Las Vegas Savior
Chapter 23

John walked over to the adjoining door and pushed it open. He quietly walked over to the side of the bed and stood for a long time just watching Emily sleep. She looked so beautiful, almost angelic as she slept.

“I love you, Emily Brewer.” He whispered softly as he brushed a stray lock of hair off of her face and he saw her smile in her sleep before he straightened up. He grabbed his duffle bag and carried it over to the room she would have been sleeping in, that now had a door full of bullet holes.

John sat up for a long time, looking but not really seeing the spectacular view out the windows as he thought about Emily and what was going to happen tomorrow. They would wake up, go to breakfast and then into the local FBI office so that Emily could give a formal statement of what had happened that night 3 years ago and he would file his report of what had happened in the last two days.

He still found it hard to believe that he had only met her two days ago. It seemed like he had known her for a long time. They had certainly learned a lot about each other in a very short amount of time but he knew for himself that he had not shared a lot of his life with her but also knew that the past was not really that important. Past is just that, the past. Emily had shared some of her past but he wondered what more there was to know.

He seriously doubted if she had any kind of criminal record. Did he really care what was in her past? No! All that was really important to him now was what she was going to do with her future. He knew she had some serious trust issues when it came to men and the police and so far her distrust had been well justified. But surely she knows she can trust me? He knew she could but the question is, does she know it?

John finally stood up and got ready to go to sleep around midnight. He pulled on the pajamas he had bought and wondered if he would ever use them again after tonight. He checked on Emily one more time and she hadn’t moved. He wondered if she always slept so still.

She looked so small in the large bed and he wanted nothing more than to crawl in with her, to cuddle up behind her and hold her but that would be taking advantage of the situation and he wasn’t at all certain that it would be welcome. All he knew for certain was that he was going to do everything in his power to prove his love for her and prayed that she at least cared for him enough to give him a chance.

The next morning, John was up with the sun. He had purposely left the curtains open last night so that he wouldn’t oversleep. He got up and checked on Emily but while she had turned over, she was still asleep. He got a shower and made some coffee. He was just putting on his socks when he thought he heard her get up. A quick look in the other room told him that she was up and in the bathroom. He heard the shower come on and realized that the clothes Tess had folded and left on the back of the chair were gone.

He went back into his room and packed up his clothes, so that he was ready to go whenever she was. He turned on the TV and of course, the news of the day was the shooting last night. He called down to the desk and the person that picked up identified himself as the hotel manager. John asked if there were a lot of reporters around.

“Yes, sir. They’ve been here almost all night. Hotel security has been posted on your floor to keep them from bothering you. We’re very sorry that the man got to your floor last night. Would you like room service for breakfast this morning?”

“That might be best but I’ll call down with our order when we are ready to eat. Can you please make sure that there are a dozen white roses delivered with our breakfast with the name Emily Brewer on one side of the card and a heart on the other? I will need an escort to our vehicle when we are ready to leave the hotel.” John told him.

“I’ll take care of it personally, sir. Send your car keys down with the waiter when he delivers your breakfast and I’ll have it brought around to a secure area.” The manager told him.

“Great. Thanks.” John said and then hung up. He heard the shower cut off and his imagination took over. He picked up the remote and channel surfed for a minute as he tried to replace something that wasn’t the news or some boring talk show. He finally gave up and turned it off. He heard the blow dryer come on so he knew she had washed her hair and his pants got a little bit tighter in the front. He loved the way her hair smelled, especially when it was freshly washed.

He wished he had something to do while he waited for her but other than pouring another cup of coffee, which he didn’t want, he didn’t have anything left to do. He picked up his cup and went to look out at the view. Unable to stand still for long, he glanced around the room and saw his phone. He unplugged his cell phone and checked to see if there were any messages but nothing. He unplugged the charger and put it in his bag.

“Looks like you are learning to be ready to go at the drop of the hat.” Emily said as she stepped into the doorway between their rooms.

“Good morning!” John said. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Good morning and much better, thanks.” Emily said, trying to read him. “How about you?”

“Well, I didn’t get nearly as much sleep as you did but enough. Are you hungry?” He didn’t want to tell her that he hadn’t got much sleep because of the dreams. He knew she would question him about them and he had decided that he wanted to know her plans before he laid open his heart to her. He may love her and want to spend the rest of his life with her but she might not feel the same.

“Yes!”

“Well, I was going to suggest that we eat in the restaurant downstairs but the manager said that there are a lot of reporters waiting to interview us about the shooting last night so he suggested we order room service. What would you like to eat?” John said.

“Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausage and orange juice and coffee!” Emily said.

“Goodness, you are hungry! Sounds really good too. There’s coffee in the pot if you want some now.” John said as he picked up the phone and called in their order while Emily helped herself to some coffee.

She watched him in the large mirror on the wall above the coffee pot. He seemed slightly distant this morning. Her memory of last night was kind of fuzzy and she wanted to talk to him about what had happened. She had just stirred creamer into her cup when he hung up the phone.

“They should be up in the next 15 minutes.” John said with a slight smile.

“My memory of last night seems to be a little fuzzy this morning. What happened?” Emily said as she followed him to the sitting area where he had left his coffee cup.

“Well, what do you remember?” John asked.

“I remember we had just come back from dinner and were talking and I said I was going to bed. I remember there was a knock at the door and then some shots being fired and calling the front desk but then it all kind of goes fuzzy. Did the Agent that was outside get shot? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he got hit in the leg and he’s going to be fine. I got him into the room and tied my belt around it. The ambulance made it up here in record time.” John said as he watched her.

“I sort of remember someone talking to me, touching me and I want to say it was a woman but I don’t really remember much after I saw you falling to the floor. Oh, my God! Did you get shot too?” She said, suddenly becoming very animated but he held up his hand.

“No, no. I’m fine. I dove for cover but from where you were, I guess it could have looked like I had been shot. I rolled and came up shooting back.” John said. He was dreading telling her that he had been the one to kill Grier. He took a deep breath and said, “It was my bullet that killed him, Emily. It sounded like he was crouching by the door, so I fired low and hit him in the head.” He watched her face for her reaction.

“I wish I remembered that part. I wish I would have had my gun and it had been me.” Emily said.

“You wouldn’t if you had ever shot someone before. I hate that I had to take a life, Emily, but I’m glad that you are safe now and don’t have to run anymore.”

“Well, thank you anyway.” She said, “So what now?”

“We go down to the local office so that you can give your formal statement and I can file my report.” John said.

“And then?” Emily asked. She wanted him to say that he wanted her to go to Sacramento with him. She wanted him to let her know that he felt the same way she was feeling.

Just then their breakfast showed up and the waiter wheeled in the cart to the table by the window. He set the table and then asked them to be seated as he served the food. He handed Emily the bundle of white roses and said “Enjoy your breakfast. If there is anything else you need, just pick up the phone and I’ll bring it up right away.”

“Why, thank you! Oh, my! How beautiful!” Emily smiled up at him when he handed her the roses.

John slipped him twenty dollars and saw him to the door. When he returned to the table, Emily was pulling the card out of the envelope. “I wonder who sent me these gorgeous flowers?” She read the card “Emily Brewer”. “That’s me. But who are they from?” She asked and then flipped the card over and saw the heart and then looked up at John. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her mouth felt dry.

John saw the realization begin to sink in as she covered her mouth with her hand when she gasped and he felt like his heart was in his throat as he waited to see what she was going to say. He saw her swallow and couldn’t help the sly grin that crept across his face.

“While you were sleeping last night, I stood over you watching you for a long time. You looked so peaceful and sweet and I knew right then and there but I need to know one thing before I say anything else. What do you want next, Emily?” John said. He knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, maybe he had been since the first time he had seen her but he had to take a chance.

Emily put the flowers on the table and looked down at the card in her hand. “You.” She whispered. “Last night when I saw you fall to the floor and thought you had been shot, I felt like someone had sucked all of the air out of the room and I couldn’t breathe.

For the past three years, I’ve had to live by my wits, surviving from one day to the next, unable to plan for any kind of future. I figured that with my bad luck, that the best I might be able to hope for was to be able to grow old, alone, maybe with a house full of cats. Then I met you and suddenly I started to want things again.

I think I told you before that I want to meet someone nice, to fall in love with a good man, to have his babies, buy a house and live happily ever after.” Emily watched his face as he watched hers and then took a big breath and said “ Well, I think you are not only very nice but are a good man and the day you stepped into that laundry room in that cheap hotel, you stole my heart so what I will do next will depend on you.” Emily said and then waited for him to speak.

John stood up and took the one step to bring him close enough to take her hand and pull her out of her chair and into his arms. Emily went willingly and watched as he lowered his head to hers and then kissed her with everything he was feeling.

He finally lifted his head and pressed her head to his chest and told her “I prayed that what I saw last night was what I was hoping for but I had to be sure. I had been going to tell you before the shooting started that I have fallen in love with you, from the very first time I saw you. I finally admitted it to myself and to you last night when you were asleep.”

“I thought I had dreamed that you were saying you loved me.” Emily admitted.

“I do love you, Emily Brewer. With all of my heart.” John admitted.

“And I love you too.” Emily smiled up at him and then their stomachs began to growl, causing them both to start laughing.

“Come on, let’s eat and then get this day going! I have something special that I want to do today.” John said as he reluctantly released her after another quick kiss.