Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
After Emma Sutton examined her, took x-rays, set her wrist, and gave her horse pills to knock out the pain, Diana begged Alex to take her to the farm instead of her apartment.
“You’ll be closer to the doctor here,” he protested.
“I want to be alone. With you. I want to sit on that pretty screened in patio with my coffee and listen to the birds sing. I want to go for walks in the field and woods, without having to talk to anyone except you. I don’t want to run into Colleen or Reba, or anyone else, and make polite talk about things that don’t matter.
I’m tired, Alex. Heartbroken over Ackerman, if I’m honest. I just want to be by myself for a while. ”
“Okay, honey. Whatever you want.”
He took her back to the farm, drew a bath for her, and then dried her carefully and put her to bed with a tray that had scrambled eggs and toast. She fell on the food because she hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day.
When she was done, he took the tray and put it in the kitchen before returning with a big cup that had a lid and a straw.
“Water,” he said, setting it on the bedside table.
“Will you hold me? Please?”
He looked troubled, and her heart thumped.
Were they through? The militia was no longer a reason to stay together, Viktor was in custody, and the only thing that remained was shepherding Athena to the launch date.
They didn’t have to be together for that.
It was possible he was just being nice in letting her stay until she’d recovered.
“I want to,” he rasped. “But I don’t want to hurt you. If I jostle you at all…”
Relief sank into her bones. “You won’t. Just hold me for a little while. I’ll fall asleep and you can go.”
He sighed. Then he started to peel off his clothes.
He’d showered in another part of the house while she’d soaked in the tub.
The greasepaint was gone, and he wore a navy T-shirt and jeans instead of black assault gear.
He shucked it all except for his briefs and climbed in beside her, slipping an arm around her so she was nestled in the crook of his shoulder.
She wanted to turn on her side and cuddle him, but her ribs and hip on the right side were too sore.
Her left wrist was in a cast, and her cheek was tender where Boris had hit her.
In short, she was a mess.
“Thank you for coming for me,” she said as the food and medicine started to soften her muscles. She hurt, but she would sleep. Thank God.
“Diana,” he said, his voice sounding strangled. “I’ll always come for you. You’re one of us now.”
“I like that,” she whispered. “How did you find me?”
She felt his lips on her temple. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. After you sleep.”
“Okay.”
When she woke again, he was gone. She managed to get out of bed on her own.
She shuffled to the bathroom to take care of business.
When she got a look at her reflection, she winced.
Her eye was black, there was a bump on her cheek, and she looked like hell.
She managed to smooth her hair down with Alex’s brush, then found her bag and pulled a robe over the T-shirt—his—that she wore.
She held her forearm straight up and down as much as possible because Emma had told her to keep it elevated.
It looked like she was walking around waving hello to everyone.
If anyone were there, which they were not.
Thankfully. She couldn’t handle people right now. Not when her feelings were still so raw.
“Why are you out of bed?” Alex demanded. He halted abruptly in the door to the bedroom, a tray with a bowl and crackers in his hands.
“Emma didn’t say I had to stay in bed. She said to rest and keep my wrist elevated.”
He frowned. “Diana. You’ve been hurt.”
“Yes, I’m aware. Answer me truthfully. If you were in the shape I’m in, would you stay in bed all day or would you want out of it?”
His frown grew stronger. She could see the moment he caved, though.
“Okay, fine. But if you start to feel tired, you’re getting back in bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
He arched an eyebrow. “That easy?”
She shrugged. “Maybe it is.”
They went to the small breakfast nook that looked out on the backyard, and he put the bowl of soup down, got her a ginger ale, and took a seat with her. She ate as much as she could, then pushed the bowl away.
“Now will you tell me how you found me?”
He reached for her hand, tangled fingers with hers. Warmth blossomed in her soul.
“When you didn’t call or text, I finally texted you.
The response came later, from a burner.” He took his phone out and showed her.
“I knew it wasn’t you. Tracked the govvie you and Ackerman took to the motel in Scottsboro, then tracked the Tahoe that picked you both up.
Seth found the location and discovered the house was in Gannon’s name.
Seemed a no brainer. We were on the way when Gannon called and revealed he was undercover OSI.
He didn’t try to stop us because he knew he couldn’t, but we agreed to work together. ”
She looked at the message, at the flippant way someone had typed love you. Was it Ackerman? Maybe. She would never know. She lifted her gaze to his, surprised when it was blurry. She swiped the tears away as he squeezed her hand.
“Baby. Don’t cry. Unless you really want to.”
She tried not to laugh. It hurt to laugh. “Maybe I do. I still can’t believe Ackerman did it. That he willingly delivered me into Viktor’s hands.”
“Did he know about your family member?”
His gaze was sympathetic. She dragged in a breath. Then another. “Oh, Alex. I have so much I need to tell you. Ackerman didn’t know. And it wasn’t a family member Viktor hurt.”
Be brave.
She squeezed his hand. “It was me. Viktor Dashevsky raped me seven years ago when I was still a graduate student.”
“Diana.” He moved his chair beside hers, wrapped an arm around her. “Fucking hell, I’m so sorry.”
She could feel him trembling with suppressed anger. For her.
“I never told anyone. Until now. Well, I might have said the words to Viktor when Boris was listening, but that doesn’t count.”
“Baby.”
“I couldn’t tell anyone when it happened.
Nobody would have believed it.” She told him the story while he listened, his teeth grinding from time to time.
She knew what it took for a man like him to hear that someone had hurt a person he cared for—because she truly believed he did care for her now—and know he couldn’t fix it.
That he couldn’t make it go away or make the person responsible pay.
But Viktor was going to pay, and that was something she would hold onto for the rest of her life.
He’d hurt people, but karma had come calling. Maybe not soon enough, but it was there all the same.
“Diana. I’d fucking kill that prick if I could rewind the clock a few hours.”
She disentangled her hand from his and put it against his cheek. “I know. But what’s happening is even better. Guantanamo. He won’t leave there alive. Even if he did, he’d disappear once Putin got his hands on him. Viktor’s days of harming people are over.”
He turned his cheek and kissed her hand, then bent to kiss her mouth. Gently, though she wanted more. Her body responded to him even if she was incapable of following through at the moment. He made her nipples tingle, her pussy ache. Her heart pound. She craved him.
Loved him. So much.
“I still don’t like you,” she whispered when the kiss was over. Her heart hammered, but she told herself she had nothing to lose. Nothing at all. She would tell him, and whatever happened would happen.
He put his fingers to her mouth, stopping her from saying the words she wanted to say.
“I don’t like you either,” he said, his gaze holding hers. “I fucking love you.”
She smiled as joy flooded her heart. “That’s what I was going to say.”
He grinned. “I know. But I thought it was my turn to say something important. I love you, Diana Corbin. Adler. Don’t much care what you call yourself, but I hope you’ll call yourself mine.
My wife when you’re ready. My partner. My lover.
My soul. You’re already those things to me whether you marry me or not. ”
She covered his mouth, stopped him from speaking.
“I love you, Alex Bishop. Magic Man. And I’m definitely going to marry you.
Eventually. Can we live here? Or, if we can’t because the government wants to sell this property to developers or something, then can we buy a place nearby and stay right here? ”
“Yeah, I guess we have to stay, don’t we? Our family is here.”
“They sure are. You, the guys, the ladies and kids—I feel like this is where I belong. We’ll have to visit my family sometimes, put up with their stodginess, but they won’t object to you because you’re a military hero. Even if they do, I don’t care. Not changing my choice.”
“Not changing mine either.”
“I wish I didn’t feel like utter shit,” she sighed. “Because I would so jump you right now.”
“Not if I jumped you first.”
She slapped a hand over her mouth so she didn’t laugh. When she finally felt like she’d smothered it, she dropped her hand. “Dammit, I don’t want to laugh. I do but I don’t. I can just see the future though. We’re going to try to outdo each other forever, aren’t we?”
“Competitive high achievers like us?” His eyes sparkled. “Nah, never happen.”
They smiled at each other like idiots for a while. Then she sighed and rubbed her thumb over his lips. So many things she wanted to do to him right now. And couldn’t.
“Take me outside on the porch and sit on the loveseat with me so I can snuggle up to you?”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, caressed her cheek. “Yeah, I can do that.”