Hidden Currents (19 page)

“Only Dane knows. I was on loan and he was the only person who knew me. There are no paper trails and no electronic ones. I never went to his office. No other agent saw me. That was the deal. Dane was the liaison between me and everyone else. We knew if Stavros was involved he had to have the local police and customs officials paid off. Dane worried he would have people in every branch of law enforcement and frankly, I believe he’s right. We were careful. All Sheena’s clothes, everything she owned was brand-new so nothing could be traced back to me.”

“He’ll find Dane. We need to warn him.”

“As soon as Dane knows I’m alive he’ll come here. Nothing will stop him.”

Jackson felt his gut tighten. He turned his head slowly, locking his gaze with hers. “He’s in love with you. Damn it, Elle.”

“He only thinks he is, it’s not the same thing.”

“You were taken. You’ve always been taken.”

“You never made a move, Jackson.” She jerked her hand away from him and stood, wincing as the wounds pulled and stretched with her action. “I went out with him a couple of times and then told him it wasn’t going to work.”

“That there was someone else,” he prompted.

“There
wasn’t
anyone else,” she denied. “You didn’t want me.”

“I’ve always wanted you. I moved to Sea Haven for you. Don’t give me a load of crap, Elle.” He stood up, too, stepping close, crowding her. “You wanted me on your terms.”

“You should have wanted me on any terms,” she snapped. “If I mattered, then the circumstances shouldn’t have.”

“What the hell am I to you, Elle? A legacy. Someone your damned house chose for you. You wanted a yes man to go with your little fantasy about seven children and—”

“How would you know what I wanted?” she interrupted. “You never took the time to find out. You found out about my family and you just stepped aside. You didn’t want me but you didn’t want anyone else to have me.”

“So you go off and put your life in danger? What the hell kind of crap is that? You’re so fucking stubborn, Elle. You get your mind set on something and you don’t want to change it for anyone—especially me.”

“You wanted to take over my life.”

“No, you thought I wanted to take over your life. I wanted you to see what you were getting into, not what your legacy dictated. I’m not the nice guy your daddy picked out for you. I’m not going to say yes when I don’t think it’s right for us—or for you. You didn’t want that. It’s not politically correct in this day and age with strong women, is it? I’m a throwback to the cave days and you wanted me to change for you.”

“I just wanted you to want
me.
The real Elle Drake, with her crazy family and her seven children and the house from hell. I wanted you to love that Elle Drake. Was that really wrong for me to want you to want me as I am?”

“I do love Elle Drake, her family and her seven children and even the house from hell. But I’m going to be me, Elle, and you’re going to have to accept who I am and the baggage that comes with me.”

She threw her hands up into the air. “You think I don’t know you? I know exactly how you think. You’re so damned bossy and you think you know what’s right for me.”

“For us.” His eyes glittered down at her as he corrected her. “I want you to argue with me, Elle. I don’t mind heated discussions, but I’ll be damned if you walk out on me every time you’re pissed.”

She gasped. “I didn’t do that.”

“The hell you didn’t. I’ve had a lifetime of that and I won’t take it from you. You stand and fight with me, baby. All or nothing. Do you understand me? You’re not going to have one foot out the door because you don’t like me telling you what to do. You’d better make up your mind that I’m your man and then you stick.”

“I’m not the one with commitment issues,” she snapped. “That would be you.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Really? Because I believe every time I came near you, you ran like a rabbit.”

“Maybe I needed you to help me face what I’m supposed to do, Jackson. Did you ever once think I might need you? You think you have a difficult time thinking about becoming part of my family and having seven daughters, but has it once, just once, occurred to you it might be difficult for me? I heard your voice and I knew your mind. I’ve walked there, wrapped myself in you and you still were far from me. You didn’t want me there, inside of you.”

“Damn it, Elle.” He shoved his fingers through his thick, wavy hair. “You saw what they did to me. And there’s my childhood, so different from yours. The torture.” His hand crept to his face, traced a path down his chest as if feeling the trail of blood. “Did you think I wanted that for you? I was protecting you.”

“I don’t want your protection any more than you want mine. I need to be your partner, Jackson. I need to be able to see inside you the way you see me.”

“I can’t be anything but what I am, Elle. If you want a man who is going to treat you like a broken doll, you sure as hell came to the wrong place. And if you expect me to step aside and let you make decisions that are ultimately going to harm you, then, baby, you definitely have the wrong man because I protect my woman. Right or wrong, politically correct or not, I stand in front of her when there’s need. You got that?”

Elle studied the lines in his face, the dark shadows moving in his eyes. A frisson of excitement went down her spine, and in the pit of her stomach, birds took flight. He might be a throwback to the old cave days, but he was a man who would stand strong when there was trouble—any kind of trouble. Whether it was fighting an enemy or parenting teenagers or trying to provide a living for a large family. Why had she seen his strength as a weakness?
She
had to be equally as strong, standing with him, up to him, carving out a place by his side, not leading the way.

“Elle? Fucking answer me.”

“I got it. And watch your language, Jackson. You can clean it up if we’re going to be having seven daughters. Can you imagine me having to explain to the school why they all talk that way?”

He shrugged. “Some of us weren’t raised so gen teelly.”

“Well some of us can just learn and grow along the way. That’s an excuse.” There was a bite in her voice, but in her mind, a faint hint of laughter.

He opened his mouth and then closed it again with a small sigh. Retrieving the blanket, he sent the dog forward with a small hand gesture. “You’re always going to have the last word, aren’t you?”

She waited for him, moving beneath his shoulder, matching her shorter strides to his longer ones until he laughed and slowed down for her. “Yes, because you have a foul mouth and you’re always going to leave yourself wide open when we argue.”

“You could try not arguing with me, Elle.”

She shot him a look from under long lashes. “Yeah. That’s going to happen. Just like you learning to clean up your language.”

“It’s just a fucking word, Elle. What the hell difference does it make?”

“See? You can’t help yourself,” she said smugly. “I’m always going to win.”

He sighed heavily. “I’ll learn. Especially after our daughters are born.”

“You’ll learn before.”

A seagull screamed overhead just as Bomber stepped across and in front of Elle. Uttering a sharp, short bark, head pointed toward the front of the house, ears up as he alerted Jackson to an intruder.

Jackson’s gun slid smoothly into his hand and he pushed Elle behind him.

“I want a gun,” she hissed.

“You might shoot me if I say ‘fuck,’ and I’m bound to slip up. You’ve got a nasty little temper there, baby,” he pointed out as he signaled her to slip into the shadows.

Feeling a little defenseless without a weapon and with her body in such a fragile condition, Elle went without protesting, although she took a firmer grip on him with her mind. She watched the dog as it bared its teeth and went into attack mode at Jackson’s softly spoken command. Jackson gripped the collar and held him, but Bomber looked terrifying, all teeth and intent, barking, snarling, lunging at the end of his collar in a charge.

8

I N EZ Nelson rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt, holding a box of groceries in her arms. She went pale and stayed still, waiting for Jackson to give the release command. When Bomber settled she took a deep breath, only then seeing the gun Jackson returned to his shoulder holster.

Inez owned the local—and only—grocery store in Sea Haven. She’d been a part of the Drake sisters’ lives as long as Elle could remember. She looked fragile with her graying hair and slender body, but she was already smiling at the dog.

“Good job, Bomber. You protect our girl. I brought some things I thought you two might need,” she said in greeting, her sharp eyes inventorying Elle as she emerged from her hiding place in the bushes. “Hi, honey, I didn’t think you’d be up so early. I was going to leave the box on the deck.”

Elle felt her color rising in spite of her efforts to control it. She couldn’t stop herself from looking down, to see if all the wounds were adequately covered. Jackson’s sweater was long on her, but it was white and some of the bandages showed through. There were a couple of spots where blood had wept through, staining the material. She lifted her hand to touch the tangle of dull red hair, still matted from lack of care.

Jackson caught her wrist and tugged, pulling her beneath his shoulder, his body shielding hers just slightly, making it more difficult for Inez to get a good look at her.

“That’s so sweet of you, Inez,” Jackson spoke into the brief silence.

He could feel Elle’s discomfort, her sudden irrational fear, and her distress at treating an old friend with such a lack of warmth. He rarely talked to anyone in the village for more than a couple of terse sentences. But, if Elle couldn’t visit yet, then it was up to him to cover for her. He flashed a friendly smile and indicated Inez precede him up the stone path to the deck. He kept his arm firmly around Elle’s waist, urging her to walk with him.

“When did you put etchings on your stones, Jackson?” Inez asked, looking down at the path. “I never noticed that in all the time I’ve brought you groceries.”

Elle glanced quickly up at Jackson’s face.
She brings you groceries?

The moment she used telepathy, her brain seized, squeezing her skull like a vise. She gasped and clung to Jackson to keep from falling. He put his hand on the nape of her neck and pushed her head down so she could draw in deep breaths to keep from fainting.

Libby told you not to use telepathy. You have to let your brain heal, Elle. If you keep this up you’ll destroy your talent completely.
Fear made his voice edgy and gruffer than he intended.

Elle tried to jerk out from under his hand, glaring up at him. “I know that. Don’t you think I know that? I forgot.”

“Forgot what, dear?” Inez turned with a smile on her face, but gasped when she saw Elle’s face. “You’re bleeding, Elle.”

“Am I?” Elle touched her mouth and nose. Her fingers came away smeared with blood. “It doesn’t hurt, Inez. I’ll just go in and wash up and be right back.” Keeping her head down, she hurried into the house, sliding the screen closed behind her. Bomber just managed to slip through at Jackson’s signal before the screen slammed shut.

“Should you go in with her?” Inez asked. “I can leave, Jackson.”

Jackson’s first reaction was to have her go. He’d always been uneasy around people, but Inez had known Elle from birth, she’d attended the baby shower for her. He could see concern in her eyes, and the lines in her face deepened as she put down the groceries and regarded him.

“Please stay. Have a cup of tea with us this morning.” He sent her a small grin. “Or coffee. Don’t tell Elle, but I have coffee in the kitchen.”

Inez smiled back. “Coffee would be fantastic. I haven’t had my quota for the morning yet.” She glanced at her watch as she settled into a glider. “I have just enough time before I’m supposed to open the store.”

“I’ll just take these inside and bring you out a cup. Sugar and cream?”

She shook her head. “I like it black and strong. And maybe we shouldn’t mention that to Elle either.”

Jackson gave her a thumbs-up and hurried inside to check on Elle. She had already scrubbed her face and was desperately trying to tame her hair. Tears ran down her face. He caught her frantic hands and held them still. “Tell me.”

“Look at me. I’m a mess.”

“No, you’re not, Elle. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Pull your hair back and do that thing you do—you know, twisting it up and sticking a pencil in it. It really brings out the shape of your face.”

He was thinking about her skin and mouth and her bone structure. Not even in a sexual way, she decided, her tears drying up instantly. Just in an abstract way and he truly did think she was beautiful. Just the way he thought made her feel as if she might be. She took a deep breath, unconsciously following his breathing pattern and did as he suggested, twisting the mass of hair into an ornate roll and sticking a pencil through to hold it in place.

“Inez is going to have a cup of—er—something with us this morning before work. You can catch up on all the happenings in Sea Haven.”

Elle caught his sleeve. “Am I covered up?”

“All the way, baby.” He leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her trembling mouth. “A little too much if you ask me, but then I’m rather fond of looking at you.”

Jackson went back into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee from his automatic coffeemaker, which he loved. New technology was wonderful sometimes and to have coffee ready when he woke up was one of his joys in life.

“I know what you’re doing,” Elle called out from the other room.

The tea kettle began singing, although Jackson had not yet turned on the burner. “Damn it, Elle. You’re not supposed to use psychic powers at all. Do you not comprehend what
at all
means? Because I can help you understand it.”

“Don’t threaten me, Jackson,” Elle warned.

He heard the water running and knew she’d bled again around her nose and mouth. Her brain was far from healed. “It wasn’t a threat, baby. It was more like a promise. Knock it off.” He made a small pot of tea and put a tea towel over it to steep while he carried the coffee out to Inez. “Sorry it took so long.”