How could I be so stupid?
A drunken evening last month landed me in bed with her, and she’s been up my ass ever since. Lily deserves to know, but the thought of losing her over this is unbearable. God’s given me a second chance, and the last thing I want is this mistake to take it from me.
“Agent Johanson, I’m not sure if you’re blind or just stupid, but you better get a reality check quick. Lily finds out you fucked him . . . they’ll be sending you home in a body bag.” Vlad runs his hand over his head, shaking it back and forth.
“Whatever. If she didn’t want him moving on, maybe she shouldn’t have disappeared and fake her death.”
“She did what she had to. She and Dresden bought us the one thing we needed. Time. Not many people would make that kind of sacrifice,” Jameson says with an undertone of pride in his voice as he takes a step further into the room.
He hasn’t taken Lily’s pseudo-death well the last year. I don’t think anyone realized how close he, Rhett, and Lily were until we thought she was dead. The first month in Australia, he and Rhett would sit with Sorina and tell her all about Lily. Like the one time they had leave and she stayed with them on a mini-vacation.
They both respect her in a way I know I’ll never understand. Losing her was more than just losing a coworker for them, it was losing a sister. They really do view her as their family, and I’m not sure if she has ever realized just how much those two care for her.
“I haven’t moved on,” I say, meeting Maria’s gaze. “You and I were a drunken night that never should’ve happened. Lily is the love of my life, and I’ll never move on.”
Maria gasps, her eyes shining with disbelief. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.”
She stalks from the room. She won’t tell Lily, not after the way Lily damn near choked her out yesterday. Maria isn’t a good agent. Her partner isn’t bad, just young, but she’s a real piece of work, plucked right from the top of the crazy tree. How the hell she became an Interpol agent, I’ll never understand.
“Blake,” Sammi says softly, sitting next to me and placing her hand over mine. “We’re all going to have to deal with the fall out of this. But the truth should come from you, not us. You need to tell her.”
Tears sting my eyes. “I will. I’d rather wait until we get to the safe house though. Not here.”
Vlad huffs. “At least there are doctors here.”
“Enough, Vlad,” Sammi snaps.
“No, this is far from enough. Lily’s going to flip her shit and we’ll all be lucky if she doesn’t kill us in our sleep. You two haven’t seen what she can do in a rage. If you think what happened at your apartment last year was bad, you ain’t seen shit yet. Ask Dresden.”
“He’s going to flip too, more than likely,” Sammi whispers, shaking her head.
“Which is why we’re all just sitting here lying to them,” Rhett says rolling his eyes. “Yeah, wait longer and let’s see which of us they don’t kill in our fucking sleep. Brilliant idea there, guys.”
“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” Jameson mutters in agreement.
“There’s no easy way out of this,” I say gently squeezing Sammi’s hand.
“You’re right.” Vlad’s tone borders on condescending. “Here you are, making her feel like shit because you’re hurting over what she did. In truth, you’ve got no right to be angry. She lied to you to save your life. You’re lying to save your own ass. You’ve got one week after we get to the safe house. If you don’t tell her by then, I will.”
A knock echoes throughout the room, silencing all of us.
“Come in,” I call.
Vlad tenses as someone moves into the room. Slowly, a grin spreads across his face, but it’s tight and doesn’t reach his eyes. Lily steps from behind the privacy curtain and my chest tightens. She’s finally changed her clothes, and it’s the first time she’s worn casual clothes around me.
The black jeans are tight, hugging he
r curves in all the right places. The black sports bra and oversized white tank top show a good amount of her tattoos, and she’s breathtaking. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
And I was stupid enough to sleep with someone else.
“Who pissed stupid off?” Lily asks. My eyebrows shoot up. If a pin drops, it’s going to echo through the room. Lily’s brows knit together, confusion and concern creeping onto her face. “Everything okay?”
Vlad puts his arm around her shoulders, grinning. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. Relax, Lily. You and Dresden need a break.”
“We’ll get a break when we get to the new house. I don’t like how accessible this hospital is.”