Laurann Dohner - Fury

She could sense Fury watching her as the silence stretched. She finally looked up at him to see a few frown lines around his mouth. “Is that why you were fired? I was just informed that happened.”

Word sure travels fast . “That and it may have had something to do with me calling him some not-so-nice names when he got really angry about my refusal.” She smiled sadly. “He probably would have let me pack up my own belongs before I made some choice insults.”

Fury’s lips twitched but he didn’t smile. “I see.” He paused. “I need your address and your home phone number in case Justice wants to have a word with you. Just tell me and I’ll remember the information.”

Ellie’s shoulders slumped, hating to admit her situation to him. “I’m going to get a motel room in town and go job hunting. I moved from another state when I relocated here to work. I’m homeless right now. I can give you my cell phone number though if they pack it with my things. Otherwise I could always call the office to leave my motel number for Justice if you really think he’ll want to speak to me. I have no idea what motel I’ll be staying at yet.”

Dark eyes blinked and Fury’s mouth tightened into a firm line. He stared down at her, seemed to be studying her for some reason she couldn’t fathom. She forced her gaze from Fury’s when Slade spoke.

“I’m sure that will be fine, Ms. Brower. Please don’t forget to call the office with your contact information.”

Ellie nodded. “Well, again, thank you for making them let me back inside.” Her gaze returned to Fury. She realized it would be the last time she’d ever speak to him and sadness filled her over that fact. He stared down at her mutely. She wanted to say so much to him but could only think of one thing that summed it all up.

“Please be happy and thank you for deciding I shouldn’t die.” She gave him a sad smile before she returned to the waiting security guard by the gate. She sensed his gaze on her the entire way but she kept her back turned. She didn’t want to watch him walk away for the last time. He had his freedom now and they were even.

Half an hour later her car arrived at the gate. She took the keys, noticed they’d put her purse on the front seat, and climbed in. Depression hit her hard. She’d never return to Homeland or Fury. She had no idea where to go or what to do with her life at that moment.

The guards opened the gates and pushed back the protesters to give her access to the street. Someone threw something and it hit the side of her car. She flinched but drove away without checking to see if they’d caused any damage. That was the least of her problems.

* * * * *

“You did the right thing.” Justice put his hand on Fury’s shoulder. He stared at the gate his friend had been watching for nearly forty minutes. “I know it was difficult for you to let her go.”

Fury fought his emotions, a complex thing to do, and met his friend’s concerned gaze when he turned his head to end his vigil. “I did as you asked when you informed me she’d been fired. I allowed her to walk away. She’ll be safer now that she’s not at Homeland, in case more assholes attack us.”

“Our enemies could have killed her,” Justice reminded him. “I know this is difficult for you.”

“I can’t imagine never seeing her again,” Fury admitted. “I feel pain.”

Regret tightened Justice’s features and he squeezed the shoulder he gripped once more. “I didn’t know it was that strong.”

“It is.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I realize she’s better off in her world than here. She said she has no home though. What will she do? Maybe I should have asked her to stay. We could have forced the director to keep her on at the dorm.”

“We can’t make waves right now, Fury. There’s a time and a place for everything. You did the best thing for our people. I’m sorry that it comes at such a price since she means so much to you. The only thing I can say is you can offer her a job again when we’re ready to totally take control of Homeland.”

Some of the pain eased inside Fury’s chest. “I want her to come back.” He needed her. To never see her smile again or hear her voicethat concept left a bitter taste in his mouth. A bleak future loomed in his mind’s eye. “I believe she was fired for standing up for us. It doesn’t feel right not to do the same for her.”

“Then definitely offer her the job she held as soon as you’re able to. It won’t be too much longer. We just need to learn enough to do things right. There’s so much though that we don’t know yet. Every day brings us one step closer to controlling our own destiny.”

“What if she doesn’t want the job? What if she never wishes to return? She could find another job out in her world.” A flash of grief sliced through Fury. “I might never see her again.”

“Then you let her go, Fury. You try to get over your feelings.”

Fury said nothing but the burning pain inside his chest spread. He didn’t want to let Ellie go and he sure didn’t believe he could ever get over the emotions he experienced when it came to her. She was in his blood, a part of him, but now she would no longer be a part of his life.

“Come,” Justice urged softly. “We’ll take a walk together. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Fury hesitated, glanced at the gate, but knew she wouldn’t be back. He nodded.

“Thanks.”

* * * * *

Ellie cursed viciously while staring at the spray-paint job on her car, knowing that one of the protesters must have followed her to the motel. She’d looked for a tail but hadn’t seen one after she’d left Homeland four hours before. Those assholes are sneaky, damn it. And obsessed jerks. They knew what motel she’d checked into and had vandalized her car because of her association with the NSO. She really hated bigoted idiots.

Ellie stomped to her room, angry that she’d have to call the police, file a report, and contact her insurance carrier. She sure couldn’t drive a car around town with those bad words sprayed in large letters along the side of it. It would make for a really bad impression when she showed up at job interviews. She snorted and gripped the bag of fast food tighter as she fished for the motel-room key in her back jeans pocket.

Ellie pulled the key out and tried to shove it into the lock but something prevented it from going inside. She bent to peer at the small keyhole, her eyes narrowed as she examined what appeared to be green gum crammed where the hole should be, and wondered what kind of troublesome kid would go around screwing up doors that way. The door next to her room suddenly banged open.

She turned her head in time to watch three big, mean-looking men step out onto the walkway to glare at her. Fear slammed her when she realized they were totally focused on her. She released the handle of her door and stumbled back. Ten feet of space separated her room from the next one, not nearly far enough, in her opinion, from those guys, and it was confirmed when the lead man lunged fast.

“We got you,” he gasped and grabbed Ellie when she tried to run.

“Drag her in here, Bernie,” one of the men muttered urgently.

“What the hell is your problem?” Ellie latched onto the railing with both hands while panic gripped her as tightly as the cruel hands on her hips. “Let me go!”

“My problem,” the man hissed against her ear as he slid his arm around her waist and jerked, attempting to yank her free from the rail, “is we got word you’re screwing one of those animal things and we’re going to save you. You’ve been brainwashed.”

Save me? At least they weren’t trying to kill her. That’s something , she thought. The idiots believed she’d been forced to change her way of thinking. She screamed and kicked hard at the bigger man. Her gaze frantically darted around, seeking help. She saw a few people lingering in the parking lot below and they gaped up at her. Someone yelled from the distance for the guy to let her go.