Tough Love

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Eli's POV

My whole body goes cold when I hear the Cap's voice. I know something is seriously wrong and I need to get down to Dani's office immediately. I can't wait for the elevator and I can't give the guys an explanation. I take off, running for the stairs. I throw over my shoulder, “Scott, take the guys out for a break. Now!”

“Yes sir.”

He knows better than to ask questions. He must know something is very wrong, because he then shouts, “Call me.”

I run down the 3 flights of stairs, probably jumping more than I should. I can't afford to fall and injure myself, but I need to get to Dani as quickly as I can. My heart drops into my stomach when I burst into Dani's section of the floor. I assess the scene in less than a second and it doesn't make for a good picture. Cain and Paul are here. I can't see the Cap and I can't see Dani. I just see Cain restraining Paul, who is trying to twist and pull out of Cain's grip. Cain glances at me and says, “Under her desk... I'm moving him to the locker room.”

I nod briefly and rush for Dani's desk. I find the Cap there trying to calm Dani down. “Cap, it won't work. Give her space. Let me in...”

The Cap shuffles out of the way, but I notice that he doesn't leave the area. I can't think about that now, I need to focus on Dani. I kneel in front of her and my heart breaks. She's a complete and utter mess. I don't know what happened, but I take in her appearance and I can take a few guesses. Her clothes are disheveled, her hair is all over the place and she's sobbing and trembling. I whisper, “Dani? Baby? It's me. It's Eli.... Can you count with me?”

I wait to see if she responds or if she can even acknowledge I'm here. Nothing.

“Sweetheart? It's Eli. I need you to concentrate on my voice baby.”

Still nothing. Well, that's not technically true. She's muttering something in Russian, but I can't make out what it is. My Russian vocabulary isn't that vast and she's talking too quickly for me to even catch a few words. I do something that could fully backfire, but I have to grab her attention somehow. I slowly reach for her and place my fingers on her leg. I hear the breath catch in her throat at the same time as she lets out a strangled sound of pain. She puts one hand on her head, like she's hurt her head and I'm even more worried.

I glance at the Cap and ask, “Did she hit her head?”

“No, not that I saw. Eli...”

“No, no. Don't tell me what happened. I can't deal with that right now. I have to deal with this first. I just need to know if she hurt her head.”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Right.”

I focus my attention solely onto Dani and send up a prayer for the right thing to do. I do something I haven't had to do in a while. I take my gun out of it's holster and slide it towards Dani. While I vaguely hear the Cap protest the action, I ignore everything he says. Dani is way more important right now.

My gun catches Dani's attention and she quickly snaps it up. Her breathing is erratic and I can only imagine what her heart rate is like right now. I try again, “Dani? It's me. Point the gun at me. You know like we used to do? That's it, just listen to my voice. I need you to listen to me. I need you to count with me. You need to slow your breathing down sweetheart...”

She just sobs and I can see the gun shaking in her hands. She can't count. She's got herself into such a state that there's no way she's going to be able to count at this stage. I close my eyes and go back on all the things I've had to do to help calm Dani down. I know I can't reach for her hand coz she'll probably shoot me right now. Yes, she's that bad. She doesn't even recognize it's me.