Protecting Salvation: A Shadow Elite Novel

“What?”

Thank God Warren was at her back because she wasn’t sure she could remain on her feet with all the surprises and blows that life kept throwing her way. His hands slid to her hips and he widened his stance so she could sink back into his strong body. His palm on her belly steadied her in a way she didn’t know she needed.

“Yeah, three big deliveries.”

“That makes no sense. Do we know who the buyer is yet?” Watchdog was good, so it was likely they did.

“Yes, a man named Trevor Harkness. Do you know the name?”

Peyton shook her head. “No, it’s not familiar. Should I know it?”

Lotus pursed her lips. “Well, this is where it gets tangled up. Trevor Harkness was a friend of your cousin Martin, but it seems they had a falling out and haven’t had any contact in the last eighteen months.”

Peyton wracked her brain as to why a friend of her cousin would have anything to do with this. “But why is he having ammonium nitrate sent to the farm? Last I heard it was being developed and the ground cleared.”

“It was, but the developer had an issue with the planning office. They refused to grant planning because of an ecology report submitted which indicated there were rare species of wildlife found on the land. The person who wrote the report was Hilary Harkness, Trevor’s wife. When the developers sold the land off for a quick sale, Trevor bought it under a shell company.”

Her brain was firing so fast it was making her head spin as she tried to keep up. “So why trash my office? This makes no sense to me.”

“Us either, which is why we’re going to pay Trev a little visit and have a chat. We’re missing something but I’m not sure what yet.”

“So what can I do to help?”

Lotus put her hands in her back pockets and tipped her head. “Just carry on as normal. See patients and be safe. If anything comes up or you remember anything that might help, let us know.”

Lotus was abrasive but she was also kind and loved hard, it was why she had such a hard shell around her heart. She also knew Warren being here and protecting her kept him as safe as he could be with this job.

“Okay. Well, let me know if you need me for anything. I need to take Bertie for a quick walk before I get started.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Warren grabbed the lead and secured a very excited Bertie and the four of them walked out together. Lotus hugged her and Titan gave her a signature head tilt.

It was a nice morning, the sun already warm as the traffic began to build on the road outside her house. Hereford was the main route from Wales to the midlands, and without a bi-pass, all the traffic came through the town, which made it hell in the mornings.

Warren took her hand in his and she looked down at them, his so much bigger, his skin so dark against her own but it felt right. They felt right like two puzzle pieces finally clicking together.

“What’s that smile for?”

She tipped her head up as Bertie sniffed every lamppost or crack in the pavement, his head moving scenting, leg lifting and marking every tree.

“I was just thinking how natural this is between us. Like two pieces of Lego clicking into place.”

She felt silly saying it out loud but she always counselled her patients to be honest and communicate so to do otherwise would be hypocritical.

“I know what you mean. Since my diagnosis, or perhaps before that, I’ve felt adrift like I was floating on a sea with no purpose and no place to call home. Even as a kid I never felt like I quite fit. Mostly I think that was because I wanted different things from my parents, and some of it was because of my situation with my blood type. I felt different. Then I met Jack and Bás and I found a home. My diagnosis shook the foundation I’d built with them. The home that felt safe suddenly felt unstable.”

Peyton squeezed his hand but let him speak, knowing he needed to get his thoughts out there and that she was listening. They reached the bottom of the hill and turned to walk the short loop back up. Bertie could have a proper run later tonight.

“Accepting my life was going to change was hard. I love my life but I saw my diagnosis as the end. Being with you these last few days has made me see it’s not an end, it’s a fork in the road. I can fight or I can roll over, which is what I’ve been doing up until now. Having the people I care about most stepping up and telling me that whatever I need is what they’ll give me, made me feel comforted.”

His eyes found her face as he stopped them at the top of the hill, feet from her house, and turned her to face him. His hand cupped her chin, tilting her head to his and she leaned into his touch. Warren was such a beautiful man, such a gentle giant, and she felt a wave of emotion roll over her. She could love this man until her dying day. He could be everything to her, and it was scary because she could lose him. But life had taught her that nothing was guaranteed and that fear was the thief of joy and she wouldn’t let anything steal the joy this man gave her.

“But having you beside me makes me feel brave, makes me want to fight because you’re right. Nothing has ever felt more right than being with you.”

Her head fell into his chest, where he cupped her nape and kissed the back of her head. Sirens in the distance reached her and her head lifted as three squad cars and a black Ford pulled up with a screech outside her drive.

“What the fuck?”

Hurricane held her closer, his body sheltering hers as they watched police swarm her house. Detective McCain stepped out of the Ford and walked with a swagger toward her door but stopped and turned in their direction as if sensing blood in the water. Right now she knew it was her blood the sharks were getting hungry for. Her hand firmly gripped in Warren’s, they walked up the hill. Her heart was doing everything it could to beat its way out of her chest but he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“It’s going to be okay, sugar.”

His words gave her the strength to hold her head high when all she really wanted was to run and hide some place where she could live in peace.

McCain, with his hands in his pockets, lifted his chin at the young Constable beside him who rushed toward her.

Warren moved to put his body in the way but she stopped him. “No, let me handle this.” Sensing his hesitance, she leant in close, her lips skimming his shoulder.

“Peyton Lawson, you’re under arrest for the murder of Martin Lawson.”

The rest of the man’s words were a blur as the chaos around her suddenly amplified. She was pulled away from Warren who was seconds away from throwing hands at the man cuffing her. McCain was grinning like he’d just won the jackpot and Bertie was barking and snapping at the officers now swarming her home.

Her shoulders twinged as she was yanked toward a police vehicle, a cry of pain falling from her lips. Warren stepped up and two officers moved to stop the man who looked like he was seconds away from going nuclear. In that moment she knew she had to protect him, to tame his instinct to protect her because in this instance he couldn’t, at least not with brute force. It was a fight that would end with him in a cell beside her.

“Hurricane, look at me.” His eyes found her and the name she never used on him made something click in his distraught eyes. “Get me a lawyer and look after Bertie for me.”

His single nod was all she needed for her shoulders to sink in relief. Peyton had no idea what the motivation behind the bullshit charge was, but if Martin was dead it was linked to what happened at her office, and the only people she trusted to find that truth was Shadow.

The car ride to the station was short as she was sent through booking and stripped of everything they deemed a threat to her life or others and catalogued her personal effects. Then she was shoved into a holding cell, with a toilet and a bench-like bed set up. A shiver worked through her as the scents of cleaning fluid and stale food assaulted her senses.

Peyton jumped as the door behind her slammed closed, turning to watch the small window on the steel door open and McCain appeared, a smirk of satisfaction on his ruddy, snide face.

“You just rest up there, little lady. I’ll be back in a bit and we can have a chat.”

The window cover closed and she was left utterly alone. Her body sunk to the bench, as fear crawled up her throat like slugs, choking her in panic. For a second she let it control her, let the situation overtake any sense she had, her breathing becoming rapid. Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes, her hands gripping the bench hard until the pain in her fingers pushed through the panic seizing her chest.

Forcing her eyes open she decided to use a technique that she used with her patients. As the cell was bland with no view and only blank walls, she couldn’t find anything in front of her to focus on, so she focused her mind on the people she cared about.

Five people who made her smile. Aoife and how amazing of a mum she’d be. Warren and how he made her feel alive and protected, his scent clean and fresh when he held her in his arms. Lotus and the way she fought for those she loved while trying to pretend she didn’t care.

Her breathing was already better as the panic gave way to calmer thoughts. Bram and how he’d be if his baby was a daughter, how much he wore his love for Aoife on his sleeve. Lastly, there was Jack, who’d brought her into this world of secrets and friendships and bonds that wouldn’t break under strain because they were built on so much more than the weak foundation of gossip. They were built on blood and pain and healing and it was that thought which finally calmed her.

Her life was spiralling out of her control but that was okay because she knew she had people who cared about her who’d grab the wheel and steer the ship when she couldn’t. Hours went by and food and water were delivered but Peyton wasn’t a fool, the tactics were clear. She was in enemy territory inside these walls.

Finally, her door clanged open and she was met with a face she least expected. A smile pulled across her lips. “Well, fancy seeing you here.”