Love's Protector: A Maverick's Shield Novel (17 page)

“Ouch!” Amour exclaimed as the nurse changed the bandages covering her swollen nose. The hospital was the last place she wanted to be. Where she really wanted to be was home with Jason but the doctor insisted that she stay overnight for observation.

“You have to stop moving Miss Graciette,” the nurse said.

“It hurts when you do that!” She was well aware that she was being a brat but she was hoping by doing so she would get her way and be released today but no such luck.

“Well you need to stay still and besides, you’re the one who didn’t want any pain medication.”

“I don’t like drugs, I’m fine.”

The nurse placed the last bandage on Amour’s nose. “Alright, suit yourself. Call if you need me.” 

Jason walked into Amour’s room just as the nurse was exiting. She greeted him as she walked out shutting the door behind her. As happy as Amour was to see Jason and even though she knew he was glad that she was alive, she could tell he was pissed at her. She saw it in his eyes when he looked at her.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I want to get out of here but they won’t let me.”

“Well I think you should listen to them.”

“Oh what the hell do they know? I know my body better than them and I say I’m fine.”

“Well, until the doctor releases you, you’re staying here.”

She took in a deep breath.
“Fine.” She slowly sat up in the bed. “So did you find out anything about the guy that kidnapped me?”

“The police have him in custody and won’t let me anywhere near him. They wouldn’t even allow me to observe when they questioned him. So it looks like I’m going to have to find some other way to get to him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be in jail for a while. He kidnapped, assaulted and tried to rape me so good luck with that.”

He chuckled. “You must’ve kicked the shit out of him because you knocked him out cold.”

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Well, I wasn’t blessed with these long legs for nothing.”

“I guess not. Did he say anything to you when you were with him?”

“Yeah, he did. I remember him saying something about his boss being high powered and not wanting to get his hands dirty. He got a phone call in the middle of everything and it seems this person, whoever they were, was telling him to finish me off quickly because he had another job for him to do. He’s the one that’s been calling me too.”

“Hmm…and most likely who killed the maid. That’s why I wish that I was able to talk to him before the cops came and brought him here. I tried to get in his room when he woke up but as soon as that happened, they took him downtown to Twin Towers.”

She frowned. “Twin Towers?”

“That’s the county jail.”

“Oh. So what are we going to do now?”

“Well Alex and I spoke with Captain Westfield earlier today so we’re gonna follow up on that.”

“What did he have to say? Did he lie to you again?”

“Pretty much.
His story didn’t match up with Riley’s either. He did give us a tidbit of information that might be helpful to us though.”

“What’s that?”

“He told us not only that he questioned Mrs. Pruitt, he also questioned an Asian couple and a few kids that lived across the street from your mom at the time.”

She perked up. “Did you talk to them?”

“Yes, but the Asian couple didn’t have much to say but I did speak with the mother of one of the kid that lived across the street. It was the woman’s daughter but she lives in New York now. She said she’d pass my information on to her so we’ll just have to see what happens.”

“Well hopefully she’ll call you.”

There was a knock at the door. “Yes?” Amour shouted.

“It’s Dr. Smith. May I come in?”

“Sure.”

The doctor walked in carrying a chart and his stethoscope. “Hello Miss Graciette. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Can I go home now?”

He laughed. “I’m afraid not. I need you here until tomorrow. We have to make sure you don’t have a concussion from the blows you’ve suffered.” He put his stethoscope in his ears and checked her heart beat for a few seconds before flashing a tiny light in her eyes. He turned to Jason. “Do you mind if I talk to Miss Graciette alone?”

Amour raised her palm in the air. “It’s okay doctor. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of him.”

“Alright.
Well as I said, other than your nose being a little swollen and sore, and that should be fully healed within a week or so, everything looks normal. The results of your blood tests are also normal and after my examination, I didn’t see any vaginal trauma or fluids so it’s highly doubtful that you were raped.”

She looked up at Jason and saw him release the breath he was holding. She’d already known that was the case because she had knocked him out before he had a chance to.  “Great!”

“Now Miss Graciette, you might not have any physical trauma from the attack, but you may still have mental trauma.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were sexually assaulted. That can take its toll on a woman mentally. I can recommend a few counselors you can go to at no charge that specifically deal with sexual assault victims.”

She held her hand up again. “I’m fine! There’s no need for that.”

“Are you sure Miss Graciette? It might be beneficial…”

“I said I’m fine!” When the doctor frowned, she knew that she was being too aggressive towards him so she lowered her voice. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help and I appreciate it but I’m fine, really.”

“Well if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Alright. I’ll let you get some rest. I’ll be back later to check on you.”

After Dr. Smith had gone, she looked up at Jason. “You think I should go don’t you?”

“Not if you don’t feel you need to. I think therapy is pointless.”

“Why? Have you had it before?”

“Yes, for six weeks. I’d just finished the day I met you.”

“How come?”

“It’s a long story. Anyway, I got your bag out of that guy’s car. It’s right there on the chair.”

Her bag…she’d forgotten all about that. “Thank god! The items from my mom’s safe deposit box are in it.”

“I knew that’s where the two of you went. You managed to get in it?”

“Yeah, I got everything out right before he snatched me.”

“Do you want to go through it now?”

Before she could answer, there was another knock at the door. “Yes!”

A male voice sounded. “It’s Alex and Shyla.”

“Come in!”

When they entered, Shyla immediately went to Amour’s bedside. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry girl. When you texted me I thought you were ok. By the time I’d realized…”

“Don’t worry about it I’m fine.”

Shyla let out a breath. “Good.”

“We were just about to go through what she found in the box at the bank,” Jason said.

“Oh,” Alex said cautiously. “Do you want us here for this Amour?”

“It’s ok, you’re fine.”

Jason grabbed the tote bag from the chair and tossed it to Amour. “You do the honors.”

She unzipped the bag and pulled the envelopes out of it. Her hands started to shake as she suddenly became nervous. Since she once again didn’t know what to expect from this, she just decided to treat it like a bandage and just rip it off and get it over with. Sliding the large rubber band from around them, she started with the larger of the envelopes first. She carefully tore it open and slid out a stack of photographs of her mother posing with a man who was dressed impeccably and looked like he was old enough to be her father. After studying them for a few seconds, she looked up at Jason but said nothing.

He walked to her bedside and sat in the chair next to it. “What is it?”

“Pictures of my mother and some guy.”
She handed him one of the photos. “I have no idea who he is.”

Jason studied the photo for a moment. “That’s Pierce Harrington. It’s a really old picture, but it’s definitely him.” He took the other photos from Amour. “And there are at least twenty photos of them together.”

“What the hell would she be doing with him?” Alex asked.

Shyla walked over and looked at the picture. “Wow!”

“Well she did work at Eleganti. He may have been a member there,” Jason said.

Alex grabbed a few of the pictures from Jason. “Yeah maybe but they look pretty close in these photos. You can definitely tell they were very comfortable around each other.”

Amour was starting to get frustrated because her nose was starting to hurt like hell and they weren’t telling her much of anything. “Who the hell is Pierce Harrington?”

They all simultaneously looked in her direction but Alex was the one that spoke. “He’s one of our state senators. Though I believe back then he was serving in the House of Representatives. He also served a couple of terms as the mayor of Los Angeles.”

Amour hesitated before she spoke. “Well maybe she voted for him and these are just fan pictures or maybe she volunteered for his campaign.”

Alex shrugged. “Well she couldn’t have voted for him because he didn’t serve her district at the time. Now she may have volunteered for him, that’s a possibility.  Considering the fact that he was very married with a kid then and still is now it could’ve been innocent.”

That had to be the case. If her mother was having an affair with that Pierce Harrington guy that would mean Angela was possibly telling the truth about her. But she refused to believe that her father would’ve loved her so much if she treated him as awful as Angela made it seem. There had to be an explanation for these photos. She looked up at Alex. “Then that’s most likely what it was.”

Jason gathered the photos in his hands and slid them back into the envelope. “Well we should get out of here and let Amour get some rest.”

She was glad to hear him make the suggestion because she was starting also get a headache along with her nose pain. “Yes, I’m tired.”

Shyla walked over and hugged Amour. “We’ll see you later okay.”

Alex hugged her also and then he and Shyla exited the room.

Jason stood and faced her. “I’m going to have them bring up a cot for me to sleep on. I’m staying here with you tonight.”

“Alright.”

She was glad to hear him say that as she watched him leave the room. Even though it didn’t show on the surface, she was still very frightened.  Who knew what else this “boss” of the man that attacked her had up their sleeve. She surely didn’t want to be alone tonight or any other. Her mind drifted to thoughts of her father and what he must have been going through back then. If any of what Angela said was true and those pictures did confirm the awful story she’d told them, her father had to make the conscious but very hard decision to push back his heartache and be a good and loving father to her. It couldn’t have been easy for him. The thought of it all made her want to cry. But she wasn’t going to. She had to stay strong and accomplish the goal she set when coming here. But tonight, she would get a good night’s sleep. She didn’t want to think about any of this anymore; not until tomorrow.

“Are you angry with me?” Amour asked as she and Jason sat across from each other at his kitchen table.

“Yes, but I’ll get over it.”

“Honestly thought I was helping you and that it would be okay. I’m sorry, I really am.”

“Why didn’t you just do what I asked you to do?”

“Because I don’t like just sitting around doing nothing.”

He chewed a piece of his steak a few times and then swallowed. “Well that’s better than getting yourself killed.”

“I know it wasn’t the best move I’ve made since coming here, but I didn’t think anyone would come after me in such a public place.”

“Actually it was stupid.”

“I know. You don’t have to remind me.”

“Maybe I do Amour. What happened to you trusting me when we’re apart?”

“I do trust you Jason, I’ve told you that more than once.”

“Well it sure doesn’t seem like it. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? That asshole could’ve easily killed you!”

She inhaled and then slowly let it out. “I know and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again I promise.”

He gave her a cold stare. “I take my job very seriously Amour. I know what people like this are capable of. I
actually
grew up in this kind of environment so I know what I’m talking about.”

She frowned. “What the hell is
that
supposed to mean?”

“It means that someone who came up the way you did have no business trying to pull something like that off without protection. This whole thing is a little bit beyond you Amour.”

Her eyes widened and Jason could tell frustration was building inside her. “Oh so you think just because I grew up in the Midwest that I’m this delicate little flower that can’t take care of herself. Do you really think all we do is shuck corn and milk cows all day? You know I’m sick and tired of that damned stereotype! We do things in the Midwest that everybody else does everywhere else thank you!”

He chuckled. “I…”

“Gee,” she interrupted. “Are you sure you wanna eat that steak for dinner?” She rose to her feet. “Why don’t I just whip you up a big heaping cornhusker’s casserole with a side of rolls with some homemade apple butter?”

“Umm…actually, I like apple butter…”

“Are you making fun of me?”

Boy he really pissed her off. “No…”

“What then?  Is it my outfit? Shall I go and put on a plaid shirt and tie it up at my waist and a pair of cut off denim shorts? Maybe I’ll put my hair in some pigtails while I’m at it!”

“Amour…”

“Well maybe this dumb Midwestern girl is too stupid for you to deal with; maybe we should give Boss Hogg and Roscoe a call. Maybe they’re more equipped to handle me and my situation!”

He chuckled again and held up his hand. “Actually, Boss Hogg and Roscoe
were in Georgia not the Midwest.”

“Whatever! It probably doesn’t make any difference to you! You probably group us all together anyway. Well you know what? We Midwesterners are just as capable as anyone else! We play sports, we do martial arts, we’re in the Olympics, we’re doctors, lawyers and we race cars!”

“
Obviously
,” he said with a smirk.

“Don’t patronize me you jackass! You’re no better than I am! At least we are honest, hard working people. We treat each other with respect. We have dignity and we don’t walk around pretending to be something we’re not! If we don’t like you, we’ll tell you to your face! We can definitely take care of ourselves just as well if not better than anyone else. I managed to knock my kidnapper unconscious with my hands taped and tied up. How many California girls do you know can say they’ve done that?”

He smiled. “Actually plenty.  You do realize you were born here so that technically makes you a Californian.”

“No sweetheart. I may have been born here, but I was raised in Omaha. So that makes me a Nebraskan through and through. That’s who I am, and if you don’t like it you can go to hell!”

As he watched Amour storm out of the kitchen, he took a few moments to try to figure out what the hell had just happened. How did he end up being the one getting yelled at? She was the one that did something foolish. He was supposed to mad at
her
not the other way around. Cornhusker’s casserole, rolls and apple butter? Where the hell did all of that come from? He certainly didn’t mean to imply anything and he didn’t assume any of those things about of her at all. Although, the thought of her wearing a tied up plaid shirt, cut off shorts and pigtails did sound kind of hot. His cock grew hard in his jeans just thinking about it. But he couldn’t occupy his mind with those thoughts right now. This arrangement was all about business and keeping her safe. Since there probably was zero chance she would let him in the bedroom, he figured it would be a cold shower and the couch for him tonight. It was for the best though. At least he wouldn’t be tempted to have sex with her and he’d be able to get some sleep which was exactly what he needed.

Morning clouds masked the hot sun for the time being so Jason had decided that it would be the perfect time to take a long walk along Venice Beach. He figured getting Amour to go along with him would be a task, but much to his surprise, she agreed but said nothing during the first forty-five minutes of the walk.

“I’m sorry Amour.”

“For what?”

“You know what. Please don’t do that.”

“You don’t have to apologize for how you feel Jason.”

“That’s not how I feel about you Amour; that’s how
you
think I feel about you. I know that you can take care of yourself, I would’ve just preferred you stayed at Alex and Shyla’s and not gone off on your own.”

She took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I know…I won’t do it again.”

“Good. Please don’t.”

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again. “So what’s next on our agenda?”

“Well, first I’m going to try to see if I can find a way to question the man that kidnapped you. I’m pretty sure between Alex and I we can get him to tell us who he’s working for.”

“Did the woman that witnessed what happened call you?”

“Are you talking about Rachel Monroe?”

“Yeah I guess so.”

“No she hasn’t. She may not.”

She looked up at him. “Why?”

“Because Amour, That was a long time ago and she was a kid then. Besides, her mother may not want her involved in this investigation so I’m sure that either she didn’t relay the message to her or she somehow convinced her to stay out of it.”

She suddenly stopped walking and put the palm of her hand up to her face. “Oh my god, this is never going to end is it?”

Jason stopped walking as well and then stepped in front of her. “Yes it will Amour.”

“No it won’t! They won’t stop until the kill me!”

He placed his hands on the sides of her face and raised it up to his looking into her eyes. “That’s not going to happen, I promise you. I won’t let anything else happen to you.”

Her eyes closed as Jason softly placed his lips on the bridge of her still slightly swollen nose and gently kissed it, followed by her cheek, the
corner of her mouth and then finally, her lips. This kiss was only meant to soothe her thoughts and reassure her that he would protect her at all costs but it turned into much more. He felt her lips part and the tip of her warm tongue at the corner of his mouth. He knew that he shouldn’t have kissed her, but he couldn’t think clear enough to stop it. She tasted sweet with a hint of saltiness from the tears that had fallen down her cheek. His eyes closed and his mind envisioned the lips he tasted softly brushing over other parts of his body. His neck, his chest, his stomach and his…

“No!” he said aggressively as he broke away from her.

The look in her blue eyes gave away the confusion she was obviously feeling. “Jason…”

“We can’t. Let’s just go alright.”