Saints and Assassins (The Sentinels) (27 page)

“Cook County Clerk’s office,” Adam stated. Eve still didn’t understand, but she slid across the seat and took Sam’s hand.

Once Adam stepped out of the car, it dawned on her.

Marriage license.

“I don’t know if I have everything that I need,” Eve said to Adam worriedly.

“I do,” Adam stated matter-of-factly. Sam handed Adam a brown envelope.

“Thank you Sam.
We shouldn’t be too long.
”

“Yes, sir,” Sam replied.

Adam held a crooked arm out for Eve. “Shall we?”

Eve giggled and gladly looped her arm through his as they walked toward the entrance. Once inside they spent a few minutes in line and then filled out the marriage license application. With their marriage license in hand, they went back out to the car.

“Not that it matters, but who will make us official?” Eve felt so much relief at the fact that they were about to be married. Adam had promised her that they would be married before they left the country and he obviously planned to fulfill that promise.

“I know a judge and he’s expecting us shortly.” Adam smirked as they road in the car. Eve sensed that he really enjoyed surprising her.

The limousine came to a stop in front of a row of brick two story houses. Sam rounded the vehic
le and opened the door to let them out.
Adam
smiled at her as they
walked up the steps to the front door of the home. He rang the bell
and waited. Sam stood behind them
waiting too.

“You ready to get married?
” he
asked. H
is smile
gleamed and she
just looked a
t him in amazement, but before she
could say anything the door opened.

“Adam! It’s so good to see you, come in, come in,” said the man as he grabbed Adam’s hand to shake it. His smile came from genuine excitement as he then hugged Adam. “Janet they’re here!” he called out.

“Judge Hurst this is Eve,” said Adam
as he put his arm back around her
.

“Ah, it is so good to meet you. We didn’t think this one was ever going to settle down and get
married,” he said smiling at her
.

“I see,”
Eve
replied and glanced over at Adam. “It’s very nice to meet you,”
she told him as she
shook his hand.

“Janet there you are, well these two are in a hurry so hand me my bible. Do you have the license?” he said to Adam.

“Yes sir
, here it is,
” he stated as he pulled it from his jacket pocket.

“Let’s step into the
great room
here so you two can get on your way to the honeymoon,” said Judge Hurst excitedly. He was genuinely happy about doing this. It was obviously on short no
tice but he didn’t seem to mind. As they entered the great room, they found Greta waiting for them. She quickly hugged Eve and then Adam. The moment was surreal.

There they
were in a judge’s
home with his wife, Greta and Sam
as witnesses, getting married.
Not in a chapel or church
and not in dresses and tuxedos, they didn’t even have rings.
Eve wore her favorite jeans and long sleeve shirt while Adam was dressed in his usu
al black pants and had on a maroon V-neck sweater.

“Do you Adam take Eve to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health until death do you part?” The jud
ge paused as Adam looked into her
eyes.

“I do,” he whispered. Adam’s gaze
was unmistakably happy as he their
eyes met.

“Do you Eve take Adam to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in he
alth until death do you part?” She
couldn’t believe this was happening.
She felt so elated that she
almost couldn’t get
out the two little words, but she
did.

“I do.” Before Jud
ge Hurst could officially say they
were married
,
Adam already had his mouth on
hers
.
Eve
could hear her own heart pounding against her chest from the excitement.
Laughter rang throughout the small room fr
om the judge, his wife and Sam and Greta.

Adam pulled away reluctantly at the sound of the laughter.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” said the judge
.

“Thank you so much for doing this on such short notice
.
”
Adam shook
his hand again.

“My pleasure, I’m just glad that you finally found her. Your mom would be very pleased,” added the judge. “Janet, you have to get a picture of the couple.”

Mrs. Hurst took their picture in front of the
fireplace.
Eve asked Mrs. Hurst to email them a copy if she could. Of course the woman agreed.

“I hate to wed and run, but we have a
plane to catch,” stated Adam. They
said
thei
r quick goodbyes and Sam had
them
on the way to the airport.

As they
sat in the back seat of the limo
,
Adam didn’t take
his eyes or his hands off of her
. He acted as if
he were in a trance staring at her face and holding her
hands.

“I promise you that I will keep yo
u safe.” He moved his hands to her
face, cradling it
.

Before she could tell him that she believed him, he kissed her.
His lips tasted as sweet
as ever as they pressed to hers
.
She saw
Sam smiling in the rear view mirror as the privacy glass went up.

Sam drove
to a private airfield where Adam’s jet awaited
them. They
boarded it and settled in.
Again, t
here were no flight attendants, just a pilot and co-pilot.

What a day! She had woken up Eve Nash and within just a few hours had unexpectedly become Mrs. Adam St. James. What next? Then she
remembered.

“Happy Birthday Adam!” She
hadn’t had an opportunity to properly acknowledge the day for him yet.
She
smiled as he sat next to
her holding her
hand. He lifted it
to his lips and softly kissed her
fingers.

“Thank you.” He smiled back.

“Oh Adam, we got married on your birthday. I’m so sorry we could change the date if you want. You know re-do it.”

“I don’t think so, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday p
resent than you.” Adam pulled her hand to his face. Eve
was speechless.
She
couldn’t find any words to describe how
she
felt regardin
g the fact that he considered her
a gift.

“You are the only reason that I’m here right now. I co
nsider that a gift in itself,” she
told him.

Adam smirked, “Well I guess that could be your wedding present. We can call it even then huh?”

“
Almost
,”
she
laughed.
Adam looked at her curiously.

“Where did you put the suitcase?” she asked.

“It’s on the bed.” Adam nodded toward the back of the plane.

“I’ll be right back.” Eve got up and went toward the bedroom. She felt her cheeks warm as she stepped inside
the small room. The last time they were there, Adam had made her scream in the throes of pleasure.

Opening the suitcase, she lifted her clothes out of the way and retrieved the gift bag. Happily, she carried it back to him. As she sat down next to him, she couldn’t help but notice the quizzical look on his face. Priceless.

“It’s nothing really.” Eve acted nonchalantly about the gift, but it was something to her. She only hoped that he liked it.

****

Adam accepted the gift while she took a seat next to him. “You didn’t need to get me anything. I have you and that’s enough.”

Eve’s smile told him that she had truly wanted to do this and
the thought of her giving him something meant the world to him.

Pulling the dark blue square box from the matching gift bag had his curiosity begging for an answer. He opened the hinged box to find a braided leather bracelet with a rectangular silver medallion connecting the leather. Lifting it from the box, he saw an inscription on the metal.

My
fate is
in your hands and I will
follow you through every door.

Adam swallowed hard as the emotions brought up by those words overcame him.
He felt his heart pound in his throat as he found him
self letting emotions
control him.

A tear escaped his eye
as he looked back up at Eve.
Quickly he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

“Did I do something wrong?”
Eve asked.

Not able to find the words to express himself, he shook his head. She hadn’t done anything wrong and she never would as long as she didn’t leave him. He couldn’t fathom the strength it had taken for her to trust a complete stranger with her life and now with her heart. They had been married barely an hour and he couldn’t imagine anything better than this.

Eve had freely given herself to him and there was no greater gift than that.

“Please tell me what’s wrong,” she whispered. Eve crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Letting out a deep sigh, he pondered how to tell her what she meant to him. The words
I love you
were not enough. Reaching around her with his right arm, he placed the bracelet on his left
. Without another hesitation, he lifted her chin so that he could see those beautiful green eyes.

The expression on her face let him know she was confused.

“Do you know how much you mean to me?”

“I think so,” she whispered.

“I can’t even begin to understand how lucky I am to have you in my life, but now that you not only agreed to marry me and followed through with it— well, I’m in shock.” Adam knew he probably wasn’t making any sense. The only way that he knew to express himself to her had been through their physical contact, but he wanted her to hear it in words.

“Adam—” Eve started. Gently he placed his fingertips against her lips.

“You met me a week ago and even though
I tried to push you away, you didn’t leave. You trusted me with your life and then with your heart. I don’t know why, but I can only say thank you and I hope I don’t disappoint you.” Adam let out a deep breath.

This had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, but he hoped that he had expressed his true feelings for her.

Eve cupped his jaw and leaned to kiss him. Adam let her lead as she gently pressed her lips to his
. He savored every touch from her. She
leaned back and their gaze met.

“You do realize that you’re not the only one struggling with their emotions? I mean come one, you’ve seen me
bounce all over the spectrum. I’m surprised you didn’t ditch me after my bipolar-schizophrenic episodes.”

Adam laughed and Eve almost fell off his lap. Adjusting his grip on her, he held her closer and for a long while they basked in the joy of the moment.

“So
how
did you come to know Judge Hurst?” Eve broke the silence. Adam guessed she was full of questions about his life and wanted nothing more than to answer them.

“Judge Anthony Hurst
was my mother’s childhood friend. He is the closest thing that I ever had to a father I suppose. He took me to ball games when I was little and always remembered my birthday. He and his wife Janet kept a close eye on me after my mom passed. They made sure that I finished college and didn’t slack off. The judge kept me on the straight and narrow.”

“
Does he know what you do now?” she
asked out of curiosity.

“Yes, he does. He doesn’t approve because it’s dangerous, but over the last year he has come to fully understand
what
it is that I do. I had to consult with him several times about you.
” Adam paused for a moment.

“
Honestly, I think he knew. Even though I didn’t tell him,
I think
he knew that I was hopelessly in love with you.”

There had been a lot of turbulence during the flight so they remained in the main cabin
even though Adam would have much rather had her in bed.