Alex

I rested my forehead on the bed next to Evie as I held her hand tightly in mine. I heard the door open and the doctor walked in, staring at a chart.

“Mr. Shaw,” he greeted me in Spanish, finally glancing up from his clip board and shaking my hand. “I’m Dr. Ruiz.” I had a lump in my throat and fear was keeping me tongue tied, so I simply nodded.

“From the bruising under your wife’s eyes, and her state of unconsciousness, it’s highly possible we are dealing with a skull fracture, but I’m confident it isn’t more than a linear fracture.”

He said it as though it was no big deal. I’m no doctor, but it seemed to me, any kind of crack in the skull was fucking serious. The lump in my throat became a boulder and I silently begged Evie to wake up.

“We want to confirm this and rule out an epidural hematoma. Normally, we’d do a CAT scan but, I’d rather not take a chance at harming the baby, so we’ll move forward with an MRI.”

I froze. “The baby?” I croaked.

The doctor’s eyebrows went up into his hairline as he registered my shock. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shaw. This early on, I shouldn’t assumed you knew. You weren’t aware she could be pregnant?”

I shook my head, once again, speechless. Then what he asked seeped into my awareness. “No, I mean I didn’t know, but we were trying.”

Evie was pregnant? My eyes strayed to her belly. I’d put my baby in there. Unfortunately, I was too worried to gloat about the fact that I’d been right, and I’d knocked her up the first night we tried.

“Well, congratulations, Mr. Shaw. It looks like she is about two weeks along. Once we get the results on the MRI back, we’ll do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Depending on the results, we’ll clear her to be transferred to Moron.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, my eyes still glued to Evie’s flat stomach. I vaguely noticed the click of the door shutting as I stood and sat a hip next to her on the bed. I couldn’t wait to see her round with our child. Now, if she would just wake the fuck up so my dream could become a reality.

Brushing her hair back from her face, I cradled one cheek in my hand. “Did you hear, baby? You’re going to be a mom. But, you have to come back to me first.”

Nothing.

I tapped her on the nose, then tried another tactic. “I told you I’d get you pregnant that night, didn’t I?” I asked, infusing my voice with smugness. “Aren’t you going to give me shit for being so damn cocky?”

Nothing.

I leaned down and kissed her dry lips softly, before resting my head on her chest. The slow, steady beat of her heart and even breaths brought me some comfort.

A knock on the door interrupted the peaceful moment, and I sat back up as a nurse entered the room.

“This was left at reception for you, sir?” She stretched out her hand, a small black burner phone in her palm.

“Gracias.” I took the phone warily, not sure if it was from my superiors or Scarlett’s.

“De nada,” she responded, before disappearing back through the door. No sooner was she gone than the phone began to vibrate. Unknown. With one last glance at Evie to make sure she was resting comfortably, I stepped into the hall and answered.

“Justice.”

There was silence for a moment before an emotionless disembodied voice spoke. “Where is Scarlett?”

I gripped the phone tightly, already sensing this call was going to piss me the fuck off. “She’s in a damn coma.”

There was an extended silence once again, fraying my nerves and making me want to punch the son of a bitch on the line.

“Give her a message. We’ve received a burn notice on her. She’s blacklisted.”

“What the fuck?” I roared, earning me angry glances from the nurses and fingers pointed at the signs declaring the use of cell phones was prohibited.

I was prepared to stalk outside and let the asshole have it when the call was cut off with a resounding click.

Pulling the phone from my ear, I stared at it hard, willing it to ring again. The squeak of rubber soles on the linoleum broke my concentration, and I looked up to see the nurses arriving to wheel Evie from her room for her scan.

For some reason, I felt panic that she would be out of my sight for even the smallest amount of time. Something wasn’t sitting right, but I had no idea what it was or what to do about it. So, I let them take her, following until we reached a restricted area and I had to stay behind. When the procedure was completed, I returned with her to the hospital room to await the results.

I was starting to fidget, impatient for answers, and frustrated that Evie was still unconscious. With every set of footsteps approaching the door, I shot to my feet but then they would pass by and I would slowly sink back into my chair to brood.

Finally, there was a knock, and the door opened to reveal a nurse in pink scrubs entering the room with a smile. She introduced herself as Beth and picked up Evie’s chart. “The doctor has prescribed some pain medication for her. Often, with a closed fracture, pain meds are the only course of treatment and if she is suffering a great deal, it could be contributing to why she is still in a coma.” She smiled at me again and again, something struck me as odd. “Don’t worry, the medication is safe for pregnancy.”

I nodded and watched her walk over to Evie’s IV and uncap a syringe I hadn’t realized she’d brought in with her. Readying the shot, she picked up the tubing.

“Stop!” I yelled, jumping to my feet as I realized the insignia on the liquid filled plastic wasn’t the one I’d been seeing all day, everywhere. This hospital had their logo on all of its equipment. At the urgency in my voice and my abrupt movement, Beth dropped the syringe and darted for the door. The bed hampered my movements and I wasn’t able to reach her before she was out of sight. Dashing into the hallway, I looked left and right frantically, then quickly checked several rooms in the vicinity, but she was nowhere to be found. Fuck!

Back in the room, I retrieved my phone from my jacket pocket and hastily dialed Martin. “There’s a kill order for Scarlett,” I barked, “Get it called the fuck off, Martin!” I was shouting by the end, terror and rage clawing at my insides.

“Dude, calm down.” Tapping.

“Someone just tried to kill my wife, Martin. I will not calm down until I know she’s safe!” I’d sidestepped Martin’s questions about my concern for Scarlett before, but no more. I was beyond caring who knew about our relationship anymore.

More tapping. The silence was unbearable.

“Um, Justice,” Martin’s tone was wary and shocked. “It’s not the agency. There is no record of a kill order. Just a burn notice. She’s on the books now because she’s been blacklisted and is on the no-fly.”

I was confused. “I’m telling you, Martin. A woman was in here who didn’t belong and she almost injected Evie with something. Then she ran before I could get to her.”

“Yeah, I meant, there isn’t a kill order from us. I sent a secure text to a contact and he just replied. It’s a hit, Justice.”

I dropped the phone, stunned and incapable of moving. It clattered on the ground, and I could hear the faint sounds of Martin calling my name. If there was a hit out on Scarlett, how would they know she was in the hospital? She was checked in as Genevieve Shaw.

Suddenly, it hit me. I bent and scooped up the cell, my voice like steel when I asked, “Where is Heron?”

“Interrogation at Moron. The brass wanted to wait for you, but Colin convinced them to let him fly out there and take a run at Heron.”

I was pretty sure I’d reached my limit on shock for the day. One more jolt and my heart would probably give out. Colin. No fucking way. I’d trusted him with my life countless times, I’d trained him and been his partner. He’d been the best man at my wedding for fuck’s sake.

“Martin, who all knows about the noc list?”

He cleared his throat guiltily. “Um, you know, the higher ups.”

“I don’t give a shit how long you’ve known, Martin. Or the fact that you shouldn’t. Who else? Does Colin know?”

“I honestly don’t know, man. I can’t hack a person.”

“How many times has he interrogated Heron?”

Martin clacked away at his computer. “Three. He stepped out twice, ostensibly to give a progress report.”

“Did he make a phone call?” I asked anxiously, more and more convinced by the second.

“Let me check his log.” After a pause, Martin responded. “Yeah, two on his second break.”

Two? Shit. There could be another contract on her life.

“Martin, you’ve got to get her out of here and to Moron as quickly as possible. I don’t care what it takes. Burn the fucking agency to the ground if you have to. I want her in the air in 30 minutes. And find out who the fuck took the contracts.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “You don’t ask much, do you, Justice?”

My response was a menacing growl before I snapped the phone shut. I didn’t know how long I stood there, my eyes squeezed shut as I tried to process. I was practically crushing the cell phone in my hand when the doctor came back. I stalked to Evie’s bed and hovered over her warily.

“Good news, Mr. Shaw. The lab results came back sooner than expected. There is no sign of bleeding or trauma beyond a very small fracture. No need for surgery, it can be treated with pain medication and rest. I’m clearing her to be transferred.” He looked at me oddly. “I’ve been told to wait on the ultrasound and any other tests. Is this what you want?”

I stifled a sigh. Martin had come through. “Sorry, doc. I need to get my wife to a military facility. Insurance and all that stuff,” I lied.

He looked slightly affronted, but nodded and left the room without speaking further.

We were in the air no less than twenty minutes later. I watched Evie like a hawk, alert for any signs of things being off. At last, we reached Moron and she was taken to a private patient room where I waited for her new doctor.

Dr. Pena eventually brought me the rest of Evie’s test results and completed an ultrasound. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that both she and the baby would be okay. They were convinced her state of unconsciousness was simply her body healing from the trauma.

I thanked the doctor and she left me alone with my wife. I needed to call in but unable to resist it a moment longer, I crawled into the bed and held her, my hand resting protectively over the place where our baby was nestled. Sleep eluded me as I ran over the events of the last two weeks and the phone call about Evie’s burn notice.

Guilt filled me, knowing Evie had sacrificed her career for me. I realized there wasn’t a part of her I didn’t love, and that included Scarlett. I never wanted to lose my Evie and changing who she was would chip away at the woman I so desperately adored. An idea began to take root, and I mulled it over until I heard the low buzz of my phone vibrating on the bedside table.

* * *

I wiped blood off of my hands as I stepped into the hall outside the interrogation room. Looking down, I saw it splattered all over my clothes. I needed new ones and decided to shower, hoping to cleanse away some of the ugliness lingering over me from my interrogation.

Perry, the Chief of Station, was waiting for me and lifted a brow in question.

“My wife?” I asked first. I wouldn’t agree to leave her side for the interrogation unless she was heavily guarded and her condition monitored closely.

“No change.”

There was nothing left in me to deflate, yet somehow, I felt my body sag. “I’m going to get cleaned up before we debrief.” I stared at him for a moment, daring him to contradict me. I was in no mood to be fucked with.

He nodded and spun around, marching down the hallway. I made my way to a locker room and found a fresh pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and black Converse. Seemed he’d been expecting my demand. After a quick shower, I dressed and dragged my tired ass to the nearest conference room to give my report.

Unsurprisingly, I found my superior looped in on a secure feed, appearing on a large flat screen mounted on a wall. I lifted my chin in acknowledgment. “Donovan.”

“Seems you’ve once again proved to be invaluable, Justice. I hear you broke them both.”

I dropped into a chair, wishing I could slither to the floor and sleep. But, the sooner I got the debrief over with, the sooner I could get back to Evie.

“Heron is a weasel and it only took threats to crack him wide open. He rolled on Colin immediately. Apparently, Colin has been dabbling in unethical methods and black market sales for a while. Heron made the mistake of approaching Colin to help him with the sale of the noc list. Colin clearly never learned to share as a child because he wanted it for himself and tried to kill Heron. He went on the run and Colin came to us with his sob story, hoping you’d send me to retrieve Heron so he could interrogate and extract the noc list.”

I clenched my fist, swallowing down my fury as I relayed the next bit of information. “Colin specifically asked about the identity of Scarlett. Heron gave it up, giving Colin the opportunity to put a hit out on her life.”

Perry jumped in with a question. “And the list? Did Colin get it?”

I pierced him with a dark stare. “Colin has watched me interrogate targets for the whole of our careers. What the fuck do you think?”

“Justice,” Donovan said with reproach. I looked up, annoyed, but slightly pacified when I saw the understanding in his eyes. “What about Colin?”

I narrowed my eyes and spit, “Everybody talks.”

Colin had been harder to break, it had taken some interrogation techniques I couldn’t have gotten away with in certain parts of the world.

“Heron gave me the list of agents, Colin provided the names and locations of the hired guns.” I locked my gaze with Donovan’s before delivering the next blow.

“He had a partner.”

None of us had expected this, but I was the best there was at this fucking job. Although, as I sat in the meeting, I began to realize, I didn’t want to do this anymore. I filed that away for further dissection later.

“Leon.”

Donovan and Perry hissed matching breaths before muttering, “Fuck.”

“Pretty much,” I agreed dryly. Leon was the Chief of Station in the part of India where Colin had been working.

Donovan sighed and shook his head, then peered at me with a calculating expression.

“You seem burned out, Justice.”

Burned. The term perked me right up as I remembered the plan I’d been formulating.

“Are you ready to move on from the field?” he asked. “Because we’ve decided to offer you a promotion. If you take it, you’ll no longer be a field agent, though you will remain field rated to be one for any times it might be necessary.”

I guess my heart could take one more shock. Because instead of stopping, my heart sped up. Was it really going to be this easy? I could make the change and know I’d be coming home to my family every night, not putting myself in constant danger. But, the question was, just how much they wanted me to fill the position. I wanted something in return.

“I’m open to the change, sir. However, I’ve got a few conditions.”