20
C aleb leaned over Trev’s shoulder and peered at the screen. He knew Trev wasn’t a fan of people leaning over him while he worked, but with Tex’s face taking up most of the screen on the wall, there wasn’t much choice.
Jesus, Rose was lucky to have escaped him.
His jaw clenched as Trev flipped through the images of two exes, both battered and bruised. “How was he not arrested?”
“They refused to press charges,” Tex confirmed. “I don’t know why the investigations were dropped. They could have pushed on anyway as they have those photos as evidence—” He stopped talking when a phone rang in the war-room. “I think that’s you, Hunt.”
He dug into his pocket for his phone and glanced at the screen. “One sec.” He almost didn’t answer, but every instinct he had demanded that he not ignore this call. If the alarms hadn’t gone off, he’d most likely have ignored Rexar’s call, but he just knew this was important. “Hunt.”
“Get your ass here, now. Your woman is in my house and scared out of her fucking mind.”
“On my way.” Caleb was already moving. “I gotta go. Rose needs me.” He didn’t wait for them to answer and took off for the elevator. Thankfully, the war-room door had unlocked when the alarms had shut down. “Come on. Come on.” Not having access to a staircase unless the power went out freaking sucked right now. He jabbed his thumb onto the button. Once he was in the elevator, and it was moving, he texted Dalton.
Bravo 5: Ugt. Clr. FD. HQ. Stat. B5.
Nemesis: Roger.
When you send your boss a text requesting urgent clearance at the front door of your headquarters, and he responds with ‘roger,’ He either knows what’s going on, or he trusts your ass. Probably a little of both.
Grateful that the disturbance from earlier wouldn’t slow him down, Caleb squeezed through the half-open elevator and ran for the security desks. “Incoming.” He yelled the warning, and the two guards stepped aside, one opening their half door for him, allowing him through. “Thanks.” He was already through the front door before he’d finished speaking.
I shouldn’t have left her without telling her where I was going.
Damn it.
He took the stairs in Bravo House two at a time. From the top, he could see Rexar standing sentinel at his front door. Caleb decided he was going to take great pleasure in kicking the shit out of the asshole who’d caused all this crap. He skidded to a stop in front of Rexar. “What happened? Is Rose okay?”
Rexar looked uncomfortable at the best of times. Right now, he looked like he’d prefer to be anywhere but here. “She’s bad, man. I’ve not seen anything like it since we pulled Willow out of that fucking box. Becky, too.”
“Shit. I should have stayed.”
“Or at least you probably should have told her where you were going,” Rexar agreed. “RJ found her. He came and got Lily.” He stepped to one side and opened the door. “Go on in. I sent RJ to the barn. Tell Lily I’ll take her to breakfast if she wants to get her sexy ass out here.”
RJ was getting an awesome freaking gift for Christmas or his birthday, whichever came first. Lily too. “I’m not telling your wife she has a sexy ass while she has access to the arsenal you keep in there. I’m stupid at times, but not braindead.” He slipped past Rexar but stopped before he was fully through the door to look over his shoulder. “Thanks, Rexar. I appreciate what you and your family did for her.”
“No worries.” These had to be the most words he’d heard Rexar say in years in a non-mission setting. “Family first, always.”
“Roger that.” He scanned the living space and spotted Lily coming out of the master bedroom. “Lily, your man wants to take you to breakfast.”
“Rose is in the shower.” Lily pushed the bundle of clothes she carried into his hands. “She’s about my size. Let her wear these.” She poked him on the arm. “Be careful. She was terrified.”
“I’m talking to Nemesis about that fucker who caused this shit.” He knew Lily probably knew even less about him than he did. But still, he wanted her to know this would not be allowed to happen here again.
“Rexar will, too.”
“Good.”
“Go on.” Lily shooed him toward the bathroom door. “Go fix your girl.”
He nodded. “Thanks, Lily.” He paused outside the door and took a deep breath before knocking. “Baby girl?” He cocked his head to one side, straining his ears. He was almost sure he could hear sobbing over the running water, which meant she was crying hard.
Fuck it, I’m not waiting.
“Baby girl?” He pushed open the door. “Rose?”
“Ca—Caleb?” Her fingers reached around the shower curtain, but she didn’t look.
He moved closer and stroked one finger over hers. “Are you okay?”
“No. No, I’m not.”
She hadn’t been scared of Janek. Or at least she’d kept it inside and been so strong. Maybe it was the shock of the alarms going off and waking her out of a deep sleep that snapped the chains on her strength. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would happen.” Even though it wasn’t his fault exactly, he regretted it more than she would ever know.
“I don’t even understand what happened.”
“Someone was stupid and tried to come through our security without clearance for all the weapons they carried.” How did one explain the precautions Nemesis Inc. took to protect its people? “It sent us into lockdown, which was what the alarms and lights were.”
“I thought there was a fire.” Her breathing hitched, and her voice broke. “I couldn’t find you. I thought you would die.” The last part was wailed, and it clenched something deep in his heart. He rubbed the back of his knuckles over his chest, trying to ease the ache.
Wait… she lost it because she thought I’d burn and die?
In a fucking fire which didn’t exist?
“Fuck it,” he muttered softly. He could not and would not leave her to deal with this trauma alone. He refused to do anything that might freak her out again today. “Can I come in there?”
She hesitated a second, which chipped away at the walls that surrounded his heart. “Yeah.”
Thank God.
He stepped over the side of the bath and into the shower, fully clothed, and gathered her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” She buried her face into his chest and cried.
All he could do was hold her, as it sounded like she was letting everything she’d been through free. He wasn’t going to give her platitudes or say words that she wasn’t in any position to accept at face value. He stroked her back, rocking slightly back and forth as she soaked his chest more than the water did.
“I’m so?—”
“Don’t be.” He glanced down at her and realized she was wearing his t-shirt, which was soaking wet. “Let’s get this off you.” His fingers reached for the hem. “I’m not looking for anything but to get you more comfortable.”
“I—leave it, please.” She ducked her head under the flow of water and reached for the shampoo bottle.
“Let me.” If she wanted to wear the T-shirt, then he wasn’t going to try to change her mind. He took the bottle and poured some into his hands. “Just lean against me, and I’ll take care of you.” She nodded, and he massaged the shampoo into her hair, taking the time to give her a head massage as he washed her hair. After rinsing it and applying the conditioner she handed him, she finally took a breath, which wasn’t preceded or followed by a sob. “How are you doing, baby girl?”
“Better.”
There was still a sniffle in her tone, but she sounded good enough that the vice around his chest loosened a little, and he could breathe without feeling panic knocking at the edges of his physic. “Want me to leave while you get dressed?”
“No.” She shook her head, patting his chest. “You’re still wearing all your clothes…”
So was she, in case she hadn’t noticed. “I was in a hurry to make sure you were okay. They’ll dry, or I’ll borrow some of Rexar’s.”
“Oh. Guys do that?”
“I don’t know about other guys, but we usually only carry so much stuff with us when we deploy or go to work.” He helped her finish rinsing off. “We tend to share what we’ve got.” He flipped off the shower and got out.
She followed his lead and grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. “That makes sense.”
He could feel her eyes on him as he fished in the laundry basket and came up with a pair of shorts he recognized as Rexar’s. “I’m just gonna pull these on and get out of your way.” He turned his back, allowing her as much privacy as the two of them in the small bathroom would allow, and made the fastest change of clothes in history while she dressed in the clothes Lily had provided for her. He grabbed a towel and dropped his wet clothes onto it. “I don’t want to drip water all over Lily’s floors if I can help it.”
“Take this, too.” She tossed him the wet t-shirt she’d been wearing, and he added them to the pile.
Keeping an eye on her in the mirror, he gathered the edges of the towel into a makeshift bag. “Ready when you are, baby girl.”
She took a deep breath, then nodded and took his hand. Caleb wasn’t sure which of them was more relieved when they found Rexar’s house empty. He paused and ushered her through the front door into the corridor. He winked at her when she gave him a watery smile as he ensured the door locked shut behind them.
Somewhere in the building, a door slammed, and Rose jerked as if that door had hit her in the face. She stepped close to him, and he squeezed her fingers gently. “We’ll be home in a minute. I promise.”
Home?
Yes, damn it. Home.
He realized that somewhere between leaving his bed this morning and right this second, he wanted Rose to see his home as hers. He wanted to be the one who fixed all that was wrong in her world. Now, he just had to figure out how to make that happen.