Rescuing Melissa (ALPHA TEAM: Guardian Hostage Rescue Specialists)

16. Rings

SIXTEEN

Rings

CJ

CJ helped Melissa off the curb. Her brows knitted together the moment her foot contacted the ground. She was still in great pain. He wanted to carry her to the car, but her grim determination held him back. Instead, he offered his arm. She took it with a sigh of relief.

The timing couldn’t have been better, and he couldn’t believe he nearly missed her. A minute or two later, and she would have been gone.

Color pinked her cheeks. Her face had been pasty when he last saw her last, shock from her injuries. Today, a radiance made her skin glow, despite her obvious pain. Long, chestnut hair flowed halfway down her back, and his fingers itched to run through her curls. He loved the way her hair shifted with red highlights when she moved.

She gazed at him, those beautiful brown eyes alight with hope, and he was happy to return her smile.

His sweats and shirt looked ridiculous, hanging in baggy folds over a body he knew to be divine. While it had been necessary to strip her out of the wet running clothes to avoid hypothermia, he harbored guilt about enjoying the view. Her petite body was the kind that begged to be explored by a man’s hands.

But she was married.

“Want me to get the car?” Mac’s deep baritone refocused CJ’s attention.

After only a few steps, Melissa’s breathing became labored. She clutched at his arm.

Odd, how that small contact had his heart pounding. He stopped to let Melissa catch her breath.

“You sure you’re all right?”

“Sorry, …tired.” She pulled in deep breaths, closed her eyes, and swayed.

“You don’t have to apologize. Maybe we should go back?” He was afraid she might pass out.

Her grip on his arm tightened. “I’m…fine.” She paused. “I think we’re…just…going…too…fast.” She pulled in a few more breaths.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been walking so fast.” Except he hadn’t been walking fast at all. Poor thing was exhausted. CJ dug in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He gave a jerk of his chin to Mac. “Yeah, I think you should pull the car around.”

“No problem.” With a wink to Melissa, Mac trotted off.

She gave a weak laugh and shook her head. “Why does it take…so long…to get fit…but takes so little time…to lose it all?”

He couldn’t help but pull her close. He loved how her frame molded perfectly to his. “I can carry you?” Maybe she’d say yes?

She shook her head. “Thanks, but I can make it.”

He breathed in Melissa’s soft scent, letting his eyes drift closed. He wanted to remember this moment. Her hair brushed against his arms, and he couldn’t help but take a few strands and twist them around his fingers.

For a breath, and then another, she folded into him, but then she stiffened.

She put a hand on his chest, probably to steady herself. He soaked in the gesture, loving the feel of her hand on him. The moment lasted but a few seconds, then her hand dropped.

CJ turned Melissa around and returned them both to the curb.

He settled Melissa on a bench. “Better?”

Her breathing seemed to have evened out.

“I’m surprised how easily I got out of breath. I wouldn’t think a few days in a hospital could do that,” she said. “Your friend seems nice.”

“Sorry about bringing him, but we’re working a case. Don’t let Mac scare you. His social filter is leaky, and the scar on his face can be off-putting, but he’s a good guy.”

Melissa bumped his arm. “Thanks for coming to see me.”

He lowered himself beside Melissa and pulled her to him. She snuggled against him, and he kissed the top of her head. He brushed back the hair from her face, and she glanced at him, her eyes soft and her lips kissably close. How he longed to taste those lips, feel the softness of her skin, and tangle his tongue with hers, but she was married and to the worst possible man.

How could this delicate woman have ever been caught in the thralls of such a monster?

He pulled her deeper into his embrace. She breathed out, seeming content. All traces of her earlier pain was barely evident.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she murmured. She touched his shirt, then dropped her hand. “I never had the chance to thank you.”She fingered her ring and heaved a deep sigh. “I’m not married by the way.”

Wait! What? When had that happened?

He felt like kissing her right there. If he thought it wouldn’t hurt her, he’d have his lips on her now.

This changed everything…most everything. He needed to tell her about Patterson. Hell, he couldn’t believe he almost missed her. Mac wasn’t happy bringing her along. His partner itched to get back to Jenny, but they weren’t in a rush. It took time to work with local authorities to iron out jurisdictional agreements. Besides, Jenny would call when she was ready for a pickup.

Melissa lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the morning sun. The diamond glittered in the light, and she paused to look at it.

“I don’t know why I never took it off. My husband…well, we’ve been separated for the past few years. I divorced him the day you and I met.” A frown creased her forehead—so much sadness in a lovely face.

Freshly divorced. He gritted his teeth.

She yanked on the ring, but it didn’t budge. “It’s stuck now.” She fidgeted on the bench and pulled away.

He let her go, giving her the space she needed, even as he wanted to pull her close and never let her go. “I may have a trick to help with that.”

“You do?”

“All you need is dental floss.”

“I wanted you to know. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

His heart hammered a steady beat. “You don’t have to explain.”

Did this change things? A woman who still wore her wedding ring had unresolved issues. Still, her words gave him hope, even if further complicating the situation. He didn’t know if this meant she was available or not, but pushing would be wrong.

He needed to tell her about the odd phone conversation and her ex-husband’s escape.

“Hey, I need—”

Her soft palm pressed against his arm. “Listen, I’m thrilled to see you again.” She took another deep breath, looking tired and frail. “All I want is to go home.”

He should have told Sam to put a watch on her house or reminded Jenny. This town’s police force didn’t have the resources to work the Henrietta Jones’ case, let alone set up a watch on Melissa’s home. She looked too frail to process the shock of her husband’s escape. He needed to get her to a place of safety, but maybe with his team, he could take her home to grab some things first. He’d figure out how to break the news to her on the drive over.

He gripped her hand, tracing the delicate bones of her fingers. “Thank you for telling me.”

She stretched up to kiss his cheek. The gesture was innocent, almost friendly. “Thank you for not taking advantage of me.”

What kind of men had she filled her life with that she felt the need to thank him for doing what was right?

“I did what anyone would do.”

An uneasiness settled over them for a time. He should tell her how he felt but found himself oddly tongue-tied.

She cocked her head. “Really?”

He fished inside his pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “You left this in my car. I wanted to make sure you got it back.”

“Oh.” Her hand shook as she turned the phone over in her hand. “Thank you.”

“Hey there!” A skinny man ran toward them, carrying a clutch of red roses.

CJ shot to his feet, placing himself between Melissa and the stranger. He tried to keep her behind him, but she pushed him to the side.

“It’s okay. It’s the delivery man.”

There was something off about the guy’s face, or maybe it was his eyes. They were beady and set too close together.

“You forgot your flowers,” he said with a gasp.

Okay, maybe it was the hunger in his gaze when he looked at Melissa that had CJ’s senses spiking. He showed entirely too much interest. CJ shifted, using his body to shield Melissa. With a yank, he took the flowers out of the man’s grip and handed them to her.

Melissa lifted the roses to her nose and gave a slow inhale. “Thank you, um, sorry, but I never got your name?”

CJ hated roses. Their pungent floral reek gave him headaches.

“It’s Pierce, Pierce Channing,” the man said.

Bloody bandages wrapped the guy’s left hand. No way was CJ letting that creep touch Melissa.

Mac turned the corner in a black SUV.

“Ride’s here,” CJ blurted out. He stood a head taller than Pierce Channing and had at least fifty pounds on the guy. With his body language, he made it clear Melissa wasn’t to be touched.

The car rolled up to the curb. CJ jerked the back door open and ushered her inside, leaving the delivery man gaping.

As he climbed in to sit beside her, she clutched his dilapidated daisy and placed the roses in the space between them. He squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her for what he wasn’t sure.

She wiped a tear from her cheek. “Thank you for returning my phone. It was very thoughtful.”

CJ helped Melissa secure her seatbelt and then clicked his in place. That Pierce guy hadn’t moved. His too-narrow eyes stared as Mac pulled forward.

“We’ll get you home soon,” he said to Melissa.

She focused out the window. “Ever wish you could just disappear?”