Authors: Casey Clipper
He wheeled around, surprised to find her standing behind him. Storming back into the house, he slammed the door shut. "That phone call I took was someone from HR at the hospital. Apparently,
a government agency was in today probing files to find the address of one of its recently discharged patients. They said the home address was no good, that the patient wasn't located there any longer." He cocked an eyebrow. "Coincidence?"
She didn't believe in coincidences. But what she did believe was, for some reason, John Marshall was focused
on her. Why? Why would the government be looking for her? Her memory rummaged through all her meetings, phone calls, and interactions with John. Presented to her in that format, some of their conversations were beyond odd. Like the one in the restaurant. But why would the govern—
Darren.
They would use her to get to her husband. Had that been what Derrick referred to in the hospital? There was only one way to find out.
"I have to see Derrick," Courtney said.
Ryan grabbed her shoulders. "Are you sure you should? Are you emotionally capable of handling it?"
She nodded. "If John Marshall is
working for the government, then he used me and caused this nightmare. He led me to believe my husband cheated on me."
He nodded grimly. "I can't go with you. I have to get back to work."
"That's okay. I can go alone but can I borrow your car?"
"Of course, Sean can bring me home." He pulled her into one of his
infamous bear hugs and held her.
"Thanks, Ryan." She snuggled into his chest, feeling protected and safe in his arms. He'd always embraced a big brother role with her. "You know how much I love you and Sean, right?"
"Yeah, I do, 'cause we love you the same," he admitted and kissed the top of her head. "You know of all the people we missed while away, we missed you most. You mean the world to us. We don't like seeing you hurt."
***
Derrick
Seated behind his large, oak desk going over paperwork sent by
his brother, Derrick was interrupted by a soft knock on his office door. When he glanced up, shock coursed through him.
Standing
in the doorway was his beautiful sister-in-law dressed in jeans and black tee shirt. He jumped up and practically knocked her over when he scooped her into his strong arms and squeezed her against his hard body. He buried his nose into her hair to breath in her wonderful scent.
Af
ter a full minute of holding Courtney, he set her down and took her delicate face into his large hands. He gave her a long, soft kiss on her velvet lips.
"Courtney," he whispered relieved.
Tears glistened those enormous blue eyes that looked much better but still weren't back to their vivacious shade. "I've missed you, Derrick."
"Oh, sweetheart, I've missed you, too."
They held onto each other for the longest time until she pulled away. She waved towards the empty secretary's desk. "I would have knocked but she's not in."
He sighed, exasperated. "She's sick today."
He led her to the sofa and sat down next to her. Derrick took her hands into his, never wanting to release them.
"You look good, sweetheart. You look almost one hundred percent. Obviously you've been taking care of yourself," he observed.
"Well, it helps that I'm staying with a doctor and a nurse," she said.
"I suppose that would help. I'm thankful you're staying with them," Derrick said, his
voice rough. "Though I would prefer them to check in on you at your home with your husband."
She didn't reply and he refused to push.
"Have you eaten lunch yet, honey?" he asked.
"I haven't, and I'm due to take my meds soon," she answered.
"Great, let's do lunch." Somehow, he needed to subtly text his brother and let him know Courtney was with him. Knowing Darren, the second he received the message their lunch would come abruptly to an end.
Derrick and Courtney had ordered their lunch and made small chitchat while they waited for their entrees. Derrick refused to release her hand the entire time. Thrilled to have her back in his life, he hated to admit how much she controlled his inner happiness. A significant piece of his puzzle had been missing for the past month.
"Derrick, can I ask you something?" she asked.
"Of course, honey."
"Is the
government looking into Darren?" she boldly asked.
How did he approach her question
? She never asked Darren about his "business." What happened? What did she know?
"Why do you ask?"
"Let's just say some things have come to light, and I wonder if the government is going after my husband through me," she said.
Stunned over her astuteness, it occurred to him he shouldn't
really be surprised. Courtney wasn't an idiot. She'd never been given much credit for her intelligence because she played the part of the unknowing wife brilliantly.
"I'm Darren's attorney,
Court, there isn't much I can tell you and what I do know I can't reveal," he lied. Protecting her held too much importance in their lives. Also, Darren, as her husband, needed to be the one to answer her questions.
She sighed. "I have another question," she said.
"Okay," he said guarded.
"What would Darren do if I asked for a divorce?"
He blanched and squeezed her hand firmly. "Don't."
"I'm asking if Darren would wring me out or treat me civilly," she explained.
"I know what you meant. I'm telling you don't do this. Again, I'm not your attorney, I'm Darren's. I can't tell you what he would do financially or otherwise, but as his brother, I will tell you he won't grant you a divorce. He
will
fight you on it," Derrick warned.
She looked away, but not before he caught the twitch of a smile cross her lips.
"Is that what you wanted to hear?" he asked shocked.
She nodded.
"Sweetheart, Darren is crazy in love with you. It's destroying him not having you by his side, in his bed at night, or caring for you. He's been a drunken idiot, drowning his misery nightly. He won't leave the house. I've never seen him this way. All you have to do is say the word and he'll be by your side in a nanosecond," he pleaded for his brother. Little did she realize that plea also included himself.
"You mean you haven't texte
d him to tell him I've shown up and you're having lunch with me?" She raised an eyebrow.
Derrick chuckled. "I may have." He wrapped his arms around her. "I love that you know me so well." He pulled back and looked into her
eyes. "You belong with Darren. Talk to him. Allow him to explain everything to you. I have a feeling by your cryptic questions that you know something. He needs to know what you've found out and if you're in danger. Give him a chance to fight for you."
She nodded but didn't acknowledge what her next course would be. He hated that.
Technically he shouldn't allow her out of his sight until she was safely in Darren's care. Hopefully his drunk-ass brother got his text message.
***
Darren
On the back
deck Darren sat on the lounger located in the corner, as his men enjoyed one of the final warm days of summer. The scent of steaks, burgers, and dogs filled the air while beers were passed around and a debate on the point spread of a preseason football game was greatly debated. It was the first day in weeks that Darren wasn't drunk. Yet. Last night he'd been so plastered that he whipped his cell phone against the kitchen wall and broke it into hundreds of pieces. He'd come across another dead end in the effort to find his wife. Begrudgingly he ordered Jack and Carl to put a hold on the search. He couldn't utilize his resources any longer. Hell, Derk Forester couldn't even find her and that man could find a needle in a haystack. His wife didn't want to be found. Maybe in a few weeks he'd start the search again, but for now he put an end to it all.
Lost in his own dark thoughts, he wasn't paying attention to the guys. It took him a minute to notice they were oddly silent. He looked up to find Jack
frozen in mid burger flip and Carl in mid drink. He glanced around and followed their gazes towards the sliding glass door.
Courtney.
His body reacted before his mind. In a split second, he was up, knocking over a chair, and rushed to his wife. His lips were covering hers in a hard, firm kiss that knocked her backwards.
"I'm sorry," Darren breathed, pulling away.
Tears pooled in her eyes.
"Baby."
"I need to know what happened, Darren," she demanded. "I need the truth, no matter how much you want to protect me. There's something going on and I feel like I'm in the middle."
He grasped her shoulders firmly.
"What happened?" he insisted, his angst barely contained.
"You first."
She shook her head.
"Come inside, honey," he
pleaded. He closed his eyes, composing himself, not wanting to push her away. He took hold of his emotions. "You look so much better."
She smiled timidly. "I've had great care."
He eyed her suspiciously but controlled his inner caveman. Now wasn't the time to question who was nursing her back to health, that would wait for later. He threaded their fingers together and led her into the living room.
"Are you thirsty? Do you feel okay? Can I get you something?" he asked desperately. It
killed him not to be able to cater to her when her health required it. He needed to convince her to come home.
"No, I'm good. I just had a long lunch with Derrick," she admitted.
He stiffened. What the hell? She went to his brother first? "You did?"
"Yes, I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach this." She waved her forefinger between the two of them. "I went to him for advice."
He relaxed. That made sense. She tended to lean on Derrick, who didn't mind. He couldn't begrudge either of them their relationship. He had spent years encouraging it. "I'm glad you did. My brother loves you."
"I love him, too." She sighed. The strain on her was evident in her features. She looked tired and stressed, though far more healthy. She looked him in the eyes. "Spill."
He chuckled, his nerves evident in the sound. "I've missed you."
She sagged deep into the sofa. "I've missed you."
They both sat silent, Courtney eyeing him, waiting for a response. He repositioned himself to face her. He reached up and brushed her beautiful blonde hair off her shoulders. The last thing he wanted to do was push her too far. Unable to help himself, he leaned over and kissed her on the lips again. He pulled back, committing her heavenly taste to memory. God, he missed her.
“I can’t tell you much. You know why,” he said regretfully. “I can't put you or myself in that position. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“Good, it's not that I don’t want to tell you or trust you, I do.” He closed his eyes, debating on what he was capable of exposing. He opened them, sorrow
radiating out of every pour. He squeezed her hand and sighed. “The woman you saw me with turned out to be an agent. She had admitted what her job was before you walked in. We had believed she was some sort of police agency months before but thought she might be local. A few months ago she appeared at the bar and tried to force herself into my life. She was very brazen when it came to trying to seduce me.”
Her audible sharp inhale cut to his core. He hurt her.
“I only have eyes for you,” he reassured her.
Those gorgeous, blue eyes
scanned his chocolate browns as if she searched for the truth. She nodded.
“That night she showed up at the bar drunk and approached Jack and Carl, demanding to speak to me. She said she had information. Jack called and I agreed to meet her. We didn't know what she was up to. When I got there she was
immediately all over me. We decided to feed her more drinks with the thought of getting more information out of her. She did, in a way. I won't tell you what, but she presented me with an offer while I was on the dance floor with her," he said.
“Do you have to do that often? I mean, entertain women to get information out of them,” she asked.
“No,” he answered firmly. “This was unusual, Court. I promise you.” He looked directly into her eyes so she would see his honesty. “I don’t know why I looked up to see you standing at the landing. It was as if I knew you were there. A sixth sense letting me know my world was about to collapse.”
“You looked like you were about to kiss her,” she whispered.
“Absolutely not. She had just said something to me that took me by surprise. I was about to say," he paused, torn, "oh, honey, I can't tell you. I wish I could but I can't. I promise you, with everything in me, I was not going to kiss her.”