Page 38 of His Gift
"So much better already. I think I'll really ditch the cane soon." I can feel Agent Vance's eyes on my turned back and then Harper says a quick, "Yes."
"Good. Now, as I told you in my message, I have an important update. Do you…" I feel the Fed's eyes on me again and this time I turn, cup of coffee in my hand and eyes pinned on Harper. For a few uneasy moments, I fear she'll send me away.
"He can stay."
Keeping in a sigh of relief, I hand the cup to the Agent and sit down. Harper is still sipping the tea I made for her as soon as we arrived. She has refused to eat. A fact that will have to change. Especially after what she told me in the car.
"Okay. The trial will begin soon. Which means the DA's office has exhausted the excuses not to hand over discovery to the defendants' counselors. Which, in turn, means they'll know a few things. Your ex company is over, but I guess they knew that already. Every branch was involved in the money laundering. But we also found other companies involved. And that puts the mob in an awkward position. They probably thought they'd sacrifice some Mr. Nobody and go on with their lives. They will not be able to do that now." Agent Vance waits for Harper to give a brief nod before she goes on. "The mob involved is the Bratva, the Russian mafia, I already told you that. What I didn't tell you is that they had a scuffle with the Italians and that left them vulnerable. This new blow will for sure make them reckless. And more dangerous."
"I can take Harper to an undisclosed location before the end of today." The words are out of my mouth before I can evaluate if it's sensible to speak them.
"Like hell you can. I don't want to run again!" Harper shouts my way.
"If you two let me finish… So. Obviously, the situation is dangerous. But the DA agreed they don't need you to testify. And the Russians will have enough problems that they might forget about you. Of course, we'll intensify surveillance. And I understand Mr. Sinclair will be invested in keeping you safe, too. But it might come to you having to run again. Change your name. Your profession. One of my colleagues almost lost his witness a while ago and I don't want to make the same mistake."
I bite my tongue. Harper's pissed and could've told her friend who I am at any moment, yet she didn't. We'll talk when Agent Vance is gone.
"Okay, Irene. I hear you loud and clear. Will you keep me posted?"
"Yes." she stands up, leaving the cup of coffee she didn't drink on the table. "But I won't come here for a while and the communication between us might become a little spotty. It will be a few tense months. Any shift in power when it comes to the mob is always a disaster."
And that ominous statement signals the end of the conversation. Agent Vance hugs Harper, nods at me, and leaves. I have a hunch she'll call Harper later to check if my presence here is really welcome and if I'm trustworthy. For the time being, though, I have other concerns.
twenty-nine
Harper
"No."
The door has barely closed and Conrad states his denial. On what, I have no clue.
"We won't discuss all of that now. You need to rest, then I'll take you to your rehab session and out for dinner. Let it sink in, then we'll talk."Oh, that's whathe meant.
"Come here, please." I pat the couch seat beside me. By the surprised look on his face, I guess he was expecting a fight or an outburst. "Fine, stay there. You can hear me anyway. I'm scared and you're worried, so I agree with you: we can talk later. And I have accepted you'll be here for the next few days. And… I've not handed your ass to Irene. I know you wouldn't have hurt her. I believe you wouldn't hurt innocent people. Which still doesn't make what you did right. But you don't tell me things. Stop being like that."
"What makes you think I can change that much?"
"Because if I don't see at least an effort on your part, then I'm calling this off. And you can keep watching from the shadows or whatever the hell you want to do, but I won't put up with it. It's important to me. I need to know I have your respect. And I don't want to go to dinner."
"Why?"
"Because you can't eat, for once, and because I'm a mess. And I'm pissed at you."
"I found a place that makes the kind of smoothies I can eat. You're not and never will be a mess. And that you're pissed at me is no news. At least you'll be able to be pissed while enjoying a nice meal and being out. I guess you've spent most of your days cooped up."
"You mean you know, because you were watching. Why didn't you come knocking as soon as you found me?"
"You know why. This isn't working." He stalks toward me, puts a knee on the couch, grabs my chin and turns my face toward him. Then his lips are on mine. Gentle at first, more demanding in seconds, until I give into his demands and he stops. "I'm not some mellow guy who can play along, Harper. I'm keeping myself in check by the skin of my teeth, but you keep going back and forth and misreading everything between us. I respect you. So much so that I changed to accommodate someone else's needs for the first time in my life. You haven't been respectful to me so many times already that I feared what my reaction would be if we met again. But clearly you can get away with murder. All of this ends now, though. You could have told me what was going on at your company."
"You would have tried to stop me. And why would you be interested?"
"Because it was about you and your life, stubborn woman! And no, I wouldn't have tried to stop you because I would've known it was important to you. What I would've done is give you my team of lawyers to bounce off ideas with, and decide the best course of action. What I would've done is protect you. The Russians would've had to go through me before they could even look at you. And I wouldn't have left you alone to recover after such a vicious attack. You're so pissed off about the nurse. You know what I did this morning when I disappeared? I asked the nurses at the hospital to teach me everything I needed to know to help you, and asked them to tell me straight if I couldn't be as effective as a professional nurse. BecauseI fucking care. And thank you very much for the vote of confidence that I wouldn't have hurt Agent Vance. At least we agree I'm not a psychopath."
He's panting when he ends the rant, then he just picks me up and lays me on the bed, joining me a second later and coming as close as he can without pushing against my hip, and then wrapping an arm around my waist.
"Tell me this feels wrong. Tell me you didn't feel the same pull toward me I felt toward you. Go ahead. Lie. Tell me you didn't miss me. I fucking dare you."
I can't and he knows it. As he knows what he said left me reeling, because he just growls he has things to do and that I should rest, and then leaves.
