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It had taken everything in me to not make Evan Turner stay in the hospital and find another man to drive. But he’d seen the look in my eye and told me he wouldn’t be left behind or sidelined. “I’m your best driver and I don’t trust anyone else with this. I’ll take a knee once we’re home, but I have to finish this stretch at least.” There was pleading behind the stark determination in Turner’s eyes and I had finally given in after being assured by test laps around the parking lot that the man could still drive despite his injuries. It wasn’t just dedication to his job. It was dedication to Lake, and I knew this was personal for my men. Turner had been the first of Lake’s converts at the house, and while I’d usually pull anyone from the detail who got too personally involved, I could see that each man that formed a connection with her began doing their jobs with added zeal. The woman inspired strong emotions that was for sure.
“That snoring is making the pounding in my head ten times worse,” Lake grumbled, cradling her head in her hands. With lightning speed, both Turner from the driver’s seat and me from the seat directly behind, smacked Fitz sharply causing him to suck in a breath and wake instantly. “Um,” she said, looking like she was caught between amusement and horror, “thanks for that.”
Fitz looked around the car confused and Lake patted him on the shoulder, engaging him in small talk to keep him awake. It worked all the way to their destination, my friend determined to tell every story about the guys’ adventures starting from training. He’d left out missions and details, keeping the highlights to antics and, for the most part, safe for work tales. She’d listened and laughed and seemed entirely into the conversation with him, but I’d noticed the way her hand had inched across the seat between us, subconsciously reaching for me. We both pretended we didn’t feel the shock of desire that shot through us simultaneously when my pinky finger gently entwined with hers. The smallest contact between our fingers and to me it felt like heaven. The warmth of her skin had desire coursing through my veins immediately, wishing I could blame the adrenaline from the day's events. Honestly, that adrenaline had come and gone, and I was running on fumes and spite at this point.
Once we pulled into the private parking garage and brought the car to a stop between more identical looking black SUVs, I was tasked with pulling away from her first to get the door. The absence of her warmth was a heart sinking feeling that I refused to examine just then. I had too many other issues to juggle at the moment. First and foremost, getting her into a secured room to start recovering.
Lake stepped out, once I’d rounded the car and got the door for her, her eyes darting around the basic looking parking garage. To most it would have been another scary place where someone could jump out to scare her; however, the entrance was private, only for Remington employees; every part was monitored by both computers and the live individuals behind them. Add to that the armed guards positioned at every entrance point, Lake was in the safest parking garage in the US.
Fitz tumbled out of the passenger's seat and caught himself before going down, popping up with a drug induced grin and reaching a hand for Lake’s. She took it, amused, as he began to give her a rundown of the building’s security measures while leading her to the elevators. It gave me time to turn my attention to Turner who hadn’t even attempted to move from his seat, eyes trained ahead through the windshield as he tried to psych himself up just to move.
“I’m bringing Ramos and Anderson down to help get you to your apartment, then I’m calling in the doctor. You’re on bedrest until I have a letter clearing you for duty.” My words held no room for argument, but I’d still expected it. When Turner just nodded silently, I knew he’d been working too hard to keep his pain to himself. I could see the sweat beading at his temple and swore silently as I pulled out my phone to call down Ramos and Anderson to get Turner out of the car and up to his apartment. When all three men were gone, I was left alone in the cavernous garage, wondering how much more we’d go through before this was all over.
CHAPTER 19
LAKE
Iwas still trying to decide which version of Fitz I liked more, the therapist or the high as a kite one as he stopped suddenly and grabbed at my arm, pulling my attention to yet another part of the building we’d entered through the garage elevator.
Fitz had used a key card to get us into the small box and had apparently appointed himself as tour guide as he began giving me a history of the building and Remington Security as a whole. I honestly hadn’t gotten much from my internet searches of the company. Nothing more than the carefully worded blurbs about the company in news articles and the company’s website, but now I was getting the full rundown as we seemed to stop on every floor and go through a timeline.
“This is the tech floor,” Fitz announced, holding a hand out for me, as we both exited the elevator yet again. I might have lost count of how many times we’d done this, but looking at the number on the elevator made it easy. Ten times. He’d taken me on a floor by floor tour and I was starting to lose steam. I just wanted to lay down and sleep.
“This is probably the only floor that’s undergoing some kind of upgrade at all times. As long as technology is advancing, Kasey has to keep up with the state of the art gadgets.” He sounded slightly irritated, but I was absolutely taken aback by the vast space in front of us. The previous nine floors had looked like a regular office building, but this floor looked like it was stolen from a sci-fi movie. Screens of all sizes and shapes were scattered about the glass top desks, and people were moving around from station to station, hard at work on various jobs, no doubt. But there was an air of sadness in the large room that hadn’t been as potent as the rest of the building.
Reese and Alex had been two of the team members that would have worked up here when not in the field, that much I understood in this company's hierarchy. And I’d seen enough of their interactions to know this company worked like a family. And today they’d lost two members of a deeply caring family. That gnawing guilt started to swim up in my chest and I’d been ready to turn and run back to the elevator when a door swinging open and smacking into the wall had both Fitz and I staring down the hallway and into the haunted eyes of Jack Kasey.
He stomped forward and I tensed, ready for the verbal assault. His face was harder than I’d ever seen and I knew he’d lost two of his own men. And it was my fucking fault. Of course he would make sure I knew any hint of civility would be gone between us. My heart broke a little more as he ate up the distance between us quickly and I braced for the blow.
In a swift forceful pull, I was suddenly in his arms and Jack was holding me securely in a hug that it took entirely too long to return. I’d gotten two of his friends killed and he was hugging me? Maybe the concussion had been worse than we’d all thought because this made no sense.
“Thank fuck you’re okay,” he breathed into my hair as he rocked me back and forth. After a few moments of just clinging to me, he finally released me to then pull Fitz into the same embrace. One which Fitz returned without the same awkwardness I knew I had possessed.
After a hard manly back pat between them, the two men broke apart and I looked up at Jack, not hiding the tears in my eyes. “I’m so sorry I-”
“You didn’t do anything, Lake. You have no reason to be sorry.” It was the fiercest I’d ever heard Jack’s voice and it brokered no argument. “We do have a slight problem with housing though,” he said, turning his attention to Fitz. “All the apartments are currently occupied since most of the teams were called home immediately after their jobs.”
He turned his attention back toward me. “The floors above this one have all been converted into apartments.” I remembered there were still five more floors after this one, based on the elevator buttons I’d been glued to as we toured. “Ten apartments and we’ve never had a full house like this. Everyone is doubled up already, and I had to turn my home office into another damn room.” The last was grumbled like a child forced to share his toys, and Fitz let out a snort of a laugh.
“You don’t need a home office when your office is literally two floors down.”
“That’s my personal space, Fitzpatrick, you know that!” He let out a long breath to calm himself and turned their focus back to the issue.
“You don’t have a room for me,” I said, feigning a calm I didn’t feel. “It’s fine I can take a couch in one of the offices we passed on our way up here.” I felt like I was in the way and desperately wanted to get away from everything related to the worst weeks of my life.
“No way, Lake.” Jack was glaring at me now. “The only person who still had his apartment unoccupied with other employees is Deck. So you’ll be bunking with him.” At my choked sound of protest, Fitz rolled his eyes and held up a hand to stop me.
“Each apartment has two bedrooms each with their own attached bathroom. You’ll be fine. It’ll be the same as the estate, just without the view.” He turned back to Jack and I felt my heartrate start to slow. “I’m tired, so I’m taking Lake to her room then I’m off the clock until these fucking drugs wear off.” It already sounded like they were based on his rapidly declining attitude.
It was only moments before we were back in the elevator and skipping straight to the 15th floor. The elevator opened onto a windowless hallway that would have looked bland if not for the rich tile and intricate molding. Fitz led the way, past the first door and further down until we were stopped at the newest version of a safe house for me. He slid the same keycard in front of the panel on the door and with a beep and a click we were walking into a surprisingly beautiful apartment.
“Jack will have a keycard ready for you in a few hours,” Fitz was saying, but I was only half paying attention as I took in the living room we were standing in.
The floors were deeply rich hardwood, area rugs spread intricately from the front hall and centered in the living room, sectioning the sitting area from the open kitchen and dining room. The suede sectional was huge, oversized but filling the room perfectly. I couldn’t help running my fingers along it as I took in the rest of the space.
The dining room housed a table large enough to seat eight people and the chandelier above the table was simple but classy. I wandered past the dining table and into a luxury kitchen that sparkled with a newness that made me wonder if Decker had ever even used the damn thing. The island in the center of the kitchen held the one personal thing I’d been able to spy in this apartment so far. A small dish used to collect daily odds and ends that looked like they’d ended up in Decker’s pocket. Change, keys, a random gum wrapper and random paperclips.
“Rooms are back this way if you want to clean up.” Fitz’s voice broke through my distracted thoughts and I turned to see him holding his thumb down a hallway that was dimly lit by lights that were set low, probably because no one had been here in the weeks he’d been away.
