by Tee O'Fallon
“Give me your hand.” He extended his arm as low as possible until she grabbed onto his hand. He hauled her up and out of the cellar, realizing her hands and feet were bound with duct tape. When he picked her up in his arms, she moaned then coughed again.
“Gray!” Dom called out.
“We’re here.” Gray coughed. “I’ve got her, but I can’t see a damn thing. Keep talking,” he shouted.
“Over here. Keep moving toward me.” Dom, too, began coughing. “Keep coming, keep coming. Over here.”
Gray’s eyes stung. His lungs burned. He followed Dom’s voice until an opening appeared in the wall of flames. Dom was there.
“Let me take her.” Dom held out his arms.
“No.” Gray held on tightly to Alex’s now unmoving body. “She’s mine.”
She is. Mine, he realized in that moment.
“Detectives, get the hell outta here!” Two firemen appeared through the smoke just as the floor beneath them gave a creaky moan and began to shake.
Gray and Dom followed two firemen down the short hallway. Alex coughed the entire time, and he worried there’d be permanent damage to her lungs. Hopefully the root cellar had protected her from the worst of it.
Just as Gray’s feet hit pavement, the barn’s failing timbers began creaking. One of the firemen beside him shouted something, but the roar of the fire obliterated his words. Gray didn’t have to hear him to know what he was saying.
Run.
His heart raced as he tore across the pavement, hugging Alex’s limp body to his. Dom and the two firemen were on either side.
Loud crackling, followed by a roar as loud as a freight train, came from behind them. A second later, a blast of heat slammed their backs. Smoke, cinders, and dust billowed past Gray’s feet but he kept running.
Without looking behind him, he knew the barn had just collapsed. Up ahead, the smoke cleared, giving way to a slew of emergency vehicles parked at a safe distance.
Dom’s hand on his back guided Gray to the nearest bus. EMTs waited at the open doors, oxygen masks in their hands. Gasping for air, he let them take Alex from his arms and lay her on a stretcher. They immediately placed a mask over her face, and he watched thankfully as her chest rose and fell. As much as he wanted to be in the ambulance with her, holding her hand, anything to let her know he was there, he understood the EMTs needed space to do their work and he would only get in their way.
“Get that tape off her.” A fresh surge of rage filled him at the thought of Alex bound and helpless in that burning building.
While one EMT began cutting off the tape with a scalpel, another handed Gray a mask that he held over his nose and mouth. The fresh, smoke-free oxygen felt good as he breathed it in. His eyes still burned like they were on fire, watering enough that tears streaked down the sides of his face.
“You all right?” Dom rested a hand on Gray’s shoulder. “I found the woman’s body. Nice grouping, by the way.” He formed his fingers into a tight, three-inch circle.
Gray removed the mask from his face. “There was another body inside, a man. Shot in the forehead.”
“Apparently,” Dom said, “good help is hard to find, and this one didn’t meet the grade.”
Gray took another hit of oxygen. “If you hadn’t shown up, I don’t think I could have found my way out.”
“You always did suck at directions.” Dom chuckled.
“I mean it.” Gray gripped his partner’s upper arm. “You saved my ass.”
“That was a close one.” Dom nodded. Clearing his throat, he looked at the burning, collapsed building. “Unfortunately, any evidence is nothing but ashes.”
Gray didn’t care. As long as Alex was alive.
“Detective?” an EMT called out from the open ambulance doors. “You need to see this.”
Gray hauled himself into the bus and sat on a bench next to Alex. An IV tube ran into her arm and an oxygen mask covered her face. He reached for her hand, smiling when she clasped his fingers.
When the EMT handed him a thumb drive, he narrowed his eyes. “Where did you get this?”
“It was in her hands.” The EMT nodded to Alex. “When I cut off the duct tape it was stuck to the inside of the tape.”
“I’ll give it to Forensics and tell them it’s a rush job.” Dom reached for the thumb drive.
“Thanks, buddy,” Gray said.
“My pleasure.” Dom grinned, holding up the tiny storage device. “I can’t wait to see what secrets are on this little gem.”
On the opposite bench, another EMT continued monitoring Alex’s vital signs. Her eyes were closed, but her chest rose and fell steadily, and condensation clouded the inside of her oxygen mask.
Gray squeezed his eyes shut and thanked the powers above for the miracle he’d been blessed with.
“How’s she doing?” He nudged a lock of blond hair from her eyes with the tips of his fingers.
“Can’t say for sure, but you got her out of there alive. That’s the main thing. She’ll need X-rays and a few other tests to determine if there’s any lung damage.”
“What about that head injury?” A white bandage covered most of the bump on her upper forehead.
“They’ll also take X-rays for that at the hospital. She’s conscious and coherent, so that’s a good sign.”
Alex moaned. “Gray?”
“I’m here, baby.” He leaned in closer as she opened red-rimmed eyes. She blinked rapidly, tears trickling down her soot-streaked cheeks.
Her hand tightened in his, and he breathed an audible sigh of relief. Beneath the oxygen mask, she mumbled something he couldn’t hear. She began tugging at the mask.
“No, sweetheart.” He repositioned it on her face. “Just breathe. You need it.”
She began shaking her head and pulled the mask away again. More tears leaked from her eyes. Gray didn’t know whether it was from the smoke or something else. Whatever the source, it tugged at his heart like nothing else could.
“I didn’t tell them.” She coughed. “No matter what happens, I didn’t tell them anything, and I wasn’t working for them. Please believe me.”
“I do believe you.” He held her hand to his lips then began to put her mask back on.
“Wait.” She pushed his hand away. “Something else I need to tell—” She was seized by a fit of coughing. “It’s about Nicky’s—” She coughed again and closed her eyes.
“Is she okay?” Gray heard the edgy panic in his voice.
The medic reset the mask onto her face then rechecked her vital signs and gently pushed up her eyelid. Using a penlight, he checked her pupil’s response. “She’s exhausted. I think she’s asleep.”
The other EMT hopped out of the back of the bus and shut the doors. Seconds later, the vehicle rocked as it began its trek to the hospital.
Gray took another hit of oxygen from his own mask. Worry clawed at his gut. He surmised the woman he shot in the hallway was the same one who’d contacted Alex. The woman and her accomplice were dead, but were Alex and Nicky really safe, or would another Pyramid assassin try to blackmail her again? Or worse, try to kill them?
A feeling of certainty came over him. No matter the answer, they would never get to Alex or her son.
They would have to come through him first.
Chapter Nineteen
The following afternoon, Gray held Alex’s hand as she rose from the wheelchair outside the emergency room and took the few short steps to his car.
Tired as she was, his light touch on her back had her wishing they were home in her bed. No sooner did her backside make contact with the upholstered seat than she was overcome with a fresh fit of coughing.
Gray knelt beside the passenger seat and took her hand in his. “Between the smoke inhalation, the goose egg on your head, bruised shoulder and ribs, you should be staying another night at the hospital.”
She shook her head. “The doctor released me, and I want to go home.” Her voice sounded raspy and hoarse. “I might sound ba
d, but I don’t even have a concussion.”
Gray scowled. “He released you, but you practically bribed him to sign you out.”
“I’ll be fine.” She squeezed his hand, loving the concern in his voice. “You’ll be with me if anything happens.”
Their gazes met, and once again Alex was mesmerized by the glittery sparkle of his eyes. Not even the aftereffects of rescuing her from a burning, smoke-filled barn could hide their unique beauty. He kissed the inside of her palm, a gesture so sweet it made her heart leap for joy. Not only had this wonderful, heroic man saved her life, but he finally believed her. Something she thought would never happen.
“Let’s get you home and cleaned up.” He stood and shut the passenger door.
The clothes she wore were destined for the garbage. The nurses had cleaned her face and hands, yet every inhalation filled Alex’s nose with the lingering scent of smoke. It was in her hair, her clothes, and every pore of her skin.
Pain meds had eased the throbbing in her skull and ribs to a dull ache. Luckily, she hadn’t suffered any bone fractures. A long, hot shower followed by snuggling in bed with Gray’s arms around her would do far more for her recovery than being stuck in a hospital ever could.
After Gray got into the car and drove out of the hospital parking lot, her stomach growled.
“Daisy wanted to come to the hospital.” Gray turned left at the first intersection, heading back to her apartment. “But Dom convinced her not to. She wanted to do something to help so he told her to stock your kitchen with ice cream, soup, and anything else easy to swallow.”
Alex raised her brows. “Dom actually called Daisy?”
“No.” Gray chuckled. “He didn’t have her number, so he went to her apartment to let her know what happened to you, and that you were okay.”
“And there wasn’t any bloodshed?” Alex cracked a smile, imagining her friend’s restraint. Daisy had never been one to hold back when she got riled up. “I’m surprised she would even talk to him after what happened.”
Gray laughed, then coughed, a reminder that he, too, had suffered smoke inhalation in the warehouse. “Maybe talk is too mild a word. According to Dom, when Daisy opened her door and saw him standing there, she tried slamming it in his face. His boot took the brunt of the blow. When he got inside, Daisy slapped him.”
Alex’s snort of laughter morphed into a cough. Gray touched his fingers to her face, and she leaned into his hand, amazed at how someone with so much strength could be so incredibly gentle. “You’re not kidding. She really hit him?”
Gray nodded. “Twice.”
“What did Dom do?”
Gray shrugged. “Stood there and took it. What else could he do? Then she kicked him right back out the door.”
“Those two are like oil and water,” Alex whispered, finding it easier than full-out talking.
Gray glanced at her then braked for a pedestrian crossing against the light. “Sometimes opposites attract.”
“Maybe.” She angled to face him. “But I don’t think Daisy will ever forgive him for running out on her like that.”
Gray sent her a meaningful look. “She should give him time.”
Alex shook her head. “Patience is not her strong suit.”
They drove the next few minutes in silence. Alex rested her head on Gray’s shoulder as much as the seat belt allowed. His arm came around her shoulders, and she uttered a contented sigh.
At the hospital, she’d given a brief statement to Gray, Dom, and Lt. Frye about what happened in the barn, but Gray cut the interrogation short. A formal briefing was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, giving both of them time to recover and hopefully to pick up Nicky in Hopewell Springs.
Dom felt confident that since working alone was an unspoken Pyramid code to safeguard their identities, the chances of another assassin even knowing about her were virtually non-existent.
Alex’s lids began to close. So much to think about.
The sound of a door shutting startled her awake. Until that moment she hadn’t realized she’d nodded off. She looked around, disoriented at first, then glimpsed the front of her apartment building. Gray opened her door and leaned in to undo her seat belt. When her feet hit the sidewalk her legs nearly buckled beneath her. The next thing she knew she was in Gray’s arms. He kicked the car door shut, locked it with the key fob, then carried her up the steps to her building.
Once inside her apartment, he put her down gently. With her arms still linked around his neck, she pressed against him and pulled his head down for a kiss. “Thank you for saving my life.”
When he kissed her again, his lips were light as a feather. Butterflies tingled in her belly, and all she wanted was to be naked with him and have his hands stroking her skin. His lips, mouth, and tongue on her breasts. To feel him moving inside her, their bodies linked in the most intimate way. She felt him grow hard against her thigh.
He unclasped her hands from his neck. “I need to check your apartment. After that, we both need a shower.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Alex smiled, trying to give Gray her best come-hither look.
“A shower.” He dropped a kiss on the forehead. “Then a quick bite if you’re up for it. After that, straight to bed.”
She grinned then rubbed her hips against his hardening erection. “You are so reading my mind.”
With a groan, he extricated himself from her grasp and headed down the hallway to her bedroom.
Alex wasn’t surprised that her siren act wasn’t working. They’d both been through a lot over the last couple of days, and she understood that Gray wanted her to rest more before exerting herself. Although making love with him was the best medicine she could think of.
With a raspy sigh, she glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Four p.m. She’d been dying to speak with Nicky before bedtime, just to hear his voice and reassure herself that he was okay, but Mike had taken him and Raven to a park to throw a Frisbee. Tomorrow evening would come soon enough, when they would drive upstate to bring him home. Besides, she needed to be alone with Gray tonight. There was so much she had to tell him. Like the real reason Fatima had targeted her.
Jan.
Fatima mistakenly assumed that if all else failed, Alex would cooperate with the Pyramid in order to keep Nicky’s location a secret from Jan. Alex fervently hoped that since Fatima was dead, she wouldn’t have to worry about that any longer. Lord knew she had so many other things hanging over her head. First and foremost, it was way past time to come clean about Nicky’s father. She owed Gray that and so much more. He’d just saved her life.
She clasped both hands to her cheeks. What will he say when I tell him everything? Regardless of what he might say, she had to tell him. Tonight.
With a sinking feeling, Alex went into the kitchen and grabbed a garbage bag from the cabinet under the sink. She shucked off her shoes and socks then shrugged out of her coat and dropped everything into the bag. Then she stripped down and tossed in her remaining garments. After tying the bag closed she looked up to find Gray watching her. His gaze traveled slowly down her body then up again.
When he came to her, there was a feral, predatory glint shimmering in his eyes. His jaw clenched, and he held out his hand. Alex took it and let him lead her into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, and she watched with greedy eyes as he stripped down. At the sight of his rock-hard erection, she grinned. Now it was her turn to reach out and take him in her hand.
“Ah, baby,” he groaned deep in his throat. The sexy sound shot straight to Alex’s womb. He threw back his head and let her stroke him until he was impossibly harder. “Alex, stop.”
“Why? Don’t you want me?”
“More than anything.”
“Then let me touch you and taste you.”
“Not a chance, honey. You’re bruised enough as it is, and I don’t want to hurt you.” He removed her hand and led them both into the shower, closing the door behind them. “I’ll wash you off. Then you go to bed. Tha
t’s it.”
Alex twisted her lips into a pout, thoroughly disappointed. She stepped under the hot water, closed her eyes, and groaned with pleasure. She didn’t think anything else could feel so good until Gray began soaping her up.
His hands slid over her calves, up her thighs to her throbbing core. Seeking fingers began stroking her then pushed into that very place where she wanted him. Unable to hold herself upright she leaned against him, grasping his tight, muscular ass, trying to urge him inside her, but he pulled away.
“You’re tired. Let me do this for you,” he whispered against her ear. She shuddered at the shivery tendrils curling up her neck. “Just relax and enjoy. Let me make you come.”
“Oh, Gray.” She kissed his shoulder, nipping his taut skin while his fingers swirled and danced at the entrance to her core.
She thrust in tandem with his fingers, shaking from the intensity of the tightness building in her womb. Alex bit Gray’s shoulder, making him groan. His erection rubbed against her thigh as he pistoned his fingers inside her, gripping her ass, holding her more firmly against his hand. She dug her nails into his shoulders as her orgasm began coiling outward from her center. When it finally hit, she whimpered, unable to scream.
Alex sucked in moist, steamy air. Her heart galloped in her chest. Gray’s erection throbbed and pulsed against her belly. Beneath her hand, his heart thundered.
They stood holding each other as their breathing and heart rates slowed. Then Gray squirted shampoo into his hands and began massaging her scalp and hair free of smoke and soot. When he rinsed her hair, her ass brushed against him, and it was plainly obvious that he was still hard.
With her back to him, she raised her arms and linked them around his neck. “Gray, take me here. Now. I want to feel you inside me.”
Cold air brushed against her backside as the shower door opened then closed. Seconds later the bathroom lights went out, cloaking the tiny stall in near darkness. The only light came from her bedroom.
The shower door opened and closed, and she felt Gray’s jutting erection against her backside. He slid his hands up her rib cage and massaged her breasts. His fingers plucked at her nipples, twisting them gently. She covered his hands with hers, urging him on as her body hummed with need.