American Heroes Series - 03 - Purgatory (13 page)

She laughed softly, laying her
head against his broad chest. “Hug me again.”

He did, squeezing her tightly,
loving the feel of her against him. It was the best feeling in the world. It
was even better when she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed back.
But eventually, she loosened her grip and looked up at him again.

“I need to get back to my son,”
she said, wiping at her nose with a tissue. “Thanks for coming all the way up
here. You didn’t have to do that.”

He was reluctant to let her go,
holding her hand as they made their way slowly out of the corridor.

“Yes, I did,” he replied. “I had
to make sure you were all okay.  And we need to talk about what happened.”

Her smile faded.  “I’ve lived all
my life in Los Angeles, practically a hotbed of crime, and nothing ever happened.
Now, in two days, I’ve been firebombed and my son has been attacked.  It’s
almost like… like someone or something doesn’t want us here.”

“
I
want you here,” he
countered quietly, entering the corridor where the operatories were. He let go
of her hand and faced her. “I don’t know what I’d do if you went back to
California. It would absolutely break my heart.”

Elliot could see Penelope
approaching her from the corner of her eye, but she smiled at Nash, anyway.
“And mine,” she whispered.

Before he could reply, Elliot
turned to her daughter and opened her arms to the young woman, giving her a
hug. Penelope accepted the comfort, pulling back to look her mother in the
eye.  She looked suspiciously between her mother and Nash.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Elliot smiled. “Sure,” she said,
turning the girl around and heading back to where Alec was. “How’s your
brother?”

Penelope held her mother’s hand
as they came to the operatory where Alec was having his back stitched.

“Oh, he’s okay,” she pretended
like it was nothing serious, although she had been scared to death when it
happened. “He’s just faking.”

Alec, having his back dug in to,
didn’t look too happy as he glared at his sister. “Come here so I can smack
you.”

Penelope giggled. “You can’t
touch me,” she insisted. “The sheriff will arrest you.”

Alec frowned at Nash. “Isn’t
there such thing as Justifiable Smacking if she deserves it?”

Nash shook his head, grinning.
“Not even close.”

As Alec grumbled and fired off
several threatening expressions at his sister, the doctor finished stitching up
his back. There were three deep gashes on his hands and by the time the doctor
started in on those, a tall brunette with a thick waistline suddenly joined
them.  Elliot caught a glimpse of the woman from the corner of her eye, turning
in time to see the woman focus in on Nash.

“Well,” the woman smiled at him.
“They told me you were here. What are you doing?”

Nash returned her smile, although
it was forced. “Hi,” he greeted, gesturing to Alec on the gurney. “I came to
see a friend.”

The woman tore her brown-eyed
gaze off of Nash as if suddenly noticing there were three other people in the
room. She seemed particularly interested in Elliot as Nash introduced them.

“This is Elliot Jentry and her
children, Penelope and Alec,” he said, looking to Elliot. “Ellie, this Julie,
my sons’ mother.”

Somewhat startled, Elliot came up
off the stool she had been seated on and extended her hand to the woman.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” she
said sincerely.

Julie smiled, nodding her head
faintly as she very obviously inspected Elliot. “Likewise,” she said in her
soft, Southern drawl.  After a few moments of intense scrutiny, she looked at
Alec on the gurney. “Did your son have an accident?”

Nash answered before Elliot
could. “Something like that,” he said vaguely. “Ellie and her kids just moved
here from California. They bought Purgatory.”

That bit of news brought a strong
reaction. “Purgatory?” Julie almost exclaimed, looking back and forth between
Nash and Elliot. “Good Lord, Nash, you let her buy that place? What in the
world were you thinking?”

Elliot stepped back from the
conversation at that point. She could see that Julie wasn’t particularly
focused on her anyway, other than to dissect her with her eyes. It was that
appraising look that one woman gives another when competing for the same man.  
As Julie scolded Nash about selling Purgatory to a ‘Californian’, Elliot took a
moment to inspect her also. 

Julie was tall, made taller by
the heels she wore, and had a very pretty face with smooth skin.  She was built
a little heavy but she wasn’t unattractive. At least, Elliot didn’t think so. 
She moved back to her stool, watching Nash and Julie go back and forth about
Purgatory. Finally, Nash put up a hand to shut the woman up.

“I appreciate your concern, but
it’s not your problem to worry about,” he told her. “Purgatory is in good
hands.”

Julie shrugged her shoulders,
frustrated with his response. “If you say so,” she said, looking to Elliot,
sitting in the corner on her stool. “Sorry, Ms. Jentry. I wasn’t trying to
insult you. It’s just that Purgatory is a lot to handle for anyone, much less
someone from out of state who doesn’t know a thing about it. I’m assuming your
husband will be helping you restore it?”

Elliot was all about being polite
to the woman until that question. She just didn’t like the way she asked it,
especially in front of her kids. It was leading, probing and judgmental, and
completely rubbed Elliot the wrong way. With the day she’d had already, her
patience was gone.

“No, because he’s dead,” she said
flatly, cocking an eyebrow. “Do you have any other personal questions?”

While Julie had been subtle in
her interrogation, Elliot fired a shot right over her bow. If the woman was
going to start something then she should know who she’s starting it with. Nash
cleared his throat and looked at his ex-wife.

“It’s been a bad day,” he told
her, gesturing for her turn around and go back the way she came. “Thanks for
stopping by.”

Julie could see that she had
offended the woman and rather than get her dander up, she backed down somewhat.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”

Elliot just looked away as Nash
answered. “Go,” he said softly but firmly. “Please. I’ll talk to you later.”

Julie did as she was told. 
Elliot wouldn’t look at anyone; she was embarrassed she had lost her temper,
especially in front of Nash. She just sat there and stared at her hands,
unaware that Nash and Penelope were watching her with some sympathy. Alec
couldn’t have cared less; he was more concerned with the doctor being finished.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too much longer before the doctor put in the final
stitch.

“There,” he said, taking a look
at his handiwork. “Come back in ten days and I’ll take them out for you.  If
you have any problems, like fever or pain and swelling, please give me a call. 
And try to keep the area dry for the next twenty-four hours if you can.  Do you
have any questions?”

Alec looked at his hands, holding
them up for all to see. “I look like freaking Frankenstein.”

“Can you put bolts in his neck,
doctor?” Penelope asked innocently.

As Alec snarled at his sister,
the doctor laughed and turned to Elliot.  “Any questions, ma’am?”

Elliot shook her head.  At this
point, she was ready to get the hell out of there.

“No,” she said, standing up.
“Thank you so much for taking good care of him.”

The doctor nodded and turned to
look at his patient one more time before peeling off his surgical gloves and
tossing them into the biohazard receptacle. 

“Good to see you again, Sheriff,”
he said to Nash as he left the room.

Nash watched the man go as a
nurse came in to dress the stitches.  But something more at the end of the hall
caught his attention; he could see a Sorrento police officer heading his way. 
Not wanting to upset Elliot, he met the man half-way down the corridor, well
away from Alec and Elliot.

“Hi, Sheriff,” the officer
identified himself as Officer Bird. “How’s the suspect?”

Nash blinked at him. “Suspect?”
he repeated. “You mean Alec Jentry?”

The officer nodded, handing Nash
the paperwork in his hand. “I’ve been sent to escort the suspect back to the
station for questioning.”

Nash read the paperwork. It was
all in order. He sighed heavily and handed it back to the man, knowing that
Elliot would not take this well. 

“The kid was defending himself,”
he said, his voice low. “Don’t cuff him. He’s not going to run.”

Bird nodded. “I know,” he said.
“The detectives just want to get his side of the story. We’re not arresting
him.”

“Then make sure you treat him
with all due respect.”

“I will,” Bird agreed, noting the
look of extreme displeasure on Nash’s face. “Look, Sheriff, if it was up to me,
I’d give the kid a medal. He did us a favor by killing Femmie Loreau. But now
the man’s family has been informed of his death and they’re up in arms about
it.”

It was the bad news Nash had been
waiting for. “Do they know who did it?”

Bird shook his head. “No sir,” he
said. “They just know he was killed on Purgatory property. We had to send more
officers over there to keep them out of the crime scene.”

Nash put a hand to his face in a
weary, frustrated gesture. “Oh, God,” he groaned.  “Stay here for a minute. Let
me inform the family of what’s going on and I’ll bring Alec to you, okay? But
you’d better protect that boy with your life, do you hear me?”

“Yessir.”

The officer remained stationery
as Nash went back to the small room where Alec was receiving his bandages.
Three pairs of blue eyes turned to look at Nash as the man walked into the room.
He smiled at all of them but at Elliot in particular.

“Can I have another word with
you, please?” he asked.

Elliot came off of the stool and
followed him into their customary corridor. When they were quite alone, Nash
reached out and took both of her hands. He caressed them tenderly, gazing into
her lovely eyes.

“I’m going to tell you something
but you’re going to have to promise me you won’t get upset,” he began. “I will
preface all of this by telling you that Alec is not in any trouble and he’s not
under arrest.”

She cocked her head at him.
“What’s going on?”

“He needs to go to the police
station,” he replied. “It’s standard procedure when something like this happens
that there is an investigation. You know that, right?”

She nodded and he continued.
“Since a man was killed, the police want to make sure they have all their bases
covered and get all the information they can to make sure it was self-defense.
A Sorrento officer is here to take Alec back to the station so they can
question him. It’s normal procedure.”

Because he had explained it
calmly and succinctly, Elliot wasn’t hysterical, but she was upset. She gripped
his hands tightly.

“But he’s been through so much
today,” she insisted softly. “Do they have to do it today?”

He nodded before she even
finished her sentence. “Yes, while it’s fresh in his mind. If you want, I’ll go
with him to the station and stay with him while they question him.  Do you want
me to go with him?”

She nodded fervently. “Yes,
please,” she begged softly. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not. That’s why I
offered.”

She suddenly threw her arms
around his neck and eagerly kissed his cheek.

“Thank you,” she said in between
kisses. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

Nash held her tightly, thoroughly
enjoying her gesture of gratitude. When her lips came close to his, he kissed
her mouth lustily. For a few hot, brief moments, they lost themselves in a kiss,
the passion of which neither one of them had ever experienced before. Lips
suckled, tongues tasted, and eventually Elliot pulled away because they heard
footsteps and she was afraid someone would discover them in a heated clinch.
But the footsteps faded away without crossing their path, and Elliot and Nash
just stood there and grinned at each other.

“Ms. Ellie,” Nash lifted his
eyebrows seriously. “Would it be too much to ask to experience that again
sometime?”

She giggled, embarrassed and hot,
and fanned her face. “I don’t know if I can take that again,” she murmured.
“But I’d be willing to try.”

He laughed softly and reached out
a hand to her. She took it and let him lead her back down the corridor.

“One more thing,” he said
quietly, trying to fight down the arousal he was feeling over their heated
kiss. “Word has gotten out about the incident and the local police have their
hands full keeping people off the property now. I would take it as a personal
favor if you and Penelope would go to a hotel tonight, just to be safe. There’s
a Hampton Inn just down the street and I know the manager. We’ll get you girls
a good room and a bathtub to soak in.”