Protecting Salvation: A Shadow Elite Novel

“Are you sure this is okay? I don’t want to intrude.”

Aoife sighed and turned to Bram who was looking uncomfortable in a room full of women in differing stages of pregnancy. “Bram, tell her it’s okay she’s here.”

Bram pinned her with a confident gaze but she could see the fear in his eyes. “We want you here, Peyton. Aoife loves you and so do I and, honestly, I’ve never felt more out of my element.”

Peyton patted his arm. “It’s normal to be nervous but I’m sure everything will be fine and you’ll get to hear your baby’s heartbeat today and see that cute little blob on a screen.”

“Can you believe something that is only the size of a bean is making me feel so sick?”

“I can and it will be worth it.”

Aoife grinned and hooked her arm through Peyton’s. “You know, I always thought you’d have kids before me.”

Peyton huffed. “Really? I never gave it a lot of thought.”

“What about now? Can you imagine how gorgeous your babies would be if you and Hurricane have kids?” She frowned. “Although with his size, you might not recover from birthing them.”

“Aoife!” Bram shook his head.

“What? It’s true. Hey, maybe you can ask for a sunroof exit if you two have kids.”

“We haven’t even talked about kids and our future isn’t exactly a straight run to happy ever after, is it?”

“I know, but it’ll be fine. Savannah is on the case and she’s amazing.”

She was and Peyton had first-hand experience of just how good she was. She’d saved her life for sure and she just hoped she could pull off another miracle and save the man Peyton had come to realise she was in love with.

Aoife had her name called and she filed in quietly, feeling slightly awkward about intruding on this private moment between the parents-to-be but Aoife had begged her and Bram had even called to ask if she’d come. She got it, nerves were normal and Peyton was Aoife’s touchstone to the past but she needed to let go and let Bram step up. Hopefully, after this, she would.

Melting into the background she watched with tears in her eyes as the tech found the shape of the baby and pointed things out to her friend and her husband. The heartbeat was strong and she locked eyes with Aoife when they heard it. Aoife mouthed thank you, which was unnecessary. Aoife always acted like Peyton had saved her but she’d saved herself. Peyton nodded and slipped out of the door while Bram hit the poor ultrasound tech with a barrage of questions she wouldn’t be able to answer.

Walking outside she dabbed at her eyes and sucked in a breath, needing a few minutes. She wanted to call Warren but he’d been a little distant since Monday and she didn’t want to bother him while he was working.

A flash of movement made her turn and she saw her client rushing out of the Accident and Emergency door with her head down. She’d been concerned her husband was hurting her again and by the way she was walking, she guessed she was right. Her body was locked up tight as she held her ribs. It made her so mad to think of that sweet woman putting up with shit but abuse was a complex and prolonged attack that broke the spirit long before it broke the body. Nobody ever thought they’d become a victim, no girl thought she’d put up with it which was why it was so hard to help victims. They blamed themselves for it because that was how twisted and calculated the abusers were.

“Hilary.”

The woman stopped like a rabbit caught in headlights, her gaze flashing around until it settled on her and Peyton walked toward her slowly like she was a cornered animal about to bolt and that was how she looked.

“Dr Lawson.”

“Hi, how are you?”

Her head nodded. “Fine. Yes, I was… um… visiting a friend.”

Peyton didn’t call her out because what was the point of that? Hilary always said her husband would kill her one day and it wasn’t uncommon for her to hear that. Peyton truly believed that if Hilary didn’t leave the man she’d married, then one day she’d end up dead. She’d never met him but everything she’d heard convinced her that he’d either end up killing his wife or he’d end up dead. She knew which she preferred.

“You missed a couple of appointments.”

“Work is busy.”

“Will you be in this week?”

Hilary looked around the carpark and paled. “I have to go.”

Peyton watched her scurry off as a car pulled up and she got in. Peyton didn’t need to be a genius or trained like Shadow to know who was in the car.

“Hey, Pey, you left us.”

She smiled and turned but kept her eyes on the car as it drove away. “Yeah, I thought you guys should have a minute.”

“Look.”

Peyton looked at the black-and-white image as Aoife and Bram proudly pointed out every little detail. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

At that moment Bram’s phone went and he stepped away to answer it, leaving the two friends alone, although close enough for Bram to keep an eye on them. Not that a lot could happen in the hospital carpark.

“Thank you, Pey. I’m not sure we’d be here without you.”

Aoife’s eyes filled and Peyton hugged her friend. “You would. You’re strong and you would’ve found a way.”

“Maybe, but I might not have met Bram if not for you.”

Peyton pulled away. “You would. You two were destined.”

“What about you and Hurricane?”

“I love him, Aoife, but I’m not sure if our story will have the same happy ending. His diagnosis leaves things up in the air. I want to be there for him but I’m not sure he’ll let me.”

“Has he said that?”

“No, and everything is great but I know he’s hiding his symptoms from me and playing everything down. If he can’t trust me with that maybe I’m not what he needs.”

“You are, Peyton. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him and all the guys agree. Are you happy?”

“Happiest I can ever remember. He’s just everything I could ever dream of. He makes me feel everything.”

“Then just be happy and let it play out. I love you, Peyton, but you have a habit of overthinking things.”

“A good trait in a therapist.”

“And a friend sometimes but not if you want to be happy. You’ve spent so many years worrying about others, how about you just enjoy the moment and put yourself first?”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

Aoife hooked her arm and they walked over to Bram as he hung up. “We gotta go. Hurricane and Lotus are meeting us at your place, Peyton.”

Alarm twisted in her belly at the way he spoke and the sudden tension in his shoulders. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, but we should go.”

He was suddenly looking around himself like he was on high alert and she followed his lead, happy he’d picked her up from her place and she didn’t have to get home alone.

Warren was in the drive waiting when they got there and he hurried over to her and dragged her into his arms. “What’s wrong.”

He ushered her inside, his eyes moving around as if looking for something. “Inside and we’ll talk.”

Peyton followed his lead to find Lotus and Titan waiting in her kitchen. Bram had Aoife on his lap as they sat on one of her kitchen chairs.

“So?”

“That woman you were speaking to in the carpark just now. Who is she?”

Peyton glanced around at the worried faces as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. “A client.”

“Her name?”

Peyton didn’t like giving this up but it seemed important. “Hilary Dawson.”

Lotus punched her hand. “Fuck.”

Warren put his hands on her shoulders. “Sugar, that’s Hilary Harkness, Trevor’s wife.”

Peyton felt her eyes widen. “No.”

“Yes. Watchdog saw her on the cameras because he always watches them when the team is out now.” Peyton heard what he wasn’t saying. That their friend had taken his role to the next level since his captivity. It was something she was working on with him but he was a long way from opening up.

“He traced it back and Dawson is an old family name.”

“I don’t think she’s lying about some of the stuff she told me.”

“Maybe not. Trevor is bad news and Lotus and Titan have uncovered a few things I think you need to hear.”

“Okay.”

Peyton sat at the table while Lotus told her about Trevor’s connection to Martin. How Hilary’s boyfriend went missing and then she got together with him. How Martin, her cousin, had been in juvie for arson and McCain had been his champion.

“Wow, I have no idea what to say. I had no clue Martin had been arrested, let alone gone to juvie. Although that shouldn’t be a surprise. His parents, my aunt and uncle, were always very secretive and protective of him. Probably why he reacted so badly when they died.”

“How did they die?”

“Car accident. A lorry jack-knifed on the motorway and they were killed instantly.” Peyton shivered, suddenly feeling cold and Warren cupped the back of her neck, standing behind her, his body heat instantly chasing the chills away. “So what does all this mean?”

Titan was nodding, small movements like he was having an internal conversation and things were making sense for him.

“Titan?”

“I think the missing boyfriend is the key. I think if we find him, we find out why Martin died and why you’re a target.”

“Well, I’d think that was obvious. I’m his wife’s therapist and he doesn’t like it.”

Lotus shook her head and paced her thumbnail between her teeth. “I don’t think so. I think he sent her there to get information from you.”

Peyton shook her head. “No way. That woman is terrified of him.”

“That may be true, but I think he sent her initially. Has she asked you anything that seemed off or unusual?”

Peyton thought back to all the conversations they’d had over the last few months. She’d been nervous at the start, but that wasn’t unusual. Then she’d relaxed but lately, she’d been more nervous again. “She asked me if I had family and I said I didn’t. Then she asked if I’d lived here long and I told her all my life. She asked if I was a farm girl. I laughed and said she’d guessed right and was it that obvious. She got nervy, and said it was a guess based on where we live and good odds.”

“Anything else about the farm?”

“Not then, but a few weeks later she did ask if I ever went back to see the farm or if I had any particular memories that stood out. I told her I had a lot but left it there because we were getting off track.”

“Anything else?”

Warren gave her nape a gentle squeeze and she looked up at him, his kind eyes warming her and reassuring her that she was safe. “Just that we seemed to be making progress but she got really squirrely last session and when she left, I saw the man I told you about watching the place. Or at least it felt that way. Then the break-in happened and here we are.”

“That’s good, sugar. Thank you for telling us.”

Peyton felt itchy inside talking about this stuff. It gave her anxiety and made her belly flip, causing her to feel sick.

“Titan and I will dig into it more and maybe see if we can do some snooping at the farm. Watchdog is looking for the ex-boyfriend, but if you see her again, you call one of us immediately. She might look like a victim, hell she might be one, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous to you.”

“Promise, Lotus.”

Titan squeezed her shoulder as he left and Lotus hip-checked her, making her laugh. Aoife and Bram showed Warren the scan pictures and he cooed and ahhed, even though she could see he didn’t have a clue what he was looking at even though he pretended to.

He locked the door and pulled her to stand between his legs, his arms looped around her back as she leaned into him.

“We’ll fix this, baby. I promise.”

“I know.” Blinking away her mopey thoughts she lifted her head and smiled. “How about pizza and Netflix?”

“Sounds perfect.”

They spent the day huddled on the couch, eating pizza and watching Cake Boss in between making out. She loved being with this man, he made everything better and she told him.

“I think that’s you, sugar. I’ve never been so happy. You make me happy.”

“You make me happy too.” She stroked his cheek and he kissed and showed her exactly how happy she made him three times.