumvent our security measures.”
Juliet noticed Cady didn’t mention having the rooms bugged, only “security measures.”
“Yeah, well, the other member of that merry little gang is dead in our cabin. Thanks to the storm, he tripped and fell on his own knife.”
“Yes, he has already been found. And I am quite proud of Christopher, that he did not hesitate to do what needed to be done.”
Juliet looked over at the dead Ukrainian. She was glad Christopher hadn’t hesitated, either, or it might’ve been her lying there. “Thank you,” she offered. Christopher still gave her the creeps, but in this case she owed him her thanks. She smiled and held out her hand.
He took it, but instead of shaking it, brought it to his lips. Juliet barely contained her shudder. She withdrew her hand as politely as possible.
Evan’s arms tightened around her.
“Bob needs medical attention. Those psychos stabbed him in the shoulder,” Juliet stated.
Vince nodded. “We have a medical professional on staff. I will have someone escort you both. You have injuries, too, Lisa.” The older man grimaced as he glanced at her face. She must look pretty bad.
Vince and Christopher both left to confer with the security team, anger clear in both men’s stance and tone. Vince Cady might be a criminal, but his sense of honor had been contravened, his own sanctuary violated.
Heads would roll that something like this could happen without the security team’s awareness.
Juliet looked over to the doorway and found Heath Morel standing there, staring at her, malice evident in his expression. He turned and left before she could respond. Not that she’d know what to say or do.
“Are you okay?” Evan whispered, now that they were relatively alone. He obviously hadn’t seen Morel, and Juliet didn’t mention him. “How did you take down that Ukrainian? What the hell happened?”
“Dylan happened,” Juliet murmured back.
“Dylan? Here on the ship? Now?”
“Well, hopefully not anymore. I gave him the drive. Omega sent him, since they didn’t know what shape I’d be in. Didn’t want to send a stranger.”
“Then that poor Ukrainian bastard didn’t have a chance.”
Juliet sighed and shook her head. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, baby?” Evan stroked her bruised face, grimacing.
“Surprisingly, yes.” Juliet shrugged. “Battered face notwithstanding. You were right. I can handle more than I give myself credit for.”
“See? You should listen to me more often.”
Juliet brushed Evan’s hair away from his forehead with gentle fingers. “You’re worried about me? You’re the one who got stabbed.”
He kissed her gently on her bruised, swollen lips. “It’s only a flesh wound. But if my arm falls off be sure to pick it up for me, okay?”
Juliet could see sweat still beading on Evan’s forehead. She knew he must be in pain. But that he would worry about her and make jokes to help her feel more comfortable even now…
God, how she loved him.
Her eyes flew back to his and she drew in a startled breath. Where had the thought of love come from? After her rape, she had figured that love wouldn’t be in the cards for her, that she would never again be comfortable enough with a man to be close.
But here she was, sitting on the lap of the man she trusted most in the world, as comfortable as she could ever dream of being. They were both wounded, exhausted and surrounded by criminals, but Juliet felt safe.
So maybe love wasn’t such a crazy idea, after all.
“What? What is that look? You look like you’ve just had a breakthrough in quantum physics or something.” Evan smiled, shaking his head.
“Yeah, something like that.” This wasn’t the place for declarations of love. But she did lean in and kiss him tenderly. “You’re a pretty good husband, Mr. Sinclair.”
Evan’s smile got even brighter. “Well, you’re a pretty good wife, Mrs. Sinclair.”
They probably would’ve stayed there awhile, just holding on to each other, if the staff member hadn’t come to lead them to the medical attention they needed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Evan watched the distant port of Annapolis come into view. It would take only an hour or two now before they docked and were able to disembark. He was ready to get off this yacht.
He glanced at Juliet, who sat in an overstuffed love seat enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. Her eyes were closed and her battered face turned up toward the sun, which had chased away all traces of the storm. The sight of her wounded face brought back many unpleasant memories for Evan, but Juliet seemed to be doing fine.
More than fine, if her slight smile gave any hint.
Truly, she had handled the entire situation with the Ukrainians like a champ. She may have been out of the game for the past eighteen months, but no one would have known that last night. Evan could still feel the terror that had washed over him when that bastard had taken her out of the galley to go get the codes.
Not knowing what the Ukrainian was doing to Juliet—whether he would kill her as soon as he had what he wanted—had been much worse than the pain in Evan’s shoulder. And then to see her come flying back through the galley like some professional wrestler, tackling a guy twice her size? Yeah, she’d saved Evan’s life, but she’d also taken ten years off it as he’d watched, helpless, as the second Ukrainian raised that knife at her.
So thank God for Christopher Cady and his good aim. That was a sentence Evan never thought he’d say.
Vince Cady, although thrilled with his son’s actions, was truly appalled at what had happened. He’d moved Evan and Juliet into a huge cabin for the little of the night that was left and had apologized profusely. Multiple times.
In the end, Evan had no doubt this incident would strengthen their relationship with the miscreant. It was always good when a criminal owed you a favor. Vince was less likely to be suspicious of them in the future when he remembered what they had gone through under his watch.
Cady would eventually be arrested for his crimes, but first he would inadvertently provide Omega all sorts of intel about his criminal network. Evan would see to that.
But most of all, everything had become crystal clear to Evan last night. He was not going to live without Juliet any longer. Life was too short, too fragile. And he’d loved her too damn long to be without her anymore. Whatever it took to convince her of that, he would do it. He’d made the mistake of giving her space for too long.
He wouldn’t be making it again.
“You doing okay over there?” Juliet asked him from her chair. “How’s the shoulder?”
The yacht’s medic had stitched him up and given him a tetanus shot and some painkillers. It didn’t seem as though any permanent damage had been done, especially since Evan had full range of motion. But the doctor had suggested he get himself completely checked out once they reached shore. None of Juliet’s bruises and swelling would have any permanent effects, either, he predicted.
Evan turned and leaned against the railing so he was facing her. “Not too bad. How about you?”
“I’m just glad that ridiculous storm is over. This is much more what I think of when I envision myself on a yacht.”
Yeah, they’d made it through all sorts of storms last night.
Evan went to sit next to her on the love seat. He didn’t see anybody within earshot, but just in case, he pulled her close.
“How about, when we get off the boat, you come and stay with me at my town house?”
Juliet opened her one good eye. “You mean, for the op?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “In case they’re following us?”
He shrugged, then brought his face near hers. “Yeah, that. But mostly because I want you there, Jules.” He kissed her gently. “Now. When this case is over. Forever.”
Juliet sighed. “I’m still pretty messed up, you know.”
“We’re all messed up in this business. We’ll just take each day as it comes. Together.” He wanted to tell her he loved her, but was afraid it was too soon, that it might scare her off. If she agreed to come stay with him, hopefully live with him, that would be enough for right now.
Evan held her close as the ship headed to Annapolis. He enjoyed just being there with Juliet. Omega safely held the drone codes. And because of their injuries, nobody was bothering them.
He felt Juliet stiffen as she leaned back in his good arm. His gaze followed hers and he realized the problem. Heath Morel. That bastard was still throwing malicious glances their way every chance he got.
Evan and Juliet hadn’t checked for the past twenty-four hours to see if she had received any more sweetheart emails. But regardless, Evan had had enough of that nonsense. As soon as they were back on dry land, he was going to make sure Cameron or Sawyer picked up Morel.
The man needed to be questioned about the emails so they could get to the bottom of this. So Juliet could move on with her life. They probably couldn’t actually arrest and prosecute Morel, as the emails weren’t threatening in nature. But they could see him charged with other crimes.
“We’ll get him, don’t worry,” Evan vowed. “He may not spend any time in jail for those emails, but I’ll have your brothers breathing down his neck. He’ll keep his distance.”
“I just want to move forward. To stop having to worry about those emails and the past in general.”
Evan kissed her temple. “I know, hon. And you will. We’ll handle it for you. Let’s just concentrate on the future.”
Juliet smiled and turned her face back up toward the sun. “That’s no problem at all.”
* * *
A FEW HOURS later Juliet and Evan were finally off the yacht and on their way back to Omega to debrief. At the first pay phone they saw, just in case their cell phones had been bugged by Cady, Evan stopped to call Cameron and Sawyer. He wanted Heath Morel picked up as soon as possible, before the man went underground and they couldn’t find him.
As Juliet had said, it was time to start concentrating on the future. The sooner they took care of Morel, the sooner that would happen.
He and Juliet both were looking forward to not having to worry about what they said or if someone was watching or listening. And he knew they both wanted to wash the filth of the past few days off them.
After they had gotten off the ship and returned to Cady’s house via limousine, Cady had apologized again, Christopher right by his side, as they were leaving. “I hope this incident won’t jeopardize our business dealings in the future,” Vince had told them.
“It’s not like you planned this,” Evan had responded.
“Although next time, we trust your security team will be more on the ball.” Lisa’s snooty tone came through loud and clear.
“Oh, believe me, they will,” Vince promised.
“And thanks again, Christopher, for your quick trigger finger.” Evan shook hands with him, noting that his gaze remained riveted on Juliet.
“Yes, thank you, Christopher,” she had murmured, when he’d let go of Evan’s hand to shake hers.
“Au revoir,” Christopher had replied.
French? Evan barely refrained from rolling his eyes. He had ushered Juliet to the Jeep immediately.
They both just wanted to go home and crash. Evan especially, since Juliet had agreed to stay at his house, but they both needed to debrief, so here they were.
They barely made it out of the parking garage and into the building before Juliet was engulfed in hugs by her brothers. All three were still there, even though Dylan didn’t technically work there any longer. The eyes of each shone, locked on Juliet.
Relief and pride were evident in their every motion, every statement.
Juliet smiled at Evan from the circle of brotherly limbs and torsos. Her chin was high, her voice animated as she told some of the story of what had happened on the yacht.
Good. She deserved to be confident and satisfied in what she had accomplished. Because it was a lot, on both a professional and personal level.
After greetings, they were ushered to the Omega physician, who reevaluated their wounds. Although Evan’s shoulder hurt like hell, the doc agreed with the ship’s medical professional. It didn’t look as if there had been any permanent damage, given Evan’s range of motion. The doctor gave him a round of antibiotics and pain medication, warning him not to take the latter until he was near a bed he didn’t need to get out of for at least eighteen hours.
Juliet’s wounds, now a myriad of purples, greens and blues all over her face, were also superficial. Painful, but not serious.
Their boss, Dennis Burgamy, with his overworked assistant Chantelle by his side as always, found Evan and Juliet. He congratulated them on a job well done, obviously thrilled that Omega would be able to take credit for recovery of the drone codes.
Yeah, Burgamy always had his eye on the truly important stuff. Like accolades.
But at least he told them to go home and get some rest. Debriefings could take place tomorrow, since nothing involved with the case was pressing.
Evan was thrilled at the thought of sleeping with Juliet at his side. Someplace where he didn’t have to watch what he said because other people were listening. Where he could actually call her Juliet. Although he didn’t think either of them were up to anything too physical, he still just wanted to be with her. Holding her. That was more than enough to make him happy.
Of course, he didn’t necessarily want to explain any of this to her brothers just yet, even if they were his best friends.
Evan grabbed Juliet’s hand and pulled her around a corner, out of earshot of everyone else. “You’re still coming back to my place, right?” He kissed her briefly, gently on the lips.
Juliet nodded. “I need a ride, since you drove me here. And my brothers are going to have a field day with this, you know.”
Evan rolled his eyes. “Oh, believe me, I know. I was hoping maybe not to get into all that with them tonight. I’d like to be fully functional and able to defend myself before telling them that I’m having my wicked way with their sister.”
Juliet leaned in a little closer. “Your wicked way with me? I think I like the sound of that.”
“Then let’s get to my house.” He kissed her again; he couldn’t help it. It was all he could do not to back her up against this wall and kiss her until both of them couldn’t see straight. Brothers be damned. Evan would take his chances.
And what was that nonsense he’d been thinkin
g, about just holding her tonight? Not the way both of them were feeling right now.
At least Juliet still had the sense to remember that a lot of their colleagues, not to mention their boss, were just right around the corner. She pushed Evan back. “Okay, we’ll just need to stop by my house and grab a few things. Then I’m all yours.”
At those words, he leaned in again, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest, a playful smile on her face.
Not a moment too soon. Sawyer stuck his head around the corner. His eyes narrowed at their close proximity, but he didn’t say anything about it. “Hey, Evan, Baltimore PD just nabbed Heath Morel. They’re not sure what to hold him on. Cam and I were going to go question him. You want to come observe in case you can help?”
Evan sighed. All he wanted to do was go home with Juliet this very second. But the sooner they dealt with Morel and got those sweetheart emails stopped, the sooner she would be able to move on with her future.
Their future.
“Yeah, I want to come,” Evan told him. “We can’t let Morel see me, of course. But I can feed you info from the other side of the glass.”
“Okay, we’re headed out.”
Evan nodded. “I’ll be right there.”
Sawyer left and Evan turned back to Juliet, smiling ruefully. “I guess we’ll have to put those other thoughts on hold for a few hours. Here are my keys, to the Jeep and my house. I’ll see you in a little while, okay?” He tucked a strand of Juliet’s blond hair behind her ear, then kissed her again.
“I’ll be waiting,” she murmured against his lips.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A couple hours later, after Evan and her brothers had left to question Morel and Juliet had finished a little of the paperwork at Omega, she pulled up to her house in Evan’s Jeep. She just sat in the vehicle looking at her home, dark and empty, for a minute. How she had hated coming here for the past eighteen months. Hated knowing she was alone and weak and a coward.
Hated knowing she’d be trying to sleep in that damn closet, like a child afraid of the monsters under the bed.