Page 126 of Protected By Duval
Her next breath caught in her throat and Noelle lifted her free hand and placed it over her heart.
“I couldn’t look at Ciela and know that I let another father die without... without trying to do something.”
She didn’t know what she expected at that moment.
She half expected McCrae to yell at her, and she would have let him.
She certainly wouldn’t have argued, she was just too exhausted.
The rush of energy that had gotten her on her feet was gone and in its place was bone-numbing exhaustion.
McCrae didn’t yell.
No, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her so tight she wasn’t sure if he was trying to suffocate her or comfort her.
In the end it felt like a mix of both, but as he held her close, his arms locked around her, trapping her hands between them, the world around them seemed to whirl with movement and she let it.
Because being held by McCrae King was just the kind of comfort she needed at that moment.
* * *
DUVAL
It wasn’t until Blue and Oxy had the man locked up tight in cuffs that Duval let Noelle take a look at the man who’d held her captive.
Tony looked up at him and then dragged his gaze over to Noelle’s shaken face.
“H-how did you know?”
Duval wanted to turn his body to put himself between Tony and Noelle, but she leaned back and put her hand on his arm, moving him back.
He looked at her expression and saw her determination.
An expression his mother told him that he’d been born with.
They were both stubborn as hell.
Noelle gave his arm a few gentle pats and he had a feeling that she was trying to reassure him.
Still in his loose embrace, she turned to look at Tony Coolidge. “How did I know that it was you?”
His expression turned into a soft smirk. “Yeah. How did you know it was me?” Before she answered, he shook his head. “Those images on TV were shit.”
Duval felt Noelle shake a little and he saw her mouth lift up in a smile.
“I work with bones and faces,” she explained. “What I had to work on for you was a grainy black and white photo. There wasn’t any contrast.” She pressed her lips together and released them. Duval saw her skin go from pale pink to warm. “Looking at you today, I saw the highlights and shadows on your face, looked at the bone structure under your skin and recognized the resemblance to your cousins.”
“Those bastards.” Tony dropped his chin and Duval lost sight of his eyes.
Oxy and Dally lifted Tony up onto his feet once his handcuffs were double-locked. Dally gave Duval a smile. “He keeps using that word…”
The hard line of Oxy’s jaw relaxed. “But I don’t think he knows what it means.”
West’s voice reached his ears. “Does Noelle need any medical assistance?”
Duval turned and saw uniformed deputies usher the other family out from the garden center, the children clutching their mother’s clothes.
He turned to look at Noelle, gently moving his gaze and his hands over her, quietly searching.
