Chapter 51
Fifty-One
E than cradled Jane in his arms as he carried her to the truck, covering her eyes as they passed Maggie’s lifeless form. He helped her in and secured her seat belt. She hiccupped a few times but wasn’t crying. He couldn’t get over how brave she was. Over the years, the department had several cases of similar horrors where the victims became hysterical as fear overwhelmed them—not that he blamed them.
“Are we going home?” she asked in a soft voice.
“Not right away,” he replied. There was no way he was taking Jane home without having a doctor check her out. God only knew what Victor had injected her with or what he did to her when she was tied up. “You’re seeing a doctor first.”
She huffed. “I really just want to go home, take a shower and go to bed.” She reached over to stroke his arm. “Please.”
Ethan smirked. “I’m the law here, and I’m telling you we are driving to the hospital.”
Jane gave him a little pout.
“Then when we get back to the house,” Ethan continued, “I’m going to give you a bath.”
“Oh, I like that,” she whispered. “Then what?”
He laughed. “Minx! Then I’m going to tuck you into bed.”
“I like that too.” She tilted her head. “Aaand?”
“And I’m going to cover you up, and you’re going to sleep.”
“Ugh! You’re a party pooper.”
Ethan started the truck, the engine roaring to life.
“Jane, someone pushed, dragged, and drugged you. Your body has been through enough today. Tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it, I’ll have my wicked way with you.” Ethan desperately wanted that connection to Jane, wanted to kiss every inch of her body and make sweet love to her, but he would wait.
Jane smirked. “Holding you to it, big guy.”
Ethan shook his head. This woman! Fearless, strong, and wholly his to love, to hold, to cherish.
It took them a short time to get to the hospital, the streets passing in a blur. Luckily, a doctor was able to see Jane right away. The sterile smell of antiseptic filled his nostrils as the doctor carefully stitched up the cut above Jane’s brow, took some blood, and inspected her thoroughly before giving her some pain medication and declaring she was okay to go home.
Ethan called Tanner on the way back, and Jane spoke to Savannah, who promised to be there when they arrived.
The house was lit up by the time they arrived. Savannah was on the porch, pacing nervously. He turned off the truck and walked around to the passenger side to help Jane, who had fallen asleep a short time ago. He gently unlatched the seat belt, lifted her into his arms, her head snuggled into his shoulder, and carried her into the house. Savannah fluttered around Jane.
Tanner stood up from the kitchen table, placing his cup down as Jane woke up.
“You can put me down now.” Jane chuckled.
Ethan hesitated. He wanted to carry her upstairs, but Savannah and Tanner looked worried.
Savannah enveloped Jane in a hug and walked upstairs with her.
“What happened?” Tanner asked.
Ethan recounted how they found Jane, Victor shooting Maggie, and how he shot Victor. Also, his deputies were waiting for this big shot in the gang to arrive.
“I’ve got to call Sean and fill him in when I hear from Adam,” Ethan said.
Savannah came back downstairs, a sly smile on her face. “Jane is running a bath. She said to tell you she was ready and you would know what to do.” With that, she winked and said, “My mission is complete.”
Tanner shook his head. “I don’t want to know what that means. But it’s time for me to leave. Leah is waiting for an update.”
Ethan smirked and made his way upstairs. Jane was just about to step into the bath when he walked in and groaned. He closed his eyes, wishing he had killed that fucker Victor instead of shooting him in the shoulder. Large and small bruises covered her sweet body, with some being darker than others. With her brow bandaged and the bruises, she looked like she had fought a losing battle.
“It’s okay, Ethan,” Jane said softly as she turned to look at him. “I feel fine. Well, not fine but okay. The bruises will fade.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I know, but I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Who would have thought he’d attack in the day? This is on me.”
She softly slapped his arm. “No, it isn’t. This is on Victor. You were here every night protecting me. I’m just glad Savannah arrived later. I think Victor would have killed her.
“Besides,” she continued. “I had a plan.”
A plan? What the hell was she talking about? The darn woman was tied up.
“I was mentally going through all the books I wrote.” Jane must have seen the puzzled look in his eyes as she described a scene from one of her books. “In one scene, the heroine, who was still tied up in a chair, surprised the antagonist by jumping on him and knocking him over.”
“And that worked?” God love her but seriously?
“Well, she did have help from another person in the room. However, I wasn’t going to just sit there and let him kill me without fighting back.” She nodded. “Besides, after shooting Maggie in cold blood, he definitely wasn’t going to let me live.”
“Damn. Remind me never to get on your bad side. You’re vicious.”
Jane laughed. “Remember that.”
He pulled her in for a long, lingering kiss, rubbing his hands over her bruised but still beautiful body. He could smell her arousal. His heart pounded, and his cock got hard. She reached down to unzip his pants, but Ethan pushed her hand away.
“No, you don’t.” He turned her toward the bath. “Let me help you in. Tomorrow we’ll revisit that idea.”
Jane was more than ready to have sex with Ethan and would have pursued him after her bath—if only she hadn’t yawned. The warm water relaxed her, and exhaustion set in. Ethan tenderly dried her off, paying particular interest to her breasts. But he wouldn’t let her touch him. Then he got a pair of snuggly pj’s from her drawer, dressed her, got her into bed, pulled the covers over her and gave her a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Good night, Jane,” he said.
“I love you,” she whispered.
She didn’t hear him leave.
Early the next morning, Jane woke. The sun’s golden rays were streaming through the curtains. She reached over to touch Ethan, but his side was barely warm. Stretching, she moaned and closed her eyes, evaluating her body for any areas not in pain.
She moaned again when she tried to get out of bed, and she lay back down.
The door to her bedroom creaked open. “Wakey, wakey,” Savannah sang out, holding a tray. “Ethan made coffee and some toast. He thought you’d be hungry and”—she looked at Jane with concern in her eyes—“in pain.”
Jane managed a weak smile. “I’m not sure I can eat anything, but I wouldn’t mind a few pain pills.”
“Coming right up,” said Savannah. She set the tray down on the bed before leaving.
She heard footsteps in the hall. A moment later, Ethan came in with a glass of water and some pills in his hand. “Thought you’d need these this morning.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” She took the pills and washed them down with the water. “Any updates about Victor?”
Ethan’s expression shifted slightly.
What was he not telling her?
“Tell me,” Jane insisted.
“My deputies staked out the house, and about an hour after we left, two men pulled up in a car. There was a scuffle. But they arrested two men and found their mug shots when Adam booked them.”
“Oh, I just remembered something,” Jane said as a memory surfaced. “Yesterday, when I was in the barn, I dropped some food under the feed bin. As I was trying to gather the loose feed, I felt something like”—she frowned—“like a piece of metal or a metal box. Victor came in and surprised me before I could pull it out.” She looked over at Ethan. “It might be important.”
Ethan nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll check it out.” He picked up a piece of toast and held it out to her. “You need something in your stomach. Eat.”
“Bossy,” Jane muttered but took a bite.
“Just wait until you feel better and see how bossy I can be.” Ethan smirked.
Jane laughed. “I can’t wait.” She blinked a few times. “I think I’m going to rest my eyes for a few minutes.”
Ethan removed the tray. “Sleep. It will do your body good. I’ll be up a little later.”
Jane shut her eyes. The scent of his aftershave lingered in the air, and she thought about how lucky she was to have found Ethan. In her mind, she could feel Mike smiling down at her as she slipped back to sleep.