American Heroes Series - 01 - Resurrection (15 page)

Stu sighed heavily; he had known Cydney for ten years and remembered when her husband had been killed. He didn’t want to see her go through that again but he was frustrated that he couldn’t do anything to help her.

“The FBI won’t let that happen,” he reassured her although he wasn’t sure he believed it. “I’m sure they’re doing everything they can.”

Cydney nodded, still toying with the pen.  Then she burst into tears and lay her head down on the desk. Stu, seized with sorrow and sympathy, grasped the hand lingering on the desk top. She held it tightly and he squeezed hard, wishing he could be of some comfort.  It hurt his heart to see her like this. Just as he opened his mouth to give her what comfort he could, the door to the library opened and Serreaux and Dickerson entered.  Stu watched them through the glass windows of Cydney’s office as they approached.

Ethan paused in the doorway of Cydney’s office, his eyes on her blond head as it lay on her desk top. He could hear her sobbing softly.  He looked at Stu, standing next to the desk holding Cydney’s hand, and jerked his head in the direction of the door.

“Give us a minute,” he said quietly to Stu. “We need to speak with Cydney.”

Stu nodded reluctantly, giving Cydney’s hand a final squeeze before releasing it and leaving the office.  J.D. closed the office door behind him as Cydney picked herself up off the desk and struggled to compose herself.  She wouldn’t look either agent in the eye as she wiped at her face.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I know I’m supposed to act normal but I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. I’ll try harder.”

Ethan sighed faintly and sat in her visitor’s chair, his dark eyes heavy with sympathy. “Cyd, I know it’s tough but I need you to be strong just a little longer,” he said softly. “We’ve got some news.”

Cydney’s head shot up, her big hazel eyes red-rimmed. “You found her?”

Ethan shook his head. “No, not yet.”

Her face threatened to crumple again. “Then what?”

Ethan reached out and took her hand gently, a gesture not missed by J.D.. It seemed to him that Ethan was having some trouble explaining the situation to the distraught mother so he took charge.

“We staked out the hotel on the corner of Los Robles and Walnut, the location that the GPS in Olivia’s phone told us was her location,” he said, watching Ethan caress the woman’s hand. “We were able to pin down the exact location of the phone and just after dawn, we raided a hotel suite. But your daughter wasn’t there; in fact, no one was there. But her phone was on the kitchen counter.”

Cydney stared at him, struggling to absorb what he was telling her.  “Is that why you guys were gone when I woke up this morning?”

J.D. nodded. “We had a strike team move in to the hotel. I wanted to make sure we were on hand when your daughter was located.”

Cydney continued to process what had happened; Ethan had said they were working on it and it was apparent they had. They had left her to sleep while they had gone about their job.  She looked at Ethan, still caressing her hand.

“She wasn’t there?” she repeated.

Ethan shook his head. “No,” he said gently. “They must have moved her.”

“But they left her phone behind.”

He nodded. “There was really no reason for them to take it. It was on the counter next to a bowl of half-eaten cereal.”

“What kind?”

He shrugged. “Cornflakes, I think.”

Cydney’s face screwed into tears. “That’s her favorite,” she sobbed. “Where in the hell did they take my baby?”

J.D. closed the office door as Cydney had another meltdown.  He didn’t want anyone to hear her sobs. Ethan rose and went to her, kneeling down beside the chair and putting his arm around her shoulders.

“Honey, get hold of yourself,” he kissed her forehead, causing J.D.’s eyes to nearly burst from his skull. “I need your calm, level head right now. I can’t focus if you’re hysterical. Please?”

She nodded, sobbing into her hand and struggling to stop. “Where did they take her, Ethan?”

He kissed her forehead again. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But we’re working on it. Remember what I said before? I need your trust.  We’ll find Olivia but you have to trust me. Okay?”

She nodded, wiping the tears from her face and gazing into his dark eyes. “I’m just so scared for her,” she whispered.

He smiled gently. “I know.”

The looks between then were tender and passionate, both at the same time. It was evident to an observer that there was much more between them that met the eye. At this point, J.D. cleared his throat softly.

“Special Agent Serreaux,” he said quietly. “A word, please.”

Ethan winked at Cydney and stood up, following J.D. out into the library. J.D. closed the door to Cydney’s office and took Ethan to the other side of the room where he faced him with a concerned expression.

“What in the hell are you doing?” J.D. demanded in a harsh whisper.

“What do you mean?”

J.D.’s eyes bugged as he waved his hands around. “Kissing her, that’s what I mean. Have you lost your damn mind?”

Ethan cleared his throat softly, scratching his neck and turning to see if Cydney was watching them. She was busy wiping her face with a tissue.  Ethan turned back to J.D.

“Look,” he held out a hand. “I know it’s not professional behavior. But I’ve been feeling something unprofessional for that woman for a couple of days now. In the privacy of her office, I’ll comfort her in a way that I want to. Out in public in front of people, I’d never do anything like what you just saw.”

“I was in her office!” J.D. was doing a very odd yell-whisper. “You were doing it in front of me. You can’t kiss that woman!”

“I’m going to marry that woman.”

J.D. stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh my God,” he muttered, putting his hand over his heart. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Ethan snorted, amused. “Why? Because I found someone I want to spend the rest of my life with?”

J.D. was back to be agitated and animated; it was comical as his jerky hands moved all over the place. “You’re insane,” he hissed. “If you don’t watch yourself, I’m going to take you off this case. I can’t have you mixing business with pleasure like this.”

Ethan’s smile vanished. “You’re not going to take me off this case,” he growled. “But I will refrain from showing her any affection in front of anyone. I wasn’t trying to be an exhibitionist, but I couldn’t help myself. She’s really distraught and has every right to be.”

J.D. had his hand over his mouth, regarding Ethan through strained eyes.

“Ethan,” he struggled to calm down. “Please tell me you aren’t toying with this woman. Please tell me this isn’t some kind of infatuation because is if is, I think the best thing would be to pull you off this case.”

Ethan had never been more serious. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think I’m in love with her.”

“You’ve only known her a couple of days. How can you know that?”

Ethan shrugged. “What can I say? She’s perfect and I think I love her.”

“It’s not because you feel sorry for her, is it? You took the required psychology classes. You know how lines can be crossed when you’re particularly sympathetic with a victim.”

Ethan held out a hand, nodding his head emphatically. “I know, I know,” he said. “I’ve been an agent for twelve years. I think I know how to draw the line between sympathy and interest.”

J.D. stared at him, trying to determine if he was telling the truth.  After a moment, he puffed out his cheeks and shook his head.

“All right,” he threw up his hands. “I’m not going to argue with you about this. But watch the kissing, okay? And any other public displays of affection. I don’t want anything to be perceived as inappropriate.”

“Point taken.”

“Good.” They began to walk back towards Cydney’s office. “So you’re really going to marry her?”

Ethan suppressed a grin. “That depends; I have to ask her first.”

“I’m already planning the bachelor party.”

Ethan cast him a reluctant, if not somewhat fearful glance just as James Lowell entered the library.  Immediately, their attention was drawn to the tall blond agent.

“We’re good to go upstairs,” James told them. “We’ve got agents stationed next to The Lucius Robe case.”

Ethan and J.D. checked their watches. “All right,” J.D. replied. “The museum opens in fifteen minutes. Let’s get to our posts.”

Ethan nodded, glancing over at Cydney, who was now on the computer. He watched her through the glass window.  “You want her upstairs?”

J.D. looked at the pale woman in the office. “Yes,” he said reluctantly. “Get her up there.  We need her eyes to notice anything out of the ordinary.”

Ethan nodded and headed towards Cydney’s office as J.D. and James left the library.  Ethan opened Cydney’s door, watching her as she typed. He studied the curve of her face, the way her lashes fanned out against her cheek when she blinked. After a couple of moments, she stopped and looked up at him.

“Hi,” she smiled weakly.

He smiled back. “Hi,” he replied. “Feeling better?”

She shrugged. “I guess,” she said. Then the smile faded from her face. “Did J.D. leave?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She stood up and walked around her desk, going to her office door and softly shutting it.  Her reluctant gaze met Ethan’s dark eyes as she leaned back against the door. “I just want to apologize for my behavior last night. I was out of control and that’s really not like me at all. I’m really sorry… well, if I said or did anything uncomfortable.”

His eyes glimmered warmly at her. “No need to apologize. You didn’t say or do anything uncomfortable in the least.”

She rolled her eyes at him, letting her embarrassment slip through. “Like hell I didn’t,” she scratched her head, refusing to look at him. “I practically molested you and I am really, really sorry about that. I don’t have any excuse except I was just out of my mind. I hope you don’t think too badly of me. I’m not usually such a loose woman.”

He laughed softly. “In case you didn’t realize it, I wasn’t exactly resisting you.”

She shrugged, nodded, and broke into a grin when he continued laughing. “It’s not funny,” she told him.

“No, it’s not,” he stopped snorting and looked at her. “It’s very serious, in fact. And I’m very serious about you.”

She gazed up at him, wide-eyed. “What do you mean?”

He cocked his head. “Let me ask you something,” he said. “Did you say anything last night that you didn’t mean?”

She looked somewhat dumbfounded, trying to remember what she had said.  The drugs had muddled her mind. “I… I don’t think so,” she replied. “Like what?”

“You said that you didn’t ever want to let me go. Did you mean that?”

She blinked with surprise, and perhaps some chagrin. “I… I don’t know. I guess so. I don’t know.”

He took a step closer to her, gazing down into her lovely face, and lowered his voice. “I hope you meant it. Because I have no intention of ever letting you go, either.”

Cydney’s limbs went to warm mush and she slumped back against the door. It was like a dream, these words from his mouth that she could have never imagined to hear from him.  “Seriously?” she asked weakly. “Why would you say that?”

He moved closer but didn’t touch her, cognizant of the open library door. He didn’t want someone coming in and seeing them in a compromising position through the glass windows of her office.

“Because I’m falling for you, Cyd,” he murmured. “In spite of this crazy situation we find ourselves in, the chaos and sorrow, I have found the woman of my dreams in the most unexpected place and I have no intention of letting her go.”

She just stared up at him.  Then, the corner of her mouth twitched and, as he watched, a smile spread across her luscious lips.  Her pale cheeks regained some color.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

He smiled tenderly at her. “For what?”

“For bringing some light into my darkness.”

Ethan couldn’t help himself; he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. “Now tell me,” he whispered. “Did you mean what you said?”

She nodded, so emphatically that tendrils escaped from her ponytail. “Every word.”

His grin broadened. “Good,” he took her hand, kissed it, and let it drop. “Now, the gallery is opening in about ten minutes and we would like you on the floor when it does. Do you feel up to it?”

She nodded, pushing herself off the door and opening it. “Yes,” she squared her shoulders. “I can do this.”

“That’s my girl.”

It had been a long time since Cydney had been called anybody’s girl. It made her feel comforted and wanted. They walked in warm silence from the office, down the corridor to the elevator, and up to the gallery above.

CHAPTER NINE

The gallery was bright with the morning sun as it poured through the skylights and the security personnel were in place as Cydney took up position against the gallery wall to watch the visitors.  Stu came to join her a short while later, very concerned for her mental state but noticing she seemed in better spirits.  He stood beside her and made small talk as the museum doors opened for another sell-out day.

J.D. and Ethan had gone up to the roof where they had been the day before, leaving Lowell and several agents in the gallery below.  Two men were stationed next to The Lucius Robe case, FBI agents dressed in the navy slacks and maroon blazer of museum security staff. 

J.D. had made the decision to move security closer to the case due to the events of the previous night. He wasn’t sure what to expect but he wanted to be prepared.  Even the local cops had been called in and the Pasadena Police sent three black and whites, all strategically placed around the museum’s perimeter. When the museum opened, they would be ready.

The patrons were already lining up in the queue to view the collection and Stu left Cydney standing against the wall as he moved forward to let the first twenty people in.   Cameras and large bags were not allowed, so people dropped their oversized bags and cameras off at the security desk and crowded around the displays, softly voicing their excitement over the artifacts and being deterred by security from taking pictures with their cell phones. It seemed like another normal day.