Chapter Thirty-Six - Joshua
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Joshua
I’ve never been anything but perfectly composed in front of my soldiers, but here I sit with my head buried in my hands like a child.
She’s gone.
One minute, she was in my arms, and the next, she was gone.
Her father must’ve found us and planned another escape. But then, why would he attack the warehouse and not the main house? Perhaps to draw my attention away, but then he wouldn’t have needed to take anything like he did.
I picture the shock she would have shown when she saw her father. Did he have to convince her to go? Or was she all too eager to get away from me? Did she ever want me at all, or was she just biding her time?
I might never know.
The shouts and curses of my injured men in the warehouse echo in my head, and I know that I need to pull myself together for their sake.
Elise’s father needed extensive knowledge of my private security system and layout to pull this off, which shouldn’t be possible.
I need to figure out how he obtained that information and ensure it never happens again.
Even as I make the list of things that need to get done, I can’t pull myself out of this chair.
The sliding of the backdoor blends into the chaos of the room, but that’s when I hear it.
“Joshua?”
Every head in the room snaps in the direction of the back door, and I can barely believe the sight before me.
Her dark locks are a tangled mess, and there’s dried mud streaked across her cheeks, hands, and arms. The same clothes she’d worn earlier tonight are torn in a few places, blood dripping down one of her legs, and she looks utterly exhausted.
I’m across the room in a second, pulling her into my arms.
“Elise,” I rasp, lifting her and crushing her to my chest.
She clings to me just as tightly, and I forget all about the audience we have.
“I thought they took you, too,” I mumble into her hair.
She pulls back just enough to see my face. “Who? What happened?”
My gaze flicks to Ryder, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. If the Consolis didn’t attack us, then who did?
And why would they have stolen what they did?
“There was an attack at the warehouse. When no one could find you, I assumed it was your father taking you home.”
With the reminder of her absence, my eyes snap to the man behind her, who I’d charged with her safety.
Donovan stands at attention, back straight and hands behind his back. He’s in a slightly better condition than Elise but still looks rough, and he knows he’s screwed.
“You’d better have a damn good explanation for why she wasn’t safely inside this house.”
My grief has given way to fury, and I’m seconds away from putting Don in the ground with the men who lost their lives tonight actually doing their jobs.
Elise places a hand on my chest, and I reluctantly look away from my head of security.
“It’s not his fault.”
My jaw ticks, but my words are perfectly controlled. “Where the hell were you?”
My question opens a floodgate, and Elise cries into my chest. As furious as I am, I hold her closer as she cries.
With a deep breath, I soften my tone before asking again. “Baby, where were you?”
She chokes back the tears and looks at me through wet lashes.
“You were acting so strange after dinner, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, so I followed you to the warehouse.”
She followed me to the warehouse.
The one place she knows she’s not supposed to go.
The one time it was attacked.
She could’ve gotten herself killed.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle her father taking her back, but at least then she’d be alive. I had no idea how close I was to actually losing her tonight.
“You did what?” I say through tightly gritted teeth.
The words pour out of her mouth in one breath.
“I wanted to know what you were doing, so I followed you down there. I went around back when I heard a car pull up, but then I heard gunshots, and I didn’t know what to do.
I tried to come in and help, but I heard voices coming closer and froze up.
That’s when Donovan found me, and we went into the woods until it was safe to come back. ”
I can barely breathe through my rage.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I take long, deep breaths in an effort to stop myself from strangling the very girl I’m trying to keep alive.
“Joshua, I’m so sorry,” she says. “You were right. I shouldn’t have gone. I promise I’ll trust you from now on.”
When my eyes snap open, Donovan is the target of my glare. “My office. Now.”
“Wait,” Elise interjects. “He didn’t do anything wrong! It was my fault that—”
“Not another word from you,” I say, voice deadly low and eerily calm. She curls into me but says nothing.
Donovan disappears down the hall, and Elise looks after him with another round of tears threatening to spill. My eyes fall over her tattered clothes and marred skin.
“You’re hurt?”
She nods.
I sweep her into my arms and carry her out of the crowded room. She fists my shirt in her small hands, and it feels damn good to hold her despite the fact that I’m barely holding on to my sanity by a thread.
When we reach our room, I place her on the bed and disappear into the bathroom. I flip the nozzles to start a bath and grab the first-aid kit.
When I step back into the room, she’s fiddling with the hem of her shirt and biting her bottom lip, waiting for me to say something.
I don’t.
I’m so furious that I don’t trust I won’t say something I’ll regret later. I need to cool down before we have this conversation.
With the curl of my finger, she scoots obediently to the edge of the bed, and I kneel to tend to the various cuts.
“Maybe it’d be easier to get me a personal nurse with how often I need medical attention,” she murmurs.
I grind my teeth to stop from snapping at her.
Thankfully, she abandons her attempt to lighten the mood. “Why are you running a bath?”
“It’ll ease your muscles,” I explain curtly and assess her swollen ankle. Only a sprain, so she’ll be just fine.
She must realize that I’m not in a talking mood because she finally gives up and remains quiet as I finish taking care of her.
“Go take a bath and elevate your ankle. You should be fine.” I stand to leave, but she catches my arm before I can.
Her eyes glisten with another round of tears. “Joshua, please. I said I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do that,” I bite out.
“Do what?”
“Use your tears against me. What you did tonight was so remarkably stupid, and I have every right to be pissed at you.”
She pulls her hand back like I’ve burned her, but before she can respond, my phone buzzes with an incoming call.
I don’t even check to see who it is before answering. “Moreno.”
Kade’s voice comes through the line. “Sir, some of these injuries are worse than we thought. We’re going to need to call in professional help.”
Damn it.
It’s been over a year since I vetted doctors here that I could pay off to stay quiet about the injuries they treat for us. I hope those doctors are still around and morally gray.
“How many do we need?”
“Two or three, minimum. We could use a surgeon or two if possible. Jay’s doing all he can, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough.”
“Have Ryder reach out to the local hospitals. He’ll know who to ask for.”
“Yes, sir.”
I hang up without another word and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Is everyone okay?”
I almost laugh at how ridiculous the question is.
“No,” I say.
“Who?”
Normally, there’s no way I’d tell her, but I want her to understand the gravity of the situation and just how close she was to getting herself killed.
“Everyone at the main gate is dead. Half a dozen more were hit at the warehouse—Alec included.” Her shoulders slump, but I go on. “No telling how many will survive the night.”
Elise pushes off the bed to stand and winces when her foot hits the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“Coming with you.”
She can’t be serious.
“Absolutely not. You’re staying here.”
“Joshua, let me help—”
“Like how you helped at the warehouse? How did that go?” I shake my head. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now.”
Her lip wobbles, but I don’t relent. “Elise, do not leave this room. Understand?”
“Yes,” her voice breaks in a whisper.
I turn my back and walk out the door.
The door to my office is open, and I slam it shut before rounding the desk. Donovan stands in the center of the room, unmoving at my entrance. With his back straight and chin held high, I admire that he refuses to let his nerves show.
“Explain.”
He doesn’t waste my time. “I went to check on Elise when you left for the warehouse, but she wasn’t in your room.
I searched the whole house before going outside and was halfway to the warehouse when the shooting started.
Thankfully, I got to her before they did and took her into the woods.
I didn’t want to take her back to the house in case it was attacked, too. ”
“Let me get this straight: my capo—who is charged specifically with security—lost track of the one person he was supposed to protect and allowed an attack to get past the gates and hit the warehouse?”
He knows better than to give me excuses. “Yes, sir.”
I take my time rounding my desk and let venom drip from my tone. “The only reason I’m not killing you where you stand is that Elise is here and safe. She knew better than to leave, but you should’ve caught her before she did. If anything like this happens again, you’re out. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“For now, you’re on strict probation.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Get out of my office,” I demand, and he’s out the door.
I fall back into my chair and bury my head in my hands.
I was so close to losing her tonight, all because of her curiosity.
A curiosity that would’ve ruined everything if her mission hadn’t been interrupted by the attack.
Not that she’ll ever know that.