Damien cradled Tasha in his arms and rocked her gently as he glared at the agents in the room. They all wanted to be here to see her wake up, see if his story was true. He hadn’t experienced one of her amnesia episodes before and now that he had he wished that he never did. The pain that seared through his chest when she stared at him blankly like one would a stranger wasn’t one he cared to have ever experienced. And to think DJ had gone through the same pain more than once.
His heart beat a staccato when he felt how warm she’d gotten against his exposed skin at his collar bone. She was sweaty too. Oh, please don’t let this happen again.
“Elaine, these episodes, do they follow each other?” he asked with as much control as he could.
She looked at him questioningly, “No. Why?”
Damien swallowed hard, the back of his eyes already burning with tears, “Are you sure?”
“Yes I’m sure,” she responded harshly.
“She just went out again,” his voice broke as he felt Tasha’s body go limp against his again. The fists she’d had pressed against his chest just a few seconds ago fell lifelessly on her lap. Damien held her tighter, afraid she would completely slip away from him if he didn’t.
Elaine pressed her fingers against her pulse and cursed. She pressed those same fingers over her eyes, “I had hoped… she’s usually out for hours, but this time it was less than one. I thought this time she’d wake up with her memories and DJ wouldn’t… We need to call Tom.”
“No! He’ll make sure this stays permanent. I’m not letting that asshole anywhere near her.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
He settled himself better against the couch and drew Tasha more against his chest, “We wait, but Ellie, you can’t be here when she wakes up again.”
Before Ellie could protest, Elaine spoke, “No, I’d rather she stays. Get her as a trigger out of the way. And anyway, time for hiding is over. It’s time to fight,” Elaine stared at him and Damien could see the question in her eyes, “Damien, are you ready for the fight of your life?”
He looked down at the beautiful woman asleep—he chose to believe—in his arms and thought of their son who sat in Dale’s office unsuspecting of his mother’s episode. He wasn’t about to lose them to some deranged man.
“What do I need to know about Vladimir?”
She nodded, “His name was the first thing on this list. The fact that he is crazy obsessed with Ellsa is the second.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s not going to be content with the little housewife Tasha, he’s going to want the dangerous, sexy vixen Ellsa back. He won’t want to understand she doesn’t exist anymore.”
“What are you saying?”
She sighed and sat down, pulling her phone out of her pocket, “It’s going to take Mike and me to explain this and I’d rather not do it here. Richard, call you superior, mention the Black Widows and then release us.”
“Why should the Black Widows mean anything? Why would that get Ellsa out of here, she’s still under arrest as an escaped fugitive.” Richard countered.
“Giving you time to call your superior is just a cutesy. Actually, us staying here as long as we have was just being polite. We’ll leave now and there would be nothing you could do about it.”
“We could stop you.” Dale challenged.
“And earn another bullet, this time in your ass,” she stood and faced him, “If Ellsa wanted you dead, you would be. She doesn’t miss, with a gun or a knife.” She turned to Richard, “You going to make that call or should we call it a day right now?”
****
“What?” Dale exploded banging his fists on Richard’s desk, “What do you mean he said to let her go?”
“And pretend to have never known she existed,” Richard added calmly, “All I did was mention ‘Black Widow’ and for a moment I thought I’d threatened to kill him the way he went off on the phone. It’s my job if I mention those two words again.”
Dale paced running his hands over his face, “This can’t be happening. I finally found her and now I’m supposed to let her free, just like that?”
“Why don’t you take them to your house and find out what Black Widows is? I’ll go with you, take the kids to my place if you want me too.”
He shook his head, “No need. My parents have them for the weekend. Disneyland.”
“Good, go and do your job, investigate. I can tell you one thing, I’ve heard of Vladimir and if it’s the same man Elaine was talking about… things aren’t going to end pretty.”
“Thing are already going to shit with how cold Ellie has been treating me this month. I’m scared if I say one wrong word to Ellsa she’ll serve me with divorce papers.”
Richard nodded with understanding, “Tough that one. Do you think that was an act, how she woke up?”
“No,” Dale admitted grudgingly, “I have a feeling if Elaine weren’t there, she would have been hysterical. And I didn’t help with the crack about her son. That got me in the dog house.”
“And caused another episode, don’t forget that.”
He rolled his eyes, “Kick a dog when he’s down, why don’t you?” he turned to leave and stopped, “Richard, why didn’t you react when Elaine snapped that man’s neck right in front of us?”
Somberly he asked, “Why didn’t you?”
Shock then sudden fear and then shock again at how nonchalant she was about ending a man’s life in front of a room full of witnesses—FBI agents witnesses. He didn’t even feel an iota in control or safer when he drew his gun which said a lot. But he wasn’t going to confess to that.
“It seemed above my pay grade and after your call, it looks like I’m right.”
Richard snorted, “Yeah, let’s go with that.”
****