Page 157 of Body and Soul

“Don’t be,” I grunted. “He’s tough.”

Theo offered a tired smile. “Don’t let that tough exterior fool you. He’s got a sweet side once you get to know him.”

“But it’s over now, right?” I gave Annie a pleading look. “He’s going to let everyone go?”

“He had better,” Annie scoffed. “Agent Valentine isn’t the only pressure Algerone was facing to end this peacefully. Several of Nikita’s associates have been parked outside the building for days now. We had distant family fly in from Moscow to ensure things went our way. Algerone knows better than to try anything with all of us watching. He’ll keep his word. For now, at least.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The door opened and a familiar face walked in, one I hadn't seen in far too long. Dani stepped into the room, looking exhausted but relieved, a tiny baby swaddled in her arms.

“Holy shit,” I breathed out, my eyes widening. “Dani?” I set my mug down with a clunk, nearly sloshing hot chocolate everywhere in my haste to stand up.

Dani's gaze met mine and the worry lines in her face softened. “Hello, Eli,” she choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks.

I rushed over to her, pulling her into a fierce hug, mindful of the baby between us. Dani sagged against me, her shoulders shaking with sobs. After a long moment, we pulled apart, both of us wiping at wet cheeks and runny noses. I glanced down at the baby nestled in the crook of Dani’s arm.

“This is Noah,” Dani said gently.

I stared down at the tiny face peeking out from under the blankets, my heart doing something funny in my chest. Noah. Shepherd’s nephew. Shepherd was going to be beside himself with joy to see them both safe.

I reached out with a shaky hand, gently brushing a finger against Noah's soft cheek. He was so small, so fragile. Hard to believe something so innocent could come out of a place filled with such evil.

“He's beautiful, Dani,” I said hoarsely. “Shepherd's gonna lose his mind when he sees you both.”

Dani gave a tired smile. “I can't wait to see him. It's been so long...” She trailed off, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

I squeezed her shoulder. “He never stopped looking for you, you know. Never gave up hope that he'd free you someday.”

Dani nodded, blinking back the moisture. “About what happened before, at Point Pleasant…”

I shook my head. “You don’t need to apologize for that.”

“But I do, Eli. You were right there and I couldn’t do anything to help you. I was so afraid of him, so afraid of what he might do to Noah once he was born.” She closed her eyes, tears racing down her cheeks. “I managed to sneak a call to Shepherd, but I wanted to do more.”

“You did enough,” I told her, squeezing her arm. “You were brave in your own way, Dani. You survived. That’s enough for now. The rest…The rest you process with time.”

Dani nodded, pushing the tears away. She glanced around the room with a shuddering breath, taking in Annie and Theo still sitting on the couch. “Are these... Shepherd's family?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “That's Annie, his mom. And Theo, one of his brothers’ fiancées. They’re a big, close family.”

Annie stood up, coming over to pull Dani into a warm hug, baby Noah and all. “Welcome, Daniella. I'm glad to finally meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Dani hugged her back awkwardly with one arm, clearly overwhelmed. “Thank you for taking care of Dex…Shepherd. Of my brother.”

“Of course, honey. And we’re going to take care of you, too. Don’t you worry. You're family now,” Annie said firmly. She ushered Dani over to the couch. “Here, sweetheart. Have a seat. Theo, grab a snack from the fridge there. Did they treat you well, Dani?”

I sat back down on the couch next to Dani, our shoulders brushing. It felt surreal to be touching her again after everything. To know she was real and here and okay, relatively speaking.

“Well enough,” Dani said, adjusting how she held Noah. “When those men showed up at the compound in Malaysia, I was terrified. I thought we were all going to jail. But they brought me here and made sure I had everything in the world I could ever want. I had a nice room, a warm bed, plenty to eat. It was almost like staying in a nice hotel, except I wasn’t allowed to leave.”

“What about...” I swallowed hard, almost afraid to ask. “What about Father Ezekiel? Did they bring him in too?”

Dani's face fell, her gaze dropping to her lap. She shifted Noah in her arms, adjusting the soft blue blanket around him. “I don't know,” she admitted quietly. “We weren’t together when they came for me and Noah.”

My heart sank like a stone. Part of me had been hoping Ezekiel would face justice for all the fucked up shit he'd done, that he'd rot in prison for the rest of his miserable life. But if the feds didn't have him...

I ran a hand over my face, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the day weighing on me like a physical thing, dragging me down. My whole body ached, the cuts and bruises throbbing. The adrenaline that had been keeping me going was fading fast, leaving me wrung out and empty.

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