Emily (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 1) Page 19

  Shit, think Emily!

  Juan dropped to one knee in front of her and grabbed her hair, forcing her head back. “Now, we’re going to do this just right.” Emily’s eyes watered at the strength of his grip. Over her shoulder, she could see Reece struggling to his feet. He wasn’t going to make it in time, and he’d done enough to protect her. Anger rushed through Emily again at the sight of a wounded and bleeding Reece struggling to stand, to keep fighting for her, and the sensation pushed away any lingering fear. Juan had been in her head the whole time after all, and now it was her turn to make him fear for his life.

  Juan pushed at her shoulder with his elbow, his hand still tangled tightly in her hair. Emily saw the blade move closer and went deadly still. If she was going to do this, it was now.

  “There’s a good girl,” Juan praised. “It was fun when the others struggled, but you’re perfect, Emily. I just knew when I saw you that you were the one I’d been hunting for. You know your place already.”

  As his knife came toward her, Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out her mini pepper spray. She pressed the button and held her breath.

  Nothing happened! Emily felt her eyes widen as the calm demeanor left Juan’s face and anger flashed across it.

  “You dare try to harm me!” he bellowed, slapping her across the face again. “You, my perfect one would dare hurt me?” His already impossibly tight grip on her hair tightened and he pulled her up next to him, holding her face inches from his. Before her stood a man who seethed with her supposed betrayal.

  “I was going to be gentle, was going to take you first. Now you’ll suffer before you die!” Juan grabbed her again, ignoring her screams and pulled her over to where Reece stood shakily. Emily saw Reece’s eyes harden in resolve, but yet his still wobbled on his front leg.

  “Let me go, you bastard!” Emily reached out for whatever she could move, kicking and clawing at her captor, but each move only made him hold her tighter against him.

  “Look at him,” Juan spoke into her ear. “Look at your man. He’s mine, simply because he won’t make a move to kill me while you stand here with me. He will die for what you just did, and then I’ll take my sweet time carving you up. You will scream for me again before you die.”

  Reece roared and rushed at Juan, plowing into him at the thin piece of his shoulder protruding from behind Emily. As he took the hit, Juan threw Emily back, and she fell below the main altar. Her hand hurt when she landed on something hard, and when she moved her hand, the object felt cool against her palm. Emily moved her fingers along the object, not daring to take her eyes off Juan and Reece. The two men were on the floor, Reece with his arm lying heavily over Juan’s neck. Her fingers brushed against straight, smooth steel and then moved down to touch a wider, patterned area. A gun! Emily didn’t know if she’d found Reece’s gun or the one belonging to Juan, but she didn’t care. She could only pray that it was loaded. She gripped her hand around the butt, tucking her arm to her side to hide it.

  Emily’s finger rested lightly on the gun’s trigger, watching the two men. Juan managed to push Reece off him and then rolled to stand, but Reece wasn’t letting go. Despite the obvious pain he was in, he wrapped his body around Juan’s and pushed at his head and shoulders, bringing Juan to the floor again. From there he quickly slipped his arm back around the man’s throat, holding him struggling on the floor. Juan pushed and struggled in Reece’s hold, ranting about saving Emily’s soul.

  “You’re meant to be mine!” he screamed, turning his head as far as he could to look at her. He held up one flailing arm toward her as Reece’s grip tightened. An intricate tattoo was stamped along the length of his forearm, disappearing up into his shirt. “You see this! This in the mark of a high priest. It says you will be mine, in this life and the next. I need to perform the proper ritual to combine our life force!”

  He continued ranting even as Reece pulled himself to his feet, dragging Juan along. Emily couldn’t take her eyes from his tattoo. It was the one from her dreams. She’d only ever seen a glimpse of it beneath Juan’s long sleeved shirts at work, but now there was no doubt in Emily’s mind. Along with the tribal design, up close Emily could see his forearms were littered with the same symbols as etched on the knife’s blade. This was the man who had tortured her, killed too many innocents. The gun felt heavy in her hand. She wasn’t that great of a shot, and Juan and Reece were so damn close together.

  “I’ll kill you,” she whispered. “You killed them, you…” her voice trailed off. There was no word strong enough to describe the evil living inside this man.

  Juan’s eyes sparked with hatred. “Yes, Emily. I’m the man who visited your floor every day, delivered what you needed, only to catch a glimpse of you, but you could never look my way.”

  “You don’t talk to her,” Reece muttered, pulling Juan toward the door. He looked toward Emily. “Stay here, and shut the door behind me.” He stepped back again, dragging Juan when suddenly the man dropped his weight. His hands let go of Reece’s at his neck and struck down hard on Reece’s injured thigh, then pushed Reece to the floor.

  “Get away from her!” Reece yelled, pushing himself to his feet once more. Juan dodged his grasp and rushed forward, toward Emily. The next few seconds played out in front of her as if in slow motion. Juan had nearly reached her when Reece’s hand wrapped around Juan’s shirt, jerking him back. The momentum caused them both to tumble to the floor once more, and Juan quickly crawled away before pulling his knife again and turning toward Reece.

  He’s going to kill him.

  Throwing up a quick prayer that her throwing arm was better than her aim with a gun, Emily tossed the gun in her hand to Reece.

  “Reece, catch!”

  Juan raised his arm to strike and Emily stopped breathing. The world stopped as she saw Reece’s hand dart out and catch the gun. As Juan dived toward Reece Emily could no longer see the man she loved, but the crack of a bullet broken the silence. Juan staggered back two steps, and then fell to the ground at her feet, red blooming across his shoulder. He struggled to get up and move, but Reece was already standing, pressing his hand against his thigh as he walked over to Juan and slugged him across the face. Juan was unconscious before he hit the floor.

  28

  Emily’s mind stuttered. The world blurred, and suddenly Reece was standing in front of her. “Breath, Emily. You’re safe sweetheart. Please, look in my eyes and take a breath for me.” Emily looked up to find Reece’s blue eyes staring at her, his forehead wrinkled in concern and likely pain.

  He was alive.

  The world started turning again. Emily took a deep breath and then threw her arms around Reece as he staggered forward. She bent down and examined his leg. There was a long gash in his pants and blood still leeched from the wound. She pulled out her cell phone and called 911.

  “Let me have that a minute,” Reece said, motioning at her cell. She handed it over and he told the operator on the other end his name and badge number, requesting backup. He huffed that a federal agent was wounded and the perp would need medical attention. He pressed to end the call then handed her cell back, wrapping his arms around her and pushing her behind him. No way was she about to let him place himself in danger again.

  “Reece, stop. You’re injured,” there was that huff again. “He’s out cold, I’ll be fine.”

  In response, Reece turned his head and kissed her soundly before shoving her back behind him again and raising the gun to point at Juan’s unconscious form on the floor. “Not risking you again, Emily.”

  The sound of faint sirens met her ears, growing louder in seconds. It was only when heavy boots sounded down the hall and SWAT entered the room that Emily felt Reece relax. Two men in full gear secured Juan, while another forced Reece onto a gurney, much to his disgust. Emily couldn’t help but smile, just a little, at the look on his face.

  Another pair of paramedics tended to Juan, who was strapped to his gurney with two SWAT member standing over him. He had st
ill been down for the count when help had arrived, but now he howled as one EMT put pressure on his gunshot wound. The sound was truly music to Emily’s ears. She would have preferred to wrap her still shaking hands around his neck and squeeze as hard as she could, but it was over both she and Reece were alive. She’d take what she could get. A memory from her grandmother made her smile again. Though she was sure Grandma would have said it differently, karma was definitely a bitch and Juan would get what was coming to him one way or another.

  “My sweet Emily,” he called to her as the paramedics wheeled him from the room. “I will have you yet. Our souls are entwined. Our story is just beginning.”

  “Shut him the hell up!” Reece yelled from his own gurney. He pushed an EMT’s hands away and swung his feet over the edge. Sweat dotted his forehead as his feet touched the floor, and from the look on his face, Emily was sure he had murder on his mind. She turned her back on Juan, ignoring him, and focused her entire attention on the man in front of her, the man she loved. He was all that mattered.

  “Sit down, you crazy man, before I make you.”

  A twinkle appeared in Reece’s eyes before they closed in pain as the EMT wrapped a pressure bandage around his leg. Juan was wheeled from the room and Reece laid back down, taking Emily’s hand in his. He pressed her palm to his lips and kissed her, refusing to let go of her hand as they were moved down the dark hallway and out into what was now a clear night. The stars glinted at Emily as they moved through the lobby and out the front door of the building, the area bathed in swirling red and blue lights from the emergency vehicles. She’d seen only the men who had entered via the back entrance at first, but the cavalry had well and truly arrived now. She glanced over at the other ambulance and saw Reece’s partner, Agent Roscoe. Emily couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she was talking quickly to Juan even as he continued screeching that he was going to kill them all. Gabi made a motion at the paramedic, and the noise sudden cut off. Gabi said something to the paramedic briefly and then made her way over.

  “Heard you got yourself stabbed, partner. Looks like I missed all the fun.”

  Emily’s eyes widened at the statement, but Reece just laughed. “Yeah, I got him. He’s the guy.”

  “No shit. His den of iniquity back there is going to keep the lab guys busy for months,” Gabi’s eyes shifted to Emily and their still joined hands. “Got something else too, did you, Knight?”

  Reece grinned and kissed Emily’s hand again. Emily felt her cheeks warm. “Yep. She likes me despite the company I keep at work, Gabs,” Gabi chuckled and smacked him across the head. Reece gestured toward his leg, where blood was pushing through the dressing. “And now I get the good drugs too.” The sight of the blood leeching down his leg had Emily feeling faint, but Gabi just threw her head back and laughed.

  “I’ll see you there, partner. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  She walked away, leaving Emily alone with Reece. She had a heavy feeling in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was over Juan’s rantings, seeing Reece in pain, or perhaps just everything catching up with her, but Emily suddenly wasn’t all that sure she could continue standing. She swayed on her feet and felt a tugging on her hand. Her knees collapsed and she found herself sitting on the back step of the ambulance, pulled into Reece’s side.

  “Come back to me, sweetheart,” a quiet voice spoke as awareness returned to her. “There you go. It’s all right. I’m right here.” Her eyes met Reece’s blue pools. “It’s over.”

  As if protesting, a loud groan came from the other ambulance where an armed SWAT member was boarding, followed by a muttering from Juan that he’d see them all in hell. Apparently the drugs Gabi had requested hadn’t knocked him out for long. For just a moment the word crazy entered Emily’s mind, but she stopped that thought in its tracks. How many times had she referred to herself as crazy through this whole ordeal? She’d had dreams about murdered people, people he’d killed. OK, maybe he was just a little bit crazy. Or a lot. At the end of the day, she’d had this thrust on her, but Juan had made the choice himself, no matter what was going on in his mind. She could sympathize, but she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to forgive him.

  The other ambulance pulled away, and Juan was gone. Reece, god help her, was sitting up again, holding her to him. “Reece! I love you, but I swear I’ll kill you myself if you don’t lie back and let them look at you,” Emily glared at him as he tried to get up off the gurney again. “You nearly bled to death in there, so lie down!”

  Reece looked at her in shock, and then a large grin spread across his face. “Say that again.”

  Emily wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather not remind myself that you’re bleeding all over the sheets.”

  “Who cares about that, I’m fine. The other bit.”

  What the hell was he talking about? Emily ran her words back through her head.

  I swear I’ll kill you myself… oh god, she’d said it. I love you.

  Reece chuckled. “You know, you’re awfully cute when you get mad,” he said, the grin still firmly on his face. “You’ll say it again. I can wait.”

  A paramedic hopped up into the ambulance and pulled back Reece’s shirt, exposing a large gash along his arm. It wasn’t deep, but the edges of the wound were stuck together with blood and the surrounding skin was already starting to bruise. Reece muttered something to the man and pushed him away, grabbing Emily’s hand again. It was clear he had no intentions of letting anyone take him anywhere. She met his gaze and opened her mouth to protest, but then she saw the blaze of love, and lust, behind his eyes. Reece wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless, and if he tried again, Emily wasn’t so sure she’d stop him.

  “If I say it again will you let them take you to the ER?”

  Reece raised an eyebrow. “Don’t need to go, I’ll be fine,” Emily interrupted with a sigh. “But, if you tell me over a kiss I’ll consider it.”

  You stupid, stubborn man! She wanted to shout, but instead Emily scooted up to rest her forehead against his.

  “I love you, Reece. I have from the moment I looked into your eyes.”

  He pulled her to him and their lips met. Reece wasted no time deepening the kiss, tracing her lips and then the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Her hands found their way into his hair, and it was only when he let out a small groan that Emily pulled away. “Shit, I hurt you. Now can we go to the hospital?”

  Reece smiled, despite his pallor. “Maybe just for a quick stop. You’re lethal, baby.” He turned to the paramedic. “Let's get moving, so I can take my woman home.” The paramedics closed the doors and Emily felt the engine start. She leaned against the gurney as the ambulance pulled away into traffic. Reece’s eyes didn’t leave her, and he never let go of her hand.

  “Does it hurt?” she asked, her face pressed up against his neck.

  He smiled and kissed her again.

  “Not anymore.”

  29

  Three hours later Emily gazed up at the tall building that housed Reece’s apartment in the middle of the city. Treating the stab wound on Reece’s leg had been relatively simple, thank god. The ER doctor had cleaned his leg, applied an antibacterial solution, and bandaged it, no stitches required. He’d wanted to keep Reece overnight for observation, but when Reece made it obvious he was only sitting still long enough for the doc to bandage him up Emily had been given a crash course in changing the dressing. The sight of the red tinged water rushing from the wound as it was cleaned and irrigated made Emily’s hands shake a little again, but if all she had to do to make sure Reece stayed healthy was change a bandage a couple of times a day she’d gladly do it. Her mind flashed back to when she’d first seen him lying on the floor, deathly still and covered in blood. Yep, if her stubborn and sexy man was feeling OK enough to refuse an overnight hospital stay, then she wasn’t going to argue. She just wanted to go home and hold him for hours.

  Reece used his key card to enter the lobby, waving
at the night man as they walked toward the elevator. It was a little slow, but Reece was still walking with a slight limp and there was no way he’d make it up seven flights of stairs. Emily found her mind wandering again as they stood waiting, but looking at Reece from behind her thoughts were going in an altogether better direction. Geez, even limping you could bounce a quarter off that man’s ass, and finally he was all hers for as long as she wanted. His arms went around her as they entered the elevator car. By the second floor he was nibbling on her neck, and by the time they reached the sixth his hand was resting on her chest, just below one breast. She laughed and tried to push his hand away. What if they had security cameras in here? Reece’s only response was to suck on her earlobe and brush his thumb across her nipple. Emily leaned back against him and groaned. Who cared if someone was watching? After the night they’d had a little nookie in the elevator was tame in comparison.

  Moments later when the door swung open on Reece’s sparsely furnished apartment, Emily knew she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. She walked out through French doors onto his balcony and stared out into the night. The moon’s mirage reflected from the lake in a nearby park, stirred only by the breeze that ruffled through the dense growth of trees on the south side. The stars twinkled softly overhead, and below her, the streets of Chicago bustled on. The whole view was just gorgeous, almost visually orgasmic. She turned back into the apartment and wandered through the rooms, ending up standing by the door of Reece’s bedroom. Most of the apartment had been designed in a sort of Castilian decor, but in Reece’s private space there was nothing but contemporary western. Wooden panels covered the ceiling and the walls were a muted cream shade. Rustic accessories and softly lit lamps completed the look and made the room look entirely too inviting. Reece’s bed was a simple sleigh, but it was just about the biggest bed Emily had ever seen. There was a hell of a lot of things they could do on that bed that size.