Page 50 of Defending Love
Don’t question.
Don’t let the truth come out. I’ll take it to my grave; let it rest there. Please, to those who know, keep your word, for the sake of my family and legacy.
Derek
* * *
A tear slipped down my cheek as I turned to Eli. “What does this mean?”
Tendons in his neck bulged as his jaw clenched. “It’s cryptic to say the least.”
“Dad had a fear of someone retaliating against him. Who and why?” I reread the note. “No price is too high…did he pay for something or someone?”
I laid the paper on the desk and removed the gloves.
Eli’s deep voice broke through the cyclone of racing thoughts within my mind. “Your father was murdered. It wasn’t random. It was because of a decision he made.” He reached for my chilled hand. “Do you have any idea?”
“No.”
Eli wrapped his arms around me like a warm blanket as I laid my head against his shirt, the beat of his heart and the sound of his voice caused his wide chest to vibrate. “Fuck, Dani, this was what I didn’t want. I don’t want you to change your opinion. We don’t know exactly what Derek did.”
My temples ached.
“I’m too in shock to know what I think.”
A single tear.
It was all I shed.
Eli’s large hand rubbed soft circles on my back.
The man I admired most in the world brought on his own death. What would Mom say? What about Damien and Ella? Dylan? My heart ached. Dylan would never remember his grandfather and now, what would he be told about the once-great man?
I looked up. “Can we please take a break? I don’t want to learn anything else at the moment.”
Eli nodded and kissed the top of my head. “Are you ready for bed?”
“Only if I’m not alone.”
Chapter
Nineteen
Dani
* * *
Not a word was spoken as I held tightly to Eli’s hand, leading him away from the earth-shattering revelation we’d uncovered to the bedroom that was ordained mine. The lamp near the bed glowed, casting a warm golden circle on the ceiling above and a slightly larger one on the nightstand below.
Dropping his hand, I turned, facing the same buttons I’d worked to undo earlier in the evening. The urgency of that encounter was gone, replaced by something softer and deeper. Eli’s green orbs again swirled with golden flecks, a kaleidoscope of desire as I meticulously released each button. It was when Eli removed his shirt that I finally got a good look at the ink scrolled on his chest. Slowly, I walked around the man who had been the star of my fantasies for the last year.
No longer in my imagination, Elijah Rhodes was flesh and blood. My fingertips trailed over his muscles, examining each hard plane and every indented valley. I stepped around him, admiring the firmness of his abs and shoulders. The dark ink swirled as I read. “De oppresso liber?”
“From oppression, we liberate them,” Eli translated. “Special Forces.”
Keeping my hand on his arm, I looked up. “I can’t imagine all the atrocities you’ve seen in your life.”
“I’d never want to share those memories.” His hands came to my waist. “I did what I had to do. It’s why as a bodyguard, killing isn’t my goal. I want to keep you safe without taking another life. However, know that if I had to, I would.”
