Protecting Her: A Romance Bundle

by Mia Ford

  When we get home, there are so many things we need to discuss. Mostly, how the fuck we ended up in this mess. She might not be able to hear me but it’s essential that we sort this out. There are so many ways we could have done things differently, so many times we could have communicated better, and this is our second chance. I intend to grip hold of our second chance with both hands and make it everything and more. I won’t be the idiot that she left behind. I’ll be everything that she needs and more. Finally, I’ll work out how to be the man she deserves. I keep trying to make that happen but I’ve failed too many times so far. Not anymore. No way.

  Not many people get this, most people only get the one shot at love, I’m one lucky son of a bitch. I will not throw my luck down the toilet. I’m going to appreciate it every single day. Veronica is my priority forever.

  “So, the plan?” I whisper a little emotionally to Jones, needing to finish our chat. “What is it?”

  “We just need to land as near to a hospital as we can.” He offers me a one shouldered shrug. “Get these women taken care of as our first priority. After that… well, I’m not too worried about after that right now, and I’m pretty sure that you aren’t either. I’ll get some communication going, see what I can sort out, that’s the plan.”

  I nod, liking that a lot. The only step I care about right now is getting Veronica well anyway, so as long as that’s being organized I’m all good. I slide down further in my seat and wrap my arms tightly around Veronica, needing to keep her warm. As we go, I keep thinking about all that time she must have spent in that tiny, grubby cell with nothing for company but the occasional visits from those assholes and the endless dust. I hate it. I’m still so fucking angry. The only comfort I have is that all of those men are either dead or captured. If the men in captivity can give us more information about the rest of their little crews, then even better. I want this all to be as meaningful as possible. It can’t change all the people who lost their lives along the way, but it can help.

  Now that it’s done, I want to get all we can from it. I want it to be the most useful mission of all time.

  “We’ll be back soon,” I tell Veronica as she sleeps. I’m trying to reassure her as much as myself. “We’ll be home. All of this will be okay. We’re going to be just fine me and you. We have to be, you hear me?”

  There will be no more miscommunication, no more yelling, no more arguing. Just a loving and supportive boyfriend. If I’d just accepted the professional version of her, the person she needs to be while she’s at work, then we could have gotten through this so much better. I’m going to have to get used to ‘Ronnie’ because it means I can keep Veronica. For her, I’m willing to do anything, which I think – I hope – this has shown.

  “Just get better.” I kiss the top of her head hoping that at least some of my words are sinking in. “Get better and we’ll sort everything else out after, I promise you. I will do whatever it takes. I love you, Veronica.”

  ***

  Veronica’s heart beeps along with the monitor and her breathing is controlled by a heavy machine making it incredibly audible. It’s all very frightening but these signs of life are reassuring. At least I know that physically she’s okay. Being trapped in that room by those savages hasn’t done her very well. She’s got some effects, but the doctor doesn’t think any of them will be long lasting. The same goes for the other girl, another journalist who no one even seemed to know was missing. She’s going to be alright as well. We all are. None of the soldiers died but they did get injured. They’re on the way to recovery though so it’ll all be fine.

  I sit closer to Veronica’s bed and hold her hand, willing her to come back around. I know that I need to be patient, they keep telling me as much, but that’s far easier said than done. I just want her back. As I wait, the rest of the world continues to tick past just like it always has done. Work keeps on moving, very much without me, bills pile in at home, friends have outings… life carries on for everyone but me. I stay where I am just waiting. There is no life for me out there, it’s all in here, it all rests on Veronica. I still want her to get well.

  “You know, you can leave her if you want,” I hear Michael’s voice ringing out from behind me. “If you’re frightened to leave her alone then one of us can stay. We all want to help you out.”

  Michael wanted to help me out so much that he actually offered to come with me on the mission in the first place, but I had to refuse him. Not because I don’t trust him but because I wasn’t sure he could cope and I really didn’t want to lose him. He isn’t trained well enough, it wouldn’t be right to risk him.

  “I know you would, Michael.” I pat him on the arm, grateful to him for even coming to visit. “Thank you, but I can’t.” I shake my head rapidly. “I can’t leave her. I’m too afraid. We’ve been apart for too long.”

  He takes a seat beside me and nods knowingly. “I know, I thought you might say that. I just wanted you to know that the offer is always there. I’m here to help if that’s what you want.”

  “You haven’t been sent to find out when I’m coming back to the office then?”

  He shakes his head no. “No one is worried about you coming back to work at the moment. We all know how things are. Everyone just sends their best wishes, that’s all.” He glances at Veronica. “She’s looking better.”

  I cock my head to one side, wondering if he’s right. Maybe she is looking better and I just can’t see it because I’m too close to the situation. I haven’t left this hospital ever since we first got here. The changes might be too small for me to pick up on. Clearly, Michael has seen them though. He wouldn’t say that for nothing.

  “You think so? The doctor says she’s doing quite well too. With all her vital statistics and everything.”

  “Good, good. And the other girl you guys got to, Cyndi, she’s improving every day as well.”

  “How are things going with the men?” I abide even calling them men. They don’t deserve that title after the things they do. “Have they managed to get any information out of them yet?”

  I don’t even care what tactics they use, although I know no one will do anything illegal which might well be a bit of a shame. I just hope they suffer. They deserve to after what they’ve done. They must specifically pick on women for a reason because Cyndi is another of their victims, and all the people in Veronica’s crew were killed. I wonder if she knows yet. I wonder if they made her watch. I wonder what else she had to see…

  It’s bad to think she saw worse things that I did during my tour of duty. I just hope she didn’t have to experience much. She had a view bruises over her body when she was first brought in and a slightly cracked rib, but no obvious signs of anything too horrific happening. I guess we won’t know the truth of that until she wakes up.

  I just hope that happens soon. I’m growing ever impatient, desperate to see her face again, to see those eyes, to hear her voice. I’m keeping as strong as I can manage, but if something doesn’t change soon, I might flip.

  “I’m going to get us some coffees,” Michael continues while standing up. “And some chocolate too and when I come back I’ll let you know what’s been found out. The men you’ve brought back, if what they’ve told us is the truth, then we have a load of leads to go on. This could really be the beginning of the end.”

  Okay, so the beginning of the end is a bit far-fetched, we both know that, but it’s nice of him to say. I need some good news to keep me going and that will do for now. I can just picture those beasts squirming under interrogation, cracking easily under hardly any pressure because they’re such fucking cowards.

  “Thanks, Michael, and a coffee sounds amazing. I really do appreciate it. And crisps instead of chocolate, please. I’ve got a real craving.”

  27

  Veronica

  “No!” I scream out, the word bursting from my lungs. “No, leave me alone. Not today, please not today!”

  They’re coming for me, the blunt rusty knife which they’
re going to use to hack my head off. It’s going to be a long and agonizing process, not a thankful quick gunshot like Christopher was blessed with. They must really hate me if they have to take me out in such a brutal way. And it’ll be recorded too, shown on the news and probably YouTube too, for the whole world to see. I’ll be that sympathetic figure that no one can bear to look at. I can’t be brave any longer, I’m absolutely falling apart. This isn’t right, I don’t want to die like this…

  I force my eyes open, finding it surprisingly easy now, and the light infiltrates my vision immediately. It’s painful enough to keep my eyes blinking but not enough to force them shut again. I’m free to see… sort of. I mean, I can’t see much at the moment, it’s all a little blurry, but it’s all progress and I’m happy with that.

  “Are you okay?” Ah, there’s Jordan again, comforting me in his lovely soothing tone… Wait!

  “J… Jordan?” I croak out as I very slowly turn my head. Is this real? “You’re here?”

  “I am here.” He sounds so happy. I love the lilting in his voice. “I’ve been here the entire time.”

  “Where… where is here?” I don’t even bother to sit up even if I’m desperate to. I know my body still hurts too much and although my memories are slightly fuzzy now I still know I haven’t done much sitting up recently.

  “We’re back in America, you don’t have to worry anymore. You’re safe. In a hospital.”

  I can see an IV drip near him, one that I presume is sticking into me replenishing all the things I lost during my time in Afghanistan. It all fits with what Jordan is telling me but it’s like a dream come true. I don’t want to get my hopes up, I’m so scared of finding myself in that cell once more. I can’t help but fear this is all happening in my head. If this is real I wonder if I’ll ever be able to accept it. Will I spend the rest of my life worried? Will I be eighty years old scared that one day I will wake up and find out that it’s all been a dream?

  “Am I dead?” I need to know, it’s much better to be sure. “Did I die? Did they kill me?”

  His warm hand circles mine and I can sense a smile on his face. “They didn’t kill you. You aren’t dead.”

  A wetness covers my cheeks. If Jordan is telling the truth then I somehow managed to survive that hell. Even though I gave up hope somewhere along the way, I got rescued anyway. I absolutely cannot believe it. Jordan came looking for me, he risked his life even though he hates me, and he got me out of there. It’s everything I was too scared to dream of in the end. All I feared wanting because I knew that it wouldn’t work out for me.

  Yet somehow, it has. Somehow it seems like I really am in America, almost back home, alive.

  “Did you see the video?” I ask through the tears. “They made me read stuff out after I watched everyone die.”

  “I saw it. The first one anyway, but I’ve heard there’s a second one. That must have been horrible.”

  “The third one would have been them killing me, so I’m mostly just glad they didn’t get to make that one.”

  I try to make a joke but it falls flat because none of this is really that funny. It’s all just awful.

  “So, everyone you were with died? We couldn’t find anyone else at the compound but we did look.”

  “No.” I shake my head sadly, that horrific moment spinning through my mind again. “You wouldn’t. They weren’t killed then. They were killed in some little shack somewhere else. Oliver wanted us to do a piece on the Taliban while speaking to a member. We thought this guy was an ex member, but I guess not.” I shudder, the idea that we even had to go through that too much to bear. “And they killed everyone but me.” I would wonder ‘why me’ but it wasn’t like my life was spared by them. “It was horrible, I can’t even believe it happened.”

  “I will be having words with your boss, don’t you worry about that,” Jordan warns. “What an asshole, sending you off like that right into the heart of danger. Does he even know what he did to you? He will!”

  “I’ll be having a word with Oliver myself, don’t you worry about that. I knew it was a bad idea, I just wish that I’d followed my instincts now. None of us would have been put in that situation at all.”

  I brace myself for the inevitable ‘I told you so’, which must be coming my way, but somehow, I end up with nothing. I don’t quite know how he manages it but Jordan keeps that one inside. He must be dying to say it, and it isn’t even like I would be able to argue with him. He’s right, he did tell me and I refused to listen. I’m dying to tell him myself that he was correct and I was wrong, but this doesn’t feel like the time for me to say it.

  “You look like you need some rest,” Jordan comments instead. His words make me realize just how tired I am. “I’ll go and get a doctor to come and check you over. Why don’t you close your eyes for a while?”

  “But… I’ve only just woken up,” I pout. “I want to talk to you some more. I want to find out everything.”

  “We have all the time in the world to talk. For now, you just need some rest. You know that.”

  Almost as if his words have a magical power over me, I can’t help doing as he commands. My eyes roll back, desperate to close once more despite the fact that they’ve only just opened, and I find myself collapsing back into the dream world. Only this time it can be a much more pleasant place because I know – or at least I hope – that when I wake up I will still be here. I will still be with Jordan and able to be happy once more.

  ***

  The next few weeks are hard. Recovery isn’t easy. My body has a lot to get over and boy does it feel it as I try to get myself back to the place I was in before. But I get through it with the sheer determination that I will not let those men take anything else away from me. They’ve destroyed my life enough. They won’t have more.

  Actually, that isn’t the only thing to get me through. I also have the help of Jordan. He’s been incredible, absolutely the best, I don’t know where I would be without him. He helps me when I struggle to walk, he encourages me every time I feel my morale get low, he’s kind to me when I need it the most…

  I wouldn’t be anywhere without him. This couldn’t be a more different atmosphere to the one I left. That was during the time we wouldn’t stop arguing, we were both being stubborn and pig headed, neither of us could say anything right. We were two divided people, lost in our own thoughts. Now, we’re a team. I feel more connected to him than ever before. I know I can rely on him for anything I want, whatever I need.

  With every single day that passes, I find myself falling deeper and deeper back in love with him. I never lost that love, it’s always been there, but now it’s growing, it’s developing in its intensity. I seriously hope that he feels the same way about me. I want us to continue to build this bond for the rest of our lives.

  “Are you ready to go to physiotherapy?” Jordan asks me with a smile while extending out his arm to me. “I can take you there, I already spoke to Nurse Elsie and she said to just take you there.”

  I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Trust you to make friends with the staff here, honestly.”

  “It’s impossible to spend so much time here and not make some friends.” He shrugs as if this means nothing, but to me it’ everything. He really has spent so much time here. Who knows what he’s missing out on?

  “Okay, that’s fair.” I push myself off the bed and take his arm. “And yes, I would love for you to take me.”

  “And after physio, I think you have an appointment with the therapist. I know you don’t much like that, but you’ve got to do it as part of your recovery. It’s in your healing plan.”

  I roll my eyes angrily. “I don’t like it, I really don’t. I can’t see what can be gained from talking it through.”

  “You went through a very traumatic time, of course, you should talk it through, this is the only way.”

  “I don’t know about that, I think I’m getting better on my own. I really feel okay.”

  I’m not even lying to get my
own way when I say that, I do feel like I’m recovering. The memories are lowering, taking on a much less important place in my brain. I can still feel them, I know all that stuff happened to me, but with Jordan by my side, I would much rather think about the future. I want to spend my energy thinking about him and where we might go from here. I’m done with the past. In my mind, talking about it gives the memories legs, it gives those men further power over me, it allows them to claim a little bit more of me.

  But if it’s what I have to do to get out of the hospital and back to my real life then so be it. I suppose I’ll go through anything to get back the life I worked so hard for. I’m desperate for that.

  “Alright, I’ll go,” I pout like a teenager. “But I’m not happy about it. I don’t see why I should.”

  Jordan slips his arm from mine and he wraps it tightly around me. I feel my weight against him, loving the feel of him. I glance up at him smilingly, wanting to find the moment to thank him but before that happens I’m stunned by the sensation of his lips crashing against mine. We haven’t kissed really since being back in America, maybe the odd peck on the cheek, but this is different. I can feel all of his emotions within it. Especially when his hands cup my cheeks and he holds me in place while his tongue darts between my lips. This is a real passionate kiss, a bit like the ones we used to share all the time in the early days, and it feels amazing.

  “Oh my,” I murmur against his lips as he pulls away from me. “Oh, wow, Jordan.”

  I don’t know if this means what I hope it does, that we’re going to pick up where we left off when I get back home, but my brain spins wildly at the idea. If I really am going to wake up back in that cell, back in hell, then this will be it. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and beg that not to happen.