Chapter 16 Elizabeth
ELIZABETH
I feel like the President of the United States as the two black SUVs roll down my street. I’m equal parts embarrassed and grateful to have so many armed people around me.
When Brady pulls up at the curb, Vincent and Finn hop out. Finn disappears from sight around the back of my house while Vincent goes to the front door.
Brady stays in position in the driver's seat. He meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “It will just take a few minutes to clear the building.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later, his hand rises to his earpiece. “House is clear.”
Opening my door, he puts his hand on my knee to stop me from exiting. “In and out.” He reminds me. “Quick as possible. I didn’t spot anyone watching. But in case they are doing it remotely, I want to get back on the road before they send someone to follow us back to Elite.”
“Okay.” It comes out breathier than I like, and I clear my throat. “I’ll be quick.”
He gives me a reassuring grin. “Good girl.”
His green eyes sparkle only inches away, and I fight the inappropriate urge to kiss him. Inhaling slowly, I shove my out-of-control hormones down deep where they will stop trying to cause problems.
We walk quickly across the grass, flanked by Sera and another operative Brady introduced as Rhodes. He’s tall and muscled like the others, with dirty-blond hair and sharp green eyes.
I’m starting to seriously wonder if Brady requests headshots along with resumes, because why are they all so attractive?
The moment I cross the threshold, the air feels heavier. It doesn’t smell the same either, but I can’t put my finger on what it is.
“Your boyfriend wears a lot of cologne.” Sera says, clearly having noticed the scent.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” I frown. “And Keith didn’t wear cologne; he had allergies”
I look to Brady, my anxiety rapidly rising from being in this house again, but he’s looking at his sister with an oddly pained look on his face. Sera flushes and ducks her head.
“Probably one of the cops,” Rhodes says. “Need to get moving.”
My fingers twitch against my sides as we walk past where my sofa used to be.
“They will have taken it in for evidence,” Brady explains quietly, seeing where my gaze went.
I nod, because I don’t want to risk speaking.
This is harder than I thought it would be.
Stopping on the third step, I turn to face Brady, the elevated height bringing us eye level.
“You know how they talk about before and after phone calls.” His eyes soften.
“That’s kind of what this feels like. There was a ‘before I saw Keith on the sofa’… and after.”
He catches my elbow, sliding his hand down my arm, drawing gentle circles with his thumb over my wrist. “It will get better. You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
His steady gaze loosens the knot in my chest, letting me breathe again. I move up the stairs toward my bedroom, conscious of his presence at my back, solid and reassuring even as it makes my pulse skip.
My bedroom is ultra-feminine, done in various shades of pink with white fur throw pillows and a small crystal chandelier over the bed.
A sanctuary from my career, where I have to be borderline aggressive.
But it’s the contrast between the delicate furniture and the large man standing in the doorway radiating masculinity that throws me off-kilter.
“This”—his bemused gaze sweeps the room—“is not what I expected.”
My cheeks are on fire, and I know that I’m probably beetroot red. “Sue me. I like pink.”
His mouth quirks as he steps inside, and then he spots the pink satin eye mask on my nightstand. He picks it up with two fingers and holds it in front of him, his lips twitching. “Don’t forget this. It looks important.”
I scowl at him and snatch it out of the air as his shoulders shake with laughter. I turn to hide my smile. Brady’s playfulness eases the rest of the tension from my body.
Aw crap. You’re catching feelings, aren’t you?
I ignore the voice in my head, and walk to my closet to collect my favorite things.
“Now, this is important. I didn’t know they made them in pink,” I hear Brady say behind me.
“What?” Looking over my shoulder, I see Brady has pulled open my bedside drawer and his hand is inside, moving objects around.
“Oh my god!” I squeal, lunging toward him. He puts out one hand to keep me back while he waves my favorite pink vibrator in the air over my head.
“Definitely don’t forget this.” He grins wolfishly.
I jump to grab it, but when I land, pain ricochets through my side, and I bend forward with a pained grunt.
Brady tosses my sex toy onto the bed, forgotten, and reaches for me. “Shit. I’m sorry. I forgot—”
“My fault,” I give him a weak smile.
“Let me check your stitches.” He reaches for the hem of the sweatshirt, and I bat them away.
“I’m fi—”
Brady scowls.
“Good. I’m good, I promise. It’s already better,” I lie, but he looks so concerned, I’m not adding to his guilt.
I meant what I told Sera earlier. It was my fault that I got injured. I should have listened to him and his instructions instead of letting pride overrule my common sense.
“ETA, Boss? Rhodes’s deep voice sounds from the hall.
“Five minutes,” I answer for Brady. “My suitcases are in the closet under the stairs. Can you bring them up?”
He frowns. “Just grab what’s essential.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back here.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. Not at the thought of being away from the house, but because I don’t know how long it will be until I have my life back.
Brady’s gaze bounces between my eyes, and then he nods, calling “five minutes,” over his shoulder as he heads for the stairs.
It ends up taking ten, but to his and his team’s credit, they don’t rush me or look annoyed, and soon I’m being hustled back across the grass. Brady is so close I can feel his chest brushing against my body. The heat emanating from him is incredible, and I want him to put his arms around me again.
Trust me to develop an inappropriate and intense attraction during the literal worst time in my life.
My eyes catch Brady’s gaze just before he closes my door. I don’t know what the expression is on my face, but he looks at me with a quizzical look for a minute, then an answering heat dilates his eyes. He shakes his head hard and shuts the door.
Oh, shit. I am definitely catching feelings.
When we get back to Elite, Brady carries my bags up to my room.
“I need to grab some stuff from my place,” he explains, and I feel my smile slip. “It’ll be an hour, an hour and a half at most. Traffic should be light at this hour.”
“Right.” I force my lips to lift farther, but the idea of him leaving is unsettling.
“Rhodes and Vincent are downstairs,” he assures me. “They won’t let anything happen to you. Sera is here, too, in case you need something.”
“Are you saying your sister would let something happen to me? Maybe do something to me?” I tease, trying to shake my unease.
“My sister—”
“I was joking, Brady. Relax. She’s your sister, I trust her.” It’s a stretch, but the look on his face tells me it’s what he wants to hear.
“Sera is extremely competent, but she’s never done protection work. Back when it was just me and her, she might join me if I needed a woman, but mostly she’s always handled research and background. She’s not trained to…” His words trail off.
“Kill people?” I joke, but Brady doesn’t match my smile. “Oh, shit. Really?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.” He cocks his head and smirks. “Still want to ask that question?”
I don’t even hesitate and nod eagerly. “Absolutely.”
He throws his head back and laughs, his chest heaving. “You never cease to surprise me, Firefly.”
He’s still laughing when he reaches the door, but panic grabs at me. “Hey, Brady?”
Hearing the tone in my voice, he faces me with one hand on the doorknob. “You’re coming back tonight, right?” I feel my cheeks flush, but I don’t care. “I mean to stay for the night? I won’t be alone?”
I want to play it off, like being in the same space where I found my murdered ex-husband hasn’t affected me, but it has. Deeply.
His features soften, his lips curving in a sweet smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The emphasis on the last word hits me hard, and I cough to cover my reaction. “Bring back a pizza. Veggie.”
He shakes his head, chuckles, and then he’s gone.
For the first time since this nightmare began, I’m alone. My stomach swirls, and I feel shaky. My brain reminds me there are people two floors below whose entire job is to keep me safe. But my former peace of mind is gone, and I know why.
Brady isn’t here.
Deciding a shower will make me feel better, I pull off the sweats and drop them on the bed. I’m moving for the bathroom when the bedroom door flies open, and I scream.
“Oh my god. Sorry! I knocked, but it must not have been fully latched because it opened.” Sera’s face turns red, and her eyes are huge.
Hand clutched to my chest, I try to catch my breath. “It’s okay.”
“Brady said you were going to take a shower, and I thought…”
I finally notice the large gauze pads, surgical tape and roll of plastic wrap in her hand. “Thank you. I didn’t even think about how I was going to shower with the stitches.”
I offer her a smile, but she’s not looking at my face. She is taking stock of the different purple bruises exposed on my body, now that I’m only dressed in my bra and underwear.
Her eyes land on the row of stitches before looking away. I took one look at them when I pulled my shirt off, and my stomach turned, but I’d rather die than admit it to her.
Sera clears her throat. “If you put the gauze pad on first, you can cover the whole area with the plastic wrap and tape the edges. It should keep them dry as long as you don’t aim the water at it.”
“I’d forgotten how annoying stitches are,” I say blithely, like I’m not standing in front of her in my underwear. I’m not sure why I’m trying to impress this young woman, but I am. “It’s been a long time since I had any.”
“You’ve had stitches before?” She sounds reluctantly interested.
“Yep. I used to be an incorrigible risk-taker. Never met a dare I didn’t take. My mom says I’m responsible for all of her gray hairs.”
Sera studies me. “Used to be? Not anymore?”
I should have known she’d pick up on my words. “No.” I plaster a smile on my face and pretend this conversation isn’t prodding at a wound I thought had healed a long time ago.
“Why?”
“Life taught me the consequences aren’t worth it,” I say honestly.
Sera’s lip trembles a little, and pain flashes across her eyes. But then her expression hardens. “That’s right. Seven stitches when you crashed your bike when you were thirteen.”
I suck in a breath, but try to keep my voice light so she doesn’t see how much her knowledge about my life has unsettled me.
“I put it in your file with the rest of your background info.”
She doesn’t mention that my little sister was in the hospital for weeks from the same accident.
“You’re very thorough,” I manage, though my heart is thudding in my chest.
“Brady insists on an extremely detailed dossier on new clients. Never know what they’re hiding that could come back on us.”
Sera is determined to remind me I am a client.
The worst part is, she isn’t wrong. My head is pounding, and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep up a calm facade in the face of this young woman’s animosity.
Her resentment is palpable and contradicts her thoughtful gesture of bringing me supplies.
I’ve reached my limit of mindfucks today.
“That sounds smart.”
I have no desire to fight with Sera. Even if she wasn’t Brady’s sister, you only had to look in her eyes to know that the scars on her body weren’t anywhere near as deep as the ones burned on the inside.
Sera blinks several times. “He’s the best at what he does.”
I don’t say anything, because honestly, what can I say?
Brady’s sister bites her lip, her brows meeting in the middle as if she’s not sure what to make of me.
“I better get in the shower before Brady gets back.”
At the reminder of her brother, Sera scowls. After she leaves, I stare at the medical supplies in my hand and sigh.
This should be interesting.