Hunting (38 page)

“
Go on.”

“
You’re annoying, and
snippy, and kind of a shrew at times, but dammit woman, I love you.
Every feminine inch of you. I love the way you smirk at me, the
snotty little jabs you make at my ego, the way you look with
crackers crushed in your hair...the way you look rocking that
little girl we both love. The way you smile just at me when you
forget you’re fighting me. I just love you. And even if we only
have tomorrow or today, or even just this minute, I will love you
for every second of that minute.”

“
Oh, my God...Malachi...”
She wanted to hold him. Because he meant it. Oh, God. He meant it,
damn him. Tears filled her eyes. Damn him, damn him, damn
him.

“
No. I’m not done.” His
hands were gentle on her shoulders—about the only spots on her
front torso that weren’t covered in some sort of bandage or
apparatus. “And you’re going to listen. I love you. That won’t
change, no matter how you push me away.”

“
I’m done
pushing.”

“
That’s nice, but I’m not
done.” He kissed her once, then pulled back. “Once you’re out of
here, we’re going home. To my home, and we’re going to do whatever
we have to in order to build a life together. Whatever that life
brings, we’ll be in it together.”

“
Dear god, you mean it.
You’re crazy, you know that?” Jules fought a laugh. Tenderness
filled her. He actually meant it. He was taking her home, with him.
Nothing sounded better.

“
If I’m crazy it’s because
you’ve driven me there.”

“
It’s a repeat journey, I’m
sure.” She opened her arms, and he scooped her up. She laughed,
told him how to disconnect the monitors connecting her to those
blasted beeping machines.

Then he cuddled her on his
lap and against his chest. Jules kissed him, ignoring the stitches
in her lip from where Nate had hit her. Or bit her, she didn’t
remember.

It didn’t
matter.

The only thing that
mattered was the man holding her. “There’s just one
thing...”

“
And that would
be?”

“
We are
so
redecorating your house. I never want to see those decorations,
again.”

Al stood in the hall
outside Jules’ hospital room, her team leader at her side.
Sebastian smirked, then leaned closer. “What do you think? Will
they make it?”

“
Somehow I think they
will.” Al was happy for her brother and friend. The small bit of
envy at their connection was there, but it was far overshadowed by
her relief and happiness for them. Her brother’s words to Jules had
been absolutely beautiful. Al knew she would never forget them,
either.

What would it be like to be
loved like that? Jules’ response had been pretty perfect, too. Al
was touched and charmed by the romance of it all. “They’ve fought
hard to get where they are. Kind of like another couple I
know.”

His wife was down in the
room with Paige, despite Carrie’s almost debilitating fear of
hospitals. Her loyalty to Paige overrode her fears. The bonds of
love were strong in Sebastian and Carrie, too.

They were another couple Al
knew would make it.

Sebastian had needed
Malachi for some paperwork, and Al had accompanied him to Jules’
room. But now he’d changed his mind. “I’ll come back later. I think
they need this time alone.”

“
Total agreement. I’ll tell
the nursing desk not to disturb them.” She’d give them their
privacy if she had to sit J.T. or one of her other friends right
outside the door.

“
I’ll head back downstairs
to get my wife. Al...take the rest of the week. Deal with your
family. And take a break. I think you need it.”

“
And redecorate our house.
I don’t want Jules coming back to see that place.” She’d been on
the team to search Nate’s house thoroughly the day after the
shooting, though she’d stayed at Sebastian’s side in case of
conflict of interest. What she’d found had disgusted
her.

There’d been cameras in
her
bathroom, Paige’s, and her
mother’s
. Al had
hidden that fact from her mother, but she herself would never
forget how truly vulnerable they all had been. To someone they’d
trusted and cared about.

She’d also seen the tapes
of Nate assaulting Jules, had witnessed Malachi’s reaction to that
tape and would never forget that.
That
tape she’d handed
over to Ed Dennis personally. Unspoken agreement was that he’d see
the tape was destroyed. That, and the ones Nate had kept of her
brother and Jules being intimate. That didn’t need to be sitting in
evidence lockup for anyone to see. All someone would have to do was
sign a sheet and the videos would be open viewing for whoever had
even a somewhat legitimate reason to get in the files. Neither her
brother nor Jules needed that.

No, Ed would take care of
that. Al had every confidence in his promise. But it went deeper
than the video tapes. Every inch of Nate’s house mimicked hers and
Malachi’s in some way or form, colors, style, contents.

Al would change that this
week, at least her bedroom, the master suite, and the hallway. And
the kitchen. That would all be redone. It would require some
serious shopping, but Al was determined. Any room Jules had spent
time in would be changed. “Thanks. I’m fixing the house
today.”

“
Good luck with
that.”

He surprised her by hugging
her. She’d seen what he’d done in that room. Saw how he’d taken the
shots that kept Nate from pulling his own trigger and shooting
Malachi or Jules. She’d never forget that, or how much she owed
him. “It’ll get easier for them. Trust me. It just takes
time.”

He and Carrie had faced
their own demons to be together. As had Georgia and Hell, Ana and
Fin, Dan and Ally. Even Ed Dennis and Marianna had fought to be
together.

She hugged him back. He was
strong, and good, and pretty damned sweet. Not to mention sexy in
that alley cat way of his. Too bad he was taken by one of her
closest friends. He was another one of the good guys.

If he hadn’t been her team
leader, she’d have snapped Sebastian Lorcan up in a heartbeat.
Carrie was a
very
lucky woman.

She smiled and hugged him
back. Too bad there weren’t more just like him out
there...

Three months later, and
Jules was absolutely certain what she was about to do was the right
thing. She was irritated it had taken so long to get to that
point.

But it had taken a few
months to get Malachi added to the adoption paperwork, to get an
updated home study done and to reassure the social workers that
Nathanial Collins was a one-time thing in her life.

But the social worker had
called with good news two hours earlier. That was enough time to
gather the rest of Ruthie’s possessions and Jules’ clothes. A lot
of their belongings had already been moved to Malachi’s.

Jules wasn’t taking any
chances with losing out on time with the man she loved.

God, she loved him. He
still knew how to irritate her beyond distraction, but he also knew
how to love her to distraction, too.

Ruthie loved him just as
much as Jules did, and though they’d still had tons of meltdowns
and some not-so-surprising behavioral issues, Ruthie was thriving
in a happy, loving, and stable environment.

Jules didn’t even mind
going to church and actually was starting to enjoy it.

Her hand was still healing
from the last of the surgeries. There was some nerve damage that
would probably plague her for the rest of her life, but it was
worth it. Every time she looked at the scars across her palm and
the ones on her chest and forearms and she remembered just exactly
what it was she’d been fighting for that day. For what she’d fight
for again.

The man she
loved.

She let herself into the
Brockman home with the key she’d been given months ago, a box of
stuffed animals clutched in her arms. Lois and Clark bounded over
to greet her. Such goofy dogs; she was glad Collins had only chosen
to drug them the night he’d taken her and shot Mick. They were
wonderful animals, and she and Ruthie adored them.

They adored everything
about this house that was more their home the house she’d rented
from Eddie.

Al had redecorated the
entire house during the few days Jules had been in the hospital.
The work Al had done had been much appreciated.

Poor Al. Since the death of
Nate Collins the other woman had seemed to be struggling with her
own demons. Jules understood; but Al would have to work it out on
her own. No one could do it for her. Al had spent more time at the
house, apparently needing the family connection more than she’d
probably realized.

And Al had taken special
care turning one of the extra bedrooms into a haven just perfect
for a little girl. It was there Jules headed. She’d arrange
Ruthie’s stuffed animals, clothes, and books, and when Meredith
brought Ruthie over in a few hours, Jules and Malachi would break
the news to her.

Malachi was going to be her
new daddy.

They hadn’t mentioned it to
Ruthie too often, not knowing what the social workers would decide.
Jules had been determined, though. If they’d proved difficult, she
was just going to complete the adoption process with Ruthie as a
single woman, then as soon as the judge said final she’d be eloping
with Malachi.

They were a family and
belonged together.

“
Well, I didn’t expect to
find you here today...”

Jules smiled as she turned.
“I took off a few hours early.”

“
I’m glad you did.” He
scooped her up, and Jules wrapped her legs around his waist. He
carried her every chance he got. She didn’t mind at all. He was her
Galahad, after all.
That
still annoyed her at times, but she
could deal with that. And appreciate the
why
behind his
actions.

“
Colleen Ashbury
called.”

He tensed.
“And?”

“
Congratulations. You’re
going to be a daddy.”

He laughed and spun her
around. Jules squealed, the move giving her a bit of motion
sickness. More than she’d expected.

“
It’s about damned time.
Damn, woman I love you. I’m ready for you to be in this house
permanently. We’ve spent too much time apart.” He kissed her,
hard.

“
I have boxes in the car.
Need a big strong Galahad to help me carry.” She was leery of doing
too much lifting right now. She’d asked a neighbor to help her load
the boxes.

She’d wait until tonight to
tell him her other little secret.

He wasn’t just getting her
and Ruthie...as she followed him to her car a few seconds later,
her hand covered her stomach.

Where their second child
already rested...

Like Alessandra? Check out
her story in 2014!

RUNNING

PAVAD Book Six

All Alessandra wanted was
to find her car in the parking lot—it had been a week since she'd
left it--and go home. Hopefully that home would be quiet and Al
could sleep for a week. It should be empty, at this time of day—her
brother and new sister-in-law Jules both worked at PAVAD with Al,
and Ruthie, her little niece, should already be with Al's mother
for the day.

Her
team with
PAVAD—the Prevention and Analysis of Violent Acts Division of the
FBI—had spent the last week chasing down a nasty creep who got his
rocks off killing blonde women. They'd caught him, but Al had the
unenviable thrill of being prime bait. She could still feel the
sleaze of his touch on her skin. Sometimes the job just sucked, and
this case had definitely been one of them.

The parking lot adjacent to
the PAVAD building seemed ten times as huge as Al knew it was. And
of course, she'd parked clear across the level. Or maybe it was the
level above?

She kept walking, her bag
loading her down. Had she ever ached as much as she did now? She'd
tackled the creep, and sent them both out a second story window,
and now she felt it. Had she ever been this exhausted?

Yeah, back when her brother
and Jules had been kidnapped at Thanksgiving five months ago. And
then again when her partner Paige and Jules were in the hands of a
madman. A madman who'd once been Al's friend. Al had been one of
the searchers tirelessly hunting for the people she loved. They'd
found them, but Al would never forget those few days.

Her car was in the back
corner of the lot and she wondered what she'd been thinking when
she'd parked there. Carrie—one of her friend's, and Al's team
leader’s wife—was out of her own Ford Escape parked next to Al's
car. Al thought about calling out to her friend, but she was just
way too tired; Carrie hadn't seen her yet.

Besides, there was
Sebastian—Carrie's husband—right behind Carrie. How had he beaten
Al out of the building? When she'd left the bullpen, he'd still
been in his office half-buried under reams of paperwork.