Chapter 10/17

Charlie decided to make himself comfortable, it could be a long night.

Slipping off his shoes he made his way quietly to the kitchen table and hung his jacket carefully over the back of a chair. He loosened his tie, undid the top button of his shirt and took a relieved breath. Moments later his sleeves were rolled up and he was foraging in Dani's fridge. To his delight she had a large carton of orange juice. Not the excuse for juice that he might have expected, but the good stuff with pulp floating in it. Maybe, just maybe he was getting through to his stubborn partner. The rest of the fridge was less exciting. A few slices of bread, a small tub of spread, a tiny knob of Parmesan wrapped in greased paper and the remains of a Chinese carryout. He opened the lid cautiously then quickly closed it again before dumping the carton into the trash – some things were best not explored.

Opening cupboards, Charlie did discover a stockpile of chocolate cookies tucked behind packets of pasta and sauce mixes. He helped himself to two and a glass of juice before settling down on the sofa opposite his sleeping partner.

He picked up the first file and flicked it open. It was the autopsy report on the victim found hanging in the basement. It made for uncomfortable reading, the stark details raising unwanted images in his head. He'd get Dani to shoot him before he got to that stage. The victim was a male between forty-five and fifty, a slight 140 pounds spread across his five foot ten frame. Carcinomas riddled his body, though the original point of infection seemed to be his liver. The man hadn't had long to live. They currently had a search out for who might have been treating him, as there were indications that medication was being taken and that radiotherapy had been tried. Charlie closed the jacket and picked up the report on the unknown woman. Basically the answer was - they just didn't know what she had died of. Heart failure seemed the most likely cause, but from what, the Coroner couldn't say with any certainty. A severe shock might have been the reason, but he would not swear to that in court. Crews had to wonder whether the finding of the male hanging from the ceiling might have been behind the attack or if the ghost had literally scared the woman to death.

He checked on Dani again, his hand on her forehead checking her temperature – she was considerably cooler. He carefully moved one errant strand of hair away from her face, and a gentle smile lightened his features. Picking up Haunted Hollywood, he returned to his seat and began to read - whiling away the time until she woke.

Charlie had turned his phone to silent and suddenly felt the vibration go off in his pants pocket. He pulled it out, sending a quick glance over to Reese who seemed to be still asleep. The text message told him to check his emails. He logged in and scanned down the list for the latest one from the department. They'd tracked down the victim.

As he scanned the report warning bells rang in Charlie's head. He recognised the name – Eric Hartman; the woman they expected to identify as his wife Eleanor. Background checks were under way, but Crews already knew one thing about them – they were previous owners of Emerich Hall and were supposedly touring Europe at that moment.

His attention quickly shifted to the other sofa – Reese was mumbling in her sleep, her body restless. The cushion under her foot slid to the floor as she kicked out. Charlie abandoned his sofa and came onto his knees beside her, hand reaching out to calm her.

Suddenly she shot upright, swinging her feet to the ground. Her eyes were wide with what looked like fear as she searched Charlie's face. "Charlie!"

"Right here …"

She flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. Charlie wrapped himself around her, his heart pounding at the unexpectedness of her actions and the fearful response it caused him.

Dani came to awareness slowly and with a sense of panic she hadn't lived through for a long time. Darkness surrounded her with a completeness that was terrifying. No light reached her, sounds were so muffled as to be almost unintelligible and she could barely breath.

There was a bag over her head.

Pain emanated from various points around her body. Her ankles were almost numb where she could feel rope wrapped around them, her hands and wrists felt grazed, bruised. She thought maybe she had a broken rib as each slight inhalation caused a stabbing in her left side. The smell of stale blood permeated the air and she cautiously slid her tongue against her lip. The metallic tang told her that the lip was split and still bleeding. She only vaguely remembered being tied to the chair, but the memory of Nevikov's backhander still remained.

She hadn't come quietly and was pretty sure that she'd done damage to at least two of the five-man team the Russian had sent to grab her. But she'd paid for that resistance and had been only minimally aware of being bundled into the back of the van, her head spinning, nausea threatening to make her spew her guts across the metal floor. Now all she could think of was how she could possibly get out of this. How could she spin the time out until her partner could find her, because he would – there was no doubt in her mind that Charlie Crews was already looking for her. She had got into the habit of phoning him every day and it must be late by now, Charlie would be looking for her. She slowly inhaled, 'just breathe', he'd said, so she would. She would take each moment as it came, wait for an opportunity to arise and if it didn't she would put her faith in Crews.

This was the point Dani usually woke up - today it took a different turn. It was no longer Dani tied to that chair but Charlie. It wasn't just a split lip and a broken rib, but razor slashes, broken bones and blood, lots and lots of blood. And it wasn't Crews searching for her, but Reese trying to find him – and failing. In her dream she had come crashing into that cellar to find Charlie dying, his body slumped like a rag doll on the damned chair. Too much damage done, the medics too far away, nothing she could do to save him - Crews whispering her name with his dying breath.

She bolted upright, wrenching herself from the nightmare and calling his name – and then she was in his arms, holding him tightly, determined to never let him go. He felt warm and solid – and alive. The expensive cologne she associated with him seemed to wrap itself around her, every sense confirming she was embracing Charlie Crews.

She was embracing Charlie Crews! Oh God, what had she done?

Charlie felt it the moment she realised what she was doing, who she was embracing and beginning to pull back. But this time he was not willing to let go. This time he would tell her how much he wanted her, needed her to make him complete. This time he would not let her turn away from him.

"Don't, Dani. Don't run." He let her retreat just far enough that their eyes could meet. Hers panicked - his intense. His hand moved up to cup her cheek, thumb caressing gently across her soft skin as his eyes drifted to her parted lips then back to meet her gaze. He had to tell her, he had to, but he wasn't sure he had the right words to break through her barriers.

His voice grew lower, more intense. "I don't know what to say to you, how to make you understand how I feel. I could tell you I love you, but I'm not sure you would believe me – would you believe me, Dani? Would you understand how hard it is to be this close to you and not kiss you the way I've wanted to kiss you for the past few weeks. To sit beside you in the car and not reach out to touch you. To be able to truly share my thoughts with you and hope you'll let me hear yours. Do you know how hard that is, Dani?"

She turned away from his intense gaze and Charlie felt his heart plummet. He'd said too much too soon. But the feelings he held for her had been bubbling away inside him, begging to be let out and he hadn't been able to contain it any longer.

"Dani, please. You must know how much I need you. You let me kiss you - didn't you feel it between us? I know, you probably think I just want to take you to bed, and I do, but that's not what this is about. I love the way you look, yes, but I love your spirit, your determination. I love the way your eyes flash when you're angry and the softness you show when your compassion shines through. I want to know everything about you Dani Reese – I want to share everything with you. I want all of you and I want to give you all of me."

He realised he was babbling and took a deep breath, making himself be still.

His hard-assed partner was trembling under his touch, her eyes averted from his so that he was unable to tell if it was anger or something else. He held his breath and waited, inviting her to come to him, to love him as he did her.

The wait was interminable and Charlie thought he'd made the biggest mistake of his life until she turned back to him, eyes still stormy but her equilibrium restored.

"Charlie, shut up and kiss me," she demanded, then closed the gap between them, her lips demanding.

They didn't make it off the sofa the first time; clothes were wrenched aside as they fought to get closer to one another, there was nothing even remotely romantic about this coupling and yet Charlie didn't feel anything beyond elation. By the time they made it to the bed, clothes strewn along their path, Charlie had taken charge and slowed everything down. He wanted time to explore this gorgeous woman, time to touch and taste and send them both mad with desire – and Dani, for once, let him drive.