She said nothing as he carried her through the water. There was no need.
He could feel her shaking, a deep, involuntary tremor of a body that had been in the icy water for too long. He kept his arm around her and kept moving, the bank coming up ahead of them. He could see the spit of land where Grim and Blaze stood outlined against the dark tree line, Grim already holding a blanket out.
Elvis helped her out of the water, keeping his grip tight around her waist. Grim rushed over to them, blanket held out. Elvis brought her up the bank, the ground becoming solid under them, and then she turned into him without being asked as Grim placed the blanket around her shoulders. She pressed her face against Elvis’s chest, her body soaking and shaking. He wrapped both arms around her and held on with everything he had.
She made a sound against his chest that wasn’t quite a word and not quite a sob but lived somewhere between the two. He pressed his mouth to the top of her wet hair, letting his lips linger for a moment.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
“You’re all right,” Elvis finally whispered against her hair. It wasn’t a question as he ran his hands up and down her back, hoping to rub some warmth into her.
“I’m freezing,” she said into his chest.
“I know. It’s all right.”
“No, it’s absolutely not all right. I can’t stop shaking.”
He chuckled as he kissed the top of her head again. “I’ll get you warmed up. Don’t worry.”
He leaned back just enough to look at her face, the river water dripping from her skin, her hair plastered flat against her head. She had a cut on her forearm, and he could feel the cold fury of what could’ve happened to her move through him once more. It was another thing he would take out on Matteo when they got back to the estate.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“All right. Then let’s get you in the SUV and head back to the estate. We need to check on Dane.”
She turned around, but Elvis kept his arms wrapped around her for the moment. “I’m glad to see you’re all right,” she said to Grim. “I was worried when I saw you slide down the wall back at the hospital.”
A sheepish look covered Grim’s face as he took a step back. “I’m just glad you’re all right. I was worried when they brought me back around and learned they had taken you. I’m sorry I let that happen. Really sorry.”
She reached out, placing a hand on his arm. “You did nothing wrong. I should’ve known better. I was just too worried about Deke.” Then her eyes went wide as she spun to face Elvis. “Donovan. Is he all right?”
Elvis wished he could tell her, but he didn’t know. “We’ll call the hospital as soon as we get back to Dane.”
He saw the panic on her face, and it tore at him. “Come on. Let’s get back to the estate.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
AT SIX IN THE morning, the hospital room was almost too quiet. Marshall Cochran had arrived at the estate, taking over for Dane and the others, wrapping up the chaos of what happened, and as soon as it was over, Delaney begged for Elvis to take her back to Donovan so she could check on him. For the past two hours, she had been sitting in the chair beside his bed, her hair still carrying the faint mineral smell of the St Marys despite the shower she had taken at the Whitmore house before Elvis would allow her to go to the hospital.
The marshal was breathing at least, even if not awake, and the beeping monitors over his head verified that he was doing as all right as he could considering what he had been through. She stared at the line, watching the repetition of the beats, finding some sort of solace in the noise.
Once again, she thought he looked smaller, thinner, and she suspected it had more to do about her than it did about him because the man was still rather formidable. He had a surgical dressing on his side where Leon’s man had shot him, and a bruise along his jaw from where he hit the pavement. However, his expression while he slept spoke of an exhausted peace that both reassured and scared her.
Still, she didn’t let herself cry. Somewhere between the riverbank and the hospital room she had decided she was through with the tears. She had won. Matteo and his men were going away for good, his organization ruined. Her family was safe.Shewas safe. Her life was once again hers.
She had cried, though. Big, sobbing tears as the release washed through her, cleansing her of the fear that had gripped her when she thought she was about to die. But no more. Now was the time to celebrate.
Matteo was going to jail, Roman was doing well back at Obsidian Analytics, her family could show their faces once more, and she had Bobby Jenkins back in her life. The time for tears was over.
She reached out, taking Donovan’s hand in hers as she stared at his face. His hand was warm and still strong. She could feel his pulse steady beneath her fingers and knew he would be forced to rest while his body repaired, which he would hate. He needed it, though, but even more, he deserved it.
She heard the door to the room open behind her, but she didn’t turn to see who entered. She knew. Could tell by the swagger in his footsteps.
She glanced across the bed as Bobby appeared on the other side, glancing down at Donovan for a moment. She could tell he was assessing the situation, taking stock, so to speak. He had told her he felt responsible for the marshal being there, not having considered that they would have a man hidden somewhere.
She had told him it wasn’t his fault, of course. Even told him that Donovan would say the same thing. The blame laid at the feet of men who did evil things, men like Matteo and his father.
