Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Janie hugged herself as she stood in front of Emmett’s living room windows. The brown leggings, scrunched socks, and oversized sweater she’d changed into after returning from Echo Team’s office offered less comfort than she’d hoped.
City lights twinkled from the streets below. So many people going this way and that, having no idea what kind of monsters existed in their world. Monsters she was trying to help catch. Killers with powerful connections she feared would make stopping them an impossible, terrifying dream.
“That was Blake.”
She blinked, her focus shifting from the nightlife scenery to Emmett’s reflection in the glass.
“Was he able to find out anything new?”
“Cops found the body of the shooter from the mansion.”
That bit of news sent her heart racing and her body spinning on her heels. “Do they know it was you?”
He came to a stop a few inches away, shoving his hand into the pockets of those panty-dropping sweats. “No.”
“You sound pretty confident of that.”
“Because I am.”
The man never did seem to mince his words.
“How?”
“Because Blake got his information directly from the official police report. It’s still technically open, but it appears as though the plan to conceal what happened that night worked.”
The plan.
Something he’d explained to her the night of the shooting as they were leaving the safe house behind. Though a mansion with fresh bullet holes wasn’t the only thing they’d left in their wake.
“Janie.” Emmett’s soft whisper had her gaze rising back up to his. “It’s okay. There’s no way to trace that man’s body back to us. Trust me.” He moved a tad closer. “This is what we do.”
The meaning behind that statement sent a rush of churning nausea in her gut.
“You move bodies of the people you kill to a different location to keep the cops from knowing what you’ve done?” When he flinched, Janie immediately wished she could take the accusatory words back. “I’m sorry.”
She closed her eyes, hugging herself a bit tighter in the process. Her muscles tensed when warmth from Emmett’s hands made its presence known on her upper arms. But almost immediately, Janie was filled with a sense of comfort she knew only his touch could offer.
“Look at me.”
The words were so soft, they were barely even a whisper. Her innate stubbornness wanted to ignore him, but Janie’s heart refused to deny the man’s request.
She opened her eyes and lifted them up to meet his. Her heart pounded against the inside of her ribs as she waited for whatever would come next.
“Sometimes, in our line of work, we have no choice but to do things we normally wouldn’t for the greater good.
If we’d called the cops in after the shooting that night, everyone who’s anyone in this town would’ve gotten the news within minutes.
Including the Secret Service and Press Secretary Daley. ”
They didn’t know about Daley’s and the Secret Service’s involvement until today, but Emmett’s point was easily understood.
“We still didn’t have any names to connect to it at that point.” She searched his intense stare. “You were trying to protect me.”
He brought a slow hand to her face, resting his palm against her cheek.
“It’s all I’ve been trying to do from the moment we met.”
Her lids fell shut as she leaned into his touch. “I know.”
The breath in her lungs gave a slight hitch when Janie felt his lips press against hers.
“We’re getting closer.”
She reopened her eyes and straightened her head. “First Agent Campbell, then Daley . . .” Her throat worked a forceful swallow. “I’m afraid to ask the shooter’s name.”
Lips she’d just kissed lifted slightly at the corners. “Don’t be. Unless, of course, you know a professional hitman by the name of Tommy Harrelson.”
The topic of conversation was inarguably no laughing matter. Even so thanks to the way Emmett delivered the comment, Janie felt herself grin.
“Nope.” She shook her head back and forth slowly. “That name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Glad to hear it,” Emmett teased. “I mean, I’d hate to think I’m falling for a woman known to keep the company of a trained killer. Present company excluded.” He followed it up with a wink.
A bubble of laughter started to rise up, but then the words he’d just spoken finally sank in.
“Falling . . . I don’t . . .” Janie’s mind scrambled to find the right words. “Emmett, what are you saying?”
“You’re way too smart for that, sweetheart.” He cupped both sides of her face and brought his lips to hers in a soft, short kiss. “Pretty sure you know exactly what I mean.”
“But…we barely know each other.”
“So?” He shrugged. “You really going to stand there and tell me you don’t feel the same way?”
“No.” Janie couldn’t bring herself to even pretend that she didn’t. “It’s crazy, and I can’t even begin to explain it. But somehow, I feel as if a part of me has known you for—”
“Forever.”
She smiled, the tender moment leaving her lungs breathless and her knees quivering beneath her weight. No longer hidden, the emotion in Emmett’s gorgeous brown eyes shone brightly. For the first time, it was so clear to see.
He loves me.
“Emmett, I—”
His kiss stole her precious words, along with the rest of her heart. This was it. The moment she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl.
He wasn’t a prince, and she was about as far from a princess as a woman could get. But there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the man kissing her now would fight any dragon to the death to save her.
Emmett ended the kiss but only so he could pull the sweater up over her head. Janie aided his efforts by lifting her arms high into the air. The sweater was off in a matter of seconds.
Next came his shirt. Her leggings. His sweats and boxer briefs. Her lace bra and panties.
Like before, he lifted her carefully into his arms. Janie wrapped her legs around his waist and linked her hands behind his taut neck.
Rather than carrying her down the hall to his bed, they only made it as far as the couch. He laid her down so gently it was as if he thought she were made of glass.
The world vanished, as did any sense of space or time as their impassioned lovemaking lingered on. It was slow. Sweet. Their pleasure building more and more with every touch as their bodies became one.
When they finally fell, Janie and Emmett went over that glorious cliff together. And as she drifted asleep in his warm embrace, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful of the future.
Hours later, she woke to the ringing of a phone. With heavy lids, Janie peeled her eyes open as Emmett also began to stir.
“What time is it?” His voice was rough like gravel.
She glanced at the clock on his living room wall. “Two-thirty.”
Emmett opened his eyes and began to push himself up with a frown. “That’s your phone.”
Janie listened as another round of ringing began. “Oh, crap.” Her heart gave a tiny jolt as they unraveled their limbs so she could stand.
Without a stitch of clothing covering her body, she hurriedly made her way down the hall. Emmett followed, the pair suddenly wide awake because—
“Who would be calling you in the middle of the night?”
That’s what I’d like to know.
Janie went to her purse, which she’d previously left on the nightstand next to his bed, pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. “It’s a D.C. number.” She frowned, putting the call on speaker before answering. “Hello?”
“Yes, this is Barbara Stevens, at George Washington University Hospital. Is this Jeannette Reynolds?”
The hospital?
“Yes, this is she.”
With her eyes locked on Emmett’s through the shadows of his room, they waited for more.
“Miss Reynolds, I’m a nurse in the emergency room here at the hospital, and we have a patient who has you listed as their emergency contact with medical power of attorney.”
Emergency contact?
“Who?” Her sleep-deprived mind worked to make sense of the strange call.
“Her name is Devon Brighton, and she’s—”
“Devon?” Janie gasped upon hearing her best friend’s name. She couldn’t comprehend what she’d just been told. “There must be some mistake. Devon’s my best friend, but she lives in St. Louis, Missouri. So I’m not sure who you have there, but it can’t be her.”
“I’m afraid her identity was confirmed by Capitol Police. I’m sorry. I know this must come as a shock, especially at this time of night. But I assure you, Miss Reynolds, your friend is a patient in our E.R. And I really think it would help her to see a familiar face once she wakes up.”
Wakes up?
Tears rushed to the surface. “What happened?”
“Authorities are still investigating, but from her injuries, it appears as if Miss Brighton was beaten.”
“Someone beat her?”
Oh, Devon.
Tears welled in her eyes, and the room began to spin as she lifted her watery gaze to Emmett’s.
“I’ll get dressed.” He dipped his chin. “It’s only a ten minute drive from here.”
“We’re on our way,” Janie told the kind nurse before ending the call and heading for the hallway.
While Emmett got ready, she went to the spare room where she’d been keeping her clothes. It took all of two minutes before they were both walking out of his apartment together. By the time they reached the hospital, Janie felt as though she was on the verge of full-blown panic.
“We’re here to see Devon Brighton,” she blurted as they approached the reception desk centered in the lobby of the E.R.
Before the woman working the desk could even respond, a man’s familiar voice sounded from a few feet away.
“Shaw?”
She and Emmett both turned to see Detective Boone walking toward them.
“Detective.” He greeted the other man with a jut of his head.
Like the night she’d first met him, Boone was dressed in a pair of nice pants and a button-down shirt. The tie he had on was a bit loose at the knot, and there was a weary look in his eyes.
“Did I hear that right?” His dark eyes slid to hers. “You’re here to see my victim?”
“I’m here to see my friend.”