Page 28 of Alex

Chapter Fourteen

Openingthe door to his apartment, Alex ushered Liam and Blake inside as they supported a very belligerent Reid between them. Reid had come around in the car and although very confused at first seemed to have all his wits about him. He was, however, seriously pissed that he had been blown up.

Locking the door behind them, Alex watched as Evelyn headed to his kitchen to get Reid a glass of water and some pain relief from the cupboard. It gave him an un-adulterated thrill to see her moving around his kitchen as if it were her own. He liked watching her—could do it all day—and needed a to find a way to convince her that they could still make this work.

“Here you go.” She handed the glass and the tablets to Reid.

“Thanks, love,” he said with a smile that became a grimace when he moved too quickly.

Reid had a concussion and Liam wanted him checked out, but Reid was adamant that he didn’t need to be checked. They had argued in the car and eventually Reid had agreed to stay at Alex’s place for the night so that they could keep an eye on him.

“Does anyone have any fucking clue how that shit-storm just happened?” Blake asked to the room at large.

“My question exactly,” Reid responded with a frown.

“We met with Colchester and he gave us a flash drive. Then as we were leaving, we heard a commotion from the entrance to the Mona Lisa exhibit. Does anyone know what happened there?” Evelyn asked her head tilted in question.

Alex moved closer to her not wanting any distance between them. His heart was still pounding from the adrenalin and fear that he was about to lose her again in a fiery explosion. His front was to her back and he smiled when she leaned her body into his. Sliding an arm around her waist he rested his clasped hands on her lower belly and his chin on her left shoulder noting the way his teammates responded to this new development.

“Some couple were having a domestic and the bloke hit her straight across her face.” Blake’s snarl indicated what he thought about a man who would hit a woman.

“Set up?” Alex asked.

“Hard to tell, but my guess is yes.” Blake still sounded pissed over the incident.

“So, the domestic was a distraction to cause me and Alex to run right where they wanted us too.”

Alex could feel her body tense in anger. “I want to see CCTV of this domestic and any CCTV from the road where the car exploded, and I want it yesterday.”

“What next?” Liam directed his question to Alex

“I want you and Blake to find out where Colchester is and where he went after the Louvre. I don’t believe he’s involved but at this point I don’t know. I’m going to call Jack and get him to get Will on the CCTV and let him know what happened today. Evelyn, can you go through this file with Reid if he’s feeling up to it and find out all we can about Simon Booth?”

“Sure.” As she moved out of his arms, a feeling of emptiness invaded him. It was a feeling he didn’t much like.

Blake and Liam started walking towards the door, both men keen to catch the bastards that had nearly blown Reid up.

“You want us to clear out the safehouse?” Liam asked.

“Yes. I want us all in one place tonight and then we can decide how to move forward. They seem to be one step ahead of us all the time and I want to know why and how.” Alex’s mind moved to the conversation he’d had with Jack about them possibly having a mole or traitor within Eidolon.

“Good idea,” responded Blake.

Alex watched as Evelyn took off her jacket and noticed the palms of her hands were scraped. In his rush to get away he hadn’t noticed them. “Evelyn,” he called, and her head came up, her eyes finding his.

“Yes?”

“Come here.”

Her forehead wrinkled at his demand. “Why?” she asked instead of doing as he’d ordered.

He sighed and dropped his head looking at his feet before looking up at her again. “Will you just come here, please?” he said catching the grin on Reid’s face and wondered if throwing him outside via the window would put him in Evelyn’s bad books.

“Fine, bossy boots,” she replied and moved closer to him a clear look of irritation on her beautiful face. Reaching him she lifted her head to catch his eyes.

“You’re hurt,” he stated gently taking her hands and lifting them palm up for him to study.

“It’s nothing.”