Mine Until Morning

by Samantha Hunter

  “He was obviously more worried about upsetting my father than he was about being honest with me,” Tessa said dully as they got into an elevator at the hospital. “I guess it’s good to know where his loyalties lie.”

  “I think you all need to sit down and talk once this is over, and we know he’s okay. It sounds to me like there’s a lot of confusion in the air, and you can’t make any assumptions until it’s all out.”

  “It’s pretty clear, Lydia. He left me a note—he was leaving.”

  “And you said he told you he cared, and that what happened between you was real. Hold on to the good things, Tessa, not just the bad.”

  Tessa grumbled something and yawned as the doors opened in front of the nurses’ station.

  They got the information for Jonas’s room, and he was permitted visitors.

  “I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Tessa said, stopping halfway down the hall.

  Lydia took her hand. “You have to see him to make sure he’s okay, at least. Then we can go, okay?”

  Tessa nodded, her stomach in knots. She was worried sick about him on top of everything else, and Lydia was right. She had to make sure he was okay before she could let herself be angry with him.

  They walked down to the room, where a nurse came out, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright. She smiled at Tessa and Lydia.

  “Is this Jonas Berringer’s room?”

  “Oh, yes,” the young nurse said, giggling, her cheeks flushed.

  Lydia rolled her eyes at Tessa, but they soon found out what had the young woman so flustered.

  Walking into the private room where Jonas was sitting up in bed, looking none too happy in a hospital gown, Tessa saw why the young woman was so worked up.

  “Oh, my,” Lydia said, seeming flustered herself.

  Four big men filled the room, standing around Jonas’s bedside. There was so much testosterone that Tessa could have bottled it and made soap. All the male gazes turned to look at them.

  One she recognized as Garrett, and from Jonas’s descriptions, could guess which ones were Ely and Chance, though she didn’t know the fourth.

  “Tessa,” Jonas said, and she realized after a second that he had turned to see her.

  He could see her.

  She lifted a hand to her mouth, her eyes flooding.

  “Jonas, you can see me?” she said, awed.

  He nodded. “Mostly. Everything is still kind of fuzzy around the edges, and shapes are blurring together, but yeah, I can see you,” he confirmed. “Or a blob that more or less looks like you.”

  “You sure know how to talk up the ladies, Jonas,” one of his brothers, the one she assumed was Chance, teased.

  They looked at each other for several long minutes, until someone cleared his throat.

  “Jonas, there’s no need for you to stay. The initial pain and dizziness you experienced was normal, if uncomfortable,” the man Tessa didn’t know explained.

  His doctor, obviously.

  Jonas said, grimacing, “You’re telling me.”

  “The meds I gave you should take care of that. You just had too much blood surging to that area of your brain as the vessels opened up,” he explained.

  Another of his brothers made some sideways comment about that being surprising, as they thought it would have all been elsewhere.

  Jonas threw his brothers a dirty look, and then nodded to the doctor. “Thanks, Matt.”

  He met Tessa’s eyes again, and Garrett spoke up. “Okay, I guess we can maybe go get a cup of coffee while Tessa and Jon talk,” he said, almost pushing his younger brothers out of the room.

  They all smiled at Tessa and Lydia on their way out, and Tessa noticed Lydia’s gaze had not wandered far from Ely.

  “Mind if I join you? I don’t think I’m needed here, either,” she said, introducing herself to the men as they all exited the room, leaving Tessa and Jonas together.

  Tessa inched farther into the room.

  “Close the door?”

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  When she turned back to him, she didn’t know what to say. It was all too much to process.

  “I can’t believe you’re here. That you came,” he said.

  “I had to know that you were all right. You scared the life out of me,” she admitted.

  Among other things.

  “I’m sorry, Tessa.”

  “For what? For thinking I used you? For lying to me? For not telling me you were working with my father? For leaving me with a note?” she accused, pacing back and forth by the bed, the emotions flooding back. “God, Jonas…it’s no wonder you didn’t think we have any chance together. You were undermining us at every turn.”

  “I know,” he said, and seemed to struggle to say anything else.

  Silence loomed between them.

  “I thought your brothers were out of town,” she said, needing to say something.

  “Ely was already on his way back, and I guess Garrett called Chance as soon as he was off the phone with you, and he was also on his way back from New York. Not necessary, but—”

  “They’re your brothers.”

  She realized then that his choices didn’t just have to do with his loyalty to her father, but his loyalty to his family, as well.

  No doubt he was worried about how her father’s displeasure would affect their agency, and she couldn’t completely blame him for that, but at the same time, she wondered where she fit in. He seemed as if he was willing to hurt her before any of the rest.

  Not a glowing start for a relationship.

  “Can you come closer, Tessa? It’s still hard for me to make out faces at a distance. Or even up close for that matter,” he added dryly.

  She walked to the side of the bed, and her heart stuttered at the sight of the tattoo on his hand. The other half of hers.

  “Was it all a lie? A game? Last night, did you really even fall and hurt yourself? Or was that just a way to get me to come to you?” She felt like a fool as it was.

  He shook his head. “Both. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to take your father up on his request, but I also couldn’t say no.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I owed him for messing up the first time, and because it would allow me to see you again. Because I was worried about you being alone if something was wrong. I was trying to convince myself that you had been using me, and this was just an opportunity to set things right with your father. But it was all an excuse to be with you.”

  “You were worried about your agency.”

  “That, too. Your father’s aide made it clear that there would be repercussions if I saw you again.”

  “Howie?”

  “Yeah. So I kept my distance. And then, there you were in my apartment yesterday, and…I wanted you. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you for a minute after the night of the attack.”

  “So why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “I didn’t trust your motives,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I had been through it once before. Fell in love with someone back when I was on the force, and it went bad. Really bad. I found out she was using me just to get information. It nearly got people killed. It was why I left the force.”

  “So you saw me as doing the same thing?”

  “Sort of. I had screwed up once in my past, and people suffered for my mistake. I didn’t want that to happen again. I tried to talk myself into believing it was your fault, but I think that was because in the end, I really was afraid you’d never really be interested in me for the long run. That it was just a fling.”

  “What, some kind of bodyguard-fantasy thing?”

  “It happens,” he said flatly, and she assumed he had some experience in that area, too.

  Jealousy flared in her chest. She didn’t like to think about women he guarded coming on to him, and remembered their earlier conversation about his work.

  Maybe she wouldn’t handle that all as coolly as she imagined.

  “Well, I don’t kn
ow what to do, Jonas. I…care about you. A lot. But it hurt so much to find that note.”

  “I was trying to do the right thing. I assumed once you knew, you’d want me gone. I couldn’t blame you for that.”

  “You didn’t even give me a chance. Just like he does, you just made my decisions for me,” she said, throwing her arms up and walking away, then back to the bed.

  It was painful being this close to him and not being able to touch, even though her heart was bruised and her mind wary.

  “You’re right. I didn’t. I don’t know, Tessa. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

  Tessa was torn. Everything he said now helped her understand, but she didn’t know if she could trust him again—what about the next time he felt he had to keep information from her, or he lied to her to “protect” her?

  She was tired of being manipulated and controlled by the men in her life, and how they always seemed to think it was for her own good.

  “I don’t know either, Jonas. I…I thought I loved you, but now I don’t know if I really knew you. Maybe it was only sex,” she said, and jumped when his hand reached out to grab hers.

  Tessa caught her breath, looking down at how the scrolls Lydia had painted on them entangled, completed each other.

  She was so confused.

  “No, it wasn’t just that. I know I don’t deserve another chance, Tessa, but I’d like a chance to do this right. To show you that I…I think I love you, too.”

  Tears welled and dropped down onto their hands where they were clasped together on the bed, and she couldn’t find anything else to say.

  She wanted to believe him more than anything, but she didn’t know who she could trust anymore. For the moment, she just stayed there, quiet, and held his hand. She was afraid that if she let go, there’d be no going back.

  IN THE HOSPITAL’S WAITING lounge, Ely sat with his brothers, waiting for Jonas to emerge from his room. It was taking some time. He was willing to wait, relieved that his brother was going to be okay. Garrett and Chance were in the corner talking about the job Chance had just returned from, and Ely was just…waiting.

  He didn’t have all the details, but Ely only needed to look at his older brother’s face when Tessa had come in. Jonas had fallen, and fallen hard.

  He’d also screwed up royally, by the looks of it. Not that Ely had anything to brag about in that area.

  “It gives the phrase ‘get a room’ a whole new meaning,” Tessa’s friend, Lydia, said, from her seat beside him as she glanced back at the door.

  Ely had to chuckle. Lydia was…different. Not his type, not by a long shot, but she was nice enough. And funny.

  “Yeah, I guess Jonas had some explaining to do.”

  “I hope they work it out. They really are perfect together, even though I don’t buy into the whole soulmates thing. I have a feeling Tessa is just what your brother needs in his life,” Lydia said. “Some people can make it work.”

  Ely watched the length of the tattoo that seemed to move as she lifted her hand, bringing coffee to lips that sported one piercing at the edge. His gaze landed on the tiny moon at the corner of her mouth.

  She slanted her eyes up. “Yes?”

  He broke the stare. “Sorry. Just admiring your tattoos.”

  Or wondering at them, he thought. He had one tat on his shoulder blade. It was something he did as a right of passage in the Marines, but Lydia’s practically covered every inch of her skin. He wondered if that was literally true, tracing the inked patterns that dipped beneath her clothing, and realized he was staring again.

  “Sorry, again,” he said, meeting her quizzical gaze.

  She grinned, apparently not offended at all. “No problem. I get that a lot.”

  He imagined that was true.

  Her black hair hung to her shoulders like a satin sheet, her skin pale, but covered in ink. Her eyes, though…they sparkled with humor. And mischief.

  “Did you do all that ink yourself?”

  “Some of it. What I could reach anyway,” she said with a wink.

  Ely wasn’t quite sure what else to say as Lydia grabbed his arm and directed his attention to the news on the TV in the corner. When she popped up and ran to turn up the volume, he couldn’t help but notice what a sleek little body she had, though the black lace and leather she wore didn’t hide a whole lot.

  When she backed away from the television, Ely stiffened, feeling as if he had just been punched in the gut.

  Chloe’s face filled the screen.

  She looked, as always, perfect. Makeup hid any shadows that might have cropped up under her eyes from the night before, and when she peered into the camera, she might as well have been looking directly at him.

  “You know her,” Lydia said. A statement, not a question. She was observant, and Ely knew he was not easy to read. That came with his training.

  “Not well,” he answered, and it was the truth.

  They all turned their attention to the broadcast of the arrests being made in the Senate and House, a total of fifteen aides taken into custody in an embezzlement scam that was rocking the Hill.

  The aides were all highly placed, and were privy to some of the most secret information handled by their official’s offices. There was speculation about the selling of secrets as well as misdirecting funds.

  Ely was rapt, watching as Chloe delivered the news. She didn’t miss a beat. She was also wearing her ring. Maybe Lance would fare better than he had. He hoped so.

  “Wow, that’s huge. I can believe that slimeball Stanton was involved, though. He’s come by the store a few times and he always gave me the creeps,” Lydia said, shuddering. “He wanted me to schedule him for a tat, and I refused. There was always something about him.”

  “People are not always what they seem,” Ely said, feeling as if he’d been shaken out of a trance as Chloe’s image disappeared from the screen.

  When he looked up, he raised an eyebrow as he recognized the formidable figure of Senator Rose walking by the waiting room, heading toward Jonas’s door.

  Ely met Garrett’s gaze across the room; he noticed, as well.

  “Think we should go give Jonas some backup?” Ely asked.

  Garrett shook his head. “Let them figure it all out.”

  Lydia had pulled her knees up to her chin on the chair, and he was again distracted by the ink that flowed down her slim legs, peeking out from under the edge of the tights she wore, that stretched only midthigh.

  Everything about her was firm and lithe, and she turned her eyes to his to catch him staring, again.

  She smiled, looking a lot like a cat who would like to lick the dish clean.

  “I could use another cup of coffee. You want to walk down with me?” she asked.

  “Sure. I could use another cup myself. It’s been a long couple of days,” he elaborated unnecessarily, but there was something about the small Goth woman that threw him.

  It was unusual. Maybe he was losing his touch in civilian life—he’d been completely taken in by Chloe, and now Lydia was making him feel unsteady, as well.

  He watched as she unfolded herself from the seat, though at full height, and even in the clunky, black platform shoes she wore, the top of her head was barely level with his chin.

  They paused outside the waiting room and watched as the senator knocked on Jonas’s door and then disappeared inside the room.

  “The suspense is killing me,” Lydia said, nibbling at a nail that was painted black. Delicate, inked vines trailed down her slim fingers.

  “C’mon, let’s go get that coffee,” Ely said, putting his hand to her shoulder, and he registered a shock of surprise at his response to the softness of her inked skin, and how small she felt, as well as strong.

  Her eyes met his, and there was heat there.

  He pulled his hand back. After what he went through with Chloe the night before, he wasn’t getting involved with anyone again for a long time, let alone someone who
was clearly so…odd.

  He was sure his response was just some kind of backlash from his disappointment the night before—and that wasn’t fair to Lydia, either, who seemed like a perfectly nice person.

  She was also Tessa’s friend, and with any luck, Tessa would be part of their family one day soon.

  Ely pasted on a polite smile and made a promise to himself to stop staring at the strangely attractive woman who stepped inside the elevator with him. Unlike his brother, he learned his lessons the first time.

  11

  11:00 a.m.

  “MAY I INTERRUPT?” a voice intruded from behind, and Tessa turned as they saw her father come inside.

  “Dad,” she said, and Jonas felt the sting of it as she wrenched her hand from his.

  “Sir,” he said as well, but more cautiously. Why was Rose here?

  “They said you have some of your sight back, Jonas. That’s good news,” James said, walking up close to the bed and hugging his daughter. Tessa didn’t hug him back.

  Jonas couldn’t make out faces well enough to see Tessa’s reaction, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I’m fine, Senator. You didn’t need to come.”

  James Rose sighed, sounding very tired. “Do you mind if I pull up a chair? It was a long flight, and unlike you young guns, this old man can’t go twenty-four hours at a time.”

  He saw Tessa move then, pulling a chair up for her father, who sat.

  “Truth is, I should have come the first time you were in the hospital, that night of the attack. Maybe that would have solved a lot of problems. This time, I needed to make sure I could help clarify what was going on for you two,” he said, though Jonas didn’t know what he was talking about.

  “I think we’re clear, Dad,” Tessa said. “You threatened Jonas’s business if he came near me again, accusing him of failing to protect me the first time. Then you used my attraction to him to have him watch me last night, too, but why? Why would you do such a thing to us?” she asked, her voice quavering.

  “Ah, I’m so sorry, Tessie. I take it you haven’t seen the news yet?”

  They shook their heads, mystified. What did the news have to do with anything?