Chapter 1 Two Months Later
As I exited the building, I sucked in a lungful of air.
Thank God, it was over. When I set out to find and rescue my friend, I never imagined I’d be away for two months.
The things I’d done and endured along with Justin had been horrendous.
It wasn’t as simple as the DEA had made it sound.
They hadn’t been fully honest with us. I’d been in survival mode, not even talking to headquarters or my fellow Patriots.
There were times I was convinced that I’d never make it back.
The entire time, what kept me going wasn’t saving Justin.
It was seeing Danae again. She had to be going crazy, and probably pissed.
But I knew as soon as I explained, she’d forgive me.
I warned her that I might have to go without a word and stay silent when we started seeing each other.
Thankfully, Sean and the others refused to have me brought to DEA headquarters to be debriefed.
They said it was to be at ours. They hadn’t given them an option.
And after what they pulled on us, they knew better than to fight it.
They have done one thing you never want to do.
Yeah, sure, to piss off Dark Patriots wasn’t smart, but what could signal the end of life as they knew it was to piss off Anderson.
No one seemed to know who he worked for, except those on his personal team, but they wouldn’t say.
All we knew was that his name struck fear into every agency and their upper command.
To anger Anderson enough was to sign your mandatory retirement papers, if you were lucky.
If not, you might find yourself in prison or dead.
The dead part was rumored, not substantiated.
We’d been at the debriefing for eighteen hours.
I felt like roadkill, but no matter how tired I felt, I was headed home to shower and then see my divine one.
I swear, it was my thoughts and dreams of her that kept me going and sane.
I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms, taste her lips, and feel her curled up against me.
While I wanted to make love with her, too, being near her would be enough for a bit.
A hand came down on my shoulder, jarring me to attention.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Ben standing there.
“It’s fucking good to see your ugly mug again, you bastard. I thought I’d never get a chance to insult you again,” he joked.
“There were a few times I thought I’d never see any of you either. Goddamn, it’s been too long. Oh, and you can stop lying about who the ugly one is. We both know it’s not me.” I grinned.
Ben laughed, then squeezed my shoulder and held it there.
The amusement left his face. “I’m serious.
I thought we’d never see you or Justin again.
We’ve been praying our asses off. I know you’re tired and probably only want to sleep and have a long shower.
Go home, and we’ll get together soon. Everyone wants to see you. Are you okay to drive home?”
“I can make it. And yes, we do have to get together very soon. There’s so much to catch up on,” I replied, thinking of Danae. It would be a perfect time to let them meet her. The thought lifted my spirits even more and gave me energy.
“We’ll do it. Just tell us when. Now, get out of here before you sleep on the sidewalk. It’s too cold to do that.”
Nodding in agreement, we split up, heading in different directions in the parking garage.
Someone had brought my car back from the airport after I got on the plane two months ago.
It had been kept here. As I got inside, I took a moment to slump in the seat.
My hand went to my pocket to take out my cell phone, but I stopped.
If I did that, I’d be tempted to go straight to her place.
Before I saw her, I had to make myself presentable.
I hadn’t had a shower in over forty-eight hours. I was ripe.
Pulling out of the garage, I took the familiar route home.
It was almost done on autopilot, which wasn’t the brightest idea, but I kept driving.
Thirty-three minutes later, according to my dashboard clock, I pulled into the garage that was attached to my condo.
There was room for two vehicles. I’d gotten a good deal on the place four years ago and snapped it up rather than renting.
It had more room than I needed, three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, but the price was right, the area was up-and-coming, and I didn’t want neighbors sharing my walls.
One of the extra bedrooms I set up as a guest room, and the other was a combo office/home gym.
Unlocking the door, I couldn’t stop myself from calling out.
“Hello, is anyone home?”
When I got no answer, I closed and locked the door, then took off my boots.
Walking through the place, it felt cold and foreign, but there was no dust or mustiness.
The cleaning lady would’ve come in to do her every-other-week cleaning.
I had it set up as a recurring payment in my account, and she had a key to get in.
I went straight to my bedroom. I passed by the bed without looking and went into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stripped. I thought about how let down I was not to find Danae here, though it was ridiculous to think she would be. She had no clue I’d be home today.
Stepping under the hot spray, I groaned.
I stood there letting it pound into my tired, aching muscles.
I needed the relief, and the sticky feeling on my skin slid away.
I took my time, thoroughly washing my hair and body twice before calling it quits.
Out of the stall, I rapidly dried off and went to the sink.
I slid open the drawer where I kept my comb, toothpaste, and more.
It wasn’t until I had them out and was reaching for my toothbrush in the holder on the sink top that it registered.
Her toothbrush, the one she left here, was missing.
Trying not to freak out, I opened all the drawers.
Her toothbrush wasn’t the only thing gone.
Over those four months together, our belongings had migrated between our places.
She had duplicates of her favorite shampoo, conditioner, facial cream, and more here.
I had my favorites at her place. She had a hairbrush and numerous hair ties in the second bathroom drawer.
In the closet and the dresser at her place, her clothing had mixed with mine, and mine with hers.
However, the bathroom drawers held none of those items. I also realized the shower no longer had her bottles of conditioner, shampoo, and bodywash.
Dropping my toothbrush, I raced into the bedroom to my dresser. Tearing open the first drawer, I shoved my clothes around. There was nothing of hers in there. The search of the other four drawers, the two nightstands, and then the closet revealed that not a single item belonging to Danae remained.
My heart pounded like a war drum. With shaking hands, I went back into the bathroom and pawed through the dirty clothes I had taken off to find my phone.
I hadn’t bothered to remove anything from my pockets before stepping into the shower.
My fingers shook so hard it was difficult to bring up her name in my contacts.
I pressed the call button. I put it on speaker and waited.
It was torture. I couldn’t draw in a deep breath.
My wait was short. Sorta. After the second ring, an automated female-sounding voice came on.
“The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service or is not taking calls at this time. Please try again later.”
I stumbled into my bedroom and over to my bed. I sank on the edge. I stared at the screen as if I did it long enough, Danae would answer it. Believing it was a mistake and that the phone company was messing up, I decided to text her.
Me: Danae, it’s Heath. Please call me back. I need to talk to you. I know you’re mad. I’m sorry. But I can explain. I need to hear your voice. I need to see you. Call me.
I stared at the tiny screen without blinking. A minute went by, then two. Nothing. I tried again.
Me: Please, I’m begging you. Call me. Don’t shut me out. I can explain. I love you. I’m so sorry that I have been silent for two months, but there’s an explanation.
This time, I waited only a minute before giving up.
Fuck this. I’d go to her place and see her.
She’d have to let me explain. I’d refuse to leave until she did.
On shaky legs, I got clean clothes out and put them on.
I took long enough in the bathroom to brush my teeth, slap on deodorant, and comb my hair.
I made sure to get my wallet and keys out of the dirty pants, then tossed the bundle into the hamper.
Heading to her place, I recalled every second of the drive despite running scenarios through my head of what I’d say to her when I got there.
Danae lived almost on the far opposite side of Hampton from where I did, but it was nearly eight o’clock at night.
The traffic had died down now that most of the evening rush hour was over.
I kept taking deep breaths. My heart refused to stop pounding.
When I pulled up to the apartment complex where she lived, my eyes automatically went to the second-story window of the unit that was hers. I saw a light shining through the drapes. Thank God she was home. I wasted no time getting out and racing up the flight of stairs to her unit.
I pounded on the door and called out, “Danae, open up. It’s Heath. I know you’re mad, baby. And I get it. I understand, but if you let me explain, you’ll see why I couldn’t call, text, or write to you.”
When there was no answer, I rang the doorbell and yelled again. I tried not to get too loud. No one needed the law called.
“Baby, please open up.”