by Natalie Dean
He finished buttoning up his shirt. “Everything will be okay,” he assured her. “Relax! You’re stressing me out.”
You know what?
No.
She wasn’t going to let her night be ruined by worry. She was leaving Ellie in good hands. John could handle himself. He had three daughters. If he could handle ten little girls at a party three times a year, he was made of steel.
Adrianna was determined to make the best of the night. She shoved her worry away. She had enough to worry about without adding silly concerns to it.
She left the room to Ellie, who was bouncing on the couch like a little tornado, chanting “The floor is lava, the floor is lava, the floor is lava!” When she saw Adrianna standing on the bare ground, she yelped. “Adrianna! You’re on fire!”
“I’m not on fire,” Adrianna assured her. She checked her phone for the time. “What I am is late. And so are you. Are you dressed?”
She kept bouncing. She was running on a sugar high from the ice cream. By the time they get to the party, she’ll probably calm down. Hopefully. “Yep!”
“And, on the south side of the ring,” came David’s voice from the bathroom. “We see our reigning champion…The Celtic! America’s dashingly handsome fighter, women love him, men love him!”
He kicked open the door and stepped out dramatically. At least that was the plan. What happened was the door swung open, hit the end of its path, and bounced shut again. The two girls waited patiently, trying to hide their laughter. He muttered something, then tried again. This time, the door didn’t bounce back, and he strode out confidently.
“Yay daddy!” cheered Ellie as David made cheering sounds with his voice. He did actually look rather dashing. David had put on the suit with the gold tie and black shirt. He was a snappy dresser. He took pride in looking good when he wanted to.
He stopped in front of his daughter, bending over to look her in the eyes. “My stars!” he exclaimed. He looked towards Adrianna. “Who is this? My heavens, she’s absolutely beautiful!”
Ellie bashfully looked down, twirling her hair with a finger. She wasn’t good at taking compliments. All it took to shut her down was to say she looked nice, and she was done.
“C’mon, kiddo,” he said. “We’re going to be late.”
They weren’t late as it turned out. Adrianna got them there just before the starting time of the birthday party. She and David were some of the deadliest people in town. Between her military training and his fighting expertise, they were quite a power couple. They were, however, victims to the clock like everyone else.
“Oh, hey, we’re early,” David said as the car came to a stop. “That’s cool. Were you speeding?”
“A little…”
“Setting a bad example for Ellie I see,” he said with that impish little smirk he got.
“Aw, shut up.”
They unpacked from the car. By then, the two of them were practically professional birthday-partiers. Adrianna got Ellie, and David grabbed the presents. Within a few moments, they were out and ready. They trooped towards the building, which had been adorned with balloons and a sign that said there was a party inside.
Outside, in the parking lot, there were dozens of cars. It was probably a big party. It was one of those school-wide parties, so there were probably quite a few of Ellie’s classmates that were there. Ellie had been psyched for it ever since they got the invitation in the mail.
Inside the bowling alley wasn’t quite total pandemonium, but it was pretty darn close. Little girls were everywhere, absolutely everywhere. Most were dressed in regular clothes, but a couple were wearing costumes. There was a huge cake by the bowling lanes, and stressed workers running around trying to accommodate them.
“There’s so many of them…” David gasped. “It’s an army of little girls!”
“Mother of God…” Adrianna was delighted that they were going off to eat. Ellie would jump into the group of kids and be gone. If they had chosen to stay there, it would have been just David, Adrianna, and a couple of parents trying to speak over the happy shrieking cacophony.
John came over. His eyes were wide. “If it isn’t my two favorite heroes!”
Ellie dashed off to join the crowd, leaving the three adults together. David gave him a resounding handshake. They’d always gotten along great. They were two of a kind.
“Hey,” David said, speaking up to be heard. “Keep an eye on Ellie, would you?”
“Of course,” he said. “Anything in particular?”
David hesitated. Big scary guys was kind of an obvious statement. “Just…do not let her go with anyone that’s not us, okay?”
John frowned. He was a big guy. Adrianna had forgotten just how big he was. It was comforting. The man she’d seen, the one that she was worried about, was a huge man, but John could handle himself. “Well…of course. She’ll stay with me. You two lovebirds going out for a nice dinner?”
“Yeah, we figured it was overdue.”
“Good for you.” He slapped David on the shoulder. “Have a good time. I’ll keep a good eye on your little girl.”
Adrianna reached out with her sixth sense just to make sure that she was making a good decision. His aura came back solid. All good. Sure, he had some flaws and some darkness in there, but she had never met someone who was entirely good or entirely bad. Even the darkest people had just the tiniest glimmer of light in them.
She could trust him.
They grabbed a hug from Ellie and had her recite their telephone numbers again. It was a thing that Adrianna’s dad had taught her- to memorize his number in case something ever happened. She hadn’t ever needed to use it, but it gave her comfort having Ellie know both her and David’s numbers.
David crouched to give Ellie a hug. Adrianna normally gave her a hug standing up, but that day she decided to go ahead and get on her level. Bad idea. Ellie, delighted, dove into her chest. She was a bony little thing, which Adrianna hadn’t really noticed until right then.
“Augh….” Adrianna gave her a quick hug before standing up and hugging her chest. “Ouch….”
“Are you okay?” Ellie said. She didn’t understand. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Adrianna muttered. It wasn’t Ellie’s fault. “No…you’ll understand when you’re older…”
Ellie looked concerned, but Adrianna gingerly gave her a hug, and they were on their way.
“You okay, babe?” David asked, trying to avoid grinning.
“I’m going to have to explain that to her someday,” Adrianna said. Her chest was aching, but her heart was soaring. She was absolutely thrilled with going out to eat, more than she’d expected she would be when David had first tossed the idea out there.
Midway to the restaurant, David found the pipe that he’d given her earlier. “Hey, here’s your pipe.”
“I’m glad.” She shifted lanes.
David stuck the pipe in his mouth. “Ello, guv'nor,” he said in an English accent.
Adrianna smiled. “Why did you even get me a pipe? You know I don’t smoke. I don’t even know how to use that, honestly.”
“I dunno. I just saw it and thought of you.”
“You saw a man’s smoking pipe and thought of me? I’m not sure what that says about our relationship….is that a good thing? A bad thing?”
“I have no idea.”
Adrianna got off the interstate towards the restaurant. The place was called Trees. It was a lovely Italian restaurant that was absolutely top notch- the servers all wore suits or dresses, the entrees were outrageously expensive, and classical music was always playing quietly in the background. Adrianna had only been there a couple times in her life. Every time, she’d been blown away.
That night, Trees was packed as always. Adrianna had honestly been surprised they had even been able to land a seat. Generally, they were sold out for at least a week. Turns out, someone had canceled right before they called, so they got lucky.
The night air was crisp
and cool, not enough to make Adrianna shiver but enough to make her feel alive. She could faintly hear the traffic on the interstate, but Trees was far enough from the road to feel tucked away.
David jumped out of the car when they first arrived, hustled over to her, and opened the door for her like a true gentlemen. “M’lady,” he said, ushering her out.
And with those words, their night on the town began.
Chapter 3
Adrianna had been hoping for a lovely time- some relaxation, to be able to have an adult conversation, eat some great food, and just enjoy being with David.
She had completely underestimated how nice it would be.
They’d gotten a corner booth in Trees, so they were close enough to be in the buzz without being overwhelmed by conversation. Nobody near them was drunk. Everyone was polite and proper.
“Hey,” David said. “Look how in love that young couple looks…”
It was true- a young couple was sitting at the bar, making conversation with awkward, happy little quips. It was nice to see someone like them, just two people trying to find someone to love. It made the atmosphere even better to Adrianna. She leaned her head against David’s shoulder. She could feel his rippling musculature under his shirt.
“I’m glad we did this,” she told him, nuzzling up against him.
“Me too. I think this could be a very fun night for us.”
The waitress came up and introduced herself. She was professional, genial, and receptive- the perfect server. Adrianna and David both just ordered water to drink, which seemed to surprise her. Nearly every other couple was drinking wine. David tended to be a violent drunk, so he’d sworn off it years ago, and Adrianna never found a need to even try drinking.
As they waited for the food, they talked.
“Look,” David said. He reached for her hand, and when she gave it to him, he opened it, palm up. With an entirely serious expression, David grabbed the straw wrapper, crumbled it up, and put it in the center of her palm. Without blinking or saying a thing, he rolled her fingers up against the wrapper. “Treasure it forever.”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say,” she said.
“Treasure it forever.” His eyes were sparkling with amusement. “Or at least until the food gets here.”
“Consider it treasured forever,” she told him. She was kidding. There was no way that she could treasure a piece of trash for longer than five minutes, much less forever. Looking at him, though, she could think of something that she did want to cherish for eternity.
“I’m about to publish my book,” he told her.
“Already?” That was quick. He’d just started it last month. She’d always figured people needed years to finish writing anything of quality, but when she’d read it, there was no doubt- he was a quality writer, and he’d pumped it out in a matter of weeks, not years.
“Yes.”
“I want the first autographed copy.”
“It won’t even by under my own name. I need help thinking up a good name. I was thinking Francis Fakename.”
Adrianna tried to keep a smile down and failed. “I, uh, I believe that you need to put some more thought towards that.”
“You don’t like ole’ Francis Fakename?”
“Well…it’s a little ridiculous.”
“I’m a little ridiculous.”
“You’re a lot ridiculous.”
“We gotta keep it going. It’s ridiculous how many times we just said the word ridiculous in a row.”
“You’re right. It’s ridiculous how many times we said that.”
“That was weak. I’d give it a three out of ten.”
She shrugged. “I’m not good at that stuff. What can I say?”
“Are you still treasuring the wrapper?”
She opened her palm to show it. “Still treasuring.”
The waiter arrived with the food, effectively cutting off the conversation.
The food itself was marvelous. It tasted like literal heaven: well cooked, perfectly seasoned, and overall just a masterpiece. Adrianna was tense at the beginning of the night, worrying sick about Ellie, but after John had texted to let them know everything was okay, she relaxed and let herself enjoy the night. Oh, and enjoy it she did. David was simply on. He was cracking jokes that made her laugh when the mood was right, but he was soft and gentle when he needed to be. He could tell she was stressed, so he tried his best to make her feel happy and at peace. He was quite successful.
At one point, he accidentally spilled some sauce onto his lap. He didn’t even do anything. He just hung his head with a loud, exaggerated sigh. “Well, drats.”
Adrianna had been going for a beautiful, sophisticated look the whole night, but she failed right then. Looking at his resigned expression as he stared at the sauce was just too funny. She laughed, but she’d been drinking her water, so water ended up going up her nose and nearly choked her.
“Sorry,” she choked out.
“Can you give me a hand?” he asked.
“What, with cleaning it?”
“Yeah.”
She felt color rising to her cheeks for some idiotic reason. She was an FBI agent for heaven’s sake, and here she was, getting embarrassed by David’s flirting. “I can’t do that….”
“I love you,” he told her later, looking directly into her eyes. “Really, I’m just crazy about you.”
She leaned towards him. He accepted, and they met lips for one long, passionate moment. When she pulled away, she looked into his eyes for an answer. Should they go all the way? They’d been keeping pure, as pure as they could, but maybe the time was right.
He nodded once, silently.
David raised up his hand to get the attention of the waiter, who hurried over and asked if they needed dessert. David paid and, five minutes later, they were in the car. Their apartment was a short drive away, but it felt like an eternity and a mere second to Adrianna at the same time. Was she making a good choice? Was it the right time? They’d talked about waiting until they were married…but it just felt so right.
Like a couple young lovebirds, they giggled the entire way up to the apartment. Adrianna felt like she could just float away with joy. She’d expected her emotions to be running wild. She hadn’t expected to be so excited and happy about it.
David tried to put the key in and missed. It took him a second or two to get it right and unlock the door. The door swung open to his apartment, where they hurried into the bedroom.
David frantically unbuttoned his shirt, so quick that Adrianna felt sure he busted at least a couple different buttons. Her heart was hammering in her chest. This was really happening.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked her urgently. He didn’t want to feel as though he’d rushed her, which she had appreciated at every other time but not right then.
“Of course I’m sure!”
And then David’s phone rang. David completely ignored it. He was staring at Adrianna in a sort of adoration. They were on the bed together by this point, right up against each other. They were breathing hard, fast. Adrianna barely registered the phone ringing, but she hardly cared. Let it ring. They were busy. But then she remembered- it could be John. She pulled away from David just the slightest bit.
“Who is it?”
“Who cares?” he asked in response.
“No, it could be John.” She wriggled away. “Just check, please.”
He groaned and checked the phone. His eyes widened. “It’s John.”
“The party shouldn’t be over for an hour or two,” Adrianna said. Suddenly, fear overwhelmed her. “Answer!”
He brought the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
Immediately, his face went ashen gray. His whole body tensed, which was especially noticeable because he was virtually unclothed. “We’re on our way,” he said.
Uh-oh.
David didn’t get that tone unless something was wrong. He immediately left Adrianna on the bed and pulled on his pants. “Get dressed, now
,” he snarled. “Ellie’s missing.”
Chapter 4
Adrianna pulled on her clothes as fast as she could. Her dress slipped right on, but when she tried to put on her shoes, she lost her balance and nearly wiped out. She caught herself before she could fall, but her brain wasn’t working properly. Ellie, her sweet Ellie, was missing.
She’d been dumb to leave her alone. It must have been the guy. John stayed on the phone with David, telling him everything he knew as they ran to the car and jumped inside, leaving Adrianna to stew in her own thoughts. It was like her own little personal torture- to know that something had happened but to not know anything else. Was Ellie taken? Did she just walk off? Was she okay? What had happened?
She’d probably driven faster before, but she couldn’t remember when. A less talented driver would have swerved off the road at least five times by now.
“What happened?” she demanded the moment that he ended the call.
“Someone took her,” he said. His lips were tight and angry. His entire body was hard as a rock. “They don’t know who. She got away from the other girls, and someone put her in a truck before driving off. He said it was a big man and a driver.”
Adrianna felt dread wash through her body. Everything she’d been afraid of, everything she’d feared, had come true. Someone, probably that guy, had stolen their baby girl. Sure, Ellie wasn’t blood-related to Adrianna, but it felt like she was. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to her. She felt her blood start boiling as she imagined what she’d do to whoever had kidnapped her.
They zoomed up into the parking lot to see two police cars with their lights on and parents all around, comforting their kids and leaving. The police officers looked up at them when they pulled in, looking like they might start shooting. Adrianna slammed on the brakes, sending the car screeching to a halt across the gravel parking lot.
The cops were there to greet her, but when they saw she wasn’t armed, they let her go. She had no idea if David was near her, but she was steaming mad. She spotted John from across the lot. He was speaking to some officers, who were taking notes on what he said.