Against the Rules (30 page)

Gently, he slid his arm under her. Before he could begin to pull, her body, slick from water and blood, was ripped out of his reach. Channy fought like a wildcat. Her legs constantly in motion, her fists swinging in search of a target, made it impossible for Teague to fire his weapon.

Her amazing green eyes, always full of laughter, were sunken and frantic as they implored Teague to save her.

“Freeze, Channy!” he ordered, hoping that she would obey him. He knew first-hand how hard it was to stop and rely on someone else while in a life and death struggle.

Teague was humbled and bursting with pride when she went limp, trusting him with her life. As soon as she was clear, Teague took aim. He never missed. Not when it counted.

Something wet splattered over her as the roar from the high-powered pistol hit Channy. She didn’t hesitate or look back as she crawled through the muck and into Teague’s arms.

As gently as possible, Teague carried her through the doorway. He roamed his hands over her body to assure him that her wounds weren’t life threatening.

Her voice a mere thread, she asked, “Is he dead? Is he really dead?”

“Yes, Channy, the son of a bitch is dead.”

Her face, which had been cradled against his chest as he rocked her, trying to soothe them both, suddenly glared at him with fire and venom. She tried to push out of his hold, but her energy had been long ago spent.

“Hold still, Channy.” He had no idea why she had begun struggling. He was afraid to grip her with any real strength for fear of hurting her further. “It’s me—Teague. You’re safe now. It’s okay.” He tried to reassure her.

“Don’t touch me, you cold-hearted bastard. He was never a part of this. He loved me.”

Cold dread shook him to his core. Had he killed the wrong man? No way! He replayed the events over and over again until the only answer he could fathom was that she had Stockholm syndrome.

“It’s okay, Little Red, we’ll sort all this out once you’re at the hospital.”

Sid whispered that his time was up. Backup had arrived and they were entering the house. Teague scrambled out of his shirt and draped it over Channy. She still held her body stiff and apart from his.

“I’ve called in another Air-Evac chopper. ETA five minutes. Will she be ready?” Sid advised after he had entered the computer room.

Teague’s heart sobbed in real pain watching Channy cowering inside his shirt. He gave Sid a quick nod and a discreet wave of his hand. A clear dismissal that Sid ignored.

“Chantel, your father is at the hospital waiting for you.”

The top of Channy’s head collided with Teague’s jaw as she jerked to glower at first Sid then Teague. “He’s alive?” she asked Sid. She looked at Teague as if he were shit under her shoe. “You told me he was dead.”

“No, Channy. God, no. Ed is dead.”

“Your father had a cardiac event, but he’s stable and waiting for you at the hospital,” Sid informed them.

Chantel let out a ragged sigh and melted into Teague’s arms. “I know
he’s
dead. I was there, remember? Though you’re always supposed to fire twice. You should know that. That’s the rules. Fire twice,” she murmured, as she buried her face against his chest and sobbed.

Teague’s heart lightened just the smallest amount, at her scolding. Her spirit was strong. His little firebrand was down, but not out.

Chapter Eighteen

“Channy, damn it, you’re scaring the hell out of me. You haven’t said a word in hours.” He knew he should be softer with her. She deserved gentle and there wasn’t a gentle bone in his body. He wanted to revive Ed and kill him again.

Looking at her in the hospital bed with tubes and wires snaking out from under the two blankets she was cocooned beneath did nothing to quench the murderous rage inside him. It didn’t matter that most of them belonged to monitoring equipment.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered. Tears pooled in her over-large green eyes.

“Never. I’m never leaving you, Channy. Please talk to me. What can I do? Can I get you anything?” The death grip she had on his hand was strong. It was about the only thing giving him hope that she would make her way back. He knew it was too soon. It would be a long while before she could begin to heal the damage inside.

He had no idea the last time she’d gotten any sleep. She looked so damn fragile, he wanted to cradle her in his arms and hold her until she dozed off. She had been so stoic since they’d arrived at the hospital. She had answered direct questions, but offered nothing. He knew that she had two broken ribs, and more bruises, cuts and burns than he could contemplate without needing to hit something.

“What do you want me to say?” Her voice was flat, her eyes vacant, just staring at a spot on the blankets.

“How are you feeling? Do you want a painkiller?” She had steadfastly refused both painkillers and sleeping pills.

She shook her head. “Broken.”

God, he wanted to hold her but he didn’t know how. He didn’t want to hurt her and everywhere he looked there was some hospital apparatus. “No, Little Red. You’re not broken. You’re strong. You survived. That’s all that matters.”

“I’m still scared. I know he’s dead and can’t hurt me, but I keep expecting him to walk in. I’m afraid to close my eyes. I hear his voice, the whirl of the video cameras.” She shook her head and batted away tears. “My hearing seems to be super sensitive. I can’t stand it.”

“Channy, it will fade. You need to rest so your body can start the healing process.” Trauma didn’t ever go away, but it faded.

“Not till I know Dad’s okay.” She was quiet for a moment. “Your voice helps. Talk to me. Tell me how you got away?” A small sob escaped.

“Your dad had a man on the inside. We caused a diversion and snuck out.” She didn’t need any of the gory details to add to her nightmares.”

Her lips quivered. “Rule ninety-eight, lying by omission.”

He chuckled and allowed himself to breathe a little easier at the twinkle in her eyes as she scolded him. “Maybe a little.”

One of the nurses popped her head inside the door, “Ms. Donley, your father is in recovery. He came through the surgery just fine. The doctor will be in to see you shortly.”

“When can I see my father?”

“He will be in recovery for a few hours. Once he’s settled in his room, we’ll let you know.”

The nurse had a soft, sympathetic smile that made Chantel cringe inside. She’d seen what Ed had done to her. She hated that. They’d photographed every inch of her body. Every wound had been recorded and would be forever in a file somewhere for everyone to see.

She wanted to go home, but she couldn’t. He’d taken that from her, too.

“What’s wrong?” Teague asked.

He noticed everything. “She knows.”

“Yes, she knows how strong you are. She knows you are a survivor.”

Teague looked as bad as she felt. The bottom of his ear was red and nasty-looking. Dark circles pooled under his eyes. “I don’t feel strong.”

“You are. You did what you had to do and you survived. That’s all that matters.”

She wanted to believe him.

“He was ill, you know. Most of the time he thought I was Jasmine. I think she was his girlfriend about the time my mom and dad starting dating. He killed her.”

He knew from Sid that the bastard had kept a detailed journal of each abduction. Ed had crated all the evidence and cataloged it as if he were an agent working a case. He was one sick motherfucker.

“Dad will blame himself.”

Teague held back his first response. Donley’s judgment error had cost several women their lives. He’d have to live with that. Teague’s only concern was Channy. “Your healing will help him more than anything else.”

She gave him a knowing smile.

His heart pounded in his chest as he added, “Grandchildren might help, too.”

She didn’t answer, but she tightened her grip on his hand and gave him a shy, sad smile.

“I’m all yours, if you’ll have me. I’m not a great catch, but I promise to work on it. I have some money set aside. We can buy a nice house, close to your dad if you want.”

“Tell me about your past.” Her gaze met his.

He didn’t want to tell her.

“Remember rule ninety-eight.”

Well, he’d just have to violate rule ninety-eight, at least a little. “I was working for a computer software firm. We created programs to meet the needs of corporations and some government facilities. A buddy of mine called me to one of his accounts. There was a glitch he couldn’t get past and his deadline was fast approaching. It was odd, because no programmer would normally turn a project over to someone else. You might not believe this, but IT geeks have an ego that won’t quit.”

He was relieved to see a smile touch her lips. “He was overly nervous. He said the company stood to lose a lot of money if the deadline wasn’t met.”
In truth, he stood to lose his life—violation one of rule ninety-eight
. “That should have clued me in, but it didn’t. I noticed an anomaly and began to track it down. It turns out, the company was really a drug and human trafficking cartel. When I realized what I’d discovered, I went to the police.”

“And from there you ended up with NBIA. I was so relieved when my dad retired from the Bureau. I didn’t realize he’d be working harder still for the new agency.”

“The focus broadened after nine/eleven. The caseload more than doubled overnight.” He was watching her closely. She seemed to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Your dad is going to be all right, Channy. He’s a tough old bird. He’ll pull through.”

“What does the world think happened to Teague Brodie?”

“The world and my mom…” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat then pressed on, “Think I died. My co-worker sold me out to the cartel. He told them everything about me. The only way to keep my mom safe was for me to die. That’s been the hardest part of this. She was a single mom who worked two jobs to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. She didn’t have time to date. She basically put her life on hold to raise me. Then I finally got out of college and was doing well, able to buy her some of the nice things she had denied herself, then this crap happened. The NBIA staged a one car accident. The bastards destroyed my GTO.” He had to take it to the lighter side. Every time he thought of his mom and her sacrifices, his throat closed up.

“Since you are out of it now, you can reunite with her. And you are out of it. Don’t even think to tell me otherwise.”

She had steel in her voice again.

“I would never risk your safety by getting involved in something again.”

“Teague…” She turned away from him.

He waited, knowing that this was something important for her to say. And he suspected that it was something he didn’t want to hear.

“I can’t be the woman you need. Not anymore.”

He vehemently disagreed with her, but just saying so wouldn’t change her mind. “Why is that, Channy?”

A tear fell down her cheek, then a second. “You want a woman who can…let you take charge. I can’t do that now.”

“Channy… I understand why you believe that. Your trust has been shaken to its core. You loved Ed and he hurt you. He betrayed both you and your dad. That’s not something that will just go away.” He didn’t want her to think that he in any way took her pain lightly. “But, Channy…” He turned her chin until she looked at him. “We’ll make it past this. You’ve already made it through the first two phases. You’re past anger. That’s the hardest one for me. Your mind is looking for a way to make sense of all this. You told me just a few minutes ago that he was ill.”

“Teague, you’ve finally got your life back. I can’t ask you to put it on hold while I see if I can ever be close to normal again.” She sounded determined to push him away.

“A smart woman once told me life is about setting a goal and going for it. Us making a life together is my goal. If you can’t look me in the eye and tell me you don’t love me, then nothing is going to stop me from making that goal our reality.”

* * * *

Against everyone’s strenuous objections, Chantel had moved back into her home. Teague would have stayed with her, if she would have let him. Each evening after the news, she threw him out. The next morning at eight sharp, he was pounding on her door.

It had taken a full week of sleeping on the couch with her pistol on the coffee table and a knife under the cushion before she had been ready to face a night in her bedroom.

She kept looking at the empty space where her doll had been. It was one more reminder of what Ed had taken away from her.

Holding her pillow tight, she wished that she’d let him stay. She rarely felt safe unless she was in his arms. But it wasn’t fair to rely on him when she doubted that she’d ever be able to submit to him again. He was a dominant man and he deserved a submissive woman.

Every time she even thought about it, she remembered all the things she’d permitted Ed to do to her. The humiliation she felt at having allowed him to control her made her sick inside.

It wasn’t fair. When Teague kissed her, she felt all those familiar sensations. For a few moments, she’d gotten her hopes up. But as his hand had fisted in her hair, it had felt as if a bucket of ice had been dropped on her.

* * * *

Channy was feeling stronger and if Teague’s guess was correct, she was getting ready to send him packing. She had it in her head that a D/s relationship was out of the question and that he’d never be content in a vanilla one. She was wrong on all counts, but making her see reason was damn near impossible.

He understood her need for independence and why she wanted to live in her own house, but it was filled with bad memories, too. Constantly being reminded of how Ed had violated her trust wasn’t helping. She had refused to leave the house until her bruises had gone away. Now that they’d faded, the last of her excuses had disappeared.

Tonight, they were going on their first date since the attack. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. A million things could go wrong. Channy had refused to tell him what had happened. Though he held out hope that she would eventually trust him enough to share the details with him, he’d hacked into the police report and read the file.