Fighting Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Three

Ellie couldn’t help but grimace in secondhand embarrassment at the less than graceful entry. BlackStone Security’s intelligence commander and former Night Stalker in the Army, Wesley “Snake” James, laughed nervously as every eye watched him close the door with his foot.

If Clark Kent had navy blue streaks in his hair, he and Snake could be twins, especially with Snake’s glasses accentuating his piercing blue eyes. And if Superman had a full sleeve of tattoos and talked a mile a minute, they’d be identical. He was tall and fit, but much leaner than Dev, and would’ve totally been Ellie’s type if her eye wasn’t already on the quiet, muscular redhead in front of her.

Not that the feeling’s mutual.Ellie swallowed back the disappointment that had become a constant bad taste in her mouth ever since she realized Dev was out of her league. The clinic was no place for her to throw a pity party.

Snake cleared his throat. “H-hello,” he stuttered, his baby blues concentrating solely in Ellie and Dev’s direction. Naomi lifted her chin, almost in defiance, but sucked in a short breath as the ice pack shifted on her cheek.

“Snake.” Dev shook his head as he spoke low. “I know you’re not used to coming to Sasha Saves but you can’t barge in like that.”

“I, uh, I know. I’m sorry.” Snake waved his hand to the corners of the room. “I’m here to upgrade the security for the pla—shit.”

Snake’s face contorted with his lip curled and his black brows pinched together, almost as if in pain. Ellie shifted to follow his gaze until she realized it was laser focused on Naomi’s injuries. Her mind raced to find ways to protect Naomi from the horror written all over Snake’s reaction, but it was too late. Naomi flinched before averting her head in shame to the black-and-white tiled floor, hiding her wounds.

Ellie’s heart jolted in empathy and she whipped her head up to glare at Snake. At least he had the decency to look contrite, but his response was inexcusable. Sure, seeing a survivor injured as badly as Naomi was always hard, but Snake never handled it well. Unless he was absolutely needed for his security expertise, he was the only BlackStone agent who made it a point to steer clear of the clinic. Based on his reaction, apparently for good reason.

Dev cleared his throat. “Can you come by later? We’re kinda in the middle of—”

“Hey, look what I got.” Thea’s sudden appearance made Snake jump, before she jabbed a corner of the tablet into his stomach, forcing him to catch the device and juggle the boxes at the same time. The tense furrows in his brow relaxed as he looked down at his tiny assailant.

“Oh wow.” Snake smiled genuinely before setting his boxes aside and bending to her height. “What do you have there?”

“It’s Merida, from Brave. You hafta come watch.” Thea clutched his long sleeve and pulled him to the bean bag.

“Thea—” The girl paused to listen to her mother but didn’t let go of Snake’s shirt. “Baby, don’t be rude. What if he doesn’t wanna watch the show? He has things to do.”

“Sorry,” Thea mumbled and toed the ground with a green slipper. “You hafta come watch… if you wanna.”

Snake’s smile lifted at the corners. “I think I have some time. As long as it’s okay with your mom.” He glanced at Naomi and gestured with the tablet. “Um, is this… is this alright?”

Naomi’s mouth opened and shut before she nodded her head once and winced.

Thea beamed at her momma and tugged Snake to the beanbag, instructing him to sit on the floor beside her. His smile widened as he followed her directions and Thea giggled when he asked her questions about her favorite shows.

“That’s so strange,” Naomi whispered. “She’s never taken to anyone like that. Not even her—” She cut herself off and coughed before placing the ice pack back onto her cheek.

“You can take that off now. It’s been enough time for you to take a break from the icing.” Dev offered.

Naomi grimaced and alternated a panic-stricken glance between Dev and Snake. “Can I… can I keep it on? For a little while longer?” she whispered.

Dev seemed to follow her hesitation and nodded before grabbing a towel from a drawer. “Here, you can use this instead if you want to keep your injuries… discreet.”

Naomi nodded and a shaky breath escaped her as she exchanged the ice pack for the towel.

“Okay, next steps,” Ellie said, aiming to steer the conversation. “The attorney for the clinic, Jules, and our manager, Nora—the one you met when you came in—will be in soon.” As if on cue, there was a quick knock before the door cracked open.

“It’s Nora! And I brought backup.” Nora’s voice called out into the room.

“Come on in,” Ellie answered.

“We having a party?” Nora joked, relieving tension in the room Ellie hadn’t realized was there. Nora stomped in with her combat boot heels in a whirlwind, and Jules click-clacked right behind her in her signature red stilettos, blazer, and dress. Ready for court as always, despite her noticeable baby bump.

Nora was obviously making a joke about the number of people in the room, and she had a point. The medical room wasn’t small by any means. It was more of a multi-purpose room and big enough for multiple kids to play around, officers to question survivors, or for prosecutors to prepare, but not all at once. It was getting crowded.

“We finally lost Jason, so I have about an hour of freedom,” Jules mumbled. When Ellie snickered, Jules narrowed her brows and placed her hands on her hips. “Think it’s funny, huh? Ever since I helped you kick him off your security detail, I haven’t been able to so much as pee without company, and I don’t even have a kid yet! I mean, for the love of God, I already have a whole human attached to my uterus. I don’t need one attached to my hip, too.”

Dev scoffed and shook his head as he scrubbed his beard. “I’m sure you didn’t lose a BlackStone Securities agent.”

Nora only smirked. “You’d be simply astounded at the things I can do, Devil, my dear.” She turned and clapped before waving Vanna White-style in Jules’s direction. “‘Kay Naomi, doll. I brought our lawyer. Are you feelin’ up for a chitchat about boring legal-Sméagol stuff?”

“I wanna go home now.” Naomi sighed. “There’s nothin’ to talk about—”

“Yeah, yeah. I hear ya.” Nora interrupted before peering over Dev’s shoulder to see the notes he’d placed on the counter. She looked back up at Naomi and twirled a fingerless gloved hand in the air. “Bike accident, hm? Well, just hear her out. You bought a ticket by coming here, so now you get a free show. We do this with every survivor who’s had ‘bike accidents,’ ‘fallen down stairs,’ ‘fallen up stairs,’ ‘landed face-first into doorknobs,’ yada yada. You have no idea how many clumsy people we get in here.” Nora smirked, undeterred by the scowl forming on Naomi’s face.

“Anywho, like I said this morning, we’ve got suitcases, clothes, toys, whatever you need from the thrift store, if you decide you need somewhere else to go. Even if you decide to stay, it’ll be good to have as a cover if anyone questions where you went. It’s totes free and you can pretend like it’s a shopping spree for Lil’ T over there.”

“Thank you,” Naomi rasped out before a small smile lifted the corner of her lip. Nora had that effect on people. Even though she was blunt, people loved her for it because her delivery was so dang disarming.

“Hi, Naomi. I’m Jules, I’d like to go over some—”

“You’re an attorney, right?”

Jules frowned before nodding warily. “Yes, I’m a victim’s rights attorney.”

“And attorney-client privilege…” She darted an eye toward Ellie. “Whatever I say, you can’t repeat as long as it’s in confidence between you and me?”

Jules’s brow raised, and Ellie had to imagine it was from the grasp of the legal concept. Most people didn’t know that particular loophole, that if someone was in the room between you and your attorney, the right for your words to be kept a secret didn’t apply to the others in the room.

“That’s right… would you prefer we speak more privately?” Jules gestured to Ellie, Dev, and Nora. “If you’d like, these three and Snake can step out in the office right there until we’re finished.” Jules pointed to the adjoining room.

Naomi’s head dipped in agreement. “I’d appreciate that, thank you…” She peered over Jules’s shoulder before bending her head closer. “But, um… Snake, right? He can stay. So long as we whisper… Thea looks so… carefree, right now. I want her to keep that feelin’ for a little while longer.”

“Sure thing, babe,” Nora replied and turned on her heel to the office. “Let’s go kids.”

The poor woman looked a little guilty for asking them to leave and she had no reason to. Ellie gave Naomi what she hoped was an encouraging smile, to let her know it was okay she’d asked for privacy.

Nora settled in behind the computer and Dev leaned up against the opposite wall as Ellie shut the door to the small office. Before it was closed, Ellie heard Jules begin to murmur, and Ellie didn’t need to hear to know it was her usual spiel about legalities. She’d heard it so many times, she could give it herself if she had a legal degree to her name.

Ellie’s stomach twisted at the reminder of how far away she was from getting a degree. She’d just started Ashland State University to become a therapist and was already bristling at how much time college life wasted.

According to brochures and everyone’s two cents, there were lessons college could teach her that on-the-job training couldn’t. Although the more she worked at Sasha Saves, the more she questioned what lessons she’d learn from mandatory electives, like the history of the dang flute.

Dev lightly tapped her shoulder with a pen, gently bringing her back to the moment. “You okay?”

She hadn’t realized how close she’d gotten leaning next to him, but she had no complaints when his warm breath tickled her ear as he leaned into her space, making her shiver.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Damn, Ellie, you cold?” His brow furrowed in concern before he pulled his jacket from the coat rack in the corner of the office to give to her. “I keep telling you, you don’t wear enough clothes.”

“I’m fine.” Ellie rolled her eyes. While he might chastise her for not keeping herself warm, wearing more clothes around Devil Ray Vos was the last thing she wanted to do. But she took the offering, forcing herself not to burrow her nose into the fabric for the whiff of cinnamon she knew she’d find there. “It might be winter, but it feels like summer outside so I thought I’d be okay.” She laughed and elbowed him. “And, I’ve already got one big brother, ya know. I don’t need another one.”

Dev grumbled something and Ellie tilted her head. “What’s that?”

He leaned into her ear again. Even though he wasn’t touching her, his words puffed against the loose hair from her ponytail, sending tingles along the back of her neck. “I said, I sure as hell am not your brother.”

Ellie whipped her gaze up to see his facial expression, but he was already looking away. Dev confused the heck outta her. Whether he knowingly toyed with the line between friendship and flirtation, she wasn’t sure.

And that was the problem.

They’d known each other for almost a year and she still couldn’t tell if the spark she felt when he touched her was something she imagined or if he felt the same way. Or if the attraction was one-sided entirely. Oh God, now that would be embarrassing.

The comment he’d made about her clothes, for example, sounded like he only saw her as his friend’s kid sister. But the way he whispered in her ear afterward felt like anything but.

However he talked to her, she’d take it. It was better than how everyone else spoke to her. Like a victim.

Dev saved her back then. He was the first sign of hope she’d seen when she was kidnapped. For a while, she’d chalked her feelings up to a harmless hero crush. The more she was around him, though, the less innocent it felt. She huddled farther into his jacket, imprinting his scent on her skin. Maybe they wouldn’t be innocent, but in her fantasies, the sinful things Dev did to her felt absolutely heavenly.

“Hey… I thought you had class right now?” Nora asked Ellie before lifting a dyed gray brow and glanced up from the computer screen, only to do a double take. “Damn, girl, now that I look at ya, you kinda look like shidoobie. When was the last time you slept? Or ate? You look like you’re about to fall over from lack of one or the other.” She paused and looked her up and down. “Or, Hades, maybe both.” She sobered a little and spoke more softly. “I’m glad you’re outta hidin’ babe, but are you takin’ care of yourself?”

Ellie’s cheeks heated at the truth. She’d shut herself off emotionally from everyone for nearly a year after her kidnapping. It was only this semester she’d forced herself to interact with the world. Before then, she’d hardly gone anywhere but Sasha Saves and the library. Besides sleeping, she rarely even stayed in that tiny cell of a dorm room. It felt too much like a prison.

“I’m fine,” Ellie mumbled, but Nora’s gray brow lifted higher. Nora couldn’t be more than a few years older than Ellie, but she treated her hair and eyebrows like a mood ring. Lately, she’d only chosen gray or black.

Ellie got Nora’s need for self-expression. Sasha, Ellie, Nora, and several other women were kidnapped as bids for an auction in a sex trafficking ring almost a year ago. What had happened to Sasha… Ellie closed her eyes to concentrate on blocking out another flashback. Ellie was with her captors for three days, suffering her own hell. Meanwhile, Nora witnessed one of the BlackStone men, Draco, almost die trying to save her from being kidnapped. He was shot twice and had been in a coma ever since.

The men who were behind it all were still at large, and that fact drove Ellie, and everyone around her, crazy. Jason, Dev, and the rest of the men at BlackStone Securities were attempting to solve the puzzle. But whatever they knew, they weren’t sharing any of the pieces with Ellie.

She was drugged for most of her abduction and whether it was from the drugs or trauma, Ellie could only recount what happened in hazy, disjointed fragments. She’d tried for months to unlock those memories, but it was no use. They only barged in on their terms.

Besides, even if she did remember everything, she’d never be invited to help with the investigation. Dev didn’t see her as a victim, but she knew he was overprotective of her. And Jason? Jason would never stop seeing her as the baby sister he almost lost.

“Look alive, El,” Dev grumbled and prodded her arm gently. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?” Ellie blinked away the light-headedness brought on by her daydream, recognizing from Dev’s prompt and hours of therapy that she’d taken another “mental vacation from the present.” That’s what her therapist called dissociating, when Ellie retreated from conversations and blanked out, taking up residence in her mind instead. She came back to see Jules had stepped into the office, probably to leave Naomi to think things over.

“Are you supposed to be in class right now?” Jules whispered before closing the door behind her and perching her hands on her hips. Jason thought her lawyer voice was cute, but he was insane. Even whispered, it was still scary as all get out.

“Um… yes, but Nora texted me,” Ellie hedged. “If she didn’t want me to come then she shouldn’t have messaged me.”

Nora snorted. “Don’t blame this on me. You know the drill. ‘Get here when you can’ means after class, baby doll.”

Ellie huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine, but I have absences left. And—”

“Yeah right, girl. I call bull hockey,” Nora interrupted and rolled her eyes. “You’ve been here more days than you’ve been in class.”

Ellie stuck her tongue out at Nora, and Nora stuck hers out right back. Dev grunted and the grim line of his mouth thinned even more. Ellie felt heat rise up her chest and into her cheeks. She’d acted like the child they all thought she was.

“Seriously, El, what’s going on? Going to college has always been your dream,” Jules’s eyebrows drew together with concern as she spoke.

“Not by myself,” Ellie muttered. Behind her crossed arms, she clenched her fists. Going to college without her best friend had never been the plan.

Silence crushed their objections. Jules and Nora’s eyes shot to the ground and Ellie could feel them searching for the right thing to say. But they’d never find it. What would make any of this better was scattered in ashes.

A throat cleared in the other room, and Jules opened the door wide. Naomi waved the pamphlets at them after steering her eyes away from Snake and Thea. “I-uh. I’m finished. Y’all can come out now…”

Jules nodded and they all filed out of the office to give the woman their full attention again. “Good, I’ll take those so you don’t have to keep them, or take them home.” She took the pamphlets and handed them to Ellie. “I know I threw a lot at you, but do you have any questions?”

Naomi hesitated before shaking her head and Ellie stepped forward to speak. “It’s okay if you don’t have all the answers now, or ever. We’re here if you need us. No judgment.”

Naomi gave a dazed nod and Ellie followed Naomi’s gaze to where Thea and Snake were giggling at something on the screen. When Thea squealed with happiness, Snake’s grin widened, his blue eyes shining.

“I think,” Naomi whispered before clearing her throat with a wince. “I think we’ll be fine. Thank you for all your help. Do you, um, have a card for that number I could maybe call?”

Ellie shook her head. “Nope. All sevens. That’s our number. It’s easy to remember and you don’t have a trace of us to get you in trouble.”

“All sevens,” Naomi whispered as she slid off the patient bed to leave.

As Ellie and Dev went to help her, Nora spoke in an even higher pitch than usual. “Hey, kiddo, come with me and your mommy and we can go shopping in the store. You can get anything you want.”

Naomi’s unbruised light olive skin paled before she objected. “No, Nora, we can’t possibly—”

“It’s on the house,” Ellie interrupted with what she hoped was an encouraging smile, but Naomi shook her head.

“No, Ellie, that’s not the issue—”

Thea squealed, cutting off Naomi’s objection before jumping off the beanbag and landing on Snake’s unmentionables. His grunt made Thea gasp and crawl back. A look of utter terror on her face made Ellie’s heart crack.

“Sorry,” Thea squeaked with a cringe on her face.

A laugh rumbled through him. “Oof, you got me good, kid.”

Thea glanced at her momma and after seeing whatever she needed to see, the little girl broke out into nervous giggles before leaping toward Snake.

“Okay, but Wes has to come!” She grabbed his hand and rattled off about shopping and dress-up even before he agreed. Ellie glanced at Naomi to see a ghost of a smile before it disappeared.

“All right, let’s go, Babs. I gotta get my favorite boss ass bitch back to the office before your fiancé decides to unalive me for keeping you from him.” Nora waved Snake, Naomi, Jules, and Thea out the door. “Go to class, Ellie!” she yelled before closing the medical room door, leaving Dev and Ellie in the room.

Alone.

The hair on the back of Ellie’s neck stood on end as she realized how close they were again. The air thickened around them and Ellie stepped away to give herself room to breathe.

“I should, um, go study or something. See ya.” She turned to retrieve her backpack, but every step away from Dev felt like she was trudging against the inescapable undercurrent between them. She swallowed around the denial she’d been cultivating for months, refusing to explore her feelings further.

What the heck is wrong with me?

Dev was twenty-seven years old, and her brother’s friend and teammate. That was all he’d been to Ellie, too. Just a friend.

But still, she couldn’t shake the overwhelming instinct he was more than that. They’d seen each other nearly every day since he’d rescued her. And nearly every day, she had to remind herself to forget the first thought she had when his flashlight revealed his small smile. That he was her savior. Her hero.

She didn’t want to be the damsel in distress anymore. If Sasha Saves had taught her anything, it was the importance of learning to save herself. It was something she tried to empower survivors with every day. Those women who depended on Sasha Saves needed her full attention, and on top of that, Nora had a point. Ellie didn’t even know how many absences she had left.

Bottom line? There was more at stake than a little hero crush, and Ellie needed to grow up and accept that.

“Hey, do you want a ride?”

Ellie tugged her backpack on slowly as she searched for an excuse. “Oh no, that’s okay. I rode my bike here. It’s hooked up to the rack. Oh… and—” She shrugged off his jacket. “Outside is hot as blue blazes today so I won’t need your jacket out there.” She tossed it to him, afraid of what she would do if their fingers touched and sparks flew everywhere like in one of Virginia’s romance novels. “Um, thanks though.”

He nodded and flipped the jacket over his shoulder. “I can still take you back to your dorm, if you’d like. I’ll put your bike in the bed of my truck, like usual.” Dev’s lips angled up in one corner and Ellie averted her eyes to focus on smoothing down her T-shirt, as if the task was impossible without intense concentration.

“I, um. I think I’ll ride home.” The room was quiet and she dared a glance back to see the raised side of his mouth had flattened into a hard line and he’d stuffed the hand not holding his jacket into his pockets.

Is he… disappointed?

“But, could you walk me out?” Ellie quickly followed up. The compromise was worth it when his mouth curved up again. It wasn’t even a real smile by normal standards, but it still had the power to tie Ellie’s stomach into hopeful knots.

“Love to, angel.” This time he said the endearment like a brother to a sister, and Ellie bristled at the tone. So dang confusing.

Dev tugged a pack of gum from his pocket. Big Red, like always. He popped a piece into his mouth before offering her one.

“No thanks.” She shook her head. Her mouth was already watering enough.

He nodded and stuffed both the pack and his hands back in his pockets before leading them out, both of them making sure to wave bye to everyone in the store before leaving.

Nora was talking to Naomi near the check-out counter, no doubt trying to enlist another volunteer. If a survivor helped around the thrift store under the guise of a volunteer opportunity, they were able to keep Sasha Saves close in case they needed help. The thrift store was advertised as a non-profit for kids with cancer. No one questioned or fought against helping kids with cancer. Some of the proceeds did actually go toward them, so it wasn’t even a lie. Hopefully, Naomi agreed and the two would come up with a plan to convince whoever caused her injuries.

Ellie weaved behind Devil through clothing racks and tried not to be frustrated that even as he held the door open for her, he seemed to carefully avoid touching her.

They hardly ever did, she’d noticed, as if their bodies had conspired to leave a buffer as an attempt to never give in to the tension swirling between them. But the constant focus on not touching had the opposite effect on curing the charged energy that zipped over Ellie’s skin whenever Dev was only inches away. Instead, any time their fingers brushed, a delicious shock traveled up her arm and down to the bundle of nerves that craved his attention.

What would happen if she gave in to the urge to pounce on him? Just once? If he pressed his body up against hers, would it finally relieve the ache inside? Or would it make it more unbearable?

Ellie suppressed a shiver at the same time her stomach lurched. Not even her body could decide whether being brave enough to act on her needs was arousing or terrifying.

Moving on from her past was the equivalent of standing on the edge of a cliff. She’d managed to avoid looking down until that point, but would taking the leap with someone like Dev feel like flying or a total crash and burn?

Things had gotten hot and heavy with a few guys before she was kidnapped, but she’d never had sex. After months of therapy, she was trying to regain some semblance of a normal life as a college student. That included a relationship, right? Maybe Virginia could fix her up with some guy. Not that he’d ever compare to Dev.

Ellie tripped over the welcome mat outside the doorway. One second, she was falling to the ground, the next, strong hands whisked her up, gripping her around her waist.

“Careful, angel.”

It was back. His tone a soft caress against her skin. She looked down at Dev’s hands, spanning her waistline as he held her tightly with her back flush to his chest. Ellie leaned sideways to meet those big forest green eyes and gulped back the butterflies threatening to escape. The heat in his gaze lit her up inside. It was the first time they’d ever been that close.

Relief? Or unbearable?

His fingers twitched on her lower belly, sending the flutters there straight down to her core and making her throb with need.

Guess I have my answer.