Page 22 of Defending Love
Chapter Twenty-One
Dani
W hen I woke up, instead of grief, for the first time in weeks, my thoughts were positive—memories of Eli.
In hindsight, the two of us moved pretty fast from why are you back to full steam ahead .
And yet, as I stared up at the ceiling, I didn’t regret a minute.
The feelings I’d harbored for him over the last year came out with a vengeance.
It could be said that our physical attraction was my way of distracting myself from the tragedies of life.
However, as I recalled the way in which we came together as one, I wanted to believe there was more.
Does he feel the same?
Last night, sometime after Eli slipped away, I woke.
Unable to fall back to sleep, I decided to start looking through Dad’s photo album.
The photographs were in no particular order, some dating back to when Dad was in high school and later, college at Purdue University.
Others were more recent. It was the older photographs that had me stumped.
I could identify family, but there were others taken in the offices and labs at Sinclair that contained people I didn’t recognize.
I tried not to read too much into the fact that Eli left my bed and my room. He had work to do. Those thoughts took me back to my dad’s letter. After taking care of business, I decided I wanted to read Dad’s letter again.
Down the hallway, I found Eli working behind one of the computer screens. Instead of his usual suit, he was ruggedly handsome with his facial beard growth, his hair untethered, wearing basketball shorts and a Colts t-shirt. My heart may have fluttered a bit. “Good morning.”
He looked up, his handsome green stare scanning from my head to my toes. His cheeks rose as his lips curled into a devilish grin. “Good morning.”
I walked closer. “I’ve never seen you look so casual.”
Eli scooted his chair back and reached for my hand. “You, Dr. Sinclair, are witnessing the breaking of many rules.”
“I would think Elijah Rhodes was a by-the-book kind of man.”
“He has been.” Eli tugged me down to his lap and brought his lips to mine. “Until you.”
I palmed his scruffy cheeks. “This rogue side of you is extremely sexy.”
“All of you is sexy.”
“For the record,” I said, “I don’t usually sleep with someone the second day.”
Eli’s smile grew as he caressed my cheek.
“Dani, last night wasn’t the second day; it was a year in the making.
The moment I saw you at the cemetery, I wanted to wrap my arms around you.
Last night was the best sex I’ve had in a long time.
” He sighed. “I want you more than I should.” He lowered his tone.
“I could take you back down the hall right now.”
Warmth filled my cheeks.
“But…” he said, letting the word hang in the air a bit. “When I woke up this morning I had some thoughts about your dad.”
Dad had been my second thought. Ignoring the sudden chill, I looked around the room at the items on the desks. “Where’s his letter? I wanted to read it again.”
Eli exhaled. “I sealed it and had it couriered to Ben at the main Guardian office in Philadelphia.”
My forehead furrowed. “Why would you do that and when?”
“About six this morning. They’ll run forensics.
I want to know if there are any fingerprints on the paper other than your dad’s.
They’ll also do a handwriting analysis to be sure it’s his writing.
If we’re lucky, testing can determine the age of the paper and ink.
If we know when it was written, it would be a clue as to what he mentioned—his decision. ”
“It was Dad’s writing. I’d know it anywhere.”
“We should have more answers by tomorrow.”
I sat taller. “What other concerns did you come up with this morning?”
“We’ve gotten the attention of the wrong people.
I believe that someone suspected there was damning evidence in Derek’s possession that would lead to their involvement.
I ran facial recognition on our two special agents.
” He shook his head. “We didn’t have a great view from your phone, but I did get a hit on the one who called himself Timmons. ”
“Called himself? As in, that’s not his name. What did you find?”
“Last night, after I pulled myself away from your warm bed,” Eli said, “I received confirmation that the Jacksonville FBI has two agents by the name of Timmons and Wilson.”
What?
I blinked as my lips opened. “I’m confused. I thought you said they were fake badges.”
“They were. I was able to pull up photographs of the two real agents. Their resemblance to the real agents isn’t even close.”
“Interesting, they used real names…” I let that thought stew for a moment. “Did you let the FBI know that there are people impersonating them?”
“I didn’t,” he said. “I don’t want to let on to anyone that we know. I need to find out more about the two impostors. I believe they’re our connection to Derek’s killer.”
A cold chill covered my arms with goose bumps. “Do you think they killed him?”
“I think they’re somehow involved.”
“What about your lone-wolf theory?”
He shook his head. “With your dad’s letter, I believe there’s more to this.”
“We should at least tell the sheriff’s department what we’ve learned.” I clutched my hand in my lap. “Aren’t they supposed to be investigating this?”
His head bobbed. “Why do you think they are?”
“I’m sorry, what? You don’t think they are? They came to the house yesterday when we were there.”
“Yet they didn’t interfere when the people were removing things from your father’s office. What I don’t understand is why the thieves didn’t open the safe if they knew of its existence. Those safes aren’t that difficult to crack.”
“They must not have known about it.”
He nodded again. “My conclusion too. How then did they find out that we’d opened it?”
I inhaled and exhaled. My fingers went to my temples. “It’s all a big jigsaw puzzle, and I don’t think we have all the pieces.”
“At this point, I’d be happy to have the outline in place.”
I stood, pacing near his chair. “A disgruntled employee would have gone after Damien, not Dad.” I spoke my thoughts aloud. “A patient upset with their medication would have gone after Damien. This wasn’t random. Whatever decision Dad made is why he’s dead.”
“Agent Timmons is actually Chad Broadrick.” Eli scooted his chair to the desk, hit a few keys on the keyboard, and brought up a picture of the man whom we’d spoken to last night. “He’s had a few run-ins with the law and even done some prison time. Basically, he’s a gun-for-hire.”
My eyes opened wide. “So you do think he killed Dad.”
“I don’t know. I think that there’s a good chance that someone else is pulling the strings. More than likely, the shooter was hired. He wasn’t alone. To disappear the way he did, he had help.”
“Cue his sidekick, Special Agent Wilson.”
Eli shrugged.
“What did Dad do, the decision he referenced, to warrant killing him?”
“I’m more concerned about why and how they found us here. If they’re afraid you found evidence, you’re in greater danger than before.”
I closed my eyes and sighed.
“Dani, keeping you safe is my top priority. I think we should head back to Indianapolis today.”
“I told Mom I’d be here until Sunday.” I looked at my watch.
It was nearly eight. “I need to be to the facility by ten. She’s supposed to meet with the physical-therapy team.
I want to be in on their plan and learn how long she’ll be in rehab.
I also want to ask her about some of the people in Dad’s pictures. ”
“While you’re there, Jack can watch over you. I’m going to try to pull some strings and get us back to Indy today.” He met my stare. “Call your brother to send down the plane.”
“If I call Damien, he’s going to ask why I’m coming home early and honestly, I’m not sure what to tell him. Maybe we’re wrong about Dad. I don’t want to be the one to tell Damien if we don’t have all the answers.”
I hated to leave Mom a day early, but at Eli’s prompting, I packed all my things, including the items from Dad’s safe. He secured them all in the back of the SUV.
As Eli drove me to the physical-rehabilitation facility, my mind was overwhelmed by what we’d learned and all the questions we still had. On the seat to my side was the striped beach bag containing only one item, the photo album.
From the back seat, I could see Eli’s wide shoulders and the top of his head.
The rugged handsomeness from earlier this morning was gone; his immaculate bodyguard persona was back in place.
Eli’s hair was again tethered at the nape of his neck.
His muscles, the ones I felt flex against me last night, were covered by his tailored dark suit and white shirt.
Eli’s sunglass-covered gaze went to the rearview mirror. “How are you doing?”
“Confused and scared.” I watched the scenes pass by the SUV windows. “Maybe going back to Indy today is best.” I sat taller. “I’m not going to tell Mom about the letter. I don’t want to put her in more danger.”
He nodded. “I think that’s best.”