Shielding Aubree (The Shield #1)

Chapter 19

19

" W hat the fuck?"

Ruben didn't answer Hoyt.

He didn't have an answer himself.

One moment, Ruben was ready to tell Hoyt to shoot and the next, there wasn't a reason to shoot.

Ruben was up on his feet and running, stopping for a step to turn around and point at the sniper. "Do not shoot!"

And then he was running full out with his heart in his throat.

In no time at all he was there, putting himself between the carnage that was left of the killer and Aubree's prone form.

She was stunned, her eyes fixed, and dilated.

Her face slack with a lack of emotion.

"Hey, hey... Aubree?"

The cat snarled, the sound filling Ruben's ear.

Wrapping his arms around Aubree's body, he held her, trying to shield her from danger.

The mountain lion paced in a semi-circle around them coming to a stop in one direction and turning around to pace back in the other.

"Baby?"

He wanted to know if she was okay.

He wanted to talk to her, but in a way, he didn't want her to see what he'd seen.

Ruben heard the foot treads of boots across the ground, but when the lion lifted its head to hiss and snarl at the intrusion, they all stopped.

"Leon?"

He heard Drake's voice and nodded. "We're okay. I don't think the lion means us any harm."

Someone in the darkness surrounding them didn't like the idea. "It's a fucking animal. What the fuck do you know?"

"It's a wild animal," Ruben said the words even though he didn't quite believe them. "This is more his domain than ours."

"Did you see what it did to that man?"

"I saw what he did. I have some of his blood on my skin from cast off.” Ruben got up to his knees and slipped his arms under Aubree's body, lifting her as he stood. "And he left Aubree alone. I don't want to shoot something that just saved my girlfriend."

Ruben turned and saw Drake's concerned face in the crowd. Everyone seemed to have a flashlight.

Drake lifted his chin toward the road. While Ruben couldn't see it, he knew where it was.

"An ambulance is on the way. It was already halfway here when the bloodletting started." Drake shook his head. "You need some help getting her to the road."

Ruben nodded. "I could use a light."

Drake lowered the cone of light from his LED torch and illuminated the ground ahead of them.

"And I want you to know whatever help she needs after this, Leon. We're here for her."

Ruben felt some of the tension release from his jaw. "Thanks, Drake. Thank you for saying that."

"I didn't just say it, man. I mean it. You and Aubree? You're family."

Family.

Aubree was getting a little tired of family.

At least in the hospital.

She hadn't planned on being back in the hospital again.

And certainly not with injuries from a serial killer.

Aubree saw her mother and father sitting in the corner of her room on some kind of bench that had enough room for both of them to sit, with their arms around each other. Pablo was in a chair with his head tipped back and his jaw slack.

They weren't doing anything to upset her.

She just felt like she was back in prison, and it was killing her to be nice when all she wanted to do was throw things at the wall.

When the door opened, Aubree started to paste a grin on her face.

And then she let it fall away into an honest-to-goodness smile when she saw the woman walk through the door.

"Alara."

The FBI agent walked straight over to her bed. "I leave for a day, no... not even a day and you're kidnapped, dragged into the great unknown, and tossed into the hospital."

Alara shook her head. "You really need to take better care of yourself."

Aubree nodded, hearing the wisdom in those words. "I'm all for that, sister." She sagged back against the pillows. "Right now I'd like to take a nap for the next... oh, two years of so."

Alara reached out and touched her hand gently. "I hear you. I feel like I have jet lag, but I barely went anywhere. It was hell when I found out that you'd been taken so I turned right back around to come here."

Chuckling softly so it didn't hurt her ribs and back, Aubree smiled. "Have you thought about how you're going to say a big 'I told you so' and still manage to keep your job?"

Alara shrugged. "I'll let you know when I stop seething inside."

"I'll go with you and tell them where to stick their decisions."

Alara laughed softly. "Deal. But until then, I think you need some rest, I'm not even going to bug you about the debrief until you and I can do that interview and go out for a whole damn pitcher of margaritas afterward."

Aubree leaned back against the cushions and reached out her hand. "Deal. Want to shake on it?"

Alara put her hand out and shook and then turned her hand, holding out her pink. "Pinky swear."

"Pinky swear." Aubree turned her hand, and they hooked their pinkies together.

She opened her mouth to speak again and ended up yawning.

"Ohhkay." Alara got up and made an announcement. "Okay, people. FBI here. Let's give the patient some quiet."

Aubree saw the look on her father's face and almost laughed out loud.

He didn't like to be told to do anything, but instead of balking at the idea, he got up on his feet and helped his wife put away the foot containers they'd brought when someone suggested that they should grab a bite to eat.

Aubree saw her mother wake Pablo up and waved at her younger brother as he dragged his feet out the door.

Her mother blew her a kiss.

But it was her father who really touched her heart.

He walked over to the side of the hospital bed and leaned in to press a kiss to the crown of her head. "Stay safe, Aubree. We all love you like crazy and we can't..."

"Don't worry, Dad. I have no intention of putting a target on my back."

He kissed her forehead and gave Alara a small wave before leaving the room.

Alara waited until the door closed and then leaned her hip against the bed. "I mean it, Aubree. You take some time to take care of yourself and we'll put together the report after that."

Aubree gave her friend a curious look. "Your boss isn't breathing down your neck?"

Alara shrugged, but Aubree saw the tension in her friend's shoulders. "After pulling me out of Los Alamos only to have the killer make an attempt on your life? There's more than enough egg on faces. Don't get me wrong. We need to put in a report, but I know that we're going to have to put some thinking in on how we're going to explain the lion that turned the killer into tartare."

Aubree covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Alara?"

The FBI Agent smiled at her. "Honey, I need to keep my mind off of the mess that the mountain lion made of him."

Aubree nodded. "Me, too. I don't like thinking I was responsible for some of that."

"Whoa," Alara shook her head. "You don't have any responsibility for this. The fact that you stumbled on a killer and ended up a target? It's still on him. The fact that I'm nearly convinced that your brother's spirit tore that man to shreds means that I'm either too high strung, or I need a break from coffee."

Alara gave her hand a squeeze. "Seriously, I wish I'd seen it. Hearing Ruben tell it, that mountain lion was your brother's avenging spirit. He has no doubts."

Aubree's eyes widened at that. "Really?"

Alana nodded. "I got to hear the whole retelling from his perspective and while the killing was one of the most interesting parts of the story, you should know that he's head over heels for you."

Aubree blinked at that. "He told you?"

Alana shook her head. "Not in words. It's the way he sounds when he's talking about you. The look on his face. The man loves you."

"And I love him."

A knock at the door turned Aubree's head and a bouquet of flowers made its way through the doorway before Ruben.

"Looks like my cue to leave." Alara stood up and stretched. "I hope it's an age before I have to get back on a plane. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

As she moved toward the door, Aubree saw Ruben gave Alana a one-armed hug.

Aubree called out to her. "How long are you staying in New Mexico?"

Alana stopped just shy of the door. "You should see the report I'm going to have to write. And piecing together the pathology and criminal past of our pile of mincemeat? I'll be here for a bit." She gave Ruben a pointed look. "Make sure she rests. That's an order from the FBI."

Ruben gave her a salute as she left, earning himself a playful single finger salute from Alara.

Aubree sagged back against the pillow and watched him walk across the room to her. "Everything okay?"

He didn't pause for a moment to think. "Everything is fine now that I know you're safe."

Ruben put the flowers in her hand and let out a breath. "I'm probably going to drive you nuts."

She frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"Knowing that you were missing scared me, baby. I've never been so damn scared."

She shook her head. "You were hurt, more than I was."

He gave her a half smile. "This isn't about that, and you know it. For a few hours I didn't know where you were, and I had to live on faith that I'd see you again. I saw the way your family held each other together and knew that I'd do everything I could to make sure that you came back to them.

"To me, too."

He lifted his free hand and brushed her hair back from her face.

"I love you like crazy, Aubree."

"Well, that's good." Her tears gathered on her lashes. "Because I love you like crazy, too. While I was out there, praying that I could keep his mind distracted until I figured out a way out of the insanity, I kept thinking about what horrible timing this was. Just when I found you, I might lose so much time with you because of an evil man."

Ruben lifted his hands and rubbed them gently along her upper arms. "I'm not going to say that you being hurt was a good thing, because it wasn't. I am going to tell you that I know without question that you and I were meant to be. I would have found you regardless of the Refuge."

She smiled back at him. "Maybe in a coffee shop?"

He grinned. "I'd ask to share your table."

"What about the grocery store?" She gave the side of the bed a pat and waited for him to sit beside her. "What about that?"

"I'd ask you what I could cook for you and what flavor of ice cream is your favorite."

He tucked her against his side on the bed.

"We're going to have plenty of time for talk about ice cream, honey. I'm going to take some time off from the Refuge so we can take time together."

She smoothed her hand across his stomach and hugged him closer. "Or maybe I can come with you. Come back to the Refuge. That... man stuck me in his trunk, and I didn't lose my mind." She managed the hint of a smile. "I held myself together in that tiny space, keeping my mind on other things. I had to use every exercise that I got from working with Henley, but I was still close to losing my shit. But now, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think this is the right time to go back and see what else I can do to really put this all behind me."

She hesitated.

"I know they said I could come back at any time but I'm wondering if there's even a cabin for me to stay in."

Ruben leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Well, it turns out that I have a cabin on the grounds. I think you could stay with me if you want."

Aubree moved on the bed until she had the room to half-drape herself over her Ruben's body. "You don't mind sharing the bed?"

"With you?" He chuckled and helped her settle against him. "Any time."

“Good,” she stifled a yawn and heard him hold one back, too. “Now hold me close so I can feel you breathing through the night.”

“Anything you need,” Ruben cradled her close. “I’ll always try to be there to shield you from the world.”

Aubree slipped her hand under his t-shirt and enjoyed the feel of his body quivering under her touch. “I hope you don’t mind,” she murmured as she felt his muscles trembling under her touch, “if I try to do the same for you.”

His voice was rough when he spoke again. “You already do, Aubree. You already do.”