SAFE (9 page)

“Do you remember the caves” She felt his eyes watching her and Melissa knew there was something important she was missing.

“Of course I remember. I drove down there, didn’t I? I sent you and Buck a text that I was already there but the signal is horse shit there so I didn’t expect you to get it until I came out over the rim.” Admitting that she sent it after the fact was stupid, but at least she sent one. Kinda, sorta!

“Do you remember anything else, Melissa? Anything at all.” His tone was gentle and she knew, deep down, something was wrong. “Who did you tell about going to the site? Who knew you were going down there?”

“No one else.” She shook her head, which was a mistake. Pain shot from her neck to the top of her head. Closing her eyes helped the spinning of the room and she almost fell back onto the bed.

“Shit! No, you don’t get to lay back down. If you can’t stay awake then I’m taking you to the ER for a CAT scan.” Ty’s panicked voice brought her up short, making her focus on his face and the frown that marred his handsome features.

“Why are you here? You didn’t answer me before.”

Ty reached up with a tissue and touched her nose, making her flinch. When he pulled his hand away the tissue had spots of blood on it. Not much, but some and Melissa’s eyes shot up to meet her partner’s

“Well Satan’s Balls!” If it wasn’t so serious Ty probably would have laughed at the curse but this wasn’t funny anymore.

“How long have you been using your unique talents to solve cases, Melissa?” He was pissed. She could tell from his tone Ty wasn’t going to drop this. Not this time and she could avoid him any longer. Hunkered down on those strong legs of his in front of her, his face even with hers, this man was demanding answers.

“Almost from the beginning.” A long, vicious curse filled the room and Melissa flinched. “At first it was small and came naturally. A feeling, a thought, just a small nudge that would lead me to another, and then to another, and we would be finally able to find the ones who were responsible. I always had backup and always went by the book.” The painkillers had kicked in by now and she felt almost human again except her stomach growled about that time screaming for food.

“Does Buck know?”

“Hell no! Buck is old fashioned and would freak if he even thought something like me was real much less working for him. You of all people know he calls shit like this voodoo.” She stopped rubbing her arms when she realized what she was doing. An old habit from her teenage years while standing in front of her mother, listening as she was called all kinds of names. Was it no wonder she never came home all these years?

“The nose bleeds started about a year ago but have almost stopped. Of course, I haven’t used my unique gifts much over that time either because my other partner transferred. We were close friends and he was an anchor but didn’t realize it until he found out by accident.” She shivered, remembering that day almost two years ago.

“What happened?” he whispered, gently stroking her cheek but Melissa didn’t feel it. Her mind was lost on that day long ago when another person decided she wasn’t worth it.

“Vega called in so he could take his wife to the doctor. The flu was going around and she was pregnant, came down with a really bad case but was almost well. Once he finished up he decided to come on shift and came out to meet me at a site.” Melissa moved to the window and looked outside, pulling the curtains open. “It was a dump site, an old one so there was no need for extra surveillance. I didn’t realize Vega was coming out at all or I wouldn’t have tried to read the area but I thought I could pick up some trace that might help us break the cold case.”

“What happened?” Ty asked again softly, bringing her back from the past but not the pain.

“He found me passed out, probably like you did, except I was lying in the snow without a coat. It must have been several hours after the fact. My nose had been bleeding and it had turned the snow around my head bright pink. Of course he panicked, who wouldn’t seeing something like that. He called for backup, got me covered. I came to before the EMTs arrived.” Melissa looked at her current partner, guilt coloring her face pink.

“I told them I fell and hit my head but of course Vega didn’t believe it. Once the EMTs got me cleaned up, Buck read me the riot act for going out alone then had me take a few days off to make sure I was 100% again. Vega took me home and dropped me off but I could tell things were different.” She walked over and took a long drink from the water bottle on the table, her throat parched and dry from her confessions. “Once I told him what actually happened and why he made me promise never to do again without him there, which I did. I only used it a couple of other times after that and only when Vega was close by. There was never a repeat of what happened. But, Vega was never the same after that and he put in a transfer about a year later. When I asked him why, do you know what he told me?” Ty could only shake his head, wanting to hunt down the man who had hurt her without realizing it.

“He said it was too much of a responsibility holding my life in his hands. He could protect my back as a partner with the DEA and that wasn’t what got to him. But knowing that the evil in the world was blocked at getting to me by just his standing in its way in order to keep me alive was too much of a burden and he was having trouble sleeping. Not with his little girl now on this earth. It put too much responsibility on his heart and he had to choose his family over me.”

Melissa turned to look at him and Ty’s heart broke all over again. Tears streamed down her wind chapped cheeks and the little dent in her chin just under that full bottom lip trembling like a little girl who just found out there was no such thing as Santa Clause.

“The real kicker is I can’t blame him one bit. They made me that little girl’s godmother and I would die to protect her, Ty. I know what it’s like to carry this burden and I can’t ask anyone else to help carry it. It’s too heavy to ask someone to stand beside me knowing that there really are monsters out there and it’s my job to hunt them down.”

“Melissa ..” he started to say but she held up her hand to stop him.

“No. I’m used to it, don’t you get it?” She shook her head, unaware her long strands looked wanton curling around her head as they escaped her ponytail. Crossing her arms under her breasts, Melissa tried to steady her breathing and accept what was happening. “When your family disappeared without a trace back in high school I thought it was my fault somehow. I went to Sheriff Stormy Jackson and anyone else who would listen to me, trying to get answers but they all thought I was just some seventeen-year-old star struck girl who was upset because the guy she had a crush on was suddenly gone. They had no idea that you were the only friend I had ever confided in, had shared my secrets with and I was sure that sin had caused your family to be targeted. I didn’t know how or why, but I was sure of it.”

“We were moved to Washington, DC because of my Dad’s job, Melissa. He’s retired now, but you knew he worked at the Air Base while we were here. He was an intelligence officer but no one knew that.” Ty ran both hands through his hair, just as he always did when he was frustrated. “Hell, I didn’t know it until a few years ago when his health started to decline and he told me some of the things he could finally tell me with my current job.”

“That may be the case, but no one could tell me why it was so sudden. Why one Thursday you were there, and come Saturday morning all of you were gone and the house empty. Especially right after we had talked.” She would never be convinced there was no connection. There were no coincidences, not in her job and not in life.

“You have to learn to accept help with this, Melissa. If not it could eventually kill you.” He walked up, pulling her into his arms even as she struggled. “Stop it!” he growled, giving her a small shake.

“You don’t get it, do you?” she whispered.

“What? Tell me.” He rubbed her back, felt the muscles as they tensed as if ready to fight yet trembling from the day’s strain.

“I can’t let anyone else close, Ty. It hurts too much when they leave.” She looked up at him, eyes swimming pools of sorrow so deep it reached her soul and so easy to read he wondered why no one else could see how much this woman in his arms needed to be loved.

“Awe baby, I’ve never left you. I’ve just been out of sight for a while. But I’ve always known where you were after you entered the Academy. I always knew what was going on.” Melissa shook her head at his words, but saw his goofy smile as he pulled her back into his arms. “You need to sleep. I can feel your muscles shaking apart in my arms. Will you lie down and try if I stay here?”

Ty pulled her into the bathroom and started the shower, then turned to leave. He started to close the door but turned, looking over his shoulder.

“I’ll find you something to wear and pull another cold bottle of water from the fridge. Promise me that you’ll try to sleep for a while?” She could tell he wasn’t going to leave until he got an answer just by the stubborn set of his mouth.

“Promise,” was all she could say, turning to unbutton the wrinkled dress shirt and toss it in the corner on the floor. Pants and socks were quickly followed by undies.

Chapter 12

Melissa stepped into blessedly hot water pounding down on her neck and back. She reached for the scrubby hanging from the showerhead and filled it with her favorite vanilla and lavender soap, the familiar smell finally easing her headache and allowing her muscles to relax. Quickly washing and conditioning her hair with the same vanilla scented products she always used, it took little time to finish up. When she stepped out of the shower stall a pair of shorts and tank lay on the vanity along with a pair of boy shorts and Melissa’s face went up in flames.

She hadn’t heard Ty come back into the bathroom while she showered, but the thought of him selecting the clothes she would sleep in did something to her lower stomach. Only in her most secret dreams had she ever allowed fantasies to escape where she and Ty might one day be able to have some kind of an intimate relationship. Never, in her wildest dreams had it been even possible that Ty DuValle would return to be part of her life.

It didn’t take Melissa long to quickly apply vanilla and lavender body lotion, brush her teeth and blow dry her long hair. A quick twist and it was up for the night and Melissa was dressed for bed, but she still stood there trying to make herself open the door. Ty must have heard her because she jumped when he called from the other side of the door.

“Melissa, get out here.” His tone was teasing, but she could sense an undertone of something else that teased her senses. Her brain was tired, her blocks weak from the day’s events, and she really needed sleep because otherwise she would have been able to keep them up a lot better than this.

Opening the door, it was hard to look at him as she tossed her dirty clothes into the cloth hamper she kept in the corner. With a quick check of her weapon under the pillow and her badge on the nightstand, Melissa crawled under the covers Ty had turned down for her and pulled one of the pillows into her stomach as she curled on left side. For some reason as soon as she closed her eyes her body started to shake.

He watched as she crawled into bed, so alone and scared and saw the minute Melissa McKinney fell apart when her eyes closed. Ty couldn’t have stopped himself if he had been held at gun point.

In less than two heartbeats he was curled around her on top of the covers, pulling her into his chest as he felt her strong, lithe body try to shake itself apart as silent tears soaked the pillow she clutched to her chest. His heart broke for the girl he had known growing up and the strong DEA agent who he now held in his arms. Few knew the struggles she had overcome or the heartaches she bore due to being outcast from most of her family, keeping so called friends at bay least they discover her closely guarded secrets. Even fewer were privy to her unique talents used to save lives, touching others in ways that brought hope and life.

Yet the costs it took on her, body and soul, were sometimes too much. She wasn’t someone who accepted help with this side of herself easily and Ty would have to tread carefully in order to ensure she didn’t abuse her unique talents to the point it injured her health again. He wouldn’t allow it.

“Shush,” he cooed, pulling her closer as she continued to cry. “Go to sleep. I’ll watch your back.”

“Promise me, Ty.” Her strangled whisper was barely there but he heard her. “Don’t let the monster get us.”

“No baby,” he promised. Brushing a kiss to her sweaty temple, he gently rocked her in his arms as he felt a shuddered breath rock her chest. “No monsters will get in the door tonight.”

If a single tear slipped down his cheek as he held her, no one would know. Nor did they need to know just how much he cared for this woman he held in his arms so the monsters couldn’t get to her nightmares. There hadn’t been a day that went by after his father moved them to D. C. that Ty hadn’t wanted to get in touch with Melissa but there had been more to it than just the move. More that he wasn’t at liberty to tell her just yet and until he could it was best to stay away from the subject. It hurt too much to remember that first year away, when he still lived with his parents and had to abide by his father’s rule. Until he was in college and had some freedom of his own, could research and find out exactly where Melissa was at and what was happening to her. It was how he realized just how good he was at criminal research, and investigative work. When he changed his major to criminal law, his parents went ballistic. Not only was he not going to be an attorney, he was intent on being in law enforcement.

The quiet of the night finally settled on them broken only by the hum of the air conditioning as it sucked the Texas humidity from the room and left him seeking out the top cover thrown at the bottom of the bed. With one foot, he pulled it up and covered his legs as best he could as he kept his promise and watched until the pink of dawn peek around the curtains.

Chapter 13

December 2006

Dear Diary: