Page 69 of Danger Close

“A border town called Georgialina.” I remembered it so clearly because the moment I saw her, I had to slap myself silly to figure out if I was dreaming or not.

I’d been thinking of her more than usual that week. I don’t know why. I blinked, and there she was. Disheveled. Wide-eyed, scared. Beautiful.

“That’ll help narrow the search.” He said the words slowly. Stupidly slowly. Which told me that it wasn’t as helpful as I wanted it to be. It’d be easier to get the answers from Norkus.

I fucking hate the CIA. But agents, especially of Norkus’ caliber, wouldn’t bluff and say they had information that theydidn’t. They traded in secrets, and their reputation was their recommendation. If she said she had something, she did.

I’d get the answers out even if I had to put a gun to her head.

“You couldn’t have talked to her back then,” Beaufort said, reading the regret written all over me. “You would have dragged her into a den of vipers.”

That was true. It was part of why I hid.

But the heaviness of that guilt kept me in that seat, staring at her. Every bruise was a reminder of my mistakes. Of all the ways I’d failed.

“But if something had changed, even just a little. If I could have done something different…”

“You may have ended up in a worse situation than the one you’re in now.” Beaufort put his hand on the doorjamb, one step out the door.

He didn’t put up with melancholy bull shit, especially if he didn’t find it logical.

“I love her,” I confessed.

“Why the hell are you telling me?”

Because I had no one else to tell.

Chapter 30

I’m Sorry

Teri

The Day Before the Wedding

Instead of enjoying the high of morphine, I had vertigo, dizziness, nausea, and complete exhaustion.

The longer it was in my system, the worse it would get. Medication and I had never been friends. Anything made to lessen pain just gave me a different sort of ache. I’d counted myself blessed when an epidural worked, even if they had to re-insert the needle three times to get it right. Just another sign I was born unlucky.

The morphine put me in and out of sleep. I didn't know the difference between dreams and waking. Nightmares and reality.The only thing that kept me sane was Cobra’s face. Cobra… my Joe.

A pleasant dream, from the imaginations of an addled mind.

When I woke again, I was staring up at brushed gold crown molding.

“Where am I?” I croaked, my voice hoarse.

“My family house.” The familiar voice caressed my consciousness as the white fog of sleep was chased away. “Or, my family’s haunted castle. That’ll depend on your perspective.”

I stared at Joe, blinking, trying to make sure he was real.

“I share this place with my half brother and sister, Jericho and Yuliya.” He sat in an arm chair with navy blue brocade, and engraved arm rests that looked like a lion’s claw. “We’ve been taking turns watching you, since they insisted I at least take a shower.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“They said you’d be scared if you smelled how rotten I got from the hospital.”

He stood and walked towards me as I groaned, my mind becoming aware of the pain in every part of my being.