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“Thank you for understanding.”
His lips lifted in a soft smile. “Well, you’re kind of hard to say no to.”
She managed a faint laugh, relieved that everything would stay the same for now. Daniel hesitated, and then he kissed her again, soft and sweet, lingering as if he wanted to memorize the moment. She could feel his reluctance when he finally pulled away. Ellie rested her head on his chest, soaking in the warmth and quiet strength of him. She would have stayed like that forever, but exhaustion was catching up to her. She yawned. “I should go to bed before I fall asleep right here on the couch with you.”
“There wouldn’t be any complaints from me.” Daniel released her, though, and smiled as she rose and extended a hand to help him up. “Really, El? If I use you to lean on, we’ll both fall.”
“I’m stronger than I look. Didn’t I half-carry you down the path after you were shot?”
“Don’t remind me.” He used the arm of the couch as a lever to rise and then glowered at her. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”
She poked him in the stomach. It was like jabbing her finger into concrete. “But I didn’t. So don’t be such a grump.”
They continued to tease each other good-naturedly as they wandered down the hall, their voices hushed whispers to prevent waking up Marta and Owen. At her door, Ellie kissed Daniel one last time before saying goodnight. She slipped into her room. The lamp on the nightstand illuminated her rumpled covers and the notebook she’d been working in. Lena’s message called like a siren, but the exhaustion was pressing down on her muddled brain. Better to leave it for tomorrow morning.
She started for the adjoining bathroom, casting an automatic glance toward the portable crib. Her steps faltered. Owen’s brow was damp with sweat, his cheeks flushed pink. She hurried to hisside, pressed a hand to his forehead, and her heart lurched. He was burning up.
She scooped him into her arms. He whimpered, his tiny body curling against her. She didn’t even bother with the thermometer this time. She knew it was bad. And there wasn’t a second to waste. With Owen’s heart condition, an infection could kill him.
Ellie pushed back into the hallway, her voice urgent. “Daniel!”
He burst out of his bedroom, a toothbrush dangling from his mouth, his eyes wide with concern.
“Owen has a fever. We need to get him to the emergency room. Now.”
TWENTY-ONE
Morning light streamed through the blinds on the hospital window, forming shadows across Owen’s small form in the tiny crib. He slept peacefully, Ellie holding his hand. Her eyes had finally drifted shut. Long lashes rested against her cheeks, hollowed out by worry and stress.
Last night had been a harrowing ordeal filled with questions from the doctors, medical tests, and medications. Owen’s mild respiratory infection had escalated into something more serious, which had the potential to create complications due to his heart condition, but the doctors were hopeful antibiotics would halt the progression.
Daniel removed a blanket from the closet in the corner of the room. Careful not to wake Ellie, he gently unfolded it before covering her slender form.
Her eyes cracked open. “Owen…”
“He’s sleeping. You should too.” Daniel bent and kissed her forehead, the wound on his leg pulling painfully with the movement. “I’ll keep watch.”
They’d admitted Owen under a pseudonym at the hospital, and so far, it seemed to have worked. There was no sign of theIron Fist or any of Tobias’s men. But Daniel wouldn’t let down his guard.
Ellie’s eyes drifted shut again. Daniel drew back, his attention lingering on her and Owen. A heady wave of protectiveness and tenderness washed through him. He’d walk through fire for this woman and her little boy. If Daniel had any doubts about his feelings, this incident had dissolved them. There was no going back. No walking away. He feared failing Ellie and Owen, but somehow, the thought of losing them had become far more terrifying.
A faint knock on the door immediately commanded his attention. Daniel's hand automatically went to the holstered weapon at his hip. He quickly moved to the window and peeked through the blinds covering the glass window that separated their room from the nurses' station. The tension immediately eased from his stance. It was Jackson.
Daniel opened the door and slipped out into the hallway. “Ellie and Owen are sleeping.”
Jackson lifted the tray of coffees in his hand. The other held a bakery box. “I brought breakfast. Kolaches and donuts. There’s an assortment, since I wasn’t sure what Ellie liked.”
Daniel’s stomach rumbled. They sorted out what they wanted, and then he set the rest of the pastries, along with Ellie’s coffee, inside the room. He rejoined Jackson in the hall. The coffee was rich and dark, the caffeine working wonders on his sluggish brain. “Thanks for the breakfast.”
“It’s nothing.” Jackson sipped his own coffee. “How’s Owen?”
“The infection is under control. They’re just monitoring him now to make sure he doesn’t have any complications.” Daniel scarfed down the kolache in three bites before wiping his mouth with a napkin. “What’s happening with the case?”
“I have two things to share. First, a confidential informant reached out to Jonah with the news that Tobias is dead. Gideon’s enforcer killed him two days ago. We haven’t been able to independently verify the info, but it could explain why there haven’t been any new attempts to kidnap Owen.”
Daniel breathed out. “I know it’s not Christian to wish for a man’s death, but…. I’ll be honest, I hope that’s true.”
“No one would blame you.” Jackson leaned his shoulder against the wall and lowered his voice. “I quietly looked into James Callahan and Vincent Maddox. Callahan’s record is spotless. Maddox has a clean record too, but there’s something… odd. A personal bank account in Maddox’s name had large sums going in and out over the last year. Nothing obviously illegal—the money could be explained in thousands of ways—but it’s enough to raise questions about where it’s coming from.”