Page 34

TWENTY-EIGHT

Daniel opened his eye and groaned. Every single part of his body ached, including muscles he hadn’t known existed.

The scent of antiseptic and, strangely, warm apples hit his nose.

Machines beeped. He fumbled with the device attached to the hospital bed, hitting the button that would move him into a sitting position.

“Morning, sunshine.” Jonah sat in the chair next to the bed, his feet propped up on the railing. He winced. “Oof. I didn’t think it was possible to make you look any uglier, but those guys managed.”

He grunted in reply. “El…” It hurt to talk.

“She’s with Owen. He’s fine, but the doctors admitted him for monitoring since he missed so many doses of his antibiotics.”

Daniel vaguely remembered a conversation with her about that, but he’d been swimming in pain medication at that point and not quite with it.

Jonah dropped his feet, poured water into a cup, and helped bring the straw to Daniel’s mouth.

The cool liquid eased the ache in his vocal cords and instantly made him feel better.

He held the cup on his own and drank more.

Jonah stretched his neck. His clothes were rumpled, and he desperately needed a shave. “I’ll pretend my feelings aren’t hurt that you immediately ask for Ellie, although I’ve been camped out next to your bed all night.” His palms landed on the railing. “But deep down, I am. Hurt, I mean.”

Daniel chuckled and instantly groaned. “Shut up. Do not make me laugh.” He drank more water and, as the fatigue and drowsiness faded, his strength returned. Along with hunger. His nose lifted. “What’s that smell?”

“It’s you, man. You haven’t showered in two days.”

Daniel laughed again. The pain was less intense this time, but it still hurt. “I’m gonna hit the call button and make the nurse throw you out if you don’t stop cracking jokes.”

Jonah grinned. “I’d like you to go ahead and try it, old man.”

“Watch who you’re calling old. There are some grays in your beard.”

He self-consciously rubbed a hand over the scruff on his face. “You turn thirty-seven and it all goes downhill.” Jonah reached for a bakery box on the nightstand. “Homemade apple fritters, courtesy of your mom.”

Daniel spent the next few hours pulling himself together.

After eating, he took a shower, and with Jonah’s help, put on sweatpants and a T-shirt.

The nurse offered more pain meds, but he refused them.

They made him groggy. His face was a mass of bruises, but his nose wasn’t broken and he still had all his teeth. He considered that a win.

During the process of getting ready, Jonah filled him in on everything that’d occurred with the case.

Every member of the Iron Fist, along with Tobias’s crew, had been captured, effectively destroying both groups.

It’d helped that many of the gang members were at Mike’s house, shooting it out with one another.

The rangers, along with the state tactical team, swept in and arrested anyone who wasn’t already dead.

Gideon Voss was pulled from a fancy dinner party and slapped in handcuffs.

Lena’s evidence ensured none of them would ever see the light of day again.

“Mike began working for the Iron Fist about eight years ago.” Jonah handed Daniel a comb.

“At first, he used the money to pay down his debts, but as time went on, he fed more and more information in order to amass more power. We suspect he’s the one who told Gideon about Lena and Ellie’s plan, which led to the warehouse shooting.

Mike and Gideon both thought that was the end of it. ”

“Until Lena’s letter showed up at the FBI office.”

He nodded. “By then, Mike had learned that Ellie survived the shooting, but he didn’t know her new name or her location.

They spent the next three years trying to find her.

Meanwhile, Tobias broke away from the group and started a turf war.

He spotted Ellie in the social media post and made a plan to use her to get ahold of the evidence.

Spies in his camp working for Gideon shared the news and suddenly Ellie was being attacked from all angles. ”

Daniel gingerly combed his hair. “So the news that Tobias was dead turned out to be fake?”

“Yes. There was an attempt on his life, and the Iron Fist genuinely thought he was dead, but he’d merely gone underground to plan a new attack.

The one he carried out at Mike’s house.” Jonah leaned against the bed.

“Now Tobias will spend the rest of his life in prison, along with the rest of them. The evidence Lena collected included a few other law enforcement officers who were acting as moles for the Iron Fist, as well as some politicians that were also on the payroll. Every one of them is going down. It’s over. ”

Relief uncoiled the last knot in Daniel’s stomach. Ellie and Owen were safe. Finally. He set the comb down on the tray table. “You know what I can’t understand. How would Mike have explained things to law enforcement when they stormed the house looking for me and Ellie?”

“Well, it turns out the property is registered as a private security training facility, complete with fake permits and everything. Mike intended for you and Ellie to be long gone by the time backup arrived, so once they searched the property and confirmed you weren’t there?—”

“There would be nothing they could do.” Daniel shook his head. It was terrifying to think how differently things could have turned out. The relief he'd felt moments ago doubled, knowing how close they'd all come to disaster. “What's Owen's room number?”

“I’ll walk you there.”

“I don’t need an escort. I’m up and moving just fine.

” Daniel had taken a beating, and needed a few days to recover, but he was feeling much more like his old self.

It would take time for the bruises to heal, but he’d survive.

And maybe he was a bit prideful as well.

Ellie had seen him weak as a newborn baby and pumped up on pain meds.

He wanted her to know he was fine, a message that would be diminished by Jonah’s handholding.

“Thanks for everything, but you look exhausted. Go home. Get some rest.”

Jonah shook his head. “Can’t do it. Your mom put me under strict orders to make sure you don’t face-plant trying to be macho.” He pushed off the bed. “I’ll walk you to Owen’s room but won’t go inside. That way Ellie can see you powering on your own steam.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m not being macho. And it’s more than a little irritating that you can read my mind.”

“You’re a man in love. Ain’t no secret to how a guy thinks when he’s trying to impress a woman.”

Jonah’s cell phone rang. Daniel saw the name flashing on the screen and snagged the device from the tray table. He hit speaker to answer the call. “Laney, Jonah is driving me insane. Can you do something with him?”

A rich, throaty laugh filled the room. “Want me to arrest him? I do have law enforcement authority now.”

“In a state forest,” Jonah retorted. “What's your jurisdiction? A few thousand acres of trees? That's not the flex you think it is, Laney.” He glowered. “And don’t you dare take Daniel’s side. He’s refusing to let me escort him across the hospital while recovering from a busted-open gunshot wound, a beating, and three broken ribs. ”

“He’s kinda gotcha there, Daniel. And Jonah, I’m not taking sides. I’m Switzerland, neutral.”

Jonah jabbed a finger in his chest. “You’re my best friend. By contract, you have to always take my side. Why do I need to explain that?”

“Okay, I can see tensions are running high this morning. Have you had your coffee?”

“No,” he muttered.

“Get some coffee and then call me back.” Laney chuckled. “You’ll be in a better mood.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

“Now who’s being obstinate?” she shot back.

Daniel grinned. “She’s got you there.”

Jonah ripped the phone out of Daniel’s hand. “Call you later, Laney. Stay out of trouble.”

“Never. Bye, Daniel. Glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks.”

Jonah hung up and tucked the phone into his back pocket. “I don’t like the two of you teaming up against me.”

Daniel laughed and then eyed his friend speculatively as they stepped into the hallway. “How come you and Laney never dated? It’s obvious the two of you are good for each other.”

“We tried once. Complete disaster. We work as friends.” Jonah scowled. “You’re not going to turn into one of those sappy guys now, are you? The kind that continuously try to set their friends up now that they’re in a committed relationship.”

“Is that what I’m in?” Daniel was overjoyed at the thought.

“Man, you are so far in, I can hear wedding bells.”

Me too. But Daniel didn’t want to share that thought yet.

The first person he wanted to bare his heart to was Ellie.

His steps picked up as excitement at seeing her and Owen sank into him.

A short elevator ride and a few turns down the corridor later, he was standing in front of a hospital room in the pediatric department.

He planted his palm on the cracked-open door and glanced back at Jonah. “Thanks.”

His friend grinned. “Just remember all my good deeds when it comes time to pick a best man.”

Daniel laughed and shook his head before pushing the door open and stepping into the room. The murmur of their voices registered first. Owen’s babble punctuated by Ellie’s lilting tones as she read a book to him. He paused, just a moment, and lifted his attention toward the ceiling. Thank you, God.

A simple prayer, but a heartfelt one. Daniel rounded the curtain separating the bed from the door, his gaze drinking in the sight before him.

Ellie was sitting on an armchair, a train book in one hand, her other arm wrapped around Owen, who was in her lap.

Her hair shimmered in the sunshine pouring in through the window and her face was makeup free.

She appeared tired but content. Owen played with Scout’s ear as he leaned into his mother’s embrace.

His cheeks were rosy with good health, and he babbled constantly.

Daniel felt it. His heart tumbling over and over again.

And just when he thought his chest was close to bursting with love, Ellie glanced up. Her smile was radiant and warm, melting away every ache in his battered body, and the warmth in her eyes… it stole his breath.

“You’re up!” Ellie lowered the book. “Why didn’t Jonah call me?”

She started to rise, but he waved her back down.

Crossing the room, he bent at the waist to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

Owen grinned adorably and lifted his arms in a silent invitation for Daniel to hold him.

Ellie’s eyes widened. “You have a super fan. He almost never wants anyone else to hold him when I’m reading a story. ”

Daniel wasn’t about to turn down Owen’s offer. He started to lift him, but his broken ribs screamed in protest, and he winced. Ellie immediately stood, bringing Owen with her. “Sit, sweetheart. He can sit on your lap, if that won’t hurt too much.”

“I’ll be fine.” Daniel settled into the armchair, and Ellie gingerly placed Owen in the crook of his arm.

The little boy smelled like baby powder and soap and that magical scent only babies had.

Daniel cuddled him close, ignoring the ache in his side from his ribs, and kissed Owen’s head.

A sense of rightness settled over him. He didn’t know how or when, but somehow Owen had become a part of him.

He glanced up at Ellie. “It looks like he’s feeling better.”

“Much better. His fever broke this morning, so he’s on the mend, unless a new complication arises.” She brushed a gentle touch across a bruise on his cheek. “What about you? The doctors were worried about head trauma. You had a concussion.”

That explained the nausea that nearly had him tossing his cookies while trying to save Ellie and Owen.

Daniel took her fingers and kissed the soft curve of her palm.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.” His gaze swept over her, cataloging all the details.

The scratch marring her cheek, the softness of her lips and the faint circles under her eyes.

His mind flashed back to the harrowing moment their Jeep flew through the flames.

It’d been terrifying to see the blaze approaching the windshield, knowing there was nothing he could do to protect her if the fire broke through their car.

Daniel shoved the thought away. Ellie had driven like a pro and their escape, while treacherous, had been a success. They were all here now, safe and sound. “Have you slept at all in the last two days?”

“Some.”

Likely very little. She was running on fumes. Somehow, he was going to have to convince her to go back to the ranch to rest but doubted that would happen as long as Owen was in the hospital. She wouldn’t leave him, not even in the trusting care of his mother.

The door to the room swung open, and Maggie Lyons, the social worker, bustled in. Her eyes widened as she registered their presence, and a frown instantly formed on her lips. “What are you two doing in here? Owen’s supposed to be with his foster parents.”