Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (34 page)

“
Yes, sir.”

“
We’ll do that…” Marianna
wrapped her free hand around his. She needed to feel him, alive,
breathing. She needed that.

“
Marianna,
go
to the boys. I’ll be fine. Go. We’ll talk later. I promise.”
She felt torn. Her heart was with her children and she knew that’s
where she needed to be—but a part of her didn’t want to let him out
of her sight. What if something else happened?

“
Sweetheart…
go.
” Ed squeezed her hand, then winced. “Get the kids taken care
of…”

“
Mari, I’ll take the old
man to the hospital and get him a Spiderman Band-Aid.” Fin put a
hand on her shoulder. Marianna wasn’t even sure how he’d come up
behind her without her noticing. “I promise to take good care of
him.”

She stared at Ed for a
moment, then looked at Fin. “I’m holding you to that, Fin.
Ed…Ed…I’ll see you later. I promise.”

By the time she got the
boys settled in at Ana and Fin’s house—her and Ed’s houses were
still considered crime scenes—the sun was starting to rise. They’d
all sleep late today, that was for certain. She wasn’t so sure
she’d be sleeping well again for quite a while. Not after the last
few days.

Nate had filled her in on
what had happened in the basement, and why Schild had done what
he’d done. Over Payton. Did Payton even realize that Hugh had had
feelings for her? Somehow Marianna doubted it.

Hugh had walked into Ed’s
supposedly secure home, past five of her sons, then came
face-to-face with Nate and Ted. Nate had pushed his brother to the
window, putting himself between Hugh and Ted. While she’d been
downstairs with Ed. She’d have a hard time forgiving herself for
that. If she ever did.

Fin had known what she was
thinking as soon as she’d told him where she was when Jamie had
reported the man in the house. Fin believed that had she been
upstairs when Hugh came in, he probably would have killed her on
the spot. And the gunshots would most likely have brought some of
her sons out of their beds. Putting more than just Ted and Nate in
Hugh’s line of fire.

She would never forget how
close they had all come. It was burned into her mind and would be
until the day she died.

Marianna was on Fin and
Ana’s couch with a blanket and a cup of tea. But she wouldn’t be
sleeping anytime soon.

“
You want to go to him,
right?” Ana asked from the kitchen a few feet away from the sitting
room where Marianna rested. “I do not blame you. The children, they
are safe. Now it’s time for you.”

Marianna sighed. “Am I that
transparent?”

“
Only to one who has been
there. Go. I can watch the boys. I expect they will all sleep late,
anyway.”

“
I don’t even know what
hospital he’s at.”

“
I do. Georgia called an
hour ago.” She handed Marianna a piece of paper with a hospital
name and room number. “They stitched our hero back together again,
and are keeping him for a few more hours to watch for signs of
infection. Apparently him being the director nets him extra
precautions. And I think Georgia and Jules have pressured him. I’ll
bet he wouldn’t mind seeing his favorite forensic
scientist.”

“
That obvious, are we?” She
felt her cheeks flush.

“
Once
again, only to those who have been there. I like it; it’s good for
Ed. He’s alone, and needs a family around him. That’s one reason
he’s
adopted
Fin
and Daniella and I into his family, just through my connection with
Georgia. One reason he so highly values his friendships with Dan
Reynolds and Malachi Brockman. He needs people. And I can’t think
of anyone who’d be a better fit for you and your
kids.”

Marianna nodded. “I’m
scared.”

“
We all are when we have to
make those kinds of decisions. And you have seven other futures
dependent upon your choices. But Ed…Ed is one of those guys where
you can’t go wrong. Go for it. I doubt you’ll regret
it.”

***

Half an hour later, she was
outside Ed’s hospital room. Agent Angel waved her in. “Go in. I
think he’ll be happy to see you. He’s a bit growly at the moment.
The big boss hates hospitals.”

Marianna nodded, as the
nerves continued to build. She pushed the door to room 328. Ed was
standing by the window, buttoning the wrist of a clean shirt. The
other sleeve was rolled up and the arm rested in a sling. His eyes
were bloodshot and he was pale, but he was in one piece.

The remaining bit of
tension that had held her captive for the last few hours
dissipated. “Ed.”

He smiled, held out his
uninjured arm to her. “Mari, sweetheart. What are you doing here?
How’s Nate and Ted?”

“
Sleeping. At Ana and
Fin’s. I think they’ll be fine. Nate’s been a bit quiet, but that’s
the way he deals with things. How are you?”

“
Just fine. Now. Come
here.”

She wrapped her arms around
his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. “Oh,
God.”

“
I know. But it’s over now.
And if you’re still willing, it’s time to take that next step.
So…Dr. Glendower, how would you like to go for coffee sometime?
Perhaps, now? I know this great little bagel shop not too far from
here. What do you say? Give me a chance?”

“
Director Ed, I can’t
think of anything I’d like to do more.” Marianna smiled at him,
exhausted just as she knew he was. But that didn’t matter. She
wanted their second chance, and she couldn’t think of a better time
to take it. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“
Then let’s get
going.”

He wrapped his uninjured
arm behind her back and pulled her close.

Marianna reached up and
kissed him, pouring all the emotions she had into the quick
embrace. “I’m ready.”

“
So am I. So am
I.”

Slow and steady. Marianna
laughed as she thought of those words a few months later. Slow and
steady weren’t really in Ed Dennis’s vocabulary anymore. He had
dinner at her house nearly every weeknight, and on weekends, she
and the boys spent at least one evening at his estate. It just
felt…right. For all of them.

The boys loved having him
in their lives. The three younger couldn’t wait to spend time with
him on the weekends, and he was just as likely as they to instigate
a game of tag or kickball. The older twins seemed to respect him a
lot and he always went to their soccer games and theatre
productions. Ted was happier, as well. Ed had arranged for him to
spend time with some of the computer specialists at the PAVAD
building, and Ted was finally able to focus some of his talents
for
good
purposes.
He was still a bit awkward at school, and probably always would be.
But they were working on that.

Nate…Nate still struggled
with what had happened with Schild, but she’d started taking him to
a counselor and it was helping. And he was even more determined to
join the FBI after what he’d seen. She sometimes worried about his
focus, but if it was what he wanted she’d support him one hundred
percent.

As for her and
Ed?

Marianna couldn’t imagine
her life being any different than it was right then. She loved him,
and though he’d never said it, knew he felt the same toward
her
and
the seven
boys.

And tonight she was going
to give him the answer to the question he’d posed a few nights
ago.

She never expected she’d
want to get married again. Never thought to expose her sons to a
step-parent. But she’d had a frank discussion with the boys about
Ed’s proposal, and they’d all agreed they were ok with it. More
than ok.

It would mean big changes.
They’d move in with Ed, and she wondered how
he
would adjust to having seven boys
running around underfoot. Eight, considering he kept Matthew when
Georgia and Hell were out of town. And once their new baby was
born, Marianna suspected she and Ed would be babysitting the baby
on occasion as well. Still, she strongly suspected he could handle
it.

They were finally ready,
she thought, for that second chance at normal.

Nate and the older twins
were watching the younger. She had called and made reservations at
Ed’s favorite restaurant.

In less than ninety minutes
she’d tell him her answer.

A resounding
yes…

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Jules just wanted to get
away. Just stand up, get out of her chair, and walk completely out
of the St. Louis bullpen and disappear for a while. A week, a
month, maybe even a year. Maybe forever. Only the knowledge that
she didn’t have anywhere else to go kept her butt glued to the
ergonomic chair she’d pushed up to the edge of her borrowed
desk.

Being alone sucked. Working
for the FBI sucked. Cutting up dead bodies sucked. Dr. Malachi
Brockman and his all-knowing blue eyes sucked. It all
sucked.

And Jules could do nothing
about it. And that’s what sucked the most.

She couldn’t leave St.
Louis; her only family lived there, and in the last several months
she’d come to the realization that even she couldn’t cut herself
off from family completely. She could honestly say she’d had that
truth knocked into her head months earlier. And that bastard
Stephenson’s fist had packed quite a wallop.

So if that meant putting up
with the know-it-all Brockman, Jules would do it.

It was his own fault she
disliked him. She knew she was justified in her opinion. He had no
right butting in, sticking his patrician nose into her business.
And then making excuses for himself, “I’m just worried for you,
Julia. It can’t be easy dealing with the type of victims you see
daily, on top of your own tragedy. Hah! No shit,
Sherlock.”

Her tragedy—what did he
truly know of tragedy? Sure, he saw things in the job, but from all
accounts, the great Dr. Brockman had had an idyllic life. Grew up
the oldest of three perfect children, both his perfect parents
still living, scholarships to all the right perfect schools.
Perfect. Not to mention that he was good-looking and had tons of
money.

Damned psychologist had
everything practically handed to him, and then he had the nerve to
tell her she was acting spoiled. Self-centered.
Self-absorbed.

Just who the hell did he
think he was? They’d not spoken to one another for personal reasons
in the entire time she’d worked in St. Louis, then all of the
sudden she’d looked up from the autopsy reports she’d been studying
to see Brockman staring down at her. Coming to her desk and telling
her she should basically just ‘get over’ Rick’s death and move
on—before she dragged those who cared about her down as
well?

She shot a glare toward the
half-rise where his office was located next to Agent Reynolds’. She
could just make out the dark head of her new nemesis as he sat
speaking with Agent Hellbrook. Damned jerk, she wished someone
would punch him in the nose, do something to ruin all that damned
perfectness. Even if just temporarily.

God how she wished she had
the balls to do it herself. She tightened her fists as she imagined
it. Only the Hippocratic Oath she’d sworn years ago kept her from
doing that and so much more to the arrogant bastard.

As if he could read her
mind—and she wouldn’t put it past him, with his three PhDs in mind
reading and fortune telling and smarm—he looked up and smiled the
smile that he probably thought would get him out of
anything.

Julia snarled. Not with her
it wouldn’t.

***

Malachi Brockman fought the
urge to laugh in satisfaction as his eyes caught those of the lone
team member still seated in the bullpen his team shared with
Hellbrook’s.

The woman did the damnedest
job of hiding how she felt but occasionally her true feelings would
slip through that mask. Malachi was determined to remove that mask
completely. If she didn’t kill him first. He knew—had heard from
her closest friend—that she had one hell of a temper when it was
aroused. And he knew that was probably exactly what she needed.
Fury, anger, rancor—anything other than the numbing grief she’d let
grip her for the last three years. Nobody deserved to be that sad
for that long. It wasn’t healthy. It would eventually eat a person
alive. He couldn’t let that happen to her.