Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 37

Elliot got up from the table, needing to escape the pain in Cara's eyes. "I'm going to get some orange juice. Do you want some?"

"That would be great," Megan said.

"Cara?" Elliot asked, but didn't meet her gaze.

"Yeah, that would be great," Cara said and wiped her eyes with her napkin.

Elliot hurried over to the orange juice dispenser. It was killing him listening to Cara talk about what happened that night and how she thought Jenna was dead. He wanted to tell her who he was so bad, but he knew he couldn't, not yet. He got the three of them orange juices and took the cups to the table.

"We should probably start heading back to Morehead pretty soon," Elliot announced. "We all have to work this afternoon so will want to get back with plenty of time to get ready."

"True," Cara agreed with a sigh.

Megan sipped her orange juice and studied Cara. Finally, she asked, "What if Jenna is not dead? What if she can't contact you? What would you do if she did turn up?"

"I don't know," Cara said sadly. "I miss her so much, and I can't even imagine what she's been through. I know I will be blown away and I'll want to get to know her again. I've never stopped loving her. I know it's part of the reason I've not been able to have any other relationships. I just can't let go of my hope that I'll find her."

Elliot almost gave in to his desire to relieve Cara of her pain, but the phone he used to contact Mark started vibrating in his pocket. He hit the stop button so that the girls wouldn't hear the buzzing, but stood up and said, "Morning bathroom call. Do you have a room key?"

"Yeah," Megan said.

"You might want to give me about fifteen to twenty minutes and hold your noses when you come back to the room," Elliot said, turned and hurried to the stairs.

"Wow, thanks for sharing," Megan said as Elliot hurried away.

"At least he warned us," Cara said.

"True," Megan agreed. "Most guys would have stated that they were going to take a dump and ruin our breakfast."

Cara laughed, "Like you just did."

When Elliot got to the hotel room, he locked himself in the bathroom and called Mark. When Mark answered, Elliot, said, "We've got a problem."

"What's going on?" Mark asked.

Elliot conveyed the story about someone coming to their hotel room asking about Jenna. He explained that both Cara and he had the same sensation that they were being watched. Elliot told Mark about going out to try to confront the guy in the truck and how the guy tried to keep Elliot from getting his tag number.

"That is a problem," Mark agreed. "I'll take the information you have and see if we can come up with a name until then you need to get those girls home.

"There have been some other developments, and this case is going to bust wide open when we hit the Cobra's leadership during the fishing tournament next weekend. Cara should be in Richmond by then. If everything goes as planned, this could all be over with by mid-September."

"I didn't say a word," Elliot chuckled and started gathering his stuff.

"You go first," Cara told Megan.

"Okay," Megan said, got her toiletries and went into the bathroom.

"Do you think you got enough of the tag to get an ID?" Cara asked and went to the window to look out.

"Maybe," Elliot said and moved to the window next to her. "When we get back to Morehead, I'll call the sheriff and ask him."

"Good," Cara said and looked up at Elliot. "I'm so glad you were at the bar last night. Things could have turned out very badly for us."

"Yes," Elliot agreed. "It was quite freaky that Steven and his crew were there. I'm glad I was there, too."

Cara surprised Elliot by kissing him on the cheek and wrapping him into a tight hug. Elliot slid his arms around her waist and held her to him. He closed his eyes and sighed. The sensation of holding Cara in his arms again was terrific. Their bodies fit together the way they always had. Elliot wished so much he could tell Cara everything, but that would ruin this moment, and he didn't want to do anything but enjoy the feeling of her in his arms.

Cara pulled away just as Megan came out of the bathroom.

Elliot saw the way Megan looked at them. Like Beth, she was seeing the attraction between Cara and him. He knew it was evident that he was crushing on Cara. And Cara was having a hard time not showing her feelings for him. God, things were getting so complicated. Just a few more weeks he reminded himself and looked out the window.