“He’s dead!” he yelled again, but I was no longer listening. I vowed then and there never to give up. We would find him. Somehow.
***
Trish didn’t stay long when we went back to my room. She told me she was off to join their team in Los Angeles to interrogate the mole on the SWAT team. She wasn’t giving up, and neither was I. Dane and Astrid respected my need for silence. Elliott wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be gone.
There was no way I would accept it. I was certain in my heart if he had been, I’d feel it. He’d become so rooted in me.
It hurt knowing now that he had given himself up at the slim chance of saving me. That eclipsed both his job and our friendship.
That was love.
I needed to be there when they brought him in so that I could tell him that I felt the same way about him. I loved him.
Hours and hours went by, but no word. All we could do was sit there and wait and hope they find Elliott. I refused anything that would put me to sleep. I stayed there and waited. Every call Astrid and Dane received had me on alert.
It was late in the afternoon the next day when I heard Dane say on the phone, “Trish.”
I cleared my throat and spoke up loud enough for him to hear me. “Dane?”
He held up his hand and went to the corner of the room to take the call. “I’ll tell you everything she tells me once the call ends.”
I started to tremble, and Astrid came over and held my hand. “He can’t be…”
She squeezed my hand. “He’s not.”
Dane paused on the phone. “The SWAT team member broke. He gave them Elliott’s location. They are on their way. She can’t confirm, but she believes he’s alive.”
My heart jumped in my throat. “Where?”
“Los Angeles,” he said, then spoke into the phone. “I’m on my way.”
“Me too,” I said and pressed the call for the nurse and told her on the phone that I was leaving. “Could you pass me my clothes? I’m going to the bathroom to change.”
“You can’t leave yet,” Astrid complained. “You’re still sick.”
“The nurse said the doctor’s note didn’t have a hold on my stay and was going to sign me out tomorrow anyway. So I could sign myself out now, and I am,” I replied, ignoring her frowning face and collecting the pale blue tracksuit and shirt she had brought for me to wear. I shook my head. This would be my last stay in a hospital, I vowed.
“I’ve got cops all around, and most of the bad guys are in jail,” I told her once I came back in the room after changing out of my hospital gown. “Dane and Tove will be with me.”
“I will,” Dane spoke up in support. “I’ll look after her.”
He was against my speaking with Dimitri, but when it came to Elliott, we were on the same page. We would be there for him.
“Thank you, Dane,” I said softly, then turned to Astrid. “See? I’ll be all right, but I can’t just stay here when Elliott’s…hurt.” My voice cracked.
Dane rubbed my shoulders. “They’ll find him, and he’ll be alright.”
Astrid sighed. “Fine you go, but please try to rest.”
I finished up with the hospital and Astrid followed us out to where the nurse let me out of the wheelchair.
“I’ll call you when I get there,” I promised.
“You better,” she said and hugged me. “The two of you can stay in bed and recover together. I’ll even cook.”
I giggled. “Take-out Queen? No, thanks. Just come by.”
“I will, and you stay positive,” she said and hugged me again. “He’ll be fine, and things will work out. I believe it.”
I thanked her, and we left with the hope that Elliott would be found in time.
Our flight from Washington to Los Angeles on Dane’s private plane wasn’t long. However, when we arrived at the airport in LA, Dane was delayed by our pilot and airport safety because of an issue with his plane. So, he sent Tove and me ahead to check into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The traffic was bad. Bumper to bumper. I checked my phone for the fifth time in two minutes, hoping for news. The wait had me restless.
Then my phone buzzed with a call, which made my pulse jump in my throat.
“Elliott?” I gripped the phone tight.
“Trish,” Trish said. “We have him. He’s…” she sobbed, and my heart stopped. No. He can’t be.
“He’s alive but weak. He’s at Cedar Sinai Medical Center.”
Tears pricked my eyes, and I struggled to catch my breath as I fought to gain control of my emotions at the news. Elliott was alive. “Thank you. Thank you all.” I quickly told Tove the address, which he immediately entered into his GPS. Trish was still on the line, so I asked her. “Where was Elliott?”
“He was locked in a walled room,” she answered. “He had some food and water, but not much. Dimitri lied.”
“It wasn’t his endgame for Elliott,” I replied and sighed. “He probably wanted to use Elliott against us for a while.”
“I believe so,” she concurred. “Anyway, I know he’d want you to know first.”
“Thank you so much,” I said emphatically. I was about to hang up when she said. “Wait a minute, is that traffic I hear?”
“It is,” I answered. “I’ll be there as soon as the road clears.”
Trish laughed. “I misjudged you. You went through a lot, and you still jumped in to help Elliott. You’re tough. You don’t quit. I can see why he.... anyway, see you at the hospital.” We hung up.
Our car was moving again, and now I was nervous, but I wouldn’t let fears get in the way this time. Yes, the way we came together was unusual. I could blush forever that I met him at an orgy. Me a reluctant visitor, he an undercover agent. Our story hadn’t ended there, and fate gave us another chance at a new beginning. And I wasn’t going to pass on it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Visiting hours were over, but the second Trish saw me standing by his door, she spoke with the officer outside, and he let me in alone and closed the door behind me. Elliott was the only one in the room and asleep on one of the beds. He had a black eye and a swollen jaw, though it was mostly covered with the beginnings of a beard. His most severe bruises were burns at his wrist where he must have been tied.
But he was alive, I reminded myself. He would recover.
As quietly as I could, I lifted the plastic chair in the room and placed it close to his bedside.
Sitting down, I gently placed my hand over his and closed my eyes. Oh, how I missed his touch. I missed him.
“Gia,” Elliott whispered. I looked into his blue eyes, and my heart filled up.
“They found you… you hurt?” he asked. His voice graveled.
I swallowed and shook my head. He was worried about me. “Yes, and I was hurt, but now I’m fine.”
“You don’t look it,” he said bluntly.
I giggled. “Thanks a lot. You don’t look so good either. That makes us a matching pair.”
His gaze intensified as he stared at me. “Come closer and let me feel you. I need to know you’re real.”
I didn’t hesitate. I moved to the edge of the bed and leaned over him. His gaze traveled. There was a tremor in his hand as he slowly traced over my face. “You, Gia. Seeing you in my head kept me going. I knew it could be a trap, but I wouldn’t risk you. I also had faith that it wasn’t over for us. That I’d see you again.”
I took his hand and brought it to my lips and kissed the center. “I’m real. I’m with you.”
His hand moved down my chin and neck. I shuddered at his touch, but what we had was more than a sexual connection. It was part of the bond we shared, and I needed it. I needed him. Though I couldn’t remember all that I had endured, I wanted his mark and claim on me. I wanted to be his.
He took my hand. “When I was locked in that room, I kept thinking, ‘what would Gia do?’ You’d fight. You wouldn’t give up. Every damn time something happened you got back on your feet and every time you did, I thought, damn, that’s
the woman I want to know forever…. This wasn’t how I planned to tell you.”
My heart thudded. “This is the time. We can’t wait. When we waited, I was taken. I thought I’d never see you again and you’d never get to know just how much you had come to mean to me. I…I held on because I knew you wouldn’t give up on me. You’d look for me and find me, and I’d be ready for you. For us.”
“I love you, Gia,” Elliott said. “I have for a while and I remember the moment you took my heart. It was when you were all banged up at Vincent’s and got on your feet to protect Melinda. You pled with Angel to drop the gun. You could barely stand, but you put yourself out there, right in the middle of danger to protect someone else. You fought and continued to fight every day. You’re a fighter.”
My heart swelled in my chest. “You taught me to fight.”
“I did, and I liked how you took to it, but you were a fighter before that. I liked spending time with you then and afterward. I liked you, but I had thought Dane was who you really wanted,” he confessed. “I wasn’t willing to give you up. I agreed to share you, and we’d be friends. But then you fucking impressed the hell out of me every minute. I wanted you for myself.”
“Then you should have taken me,” I replied ardently. “I wanted you to when we were in the hotel room. I had realized then that I couldn’t keep going on as we were. My feelings for you were strong. You were on my mind all the time, and I wanted you there. I want you, Elliott. I love you.”
The officer knocked, interrupting the two of us. “The nurse is on her way back in. She’ll have to go.”
Elliott cursed, and I lightly squeezed his hand. “I won’t be far. And when you get out of here—”
“You stay with me, and we fuck all day and night,” he said wickedly. He teased, but then he turned serious. “Honestly, I want you with me, sweetheart.”
“I want that too,” I said and grinned. “I also want you to meet the other man I love in my life. My father. He loves big band music, maybe you can play something on your trumpet for him.”
He smiled. “We’ll do that. Now come close so I can kiss you.”
We kissed with all the feeling we had for each other. It took time for us to get to this place with each other, but that’s what we had now: more time. Together.
***
After a week, Elliott was released. And instead of heading back to Seattle, we took a detour to Palm Springs to see my dad. I had been in contact with him, calling him more than once a day. He was delighted, but nothing was better than seeing him in person.
We were free to go. The Agency was going under. The FBI had information on the members, thanks to the seizure of Dimitri’s records. Elliott’s physical scars and mine had faded, the other ones would go with time. It wasn’t just an adage that time didn’t wait, and we wouldn’t anymore. Loving each other was our first step. Second for me was for him to meet my father. We greeted his nurse inside, and she gestured for us to go out back.
I rarely came to Dad’s home in Palm Springs and met bad weather. Today was no different: he was taking advantage of the weather as he had always done. We found him sitting in his lounge chair outside on the veranda at the back of his home. He was immaculate in his pressed trousers and short sleeve shirt; his grey hair freshly trimmed. I was dressed up in a pale pink dress with long sleeves to hide any bruises that remained from Dimitri’s manhandling. I didn’t want to worry him.
His old record player was playing “Sweet Georgia Brown” filtered across the lawn. He was making odd gestures with his hands like he was conducting along with the music.
I giggled. “That’s my dad. He loves his music.”
“I can play that song for him,” Elliott had his trumpet in one hand and was holding mine in his other one. He’d shaved at the hospital but had stubble on his jaw. He was in loose jeans and a V-neck long shirt that had an abstract pattern. His long, dark hair hung above his collar. He was gorgeous, but casual.
“Do it,” I said. Yes. I was a daddy’s girl. I wanted him to love Elliott as much as I did. Elliott stopped, put his trumpet down and turned me to face him.
Elliott kissed my trembling lips. “It’s going to be fine,” he said confidently. “Your dad will love me. Trust me.”
I did. Absolutely.
“Gia,” my dad called out.
Elliott let me go, and I ran over and hugged and kissed him. His brows furrowed as he looked at Elliott on approach. “Do I know you?” he asked, guarded.
My stomach jumbled with nerves. “No, Daddy. I brought him with me. This is my…boyfriend, Elliott.”
Elliott smiled at him. “She’s right, sir. We haven’t met, but I’m here to tell you I’m going to marry your daughter, and we’re going to be family.”
My mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God.”
My Dad laughed hardily. “Well then take a seat, Son. We have a lot to talk about.”
Oh, did the two of them talk?
Elliott seemed to know every year, date, and time of every bit of music my dad loved. But when he took out his trumpet and played, my dad immediately had a new best friend. My father was more animated than I’d seen him in years. Whenever he lost himself in the conversation, Elliott helped bring him back. He put my dad at ease. Dad made plans with Elliott to come back for another visit with a couple of players with him for a mini-concert. He had a new fan. I loved him even more. I went to the nurse to check on him and left my dad with Elliott. I needed to hear what she had already shared over the phone. He was doing fine most days. I promised I’d be back over sooner than later. It was getting late, and we were ready to go.
Before we left though, Dad asked to speak with me alone. “A cop?”
“Ex-FBI agent,” I corrected. “He runs his own private investigation outfit now,” I said with a lift of my chin.
He shook his head and smiled. “You don’t need to sell him. You never had a reason to be in contact with law enforcement. You could have met him anywhere, but I suspect there is more to it. I know you’ve been keeping something from me because of my memory, and you don’t want me to worry, but can you tell me that you’re fine now?”
“I am,” I said and exhaled. “Things are better now.”
“I can see that,” Dad said. “It was what I always wanted for you. Someone that really loves and cares about you, so I wouldn’t have to worry. You work hard, but there is more to life than work.”
I scoffed. “Coming from the man that rarely took a day off.”
“I should have,” Dad said and sighed. “Anyway, I have a good feeling about Elliott, and I’ll tell you like I just told him. He asked for my blessing, and I gave it to him.”
“Oh,” I said. “He hasn’t even asked me yet.”
“Well hurry up and have the wedding,” he said with a broad grin on his face. “I want to hold my grandchild.”
My face warmed. “Please, tell me you haven’t told him that.”
“I did, and he told me I would have several,” he said and smiled. “I like how direct he is. He’s the real thing.”
“Yes, he is,” I agreed and sighed. “I love him.”
“I can see that,” he said softly.
Elliott came back over to us and shook my dad’s hand. “We need to get going. Talk to you soon.”
“Yes, let’s all talk again soon,” my dad nodded.
“I love you,” I said softly in his ear, and he patted my back when I hugged him. Their meeting went better than I had imagined. I was thrilled.
We hadn’t reached the car before Elliott kissed me passionately on the lips. Truly, Elliott was better than a romance book. He was real. And he was mine.
***
Our visit to Palm Springs was to see my dad, but also for our own break. We headed to the hotel resort where we planned to stay in Rancho Mirage. A private suite near the top with a view overlooking the mountainous desert valley. The balcony was where Elliott took me the moment we were alone in the suite. He guided me outside on the balcony to one of the loung
e chairs to lay there in his arms and relaxed in peace.
“This is what I want,” I whispered against his chest. “I want us to be together. I don’t want to date to try to fit into something we’re not. If anything, I learned not to waste my life. I know how I feel about you. I love you.”
He tilted my face up to his, and the strength of his gaze took ahold of my heart. “I know, and I know I love you, Gia, and I was serious when I told your dad I want to marry you.”
“You told him you will, without even asking me,” I replied with a lift to my brow.
“I said I’d marry you because I believe it,” he said and smiled. “Even if I’d have to convince you forever. You’re mine.”
His confidence and certainty harmonized with mine. However, there was still a part of me that wanted to hear him say the words.
“I’m already convinced,” I said. “But you can ask me anyway.”
He kissed my lips tenderly, then whispered against them. “Will you marry me, sweetheart?”
My answer was sure, and I didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I will marry you, Elliott.”
Our lips met, starting as a tender caress, with slow slides of his tongue as he stroked it against mine, transforming our kiss into fiery possession. I moaned into his mouth, as the need for more scorched through me. Elliott had me turned over onto my back, his need for me just as encompassing. We went back inside, and he quickly removed our clothes, then placed me on my back, on the bed. I wrapped my legs around him, and he entered me. He ground his hips, short, sweet strokes until he was deep inside me. He held himself there, bringing his lips back to my own, in a hot searing kiss. I writhed under him in a plead for more, and he gave it. He was in command, but tonight, there was no denying me.
I gripped him tight, my orgasm taking me over, and Elliott rocked into me, grinding his cock in deeper than he’d ever been before. “I love you.”
My heart soared in ecstasy as I climaxed, and Elliott followed.
Dauntless (The Agency Dark Affairs Duet Book 2) Page 21