Please, come back,” he pleaded. “I’ll never let you be hurt again. Never. I’m so sorry.”
A soft humming sound whirred into Claudia’s ears, gently spurring her awake. She willed her eyes to open, though her eyelids felt as heavy as cement. The stark white of an unfamiliar room greeted her. She tried to move her hand and rub her face, but the sting of a needle in her hand and the attached tube stopped her.
“Careful, you don’t want to pull out your IV,” a man’s voice said, sending a jolt of panic through her.
Claudia sat up quickly, but immediately became woozy and leaned back against a pillow.
“Easy there. It’s okay. I’m Trey’s friend, Stephen. You’re in a hospital in Pittsburgh. You arrived by chopper about twenty-four hours ago.”
“Oh no, that means… Oh God, what did they do to Johnny? Tea and Griffen?”
“Don’t worry, they’re okay. Trey took care of all of that. He saved them. I suspect he had a little help, but you know how he loves his secrets.”
Claudia laughed dryly, taking a moment to register the many machines surrounding her, as well as to examine the shockingly good-looking Asian man in front of her.
He appeared to be about thirty-five, and of Chinese heritage, although he had an American accent. Despite being shorter than Trey, he was clearly lean and muscular under his black cashmere sweater, and expensive slacks. His eyes were nearly black, and appeared to be almost unnervingly perceptive.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Agent McCoy,” he continued, a small smile on his lips.
“You can call me Claudia.”
“You’re one lucky lady, Claudia. The doctors assure us you won’t have any permanent damage.”
“I guess my Irish half is worth something, after all,” Claudia joked.
Stephen laughed, and she noticed he had a killer smile.
“Trey got you out just in time, but you will need to rest and take a short leave from work,” Stephen said.
“What about Trey, is he okay?”
“Physically and legally. When we captured Lexis and her two thugs, we were able to clear him of David’s murder.”
Claudia raised her eyebrows at his reference to only “two” henchmen, but she kept her mouth shut. If Trey needed to protect Louis, then she would, too.
“The FBI wasn’t too threatened by a CIA man poking into their case?”
“I’m not really into labels, and besides, I don’t let those jokers at the Bureau bother me. No offense.”
“None taken. I’m pretty disillusioned with them myself. Seeing as I may not have a job with them anymore… What did you mean when you said Trey is ‘physically’ okay?”
Stephen opened his mouth to answer, when a voice interrupted him from the door.
“You’re up!” Trey exclaimed, and her heart almost exploded in her chest.
“I’ll let you see for yourself,” Stephen answered. He placed a business card under the edge of her sheet. “I believe we’re going to need to talk again…soon.”
Claudia knitted her brow in confusion, but the sight of Trey walking to her transformed her face into a broad smile.
Trey put down a bottle of iced tea beside her bed and simply stared at her for several moments. His hands were in his pockets and the pain in his eyes was palpable. A few times, he started to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Finally, Claudia broke the silence.
“Thank you for saving me, Trey.”
“Anytime,” he answered, his voice sounding strange and tight. “How are you feeling?” he continued.
“Pretty sore, like I ran a marathon.”
“Your body kind of did,” he muttered, still standing stiffly beside her bed.
She moved to touch him, but he grabbed the iced tea bottle again, busying his hands with opening it. “I remembered you like this stuff. I wanted you to have some when you woke up. It’s sugar free. Now that you have your glucose all fixed, I want you to make sure to be careful and…”
“Trey…you’re rambling,” she blurted out, laughing a little, but his frown never budged. He placed the iced tea down again and crossed his arms. “Trey, what’s wrong?”
“I was waiting for you to wake up. I wanted to tell you myself that I’m leaving today with Stephen.”
“Why? To go where?”
“We’re going to hunt down the rest of A.J.‘s team. You won’t be safe until they’re all captured.”
“That was A.J.‘s mission, they won’t want me now. And what about your safety?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Bullshit. If you won’t stay for you, then stay for me. I want you here with me. I need you with me.”
“I can’t be with you. Not now. Not ever.”
“What?” she questioned,