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I shook my head, “I was busy rescuing Ellie from his son and that bald bastard.”
I usually hated getting the cops involved, but seeing as Ellie needed medical transport, there was no way we could cover this up. At least it took the heat off us for Carter’s murder, and once the crime scene techs had combed the condo where she was held, it would be clear that we had nothing to do with his son’s murder either. I sighed, I should have just let her leave me. She might’ve been safer.
“Did you know about the trafficking shit?” Sheriff Cross asked.
I shrugged. “I suspected something when dead teenagers started showing up. I mean, what the fuck, right?”
He nodded. “You didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t want to hear it,” I reminded him. “And I knew he gave a lot of fucking money to the sheriff’s office.”
“You know me better than that,” he growled.
Yeah, I did. For all his flaws—being a law man was at the top of that list—Cross was a true believer in all that law and order bullshit. He was honest and fair. “Everybody has a boss, and Carter gives to a lot of politicians.”
Cross nodded as if he understood. “A heads-up would’ve been nice.”
“We didn’t want him to know we were onto him until we got hard evidence. You got the file. What are you going to do about it?”
“Investigate and lock people up, hopefully rescue a bunch of kids.” His gaze locked with mine. “Don’t get in my way.”
“Same to you,” I shot back with a hint of a smile.
***
After what seemed like another five hours of sitting by her bedside—but what was probably only fifteen minutes—Ellie’s hand twitched in mine and then tightened around my fingers. A low moan left her lips and then a louder one before she woke up with a scream. “No! Stop, please! No!”
Her fear was palpable, and I was on my feet, clutching her hand in one of mine and stroking her face with the other. “It’s okay, Ellie. You’re dreaming. I’m here. You’re safe. It’s okay.” I whispered reassuring words to her until she stopped shaking and settled down. “There’s my girl.”
“Diesel.” My name came out of her lips on an agonized, breathless whisper.
“I’m right here, sweetness.”
Her hands clutched mine and she held them to her chest. “He killed Ryan. Ryan kidnapped me, and I’m pretty sure he was going to kill me, only he couldn’t get a hold of his father to say whether or not to do it. When the bald dude came in to shoot me, Ryan got between us, I think—I think he was trying to save me? But then he got shot. Right in the head.” The words faded as she ran out of breath.
“You’re safe, sweetness.” I took one hand and held it tight.
“You came for me,” she whispered, a hint of awe in her voice, as if she didn’t think I would.
“Always.”
A small smile curled her lips. “You’re here. Now.”
“Everybody leaves,” I repeated her words back to her. “But some come back.”
“You came back,” she said softly.
“I always will.”
Our gazes collided in a heated, swirling fire that wrapped around us as the rest of the world faded away. Ellie searched my face until she found what she was looking for and sighed. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“Later,” I said, and brushed a kiss to her soft lips.
“No, Diesel. I need to tell you. It’s important, I’ve been trying to find the words.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
Suddenly, the door opened and in walked a doctor, who wore a big smile when he caught sight of Ellie awake. “Ms. Markham, I’m glad to see you’re with us. How do you feel?”
