afternoon.
“Don’t you need to go back to Quantico?”
He stopped, and she saw something unrecognizable flickering in his eyes before he shook his head. “I’mgoing to take off a couple of weeks. Personal time. You need me right now.”
She watched him for any more signs of discomfiture, but he was smiling, the fear she thought she’d seen gone.
“Okay,” she said. She didn’t want to admit that she was relieved. She wanted him close. She wanted everyone close right now, where she could watch out for them.
The door to Fitz’s room opened and Lincoln Ross walked out, his dreadlocked hair subdued. He gave her a big hug.
“Hey, good to see you. Heard you had a rough go of it this morning.”
“You could say that.”
“I’ve got to run. I just got called out on a case.”
She felt her pulse quicken. “Anything I need to know about?”
“I don’t think so. We received a report of a body out in Percy Priest Lake.”
“Cold for swimming,” Baldwin said.
“No kidding.” Lincoln flashed them a smile.
“We need to get some folks to stick around for Fitz,” she said.
“Already done. I talked to Huston. She’s authorized a four-man shift. The first guy should be here any minute.”
“Thanks, Linc. You’re the best.”
He flashed her a gap-toothed smile. “Remember that come raise time. See ya later.” He loped off down the hall.
Taylor knocked on Fitz’s door softly, a warning so he could get himself together, then they entered the room. Fitz was lying in the hospital bed, quiet and drained.His good eye was closed. The missing eye was bandaged similarly to earlier in the day, but the dressing was clean and white.
“Hey there,” she said quietly. He wasn’t asleep, and turned to her with the ghost of a smile. His voice was raspy from the anesthesia.
“Hey yourself. What happened? Why am I in Nashville? I woke up and Lincoln was standing over me. Thought I was dreaming for a second till the fool opened his mouth.” He started to cough.
Baldwin got busy pouring Fitz some water, letting him sip it from a straw before he spoke more. The coughing eased.
Taylor pulled up a chair, touching Fitz lightly on the arm.
“First, how are you feeling? What did the doctors do?”
When he cleared his throat, it sounded like fabric ripping apart at the seams. “Damn anesthesia. I don’t know. It was a bunch of technobabble to me. All I picked up was that I’ll be able to get a shiny new eye in about a month. Seems everything went just fine.”
“Are you in pain?”
“Naw. I’m still high as a kite. I’m sure that won’t last forever. Now, what the hell happened?”
Taylor filled him in on the morning’s disaster. “We didn’t have any choice but to divert you here. I couldn’t take the chance that it was some kind of trap, some unfathomable grand plan… I’m still a little bit in shock.”
Fitz whistled. “Yeah, something didn’t feel right about the whole thing. I figured it was because of the drugs, but I could swear I’d heard Sansom’s voice before. And I mean before, before, while we were stillon the boat. It didn’t make sense that she would be on the boat and be at the police station. I knew she wasn’t straight, but there was no way I could tell you. I’m so sorry. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened. I was so confused…”
She took his hand.
“Don’t do that to yourself. The fake agents had a very specific plan. If you’d said something, they might have killed us all and been done with it. Now that we’re safe and sound, can you talk about what happened? I could tell you were holding back in Nags Head, I just didn’t realize why. Now that we’re on the same page, do you feel up to giving me some more details?”
Fitz leaned his head back, the cheap, thin pillow crackling a bit as he sank in. He sighed, a deep, heavy, sad noise that made her stomach hurt.
“If you’re not ready…”
“No, it’s okay. I just miss her, you know? It’s my
“Don’t you need to go back to Quantico?”
He stopped, and she saw something unrecognizable flickering in his eyes before he shook his head. “I’mgoing to take off a couple of weeks. Personal time. You need me right now.”
She watched him for any more signs of discomfiture, but he was smiling, the fear she thought she’d seen gone.
“Okay,” she said. She didn’t want to admit that she was relieved. She wanted him close. She wanted everyone close right now, where she could watch out for them.
The door to Fitz’s room opened and Lincoln Ross walked out, his dreadlocked hair subdued. He gave her a big hug.
“Hey, good to see you. Heard you had a rough go of it this morning.”
“You could say that.”
“I’ve got to run. I just got called out on a case.”
She felt her pulse quicken. “Anything I need to know about?”
“I don’t think so. We received a report of a body out in Percy Priest Lake.”
“Cold for swimming,” Baldwin said.
“No kidding.” Lincoln flashed them a smile.
“We need to get some folks to stick around for Fitz,” she said.
“Already done. I talked to Huston. She’s authorized a four-man shift. The first guy should be here any minute.”
“Thanks, Linc. You’re the best.”
He flashed her a gap-toothed smile. “Remember that come raise time. See ya later.” He loped off down the hall.
Taylor knocked on Fitz’s door softly, a warning so he could get himself together, then they entered the room. Fitz was lying in the hospital bed, quiet and drained.His good eye was closed. The missing eye was bandaged similarly to earlier in the day, but the dressing was clean and white.
“Hey there,” she said quietly. He wasn’t asleep, and turned to her with the ghost of a smile. His voice was raspy from the anesthesia.
“Hey yourself. What happened? Why am I in Nashville? I woke up and Lincoln was standing over me. Thought I was dreaming for a second till the fool opened his mouth.” He started to cough.
Baldwin got busy pouring Fitz some water, letting him sip it from a straw before he spoke more. The coughing eased.
Taylor pulled up a chair, touching Fitz lightly on the arm.
“First, how are you feeling? What did the doctors do?”
When he cleared his throat, it sounded like fabric ripping apart at the seams. “Damn anesthesia. I don’t know. It was a bunch of technobabble to me. All I picked up was that I’ll be able to get a shiny new eye in about a month. Seems everything went just fine.”
“Are you in pain?”
“Naw. I’m still high as a kite. I’m sure that won’t last forever. Now, what the hell happened?”
Taylor filled him in on the morning’s disaster. “We didn’t have any choice but to divert you here. I couldn’t take the chance that it was some kind of trap, some unfathomable grand plan… I’m still a little bit in shock.”
Fitz whistled. “Yeah, something didn’t feel right about the whole thing. I figured it was because of the drugs, but I could swear I’d heard Sansom’s voice before. And I mean before, before, while we were stillon the boat. It didn’t make sense that she would be on the boat and be at the police station. I knew she wasn’t straight, but there was no way I could tell you. I’m so sorry. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened. I was so confused…”
She took his hand.
“Don’t do that to yourself. The fake agents had a very specific plan. If you’d said something, they might have killed us all and been done with it. Now that we’re safe and sound, can you talk about what happened? I could tell you were holding back in Nags Head, I just didn’t realize why. Now that we’re on the same page, do you feel up to giving me some more details?”
Fitz leaned his head back, the cheap, thin pillow crackling a bit as he sank in. He sighed, a deep, heavy, sad noise that made her stomach hurt.
“If you’re not ready…”
“No, it’s okay. I just miss her, you know? It’s my
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