Rescuing Melissa (ALPHA TEAM: Guardian Hostage Rescue Specialists)

17. Field Of Dreams

SEVENTEEN

Field Of Dreams

MELISSA

For a moment, Melissa’s heart thrummed with the vitality which came from knowing another person cared, but then a sinking feeling in her gut slammed her back to reality.

The only reason CJ showed up was to return her phone. But what about the daisy? It had been an afterthought; a weed yanked from the ground. She smiled, trying not to let her inner turmoil show. He brought a friend along. She couldn’t shake the feeling that returning her phone had been secondary to whatever else he had to do today.

An awkward silence invaded the interior of the car as his huge friend drove away from the hospital. She didn’t know what to say, not with Mac sitting so close. Even CJ seemed to prefer the quiet. His good deed done, she assumed he was eager to be rid of her.

But the daisy?

He probably would have done the same for anyone. It’s what people did when they visited people in hospitals. But what was she to think about a daisy he yanked out of the ground, root and all? She was a fool to think there was anything special about a damn flower.

Hero worship?

That’s the trap she’d fallen into. He saved her, and now she obsessed over him.

She stared out the window because she couldn’t bear to look at him, ashamed by how quickly her thoughts turned…romantic. Is that what happened?

Mac asked for directions to her house, and she rattled them off.

“Hey, CJ,” Mac said. “Do you mind if we pick up Jenny? She’s done.”

Another friend?

CJ glanced at her. “Do you mind?”

Melissa shook her head and then focused her attention out the window, content to sit in the oppressive silence.

A few minutes later, they pulled up outside police headquarters.

Melissa leaned forward, curious, but then regretted moving at all. She needed a dose of her pain killers.

The most beautiful woman Melissa had ever seen waited by the curb. Ebony skin, high cheekbones, and a flash of emerald in her eyes created a stunning combination. The woman’s flawless skin reflected the sun’s rays, making her glow with an otherworldly beauty. Long, narrow braids swished with the woman’s every move, falling nearly to her hips.

Jenny opened the passenger door and hopped in. She twisted in her seat and thrust her arm between the gap separating the front and back seats.

“Hey, I’m Jenny. I see you met Mac.”

Mac vented a long sigh. “Buckle up already.”

Jenny smiled. “This hulking beast has shit for manners, but don’t let him frighten you.” She punched Mac in the arm. “He’s as gentle as a teddy bear.”

CJ shook his head. “Melissa, meet Jenny. She can be a bit rough around the edges.”

“Um, nice to meet you,” Melissa said.

“CJ don’t be an ass. It’s nice to talk to a woman now and then. Mac is shit for company, and you’re not much better.”

“Hey!” Mac clutched his chest. “You wound me.”

“Whatever.” Jenny twisted in her seat. “It’s nice to meet you, Melissa.”

Melissa couldn’t help but smile. This was a woman she could be friends with.

Mac pulled the SUV back into traffic and followed her directions home.

“How are you feeling?” CJ placed a hand on her arm and gave a gentle squeeze.

“I’m fine.”

She shifted away and stared out the window. Five tornadoes. The devastation was all around, paralyzing in its ferocity. How had her house weathered the storm? She didn’t know what she was going to find at home. People wandered the wreckage, more people than lived here. But that’s how it was in small towns. Good Samaritans came to help, clear out debris, gather up lost pets, and hand out emergency supplies.

News crews had satellite vans parked in the areas hit the hardest. Emergency crews and utility companies commanded a decent presence as well. All she wanted was for the ride to end. The sooner CJ was out of her life, the better. Right?

Wrong. She liked her savior.

“You don’t look fine,” he countered.

“I’m fine.” She whipped her head around and dropped her gaze when his eyes widened, and he leaned back. She didn’t blame him. He didn’t deserve her anger. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t feel the same about her.

“Sorry.” She counted to three. “I’m just tired.”

He gave her one of his winks. “You’re pretty when you smile.”

The simple compliment confused her, and her mouth gaped, unable to form a reply.

“Do you always go speechless when a man says you’re pretty?” His low throated chuckle filled the car with a warmth she wanted to soak in forever and a day.

The daisy in her hand looked forlorn and droopy, kind of how she felt. She stroked the delicate petals while composing her next words.

“It’s not something I hear often.”

She focused all her attention on his flower, unable to meet his gaze.

“Well, you are.”

“If I remember correctly, last time you commented on my looks, you compared me to a drowned rat.”

His laughter filled the car. “I think I did.”

“A drowned rat?” Jenny twisted around in the passenger seat, the scorn in her voice palpable. “Not your best pick up line, CJ.” She wrapped an arm around the headrest, her attention flicking between Melissa and CJ. “Ignore him, love.”

CJ coughed.

Melissa pulled at the oversized sweats. “I think I’ve gone from drowned rat to baggy-pants lady. I feel like someone stomped on me seven-ways from Sunday. Honestly, I want to get home, take a shower, wash my hair, and put on something clean.”

The last part was a lie. She’d wear CJ’s sweatshirt until it turned to rags. He’d probably be wanting his clothes back, though.

“I hear you,” Jenny said. “Those have to be the ugliest clothes I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey, those are mine!” CJ protested.

Jenny stuck her tongue out, then raised her brows with interest. “Am I allowed to ask how a girl we picked up at a hospital is wearing your clothes? Or do I let that one go?”

Mac huffed a laugh. “Oh, please, Jenny, stop meddling.”

CJ’s cheeks fill with color. “A gentleman never tells.”

“You’re no gentleman.” Mac chuckled.

Jenny punched Mac in the arm. “Shut up.” She looked at Melissa and cocked her head. “Are you going to make me ask?”

Melissa sighed and then told the story about the tornado, how she and CJ had met, and about him putting her in his sweats. She left out the part about him peeling her out of her wet clothes, and all the mixed signals she received.

“So, he gave me the only thing he had that was warm and dry.” She turned to CJ. “I appreciate everything you did. If you give me a moment when we get to my house, I can give you the clothes back. Then you can be on your way.”

The frown on his face surprised her. “About that…”

Why the hesitation? She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve never felt so tired.”

Jenny flipped around to face forward again, which left Melissa and CJ in relative privacy. Silence descended again, hanging stiff and stifling between them. Melissa passed the time looking out the window and took in the destruction. It was too hard to figure him out, not that she had the time.

Before long, Mac pulled into her driveway.

She moved to get the door, but CJ placed a hand on her thigh. “Sit tight. I’ll help you out.”

“I’m fine. I can get the door.”

“I know, but let me help.” He jumped out of the SUV. “Guys, let’s check it out.”

Mac and Jenny exchanged looks but said nothing as they climbed out.

Melissa waited for CJ to come around. He helped her out, grabbed the roses, and handed them to her.

They walked up the path in silence, not touching, but when she got to the porch steps, she needed help. Mac and Jenny walked a few paces behind.

She tried bending to retrieve the key from under the doormat but found it too painful. It would be days, if not weeks before her body healed.

“Can you get the key for me, please?”

“Please tell me you don’t leave a key to your house under the front mat?”

“I always do when I go out for a run.”

“Are you a fool?”

She took a step back. The words had been eerily calm and angry.

“Promise you’ll never do something so stupid again.” He glared at her as he lifted the mat.

There was no key.

She squinted in confusion, sure she left it there when she went for her run several days ago.

“You sure you left the key here?”

She nodded.

He straightened, pulled open the screen door, and made a signal with his hand over his head. Jenny and Mac stepped around Melissa, each with a gun in their hands. Who were these people?

Melissa clutched the roses. “What’s wrong?”

Mac took off behind the house while Jenny came behind CJ. He had a gun in his hands as well. Where had that come from? He made another gesture, and Jenny responded with a nod. Reaching down, he twisted the knob of her front door.

She whispered, “I locked it when I left.”

CJ placed a finger over his lips, ordering her to silence. She pressed her lips together, moistening them with her tongue.

Something was wrong. A chill hit her body, making her tremble.

He pushed on the door, pointed to the porch, and commanded her to stay where she was. Leading with his gun, he entered her home. Jenny followed.

Melissa ignored CJ’s order and stepped inside.

Someone had spread yellow tulips all over her entryway.

He was supposed to be dead.

The bottom fell out of her word, pulling a ragged gasp from her lungs. She weaved on unsteady legs as fear drowned her in horrific memories. Yellow petals covered every square inch of the floor, except the middle where a young woman dressed all in white lay without moving.

CJ’s voice turned arctic cold. “I told you to wait outside.”

She could barely hear him over the roaring in her ears.

The girl’s sightless eyes stared at the ceiling. Her hands had been posed, folded over her chest, clutching a sheaf of papers.

Melissa’s heart hammered, flooding adrenaline and horror through her veins. Panic gripped with the sudden need to flee. But to where?

Beneath the body, glistening wetness spread, staining the nearest tulips deep crimson.

Jenny ghosted to the left, moving with incredible stealth into the living room. CJ skirted the edge of the foyer, headed to the dining room.

The paper in the woman’s hands was unmistakable. The message was clear as day. One word had been scrawled over the divorce decree.

MINE.

She dropped to her knees, her scream splitting the air, and the bouquet of red roses tumbled to the floor.