Page 51 of Bloom: Part 2

I closed my eyes and swallowed. Just as I feared. He knew who Bloom was. People had made the connection between us. This meant those in New York probably had too.

“It is.” I opened my eyes and met his gaze head-on.

“Quite an impressive young man. I can see why you feel indebted to him—”

“This isn’t about debt. It’s about love. I care about him, and it would hurt him too much if I have to leave.”

“The relationship is two months old.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, but the people who know us…they would.”

“Be that as it may, your time is running out.” He rose to his feet, patting his ass. The chair must have been uncomfortable. Hmm, it would probably be a good idea to get Bloom one of those chairs, since he liked me eating his ass so much.

“How much time do I have?”

“It’s less to do with WITSEC and more about how long before the Agostis make their move.”

Maybe they already have.

The man at the mall snapping pictures of us came to mind. Was he one of my father’s soldiers?

“I’ll get in touch soon.”

He walked to the door but paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Dr. Collier.” His normally stoic eyes held a flicker of what might have been concern. “Think carefully about your next steps. The choices you make now can determine everything. If you bring that young man into this program, there’s no turning back. Can they cope with the level of change, the uncertainty, and the danger? You’ve been through it, so you know this isn’t an easy road. Ask yourself, if you could go back, would you have made the same decisions that led to this moment?”

As the door closed behind him, I slumped back onto the bed with a sigh. My head throbbed. So many decisions to make. I couldn’t talk to Bloom about the program either. Not yet anyway. Not until I’d made a decision. Like Livingston had said, the secrecy was a vital part of my identity.

I plucked my phone from my pocket and dialed the one man I could think of. Even though I had his number, I’d never used it. Jamie had given it to me as an emergency contact for him.

“Hello.” The gruff voice on the other end of the line sounded annoyed.

“Grimm, it’s Logan.”

“Logan?”

“Dr. Collier. James’s mentor.”

“Ah, Dr. Collier. Is something wrong with Jamie? What’s going on at the clubhouse? They only sent for him because they said someone got hurt.”

“No, Jamie is fine. At least I think so. I’m not at the clubhouse, so I’m not sure what went down or who’s hurt. Look, I wanted to ask you for a big favor, and I know I’m not your most favorite person, but I really need the help.”

“Sure thing, Doc. As long as I can help. Jamie insists you’re good people.”

From his tone, he hadn’t decided yet if he agreed with Jamie.

“I’m looking for someone who knows how to falsify ID documents. To make it clear, I’m not looking for counterfeits but official documents with the information I have.”

“Sure, I know a guy. It’s gonna cost you, though, especially if you want a history with the ID, so it appears more legit. Wouldn’t want a forty-year-old with an ID and no credit history, right?” His tone was nonchalant as if I was asking him the best place to pick up a cup of coffee, not partake in activities that would be considered illegal.

“Exactly. How quickly can they do it?”

“How urgently do you want it?”

“Like yesterday?”

A pregnant pause crackled between us. “Is this gonna cause me problems with the Blood Hounds because you want to fuck off and leave a certain boy behind?”

“No! I… between you and me, I want to marry him, but he doesn’t have any official documents. I need a birth certificate, social security, the works.”

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