Chapter 5 – Eloise in Albuquerque
Eloise sat in the conference room, watching her two marshals, their heads bent together, having a low voiced conversation. She was quickly coming to enjoy her study of these two. Her job as a counselor gave her ample opportunity to study people, study their reactions, study the way they would say one thing, while feeling another. Her empathic abilities gave her a unique insight into the true feelings and motivations of her clients. She wondered who would take care of her caseload, how her disappearance would be explained.
Both marshals fairly radiated with emotions kept tightly controlled. Marshall was the embodiment of calm on the surface, but underneath he had very deep and very strong feelings for Mary. Mary was all bluster on top, but deep down...she was terrified. Confusion over her feelings for Marshall was tying her in knots. The affection she felt for him was clear, but she was scared of the potential for hurt that would come with stronger feelings.
Eloise dropped her observation of the two sitting across from her and turned her thoughts inwards, a place she had been avoiding. Concentrating on Marshall and Mary allowed her to not think about herself. The last two days had completely turned her world upside down. And all because of a stupid turn down the wrong corridor. Eloise had entered a warehouse in the industrial park, looking for a fabric wholesaler (hell of a lot of trouble for wanting my couch reupholstered) and turning left instead of right where the corridor split, opened a door to find herself witness to a horrifying tableau. Two men with their hands tied behind their backs, shoved up against the wall. A third man with a gun pointed at them. Two other men standing around looking menacing. She had stood rooted to the spot, frightened into immobility, the emotions of everyone in the room swirling around her, threatening to overwhelm her. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she found herself roughly grabbed and pulled into the room, the door slammed shut behind her. A split second later, two gunshots, then two bodies slumped to the ground. Another man entered from a door in the rear, and a heated argument ensued regarding what to do with her. Eloise stood silently, realizing she was likely to die in the next few minutes. And then, incredibly, a commotion from outside burst inside from the same rear door and a variety of law enforcement entered the room. She saw Nashville police uniforms, DEA jackets, US Marshall jackets.
Eloise took it all in, the guns waving everywhere, the blur of running men, the shouting, the level of emotion. She was starting to withdraw, unable to process all the emotions, the rush of adrenaline from every single person in that room. She saw a very tall, slender man looking at her strangely, trying to fit her into the equation. One of these things is not like the others. As she felt her brain start to shut down and her legs start to give way, he was suddenly beside her, catching her slight figure up in his arms. He turned with her and after a brief word with one of the other men, carried Eloise out of the warehouse and to a waiting police car. Eloise grabbed the front of his shirt as he bent over to set her down on the back seat and looked into his eyes, her breath coming in panicked gasps. Blue, blue eyes looked back and latched onto chocolate brown ones. He smiled and laid his hand on her head.
"You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you." He had a surprisingly deep voice. And he was calm. Eloise latched onto that calmness. The gentle gesture of placing his large hand on her head, like she was a child, was a lifeline. Direct physical contact made it easier for her to feel others emotions and right now he was projecting such controlled calmness. She clung to that stability, drank it in, closed out everyone but the lovely man acting as her shield. Her world was shattering and he was like a net, holding all the pieces together. The tall man stood up and turned to speak to another man, Eloise didn't let go of his shirt.
"Please don't leave me," it was a whisper. The tall man turned back to her. He crouched down beside her and gently disentangled his shirt from her grasp, clasping her hand flat against his chest. "I won't leave you. I am going to stay right here with you." Eloise could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat under her palm. She concentrated on that rhythm, gradually expanded the narrow focus of her attention to his breathing, nice and even. She consciously brought her breathing to match his, to try and stop the crazy racing of her heart, the painful hitching of her breath.
The other man spoke now. "One of them's in the wind. We're in pursuit." The tall man looked up with eyes turned steely. "Which one? Did he see..." he nodded towards Eloise. The other man nodded grimly.
The tall man turned back to Eloise, his eyes softening as he gazed at her. "I'm Marshal Marshall Mann of the U.S. Marshal Service. And I'm going to take care of you." He squeezed her hand. "I promise." And Eloise turned her life over to him.
******
As Eloise learned later, the man she had seen enter the room from the rear door was an informant, someone on the inside of the drug gang. Marshall had been sent to Nashville to take that man into protective custody after the anticipated bust of the drug ring. What hadn't been anticipated were the two brutal killings and the appearance of Eloise. Another marshal was quickly assigned to Marshal's original witness, given the obvious emotional distress of Eloise and the bond she had already forged with Marshall.
Eloise had been whisked away so quickly, it made her head spin. She was in almost physical pain from all the emotions and withdrew so deeply, she barely heard Marshall as he explained about witness protection and the danger she was in from the drug ring. Her purse had been taken from her when she was pulled into the room, and the man who escaped had her ID, knew her name, where she lived. She wasn't even allowed to return home for her clothes. She was in Albuquerque before she could rouse herself enough to even ask about Jacob. She was given a non-committal answer that scared her when she allowed herself to think about it. Like Scarlett O'Hara, she would think about it tomorrow. Whatever this relocation was about, she wasn't doing it without Jacob.
She returned her attention to the two marshals. So much yearning for each other and only one of them able to admit it. Mary was the more complex of the two, so much hurt and pain hidden under layers of self defensive prickliness. Afraid to let herself love anyone, because what if they left her? Marshall sitting quietly on the sidelines, loving her from afar. It was sad. Well. Eloise decided she would do what she always did with her clients. Offer little glimpses and soft nudges to try and open stubbornly shut eyes. She was beginning to feel as protective of her marshals as they were of her.
Marshall looked over at her, caught her gaze and smiled. He really was rather lovely. Mary was a fool if she couldn't see that. Except Mary was no fool. She was scared. The woman who would fearlessly face down anyone who tried to harm a witness was afraid to face her own feelings. I may need to employ humping big shoves instead of soft nudges with this one.
Marshall's fondness showed in his smile. He had felt himself drawn to this unique woman from the moment he saw her wide-eyed face in that Nashville warehouse. He couldn't fathom what she was doing there, but had recognized her impending faint and managed to get to her side before she slid to the floor. Swinging her light figure up in his arms, he had felt a rush of protectiveness that was unusual, even in his line of work. Maybe it was because she was so tiny. Maybe it was because she had trusted him from the moment he picked her up in his embrace. Waiting for her to try and steady her ragged breathing, he had found himself falling into the chocolate pools of her eyes, his heart constricting as he almost physically felt the emotional connection she was creating, felt her drawing strength from him. Offered up that strength to her. There was something very unusual about her. He had thrown an arm around her, felt her slender shoulders sag against him.
The trip from Nashville to Albuquerque was largely silent. Marshall had been able to get her name out of her, but little else. She was withdrawn, trembling in the circle of his arm, her head resting on his shoulder. He had watched her sleeping, strangely moved by the level of trust she showed in him.
Watching her face today as she received confirmation of her pregnancy, he felt a surge of happiness for her. She was glowing with the news and excitedly looking forward to Jacob's arrival. Marshall experienced a small tug at his heart; he really wanted to be a dad. To have a family of his own. To have someone to love. To create a child with...he glanced covertly over at Mary. Would she want kids? It was something they had never talked about. For all her beliefs that she wasn't good with children, she actually kept a good rapport with them. Because she treated them as people in their own right, was straightforward with them, never talked down to them.
Marshall startled out of his reverie, aware Eloise had spoken to him. "I'm sorry," he said, "what was that?"
"Would you please ask Jacob to bring my engagement ring?" she repeated. "It was being sized at the jewelers and he was supposed to pick it up the day...the other day." She looked down at her bare hands. "It's the only material thing I really want from ...before."
An engagement ring. A powerful symbol. Visible proof to the world that a pledge had been offered and accepted. A signal to other men that this woman is spoken for, she has committed herself. A promise to love. His eyes slid unwillingly to the ring on Mary's finger. But not as permanent as the ring that came after, the plain band that was a legal as well as a moral commitment. This pledge could still be broken, with few consequences. Would she break that pledge? For him?
Mary kicked him under the table and he realized he was staring at her hand and hadn't answered Eloise. "Ow." He threw her a look. He returned his attention to Eloise. "Yes, I will relay that message." He pulled out his phone and bent over to rub his shin as he waited for the call to connect to the Nashville office.