Aegis 01 - First Exposure (17 page)

Some kind of commotion echoed from behind the steel door. Ramon turned to look that way. Knowing it was her only chance, Avery grasped the back of the metal chair nearby, lifted it over her head, and swung as hard as she could.

A grunt sounded through the room. She didn’t wait to see if Ramon responded. She swung out and back again, nailing him on the side of the head. He went down with a thunk. Heart thundering, Avery dropped the chair, jumped over him, and reached for the door.

Don’t be locked, don’t be locked…

Her hand closed around the handle, and she pulled. The door gave with a hiss and pulled inward. She stumbled out into the small hallway. Footsteps pounded to her right. Fear clawed its way up her throat. She turned and ran. A hand closed over her arm and yanked her back.

“No!” she screamed.

“Ava, it’s me. Ava!”

Strong arms pulled her in. Avery took one whiff of that familiar scent and fell into Cade’s chest.

“I’ve got you.” His voice shook. One hand closed over the back of her head, holding her close. “I’ve got you.”

Footsteps pounded. From above, Avery heard him say, “Through there.”

She pulled back and looked up. “Cade—”

He gripped her face in both hands, his worried gaze searching her face. “Are you okay? Did they—”

“I’m okay. They didn’t hurt me.” Three people raced by them in the hallway, all decked out in dark blue clothing with white letters she couldn’t make out. “H-how did you find me?”

A relieved smile spread across his familiar face, and he trailed one finger down to the pendant hanging from her neck. “Tracking device.”

The necklace. The one he’d told her to wear on the plane. She sank into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

“Yeah, I do.” His voice hitched, and he held her tight against him again. “You scared the crap out of me, princess. When I couldn’t find you, I thought…”

Princess.
The word warmed her from the inside out. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I—”

She pushed back quickly and looked up. “Melody. Oh my God, Cade, she’s here. There are others—”

“Shh…” He smoothed the hair back from her temple. “I know. We found them. DEA already has them out.”

“DEA?”

“They were at the resort undercover, about to take down Luis’s contact. They were more than happy to step in and help out with this.”

Two DEA agents hauled Ramon out to her right. She looked their way, then buried her face in Cade’s chest again, not wanting to think about…to see…what could have happened in that room.

Cade mumbled something she couldn’t make out and held her close. Footsteps faded. After several moments, he whispered, “You saved those women’s lives, you know. Especially Melody’s.”

She thought back to Melody’s vacant eyes, and her heart hurt for her friend. “I just wish we’d found them sooner.”

“You can’t think like that. You have to think about the positive.”

She eased back and looked up at him. “It was Patrice. She was the one who checked us in at the resort. I saw her—”

A woman’s voice screeched, “Don’t touch me!” and Cade stiffened, dragging Avery closer to the wall. His jaw clenched. She turned to look over her shoulder. Two more DEA agents had Patrice handcuffed and were leading her toward the stairs. She glared their way, then hollered, “I want my lawyer. You can’t prove anything!”

The DEA agent on her right muttered something that sounded like, “You bet your ass we can,” but Avery couldn’t be sure.

Their footsteps pounded up the metal steps, then disappeared as they went topside. When they were gone, Cade tipped Avery’s chin his way. “It wasn’t just her. She had the local District Constable under her thumb, fudging missing persons reports, along with two other guys who worked at various other resorts. They were looking for tourists who wouldn’t be missed. They chose poorly when they picked your friend Melody.”

“Melody’s boyfriend went after her when he realized what was going on. She doesn’t know what happened to him.”

“The federal authorities will find him. We’ll make sure.”

Avery closed her eyes on a wave of despair.

He rubbed a finger across her cheek. “You saved my life too, you know. If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to go on. Look at me, Ava.”

Slowly, she opened her eyes and caught her breath at the emotions she saw brewing in his dark irises. “I love you, Avery Scott. I’ve loved you since I was eighteen. I’ve loved every stupid movie you’ve ever made, and I hate every single guy you’ve kissed on-screen and off.”

She laughed. She wasn’t sure why. A combination of relief and disbelief and, yes, love. The same love he was suddenly talking about.

“I’ve made so many mistakes,” he went on, “but on the way out here to find you, I promised myself I wasn’t going to make them again. And I plan on spending the rest of my life fixing everything I’ve broken. If you’ll let me.”

“Cade.” Her heart swelled, and she reached up to brush her fingers over the edge of his scar near his jaw. A jaw she’d kissed and licked only hours ago. A jaw she wanted to explore all over again as soon as they were alone. “We’ve both made mistakes. I don’t blame you for any of them.”

“Are you sure? You walked away from me pretty easy.”

“I was…confused. I’ve spent a long time blaming you for things you didn’t deserve. I wasn’t running. I was just trying to make sense of them in my head.”

“Do they? Make sense?”

“No,” she huffed “Nothing with you has ever made sense.” Sobering, she looked deep into his eyes, and in the silence, her heart felt like it kick-started to life. She lifted her hand to brush her fingers against his stubbly jaw. “But nothing has ever felt as right either.”

He closed his eyes and pulled her in for a tight hug, as if he never wanted to release her, and she found her arms winding around his shoulders, her heart beating fast and strong next to his.

Could she let go of the past? Yeah, she already had. The moment she’d told him about their daughter. Closure, Melody had called it, and this time Avery wasn’t acting. The question was, could she open that door and take a chance on the future with him all over again?

She drew in a deep whiff of his scent and knew this was right. Everything else—the past, the hurt, all those years apart—they didn’t matter. All that mattered was the two of them, together the way they should have been so long ago.

“Hollywood’s a crappy place to raise a child, you know.”

He stilled against her. “It is?”

Easing back, she nodded. Hope bloomed across his rugged features. A hope that gave her strength. “And since I’m not taking that part, I’m thinking a nice long break from Hollywood is in order.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “What do you have in mind?”

She fingered the edge of his collar. “I hear Kentucky’s pretty. Rolling hills, good weather, kids.” Her gaze lifted to his. “Zach, right?”

He nodded slowly. A nervous incline of his head that warmed her heart even more.

“He’s a part of you, and that makes him special to me. I can’t wait to meet him. If, that is, you’ll let me.”

He framed her face, lowered his head, and took her lips in a soft, sweet kiss that melted every muscle in her body. “I love you,” he whispered. “I love you more than you will ever know.”

“I love you too.” She gripped his shoulders and kissed him back. Gave him everything he was giving her and more.

She pulled back. “One thing, though.”

His brow lifted.

“No more swingers resorts. It sets a bad example.”

He laughed and closed his arms around her again. “Anything you want, Mrs. Black.”

She held him close and sighed, loving the sound of that. “It’s Blackwell. And I could get used to hearing that.”

“You will. I promise, princess, you will.”

About The Author

Bestselling Author Elisabeth Naughton writes full time from her home in western Oregon where she lives with her husband and three children. Her books have appeared on every major bestsellers list, including the
New York Times
, the
USA Today
, the
Wall Street Journal
,
Digital Book World
and
IndieReader
, and have been nominated for numerous awards such as the prestigious RITA® awards by Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, The Golden Leaf and the Golden Heart. When not writing, Elisabeth can be found running, hanging out at the ballpark or dreaming up new and exciting adventures. Visit her website at
ElisabethNaughton.com
to learn more about her books.