Elise dove for the phone before the ringing woke Brodi, silently cursing herself that she didn't have the foresight to turn the damned ringer off.
"Hello?" she mumbled into the phone.
"Elise? You're still asleep? It's almost noon."
"Rahzel. We had a long night. No, not that kind of night."
"I need to talk to Brodi."
"Can it wait? He had a really rough night. He's only been asleep maybe a couple of hours."
"Sheesh, I know he doesn't drink, but is he THAT much of a lightweight?"
"It wasn't the alcohol." Elise said coldly. She didn't offer any other explanation, and waited for her meaning to sink in.
Finally, Elise heard a sigh. "OK. Have him call me when he wakes up. We found the girl and had her escorted off the property. I want to know if he'll let me talk to Nate."
"You found her? Thank God! Uhm, yeah, I'll have him call you. He really needs to rest, Rahzel."
"I know. Take care of our boy, Riggs."
"You know it. Later."
She was so relieved that this menace had been found that it didn't occur to her to ask why he wanted to talk to Nate. She hung up the phone and looked over at Brodi, who was just starting to stir. She hurriedly flipped the ringer switch to "off" and then curled into him, pulling him in closer to her.
"Shhhh," she shushed as a soft whimper escaped his lips. "You're OK. Just go back to sleep, sweetie; you need to rest. You're OK."
She tucked his head under her chin and began running her thumb up and down the base of his neck. The tension in his back seemed to ease and his breathing pattern lengthened.
"There we go," she whispered softly. "Just relax. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe."