Married to my suspect

JONATHAN'S POV

"She almost didn't make it. Thank God we found her on time." That word kept on ringing in my ear as I drove us home. I'd known it was only a matter of time to receive the call I just did from the hospital, but thankfully, they had been able to save her. I'd assumed I would be getting a call that she had completely given up, so this was a relief for now. Eleni was one of the first people I'd gotten to know on my own, from business events. After Ethan passed, and I was required to attend that damned party, I was miserable and didn't care about anything but escaping from the anguish that had been tearing me down from the inside, and so I'd been in three fights within the space of an hour. While I'd taken taekwondo and karate as a kid, because Ethan wanted to, I'd allowed myself to get beaten up, substituting that pain for the one internal.

I'd gone from waking up to anticipating a great day of celebration to getting the call I still couldn't believe and finally to having my name splattered all over the internet for a crime I hadn't committed. Seeing the terrible mood I'd been in, everyone had steered far away from me. Everyone but Eleni, and not for the reasons anyone is suspecting. She had been dead drunk and so didn't understand the fact that I didn't want to be bothered and had stuck to me like glue. I'd taken one look at her and known we were in the same shoes. Others may have been suffering at that time too, but at that moment, it had felt like no one could understand the pain we had gone through and were going through but us. That was before she had thrown up. On me.

"What? What happened?" Danielle asked, and I glanced at her. How much of the fucked up situation could I tell her? How much would Eleni want to share?

"She got into an accident." I lied. Not technically, since it could also be classified as an accident.

Danielle clenched her fingers. "So how is she doing now?"

I didn't answer fast enough for her, and she yelled. "Say something… please."

"She will be okay. The doctor I spoke to said she is under a self-induced coma as they want her body to heal from the damage, but she needs to get out of Greece as soon as she's able to."

She glanced at me, frowning. "I thought she was married. There's something else you aren't telling me, right?"

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the road. "It's her story to tell, not mine. If she chooses to tell you, then she will. For now, I don't think she'll be able to stay in a hotel or somewhere alone. She'll probably still be in danger."

Danielle unclenched her fingers. "That's easy, then. She can stay with us until something else opens up."

I glanced at her sharply. That fast? Most people I know would at least take a moment to think of the pros and cons, but not this woman, obviously.

"Are you sure? I clearly said she was in danger. Are you sure you want that danger around you?"

She shrugged. "I can take care of myself. And won't it be better to have Eleni safe first before trying to sort out the logistics? How soon can she be discharged? Do I need to book a plane ticket for her?"

I shook my head. "I don't know how soon she'll be discharged. It depends on when she wakes up and the extent of her injury. I'll send the private jet to her so you don't have to worry about the ticket."

She nodded and started fiddling with her fingers. A habit I'd noticed she did when she was unsure about something, mainly in the office.

"Do you have something else you want to know?" I asked her.

"Is she safe in the hospital right now? The person that poses a danger to her can't get to her, right?"

DANIELLE'S POV

The fact that Jonathan was as rattled as he was meant there was a lot more going on than he had told me, and as a result, I had so many scenarios running through my head, but the most important one was the fact that Eleni needed to be safe. After we'd met at the party during our honeymoon and taken me around, acting as my buffer against the jealous people there, she had collected my number from my husband and had begun texting me regularly, not like I expected any less. So far, we'd not discussed anything of value about each other, but her texts always put a smile on my face.

It hadn't been long, but it was remarkably easy to refer to her as my friend. Even though we'd only seen each other in person once, I could always feel her warmth and care through her texts.

Jonathan nodded in response to my question as we pulled into the highway. "Yes, she's safe. I placed someone there that will watch her 24/7. Nobody else is allowed into the room until she wakes up."

I frowned. "How about her parents?" The last time we'd texted, she had said something about going to visit her parents to discuss something that had been bothering her. I wasn't sure of other people, but if I were to be in danger or in the hospital, the only thing that would make my mother leave my side was the hospital regulations, and she would even fight those. I could say that confidently because it had happened before.

Jonathan glanced at me. "They should have heard for now, but I'm keeping her in isolation to protect her. When she wakes up, she can choose to see her parents. Until then, nobody will be allowed to see her."

I nodded and picked up my phone. Even if she couldn't see my message right now, it would be good to see something that could put her in a good mood when she woke up. I sent a sweet message about how much I would love for her to come here and to never get hurt again; if not, I was going to hurt her myself, then put the phone away and sighed. Now, we would have to wait for more news. Something I wasn't very good at.

We continued driving in silence, and I stared out the window into the dark night, thinking about random things, when I felt Jonathan's insistent glance at me. Was there more news he had yet to share? I turned to him. "Is there a problem? Have you heard anything else?"

"Are you close to your parents?" He asked, and I flinched, glancing at his eyes sharply.

"What?" This was the first time either of us was attempting to ask or know something about each other, which meant this was unchartered territory, and I wasn't sure I was going to do a good job lying to him.

I shook my head. "I lost my father at a young age, and since my mom was very busy trying to provide for both of us, she wasn't around anymore, and we both kind of drifted apart. Why?"

He pressed the horn and overtook a car that was driving as if he was cruising on the highway. "You asked about Eleni's parents so I assumed…" He paused. "Never mind. The doctors said something about waking her up from the coma before tomorrow morning, so we'll be able to tell when she will be discharged and how soon we will expect her."

Jonathan's phone started ringing, and he hooked it to the car's speaker, an action I knew meant it was about the subject of our discussion.

"Hello." Jonathan greeted, but there was silence on the other end.

I glanced at him and noticed his clenched fingers on the steering. I considered patting his back, then rebutted myself for that stupid thought and held my hands together so I didn't do anything stupid. For someone that always looked so composed and professional, his fear was very obvious right now, and I just wanted to comfort him. The way they had related at the party showed that they had known each other for quite a while, and their bond ran deeper than what I felt for her, so it wasn't a surprise that Jonathan would be this rattled. Wait. Was there something deeper between them? No, that wasn't possible. He had never indicated or behaved that something like that was happening, and there was still Julia in the picture, right? But with how he was acting now, he looked like a man in love, in my opinion. I smiled; how couldn't I have noticed it since?

"Hello." He repeated, and the person coughed weakly.

I sat upright, the smile leaving my face.

"You can call him tomorrow. You look ready to fall down right now."

"Eleni." I called.

The man sighed loudly; we could hear it from the speaker. "Mr. Carter. The doctors decided to wake her up from the coma to not risk a decline in her health. She just called to tell you she's fine, and she's sorry she worried you. She still has to rest her vocal cords, so she can't talk to you yet, but you can talk to her."

"Alright. There's no need to say anything to her. Take care of her. And don't let her call any other person. Don't also tell her parents she's awake yet. And make sure she rests. If you have to pump sleeping pills into her, make sure you do that."

"Yes Sir." The man, her husband maybe, said and dropped the call.

Huh?? And the confident authoritarian was back. But why didn't he say anything to Eleni? I glanced at his side profile. He now looked relaxed as opposed to earlier, and the fear had left his eyes. What exactly was I missing?