“What?” Madison said.
“Call 911 and tell them there is a dangerous man at the door, a Marine.”
She could hear Dante on the other end of the line jabbering away. There was no longer polite knocking on the door. That was good. If the bastard wanted to draw attention to himself, she was okay with that. It would draw attention to the situation, and more people would call for help.
As she thought about their options, she knew she had to get Madison as far away from whoever was on the other side of the door. Elena took the phone from Madison as the pounding on the door increased. “Dante, are you on your way over?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, Madison will be safe, but hurry.” Elena handed the phone back over to Madison. “Here, take mine, call 911 on there, keep the line open with Dante.”
“I can help you. I’m not unable to fight now.” She knew her friend was talking about her PTSD.
Elena shook her head. “You’re pregnant. You need to make sure you keep you and that baby safe.”
Madison wasn’t about to give up. “Come with me. We’ll be safer together.”
“No. If he has no one to get his attention, he will have more time to get to you.” A threatening growl rumbled in Charlie’s chest. Elena didn’t think she had ever heard the companion pet sound so threatening. “I can handle the asshole until the guys get here. Go.”
Madison nodded as she did Elena’s bidding. The sun had set, so Elena turned off the lights. The major was pounding harder and muttering under his breath. She couldn’t make out the words, but it didn’t sound good at all.
The door blew open, bringing the Major with it.
“Elena Santini, I am here to help you.”
So, maybe he was some kind of demented mental patient. No one would bust through a door like that and announce he was there to help her. There was something definitely off about the guy. She crouched down on the other side of the couch. From what she saw of the intruder, he outweighed her by quite a bit.
“I was sent by Jethro Thomas. He’s a friend of mine.”
Lie. That was easy. No one called him Jethro but her mother. She did sometimes, but it wasn’t something a friend would call him. Everyone who worked with him called him Agent Thomas or JT.
“There was a problem with his last case.”
And she was pretty sure the bastard now moving toward the bedroom door was the problem. He started messing with the doorknob. With his back turned in her direction, she decided to get a good look at him. She inched out, trying her best not to alert him of her location.
First thing she noticed was that the man was a mess. He had his uniform on, but no self-respecting Marine officer would look like that, at least not outside a war zone. It hadn’t been washed in a few days. Twigs hung from the sleeves, and he wasn’t wearing a cover. A sure sign there was something very, very wrong with the man.
He stepped back from the door, and she saw his hand raise up as if shoot the doorknob. Damn.
She rose up and came at him. He turned with an almost comical surprised look on his face. She used as much force as she could as she brought her hand down on his arm. It had the desired effect. He dropped the gun. She didn’t stop her forward motion. Elena slammed into the man, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
“Bitch,” he screamed.
She ended up on top and had the advantage of being able to untangle herself from the major. She was up and on her feet, moving away from the bedroom door and toward the entrance to her apartment. If she could lead him out of the apartment, that would mean he would be moving away from Madison. Plus, outside, there were people. People meant witnesses.
Her hopes were dashed the moment she felt his fingers wrapping around her ankle. With a jerk of his hand, he brought her down on the ground. Her head smacked hard against the foyer floor. She blinked as stars appeared in front of her eyes. Pain radiated from the spot that got the brunt of the hit on the floor. It was so strong she almost vomited.
I have never met such a pain in the ass as you. Why didn’t you just go off the road?”
He seemed to be talking to himself. He continued muttering, but she couldn’t make out the words after that one. Suddenly, what he said hit her. He was the bastard who ran her off the road. He still had his slimy fingers wrapped around her ankle. She pulled her foot back and smacked him in the face. Twice. The crack of bone filled the apartment. Blood spurted from his nose as he screamed. Still, he didn’t let go of her leg. She pulled her leg back to hit him again, but he swung his free arm around and she saw the gun.
She froze, her blood turning to ice. All the air backed up in her lungs as terror wound through her system. Elena stifled the scream that was lodged in her throat. She was worried that if Madison thought she was in trouble, she would come out. The guys should be there within a minute to two, depending on when they had actually left.
“Yeah, I thought that might get you under control.”
She would not let him shoot her. Not now. Not at this point in her life. She had no idea who he was, but she did know that he wanted her dead. Fuck it. She would not take this lying down.
Using what little strength she had left, she reared up and head butted the man. They tumbled back together, and the gun went flying out of his hand again. This time, she straddled his chest and punched him in the face. He was already bloody, and her hit to his nose just made it worse. She was still hitting him when she heard JT shout behind her.
“Bastard,” he roared. He came rushing behind her. Hands were on her, and she realized they were Anthony’s. As he pulled her away, JT grabbed the man who had attacked her.
“Where are you hurt?” Anthony demanded as he picked her up.
Dante was pounding on the bedroom door yelling out Madison’s name.
“I’m not hurt. Not really. Get JT off the man.”
Anthony set her on her feet and looked her in the eye. Apparently deciding she was okay, he yelled out, “JT, I think the blood is his.”
JT stopped in mid-punch, and his head whipped around. This was not the man she knew. His face was a mask of anger, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He stood and came to her, pulling her against his chest. She heard Dante talking to Madison and Charlie, and she sighed with relief.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
“I can’t breathe,” she said, telling the truth. All of a sudden, the room seemed to be spinning. Her head was throbbing.
He gave her some space. “All the blood is his?”
She nodded, then felt another roll of nausea turn over in her stomach. She swallowed and tried to keep herself from throwing up.
“There’s blood on the back of your head,” Madison said from behind her.
She turned to face her, and the room spun so fast she faltered.
“I think you need a doctor,” JT said, but he sounded like he was in a tunnel far away. When did he get so far away?
She shook her head, which was a mistake. She swallowed the rise of bile that clogged her throat. “No.”
JT opened his mouth to argue with her, and she just couldn’t take it. She bent over and threw up on his shoes.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hours later, after the police had left her apartment, and the EMT’s had told her she had a slight concussion and really should go to the hospital, she found herself in JT’s bedroom. Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone. Santinis filled the room. Sure, it was just two brothers and a sister-in-law. Worse, she knew her parents were on their way. She had told them not to come when Dante had called, but they apparently had been planning a trip to see them.
She sighed as she looked around the room. Dante was sitting in the chair beside the bed, Madison on his lap. Anthony had been brooding in the corner since she’d gotten there. And JT, well he sat beside her on the bed not saying much. With Santinis, they took double the energy to deal with. On a normal day, they were difficult to handle. At five-thirty in the morning after being attacked by a crazed O-4, she just
wasn’t in the mood to deal with them. Add in the fact that her head was still throbbing, and she didn’t have the patience. She loved her family, but they were driving her up the wall. Besides, she had something she wanted to discuss with the dumbass she was in love with.
“Everyone out. Go away.”
Anthony frowned. “But, the EMT said you needed to stay awake.”
“I think we should leave,” Madison said.
Elena tried to offer her friend a smile, but she found it hard. Any movement made her head pound even more. She’d kill to have the lights out, but Anthony had deemed it unadvisable since he felt she needed to stay awake. Idiot.
Elena studied her friend. She looked well, but there were dark smudges beneath her eyes and she was still pale. Charlie hadn’t left her side since the incident. She was relieved that Madison was fine and hadn’t had an episode because of the stress of the night.
“Dante, take her home. She needs her rest.”
That was true. She didn’t know who had slept that night. Probably no one. The sun was coming up, and her friend looked ready to drop.
“We want to be here,” Anthony said.
She cut him a look. “Seriously, leave.”
Apparently, the look and the tone of her voice got to him.
“Come on,” Madison said to him. “You can tell me more horrible stories about my husband.”
He sighed and leaned over the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Give him hell,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. It was probably as close to a blessing as she was going to get from Anthony. He had accepted the fact that they were involved.
Elena nodded and watched as he stepped out of the room with Madison. Dante kissed her in the same fashion.
“Don’t do shit like that again,” he said gruffly.
“What, save your wife and child?”
He sighed dramatically. “Damn, I am never going to be able to live this down. You’ll be bringing it up forever.”
She motioned to him to come closer, then she set her hand on his, which rested on the bed beside her.
“What hurts you wounds me.”
It was something their mother had always said, but for Dante and Elena, it had a special meaning. He nodded, apparently unable to speak. He gave JT a look.
“I almost feel sorry for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Go away, butthead.”
He was laughing as the door closed. She looked at JT then.
“So, you want to be a coward?”
His eyes widened, then they narrowed. “Be careful the way you throw that word around.”
“What can I call you? You were going to leave me.”
His frown darkened. “Where in the world did you get such a dumbass idea as that?”
“You said you had something to talk about. It was definitely about us. And it was important. It happened just when Anthony showed up. So, you are a coward. You would rather throw what we have away so you can keep Anthony as your friend.”
Anger moved over his features and for the first time, she realized she might have misunderstood what he had been trying to say. She swallowed, but she refused to back down. She was going to fight him tooth and nail.
“I wasn’t trying to break up,” he said, rage practically dripping from every word. “You stopped me and I agreed not to talk over the phone. Where did you get the idea that I wanted to break up with you? That’s just stupid.”
“I thought…”
Her words trailed off as he loomed over her. “You stopped me because you were afraid. You, not me, were the coward.”
“That’s not true.” It wasn’t, was it? “Okay, I was afraid you were going to use your friendship with Anthony to drive a wedge between us.”
“When have I done that with anything?”
She frowned. “Always.”
“No. I avoided you because you were my best friend’s little sister and off limits. But from the moment we slept together, tell me who is the one who was trying to keep from being found out? Who is the one who wanted to keep our relationship a secret?”
“I didn’t want them nosing in.”
“Yeah? Well, why not?”
“Because I love you, dumbass. I wanted you all to myself so you could figure how perfect we were together.”
He blinked. “You really are stupid. Jesus, Elena, from the moment we slept together, I have been at your side. You can’t count my assignment.”
She would never do that. Duty was something almost sacred to a Santini. “I don’t.”
He sighed. “Why do you think I requested a break from UA’s?”
“You asked…”
Hope filled her heart as she felt something heavy lift off her soul.
“Yes. I couldn’t keep doing that. First, I’m getting too damned old for that. And secondly, when you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you don’t want to waste time pretending to be someone else.”
She struggled to sit up, and he was by her side in a minute to help. “Be careful.”
It came out as an order, and she slanted him a dirty look. He gave her one right back.
“You better change that attitude right now, woman. I can be mean with you because of the risk you took.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You could have hidden from him.”
“Would you ask one of my brothers to do that?”
“Of course not.”
“Sexist,” she spat out.
“No. When the woman I love is in danger, I have the right to want you safe.”
“I couldn’t hide with her. She needed to stay away from him. With her condition—besides the PTSD—I couldn’t let her become a target. You would have done the same thing.”
And she was happy to have known about it. If not, she probably wouldn’t have been such a bitch and insisted that her friend go hide. She had used it against Madison, and she would do it again in a heartbeat.
“So, how badly was he hurt?” she asked.
“He’ll survive.”
“You won’t be brought up on charges?”
“He was attacking you. What kind of asinine comment is that?”
“Well, maybe I want to make sure you aren’t going to jail, you dumbass.”
“Why would I be going to jail? You’re the one who beat the shit out of him. And, I am getting sick of being called a dumbass.”
“Then stop acting like one.”
He growled and paced away. “I used to have an easy life. Sure, people would shoot at me, and I had to hang out with scum who shouldn’t be able to walk free, but now…”
“What?” she asked when he didn’t continue.
He stopped walking and frowned down at her. “You are a pain in my ass.”
JT looked at the woman he loved and waited for her to yell at him. He shouldn’t have said what he did, but he was so frustrated. In less than eight hours, he had been more terrified than he had in his entire career in the military and NCIS. He’d gotten shot three times during his adulthood and right now, he couldn’t remember the deep bone fear of those events. When he realized that Hickson knew were Elena was, and he was on his way to make JT pay for ruining his scheme, the fear that almost stopped his heart is something he would remember until the day he died.
Then, in a split second, she surprised him. Elena Michon Santini—the girl who never cried, even when she broke her arm in the seventh grade—burst into tears. And not just little tears. Big, sloppy tears and loud sobs. Wailing. He was sure he’d never seen anyone wail like her. The door burst open, and Anthony was frowning at him. JT held up his hands.
“What the hell is going on in here?” he growled.
JT shook his head. “I don’t know. She just started doing it.”
Anthony looked at Elena, then him. “Well, make it stop.”
He opened his mouth to tell him he didn’t know what to do, but Elena took care of it.
“Go get bent, Anthony
,” Elena said.
Anthony studied her for a second, then he gave JT a nasty look of warning before he slammed the door shut.
“Mom always says Anthony was born in a barn.” On that, she drew in a long, shuddering breath and looked down at her comforter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start crying like that and don’t mean to be a pain in the ass.”
“I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Why not? It’s true.”
He couldn’t lie and tell her she wasn’t. Elena was one of the most self-possessed people he knew. She understood her faults. And he loved every last one of them even when she was being a pain in the ass.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
“I thought you wanted to end everything. You sounded so definite on the phone, so I thought you decided not to be with me.” Her voice was so soft, and he knew she was ashamed. He knew her well enough to understand she was embarrassed by her vulnerabilities.
He settled on the bed beside her. “I had made a decision. I can’t believe you thought I was thinking of breaking it off with you. I don’t know where you get those insane ideas.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not an easy woman to live with. Ask any of my brothers. I’m difficult.”
“You’re an acquired taste.”
She rolled her eyes. “That sounds like a line from a movie, Jethro.”
He chuckled. “It’s true. Besides, I don’t want easy. I’m a Marine and an NCIS agent. Easy is boring as hell. I want pushy. I want a woman who kicks my ass when I need it. And I am pretty sure that’s you. I need you beside me at night and I need you to need me.”
She blinked as her eyes filled up with tears. “Oh, my.”
“Exactly. I’ve been walking around with that in my heart for months now. I knew the moment I touched you that God had made you for me. I just had to figure it all out.”
“What took you so long?”
“First some idiot thought we shouldn’t say anything to her family. Second, I really didn’t want to say anything to you until I talked to your father and Anthony about it.”
“Why would you want to talk to them?” she asked as he grabbed a tissue and wiped away her tears.
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