Rapid gun fire rang out as all teams infiltrated the single floor building. At one time it used to be known as the place where neon signs of Vegas’ night life came to die. Soon it would be known as the place women were housed to be murdered. The information Lev had provided us was accurate, which surprised us. They weren’t expecting a raid when we’d arrived. The outside was pretty much left unguarded, with a couple men shot onsite before they could cause a ruckus. A low body count, even in situations like the one before us, was a win in the bureau’s eyes.

“Clear,” Mason, who was lead for team two, confirmed through the headset. Meaning, the main entry had been seized and all involved parties were either apprehended or dead.

“Clear,” Tom, from team four, chimed in from the outside building.

“One male deceased, and one female needing medical attention,” a winded Gribbins reported into the headset. He was lead for team one, who infiltrated the back section of the building.

“Identification on either party?” Mason asked.

“Let me check.”

My heart pounded as I awaited the answer, but I couldn’t allow my head to get clouded with anything except clearing my section of the building.

“Is it Blair?” I frantically demanded. He didn’t need identification to know if it was her.

“It’s not our girl, Kelley, and negative on identification,” Gribbins replied.

I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer that she was in the building alive.

Stone makeshift cells stretched along the good majority of the back wall. Gribbins and Mason were merely a few hundred feet away in one of them, working on the woman who was clinging to her life as I led my guys around the corner to a closed door. We heard voices coming from the inside. I motioned for one of the men to take the door down so I could enter. Three fingers held in the air, dropping one by one for him to know it was go-time.

My heart thundered as the door caved in and we stormed the room. Stale blood almost suffocated me as I passed the threshold. A lone metal chair sat in the center of the room, and to my right my eyes landed on a man on top of a lifeless woman. My lifeless woman. “Blair!” I growled.

Everything happened so quickly, with my gun in hand I hurled myself in his direction. The man grunted as I tackled his body from the bench. A revolver I hadn’t realized he was holding slid across the concrete floor toward the far corner. With my attention on the gun, he managed to flip me onto my back. His fists came down hard against my face as I did my best to block them while trying to maneuver us so that I had the advantage once again. I slammed the butt of my Glock against the side of his head and managed to get him on his back. That was only temporary as he knocked my gun from my hand, leaving the two of us weaponless. I lunged toward the revolver, which was closest to me. His knee came up and busted me in the face and i felt the metallic taste of blood rushing into my mouth. With the revolver secured in my hand I flipped onto my back and aimed the weapon at him. To my surprise I saw that he had my gun. I quickly pulled the trigger as the sound of another shot being fired rang out. The flesh of my thigh ripped open. I cried out in pain.

“He’s dead,” one of the men in my team spoke up.

“Shit, Gavin. You need medical attention.” Gribbins crouched beside me.

“Blair!” I pointed toward the bench she’d been lying on.

“Your team got her out to the EMT’s while you wrestled with Clover.”

“They did?” Confusion washed over me.

“Yeah,” Gribbins smiled. “We got our girl back, now we have to make sure she survives.”

I tried to calm my labored breaths as his words sunk in. Blair was safe, but not out of the woods yet. The thoughts of what he’d done to her slipped into my mind. He was like an evil plague wreaking havoc on everyone he touched. “We need medical in here for Gavin,” Gribbins' voice pulled me from within my head.

“I’m okay.” I attempted to stand but collapsed back onto the floor.

“Don’t try to move again,” Gribbins warned. “The slug is still in your thigh and we can’t remove it here.”

“I need to go with Blair.”

“She’s already on her way to the hospital, and you’ll be right behind her. Mason rode with her. She’s in good hands.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Is that his revolver?” Gribbins motioned toward the gun lying on the floor beside me. I nodded. “You killed him with his own gun.” He chuckled.

“I did.” I lifted the revolver into my hand and flipped open the chamber. Only two bullets missing. “Looks like he didn’t get much of a chance to use it.”

“That’s probably a blessing.” Gribbins moved so the EMT’s could get me on the gurney.

As they rolled me out of the room, my eyes landed on Clover’s lifeless body, his shirt torn open to reveal the single gunshot wound I’d inflicted on him. “That son of a bitch died too quickly.” I almost laughed at the sight of the hole, directly through the large four leaf clover tattooed on his chest.

“That he did.”

* * *

My prayers had been answered.

Even though Blair was still unconscious, the doctors gave a good prognosis. She was going to need loads of fluids, rehab for her ankle, and many visits with a psychologist, but she was going to be okay in the long run.

Four days had passed since she was admitted, I yearned to see her eyes light up when she looks at me, and her beautiful smile spread widely across her face. The doctors said she’d wake on her own time. After experiencing a trauma like she had, the body and mind would wake when they were ready. I gently kissed the back of her hand. She looked frail, her neck bruised from Clover’s evil hands, her body much thinner from lack of nutrition, and her hair a matted mess. The soft beeping of the machines was a serenade in the silent room. Gribbins had gone home after I came out of surgery. Said he’d be back soon and would stop by our place to grab some things for us. The man was worn out, just like we all were. He needed a breather himself now that everyone was safe. There was no way I would’ve survived it all without him. Gribbins was a helluva agent, boss, and friend.

Being stuck in a wheelchair for a while was a small price to pay for taking down that sick bastard. I rolled myself as close to Blair’s bed as possible, linked her hand with mine, and rested my head against her arm. As long as she was stuck in that hospital bed, I wasn’t leaving her side. Hell, I wasn’t too sure that I would ever leave her side again. She might have to put a restraining order on me if she wanted any space.

I chuckled at the thought.

“Gavin?” The sound of my name being softly spoken from the door had me lifting my head.

“Lexie?” I whispered. “What are you doing here?” I rolled the wheel chair toward the door so we wouldn’t disturb Blair.

A small smile spread across Lexie’s lips as she dropped her eyes to my injured leg. “I wanted to see you before I left.”

I motioned so I could exit the room and allowed the door to close once we were in the hall. “How’d you know where to find me?”

“Gribbins.” She sighed. “He wasn’t going to tell me, but I wanted to thank you again for everything. I’m excited to start a new life, to be able to chase whatever dreams I decide I want to pursue. Even if the past few months have been a disaster for the most part, it’s as if there’s a new dawn on the horizon, and I owe every bit of that to you.”

“I’m happy for you, Lexie. The bureau is making this possible for you, not me.”

She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Learn to accept someone’s gratitude, Gavin.” Her nervous smile was replaced by a playful one.

I laughed, “Yeah, that’s something I’m not used to doing.”

“I’ve noticed.” She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You going to be okay?”

“Doctor said as long as I stay off of it for a while, it should heal pretty good before physical therapy.”

“Good.” Lexie nudged her head toward the glass window of Blair’s room. “I see you got your girl back, how’s she doing?”

“Yeah,” I couldn’t help my wide grin, “just waiting for her to wake up.”

“What are the doctors saying on her condition?” Lexie’s eyes glossed over with tears.

“It’ll take some time, but she should heal just fine. Her ankle will need a lot of therapy, but if that’s the worst scenario we’re dealing with then it’s a helluva lot better than I anticipated.”

“That’s good news.” A tear slid down Lexie’s cheek. “I’m so sorry…” Her voice quivered as she did her best at composing herself.

“Lexie…” I took her hand in mine. “Don’t beat yourself up about what Clover did. He was sick. There wasn’t anything you could’ve done to change that either.”

“All those women…” Lexie was haunted by what he brother had done. It was understandable, but there was no way she could move on with her life if she was stuck feeling guilty about circumstances that were out of her hands.

“You can’t do that to yourself.”

“I know.” She wiped away her tears. “It’s something I’m going to struggle with, but I’ll eventually make peace.”

“You need to start trying to make peace now. You can’t hang on to the heartache of it all. It’ll eat you alive.”

“I better be going.” She leaned down and pressed her lips to my cheek. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me, Gavin. You not only saved my life, but you changed it.” Her hand slipped from mine as she walked away.

I wheeled myself back into Blair’s room. The beeping of the machines kept the silence from being so deafening, I almost didn’t hear the door click shut. My eyes scanned her body before landing on her beautiful smiling face. A gasp left my lungs.

“You’re alive...” Her raw voice sounded like music to my ears.

“You’re awake.” Tears filled my eyes as I rolled myself to her bedside and quickly took her hands in mine, kissing the top of each.

“I am. I thought you were dead—they told me you were dead.” Blair was in hysterics as she ran a hand into my longer than usual hair.

“I’m very much alive.” I kissed her tear streaked face. “They lied to you, baby. I’m right here.”

Blair shook her head in disbelief, her fingers threading against my scalp. “You need a haircut.” She laughed.

“Maybe I’ll let you give me one once we’re back home.” I lifted myself from the wheelchair.

“Gavin—” Panic filled her teary eyes.

“I don’t give a shit about staying in that chair right now. I need to feel you against me.” I laid on my left side, keeping my right thigh as straight as possible. Blair snuggled into my arms as silent sobs shook her frail body. Her bones were easily felt as I rubbed my hands across her flesh. “Oh, baby. I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry.” My emotions overloaded as I held Blair against me. Her scent—her beating heart, it felt as if I was home with her in my arms.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself.” She placed a gentle kiss against my throat before looking up at me. “I knew the possibilities of what might happen. I’m the one who took the chance, with my own free wil—” Blair erupted with a fit of coughs. A groan of pain managed to slip between coughs as she clutched her abdomen.

I quickly grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. “Here,” I held it to her lips.

“Thank you,” her voice was small.

“You need your rest, I shouldn’t be in the bed with you.”

“Don’t.” Blair laid her hand on my hip when I tried to move, and quickly pressed her lips to mine.

I groaned from the unexpected kiss. “God, I’ve missed you.”

She smiled, “I’ve missed you more.”

Without waiting another second, I pressed my lips gently to hers again. The taste of her, the feel of her lips on mine, it was overwhelming.

So. Overwhelming.

Blair winced from the overprotective grip I had on her hip. “I’m sorry.” I hastily let go.

She stared at me through wet lashes, “Don’t be. I’ve missed you so much I could tear every inch of clothing from you, but I know it’ll only cause me more pain.”

My forehead rested against hers. “All in due time, baby,” I shook my head, “all in due time.”

Silence fell upon us as she laid against my chest, my arm lazily making patterns across her bare skin, goose bumps rising in the wake of my fingertips. Her head tilted down just enough to shield her eyes from me. The slow steady rise and fall of her chest made me believe she’d fallen asleep. Rest was something she needed an abundance of for her body to heal. If only it would cure the emotional scars that son of a bitch left her with.

“Who was the girl?” Her question so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.

“What girl?” I continued to make lazy patterns with my fingers down her arm.

“Earlier.”

“Oh, her name's Lexie. She was our dancer that night.”

“What?” Blair winced as she sucked in a sharp intake of air.

“You need to be careful moving.” I gave her a stern look. “Once we, Gribbins and myself, figured out who she was we questioned her. Things seemed to snowball from there.”

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“The entire story.” She paused, gnawing on her bottom lip. “The two of you seemed…acquainted.”

The back of my hand smoothed across her flushed cheek. “Is that jealousy I sense in that tone of yours?” I teased.

“Oh, hush.” She softly smacked my chest. “I just wondered why she was here is all. I’ve missed out on a lot…”

“We took her under our wing at first because people were after her. That led to her being kidnapped, which led to us rescuing her, and then led to you being found. Lexie is the main reason we found you when we did.”

“She was kidnapped.” Blair’s eyes grew large.

I nodded. “Russians. Her mother was murdered by them when she was younger.”

“Is that why they took her?”

“No…”

“What is it, Gavin?”

I knew my face wasn’t hiding how much I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but she had a right to know. “Jona—Clover was her brother.”

Blair’s face paled. “Her brother?”

“Yeah.” I kissed her forehead. “She hadn’t seen him in years, but he’d kept an eye on her, apparently. The Russians took her as retaliation for drug money Clover refused to pay when the drugs went missing. They thought he’d cave if he found out they had his sister. But we intervened.”

Blair closed her eyes, “I can’t process all of this.”

I rubbed small circles on her back, “I know it’s a lot.”

“Yeah…” Her voice was weak as she settled into my side.

With her head resting on my chest, silence filled the air around us. It didn’t take long before her breathing evened out, and her body eased beside me. Sleep found Blair, and as much as I needed to succumb to it myself, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the beautiful woman in my arms.