Conned (17 page)

Conall shook his head and mumbled something about it being
safer to find a hotel. Then he moved out of the kitchen and down the hall to
the bathroom. Once inside, he kicked the door shut and somehow locked it while
still holding onto her. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able to stand
on her own when she could barely keep her head up, but Conall didn't put her
down. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bathtub and kept her cradled in his
arms.

Her tears were all dried up and her hands and feet were numb
along with her senses. She had always taken this whole situation seriously and
never once thought it would be simple to do what she had agreed. Now, the urge
to back out was overwhelming. Her life had been in danger for a while now, but
tonight was too close. It was too much.

"I don't want to let you go," she heard Conall say
under his breath and his lips brushed her forehead softly.

She raised her head off his shoulder and met his eyes. She
was sure hers were swollen and red and that her face was splotchy and not at
all attractive, but he studied every inch of it with a tenderness in his eyes
that made her shiver. Not the disgusted shiver she had felt with that bastard
holding onto her and breathing down her neck, but a pleasant jolt of
electricity that traveled down her spine and between her legs.

"I don't want you to," she whispered.

He moved a hand up and down her back and she felt the
stickiness of the dried up blood on her skin where it had soaked through her
shirt. He sighed and shifted her on his lap so she was sitting sideways across
his thighs.

"Hey Con?" Luke's voice was muffled through the
door, but she could hear the worry in his tone.

She started to stand but Conall held her down on his lap and
called out to his friend, "Give me a minute."

Luke didn't reply and she assumed they were doing that thing
they always did where they understood exactly what was going on after only
exchanging a few words. Conall just kept his eyes on the door and ran his
fingers through her hair for a minute before he looked back down at her and
spoke firmly. "I'm going to grab your things and bring you a change of clothes.
We leave in ten minutes."

"Okay."

He lifted her off of his lap and, once she was steady on her
feet released his hold on her and walked swiftly to the sink. He washed the
blood from her shirt off of his hands, then headed for the door.

She meant to call his name and tell him thank you for saving
her life, but she couldn't find her voice and the moment his touch had left
her, all the anxiety and fear she thought was over and done with returned with
a vengeance. The door shut and in the next second, she was on her knees trying
to catch her breath.

She couldn't do this anymore.

It was time to come clean and deal with the fallout.

The devastation she felt at the thought of Conall getting
hurt protecting her was well overshadowing the grief she felt at the thought of
Rayce possibly being suspected for murder.

The tears came quickly and she hurried to the toilet as the
nausea consumed her. How could she feel that way? Rayce was her family.

Rayce hasn't been your family for a long time now, Em.

She retched into the bowl and prayed that she would just
stop feeling altogether. She was alone and that's how it would always be. She
was done, now she had to suffer the consequences.

Conall

"Where you gonna go, Con?"

Luke followed me into Emily's bedroom and watched as I
packed some clothes for her. I had no idea how to pack for a woman so I just
threw in the stuff she had worn in the past few weeks. "No idea. There are
some hotels by the airport, may need to spend the night there in case we need
to take off."

"We?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to send her off on her own."

Luke crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.
"She okay?"

He knew damn well she wasn't okay. Who would be? If I had
left any sooner, I didn't want to think about what would have happened to her.
Seeing the fucker touch her the way he did was enough to make me see red.

"She'll get through it," I grumbled and started
closing all the zippers on her duffel bag. "Let the guys know this is a
special situation and they'll have to take her statement another time. Miller
will be in contact after I tell him what's going on."

"Who was that guy? Did he say anything?" he asked
and followed me into my bedroom where I threw random things into my bag.

"Don't know and he didn't really take the chance when
it was offered. I was more worried about Emily." I walked passed him and
started for the bathroom, ready to grab Emily and take off.

"You think he's one of Ripley's?"

I froze in the hallway, the one piece of information I
did
get from the guy suddenly coming back to me.

"I have nothing to do with Ripley…"

"No. He said he didn't work for Lucien," I turned
to Luke who looked just as confused as I felt.

"Who the hell else could he be working for? Does
Emily's brother have enemies that might want to use her?"

I shook my head. From what Emily told me, the only enemy
Rayce could have that had the resources for this was Ripley. "I'll have to
check with Miller. Call me as soon as you find out who he is."

"And Emily," he stated firmly. "There's
something she isn't telling you, Con."

Yeah, I got the same feeling, but I didn't want to believe
she would lie to me. "I'll take care of it."

"Well, until you do, keep Ash out of it."

I couldn't agree with him more. I walked up to the bathroom
door and raised my hand to knock. That's when I heard a soft sound coming from
the other side and my stomach dropped. I had no idea how to make all of this
better.

"Take this to the truck for me will you?"

I handed Luke my bag and opened the door, quickly slipping
through before he could stop me. I locked it behind me and dropped her bag to
the ground when I saw her.

She was kneeling on the floor with her body hunched over the
toilet. Her hands were tangled in her hair, keeping it out of her face as she
stared into the bowl. The hair hanging down her back was wet and the blood that
soaked into the back of her shirt had gotten into the golden strands.

"Emily?"

She didn't move, didn't even flinch. She just stared blankly
at nothing. I stepped closer and flushed the toilet when I saw the reason she
was hunched over it. She still didn't move and her pale face had lost any sign
of coherence.

I crouched down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
It snapped her out of whatever world she had been floating in and she finally
looked up at me. The whites of her eyes were red and her eyelashes were clumped
together where the tears still soaked them. She sniffed and dropped her shaking
hands to her sides.

"Talk to me, beautiful," I whispered, hoping she
would tell me
anything
that would clue me in on how to help her.

She hesitated and her gaze dropped to the floor in front of
me. I moved my hand from her shoulder and cupped her chin, turning her face
back to me.

"I can't do this anymore," she breathed.

My chest tightened once more and I wanted to pull her into
my arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright, and never let go
of her. But we didn't have time.

"Come on. Let's get you changed and go. Then I want you
to talk to me."

She took a deep breath and nodded as she slowly released it.
The color in her cheeks returned, but it wasn't the same. Her eyes drooped and
her lips thinned, she looked like she was about to pass out.

I grabbed her bag and pulled out a t-shirt, handing it over
to her as she stood. "Just change for now, you can shower at the
hotel."

I turned away while she removed her shirt and tossed it in
the garbage. The bathroom was silent except for the rustle of cloth as she
pulled the new shirt over her head.

Her gasp made me turn back around and when I did, she was
holding her hair in front of her and looking back and forth between the blood
soaking the strands and her now stained hand. Like she didn't understand how it
had happened.

"Do you want to wash it out?"

She looked up at me and something in her eyes told me she
was still the same brave Emily Dawson I had come to know over the last couple
of months. She wasn't giving up yet. After a deep breath she shook her head
sharply, "No. I'll wait. Let's go."

***

"I don't understand how they even found her. Only you,
me and Chief Deputy Lee know where she is. Unless your family…"

I called Captain Miller the minute we walked into the hotel
room. Emily had immediately gone to shower and the only thing that drowned out
the sound of the running water was the planes taking off every so often from
the airport which was right next door. It was after eight and night time had
crept up on us, keeping me on alert.

"No. My family wouldn't do that and you know it. They
have no reason to anyway. There has to be someone else. The prosecution?"

"No. They insisted on
not
knowing where she was.
They still think Stanton is going to give them something and risking their only
witness won't help them. They don't know."

I raked a hand through my hair and dropped down to the bed.
The only bed in the room since the only rooms left when we arrived were the
honeymoon suite and this one.

It had been an easy choice.

"Hold on a sec. What about Sheen? She dropped her
off."

"I already talked to Sheen. It's not her. Her sister is
on the prosecution, that's the only reason we sent her with Ms. Dawson. She may
be a pain in the ass, but she's a good cop and loyal."

I couldn't disagree with him. Julia Sheen was a piece of
work, but she had more to lose from revealing Emily's location than she had to
gain.

Another plane flew over us and I wasn't aware of the silence
coming from the bathroom until Emily appeared in the doorway with nothing but a
towel wrapped around her and the steam from her shower billowing out of the
door. My boss was saying something, but I was too busy staring at her to
listen. Her bare shoulders glistened with drops of water and when the towel
opened slightly at her thigh when she bent down, I had to hold back a groan.
She didn't look at me as she picked up her bag and dragged it into the bathroom
before slowly shutting the door.

"Brannock!"

I shook my head and forced myself to focus, "Sorry,
Cap. What was that?"

"I said, I think it's time for her to relocate. If we
aren't just dealing with Ripley, then I think it's time to hand this back over
to the marshals. They've got more resources available."

I couldn't stomach the thought of anyone else protecting
her. They had screwed up once before and it had been too close. As close as
tonight had been. I couldn't argue that she needed to relocate, but there was
no way I was staying behind and washing my hands of it.

"I'm going with her."

"Conall, there's no reason for you to risk-"

"No. I'm going. Find somewhere new, but tell them to
expect both of us."

"Fine. Just give me tonight. I'll call in the morning and
sort out the arrangements."

We said our goodbyes and I laid back against the headboard
and waited for Emily. She didn't take long and was walking out of the bathroom
in the next minute in nothing but a long nightshirt that stopped mid thigh. She
was silent on the drive here, but I had been too busy making sure no one was
following us that I didn't even attempt to get her to talk.

I forced myself to keep my eyes off of her legs. "How
are you doing?"

She combed her fingers through her wet hair and sat at the
foot of the bed. "Alive, thanks to you."

I gestured for her to scoot up to me and she only hesitated
for a moment before she slid into my arms and rested her head in the nook of my
shoulder. It felt like a puzzle piece sliding into place having her there.
"You scared the hell out of me today."

She turned her face to look up at me quizzically. "
I
scared you?"

"Yes. You did. When I saw you standing there with a
fucking gun pointed at you… I swear I died, Emily."

Our eyes stayed locked and I threaded my fingers through her
hair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

I pulled her closer until she was almost on top of me and I
felt like a God when she melted into me, letting me hold her and taking the
safety I could give her. "When you started in on the guy, I was sure he
was going to hurt you. He didn't look stable."

"Speaking of him, I can't get the idea out of my head
that I'd seen him somewhere before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I couldn't place him, but he seemed so familiar.
Probably because he looked like the guys my brother used to run around
with."

The mention of her brother reminded me that Miller was
supposed to give me the report on Rayce Dawson's whereabouts over the last few
weeks. I would have to call him back. With everything that happened, it was the
last thing on our minds when we spoke.

I kissed the top of her still wet hair and inhaled. It was
so easy to be close to her like this. Natural. I wanted more of it, but I
couldn't expect it. We were both in a vulnerable position. I had been scared
out of my mind that I would lose her and she was probably sick with worry about
dealing with the time that was left between now and the trial.

The kiss we'd shared had been intense and I was trying not
to think about it or I'd be tempted to continue where we left off. It was a
moment of weakness for both of us, but it had been worth it for me.

I wanted to lose myself in her and never look back.

If Luke could see me now.

"I'm going to shower," I muttered, needing to fill
the silence so my mind wouldn't wander. "I didn't get blood on me like you
did, but I feel like I've run a marathon."

She snuggled in closer and turned her nose into my shirt,
inhaling deeply and sighing. "You smell good to me. Like Conall. They
should bottle that smell."

I laughed and felt her body shake against mine with her own
laughter. 

"I can't believe I just said that," she gasped and
covered her eyes with her hand.

She was so damn adorable, even when she had been through
hell. "Hey," I shifted next to her and pulled her hand away from her
face, lifting it to my lips so I could press my lips to her knuckles.
"Don't be embarrassed. It's just me."

She grinned weakly and her eyes glazed, "That's the
problem."

***

I took a long hot shower and washed away the stress of the
last few hours. My muscles eased under the spray and the anger that I'd felt at
the situation simmered down. I knew I was capable of protecting Emily, but the
close call had been an eye opener. There were still so many unknowns that I
couldn't seem to straighten out and she was at the end of all of it.

The anticipation to hear what Captain Miller had to say
about Rayce was keeping the adrenaline at a steady drip. That kid was the key
and I had the feeling that once the answers were found, Emily wouldn't be the
same.

I wrapped a towel around my hips and wiped down the mirror.
The sound of the jets taking off and landing was actually soothing and it
seemed to have drowned out the anxiety Emily had been swimming in. Anything
that made her feel better was good enough for me.

The look on her face when I'd walked in to find that prick
pointing a gun at her popped up in my mind. I'd never been so terrified in my
entire life aside from Ash's kidnapping, but that was different. I knew without
a doubt we would get her back and there had been four of us who would stop at
nothing. This whole thing with Emily was so fucking unpredictable. It was like
a constant buzzing that had taken up residence in my head with no way of
knowing when I would catch a break. Bringing my family any deeper into the mix
was too risky. It was just me and her for now.

I finished getting ready for bed and took a deep breath
before heading back out to the room. I opened the door a crack before my foot
caught on the strap of her duffle bag still on the bathroom floor. I picked it
up and tossed it into the corner of the room. When it landed, there was a loud
cracking sound and I cursed, thinking I had broken something valuable that may
have been inside. I took a step toward the bag to inspect whatever damage I may
have caused when Emily turned over in the bed and sighed.

She was already asleep, but she wasn't under the covers and
the nightshirt she was wearing had ridden up to reveal the creamy skin at the
tops of her thighs. Bag forgotten, I stepped over to the bed and gazed down at
her. I'd seen her sleep before. She took naps on the couch once in a while and
peace had always taken over her expression. Tonight there were wrinkles between
her eyebrows and her lips had tipped down into a frown. The peace was gone for
now. Until I could find a way to bring it back to her. She had felt safe with
me, she trusted me.

I reached down and smoothed my thumb over the wrinkles until
her expression softened and she sighed again.

I would do anything for this woman.