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Eli finally nodded and then brushed his lips over mine before reaching out to wrap his arms around my neck. I sighed in relief as I curled my arms around him and drew him as close as I could. Neither of us stirred until Baby stood up and pressed against Eli, his golden brown eyes focused on the man walking towards us. I forced myself to release Eli and ignored the look of curiosity Ronan shot me before he reached out his hand to let the Rottweiler sniff it. He waited until the animal seemed satisfied that he wasn’t a threat before taking the chair across from me. Since I refused to release Eli’s hand which I’d grabbed at Ronan’s approach, Eli shifted in his chair so that he could face Ronan without putting anymore distance between us.
“Hi Eli,” Ronan said kindly. It was something about Ronan I would never get used to. From the day I’d met the man five years ago, he’d been as cold as ice. An emotionless, soulless man whose sole focus was his job. He’d never shown pity or mercy and he’d delivered brutal justice without so much as an afterthought.
Until Seth. Until one young man he’d known for the better part of a decade had given him the strength to let go of his past and merge the man he’d become with the man he’d once been.
But as strange as the new Ronan – or rather the “real” Ronan – was to accept, I found that I liked him. A lot. And I hadn’t even lost an ounce of the respect I had for the man who’d given me a new purpose in a time in my life when I’d had nothing left.
“Hi,” Eli said with a nod of his head.
“Did Mav tell you he asked me to look into your situation with your stepfather and brother?”
Eli nodded. “He told me he would have someone check it out. I didn’t know he meant you, though.” Eli glanced at me and then squeezed my hand before returning his attention to Ronan. “Thank you,” he said softly. “And thank you for helping him watch out for me.”
Ronan gave him a slight nod and then surprisingly settled his hand on Baby’s head. The big dog had clearly taken a liking to the man because he was pressed up against his leg. “Caleb’s phone hasn’t moved since the day Mav asked our tech person, Daisy, to trace it. The last call he made with the phone was to you.”
Eli stiffened and asked, “What does that mean?”
“Your brother is okay, Eli,” Ronan quickly said since he likely knew the direction Eli’s thoughts had taken. Eli’s relief was palpable, but before he could ask anything else, Ronan continued. “It took some digging, but we’ve found Caleb. The day he called you he was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric hospital.”
“What?” Eli whispered hoarsely.
“We were able to hack his medical records. It says he was admitted because he threatened to hurt himself.”
“Is he okay?” Eli asked. I could feel the tremor in his hand so I pulled him up against my side, not caring what Ronan thought.
Ronan nodded. “One of my guys had been watching the house. When we found out where Caleb was, I asked him to get inside the hospital to make sure Caleb was okay. He saw him this morning. He’s heavily sedated, but he’s okay.”
Eli turned his head into my chest. “He kept saying he was fine when anyone would ask him if he was okay. No wonder my stepdad was so upset.”
I stroked my hand over Eli’s head. “He’s getting help. That’s what matters.” I looked up at Ronan. “Who did you send?”
“Jace.”
I nodded. I knew Jace well. The man had great instincts. “What about Caleb’s voicemail?”
“Daisy sent it to a guy she knows who used to do audio forensics for the FBI. He’s working on it now.” Ronan fell silent for a moment and then motioned his head to the side. I understood the silent request and stroked my hand over Eli’s hair.
“Baby, can you get me another coffee?”
Eli straightened and nodded. He brushed his mouth over mine and said, “Black, right?”
I smiled and nodded and then he asked Ronan if he wanted anything. Ronan declined and as soon as Eli commanded Baby to stay and was out of hearing range, Ronan started talking.
“I’ve asked Jace to keep an eye on Eli’s stepdad. We’ll know if and when he leaves DC. But I still think we should keep eyes on Eli.”
I had already come to that conclusion myself, but my decision was based on more emotional reasoning rather than logic. “Why?”
“Cortano’s clean,” Ronan said. “Too clean,” he added. “But he’s got some guys on the books that aren’t. Guys from his early days in the military who’ve had less than stellar careers and hire themselves out to the highest bidder.”
