Page 80 of Undercover Infidel
“Con?” I leaned closer, hope swelling in my chest.
His eyelids fluttered, then opened. Disorientation clouded his gaze before focusing on me.
“Lex,” he whispered, his voice a dry rasp.
I reached for the cup of ice chips the nurse had left, spooning a few into his mouth. “Don’t try to talk too much. You’re in hospital. The surgery went well.”
He swallowed, grimacing. “McLaren?”
“We don’t know anything yet.” I squeezed his hand.
He processed this, then asked, “Orlov?”
“Alive, in surgery last I heard.” I stroked his forehead. “Everyone on our team made it out. Other than Bennett, of course.” Had he ever been on our team, though? At this point, it no longer mattered.
Relief relaxed his features momentarily before concern returned. “You’re hurt.” His fingers brushed my bandaged forehead.
“Just a scratch.” I caught his hand, pressing it to my cheek. “You’re the one who decided to shield me from an explosion.”
A ghost of his familiar smirk appeared. “Not my brightest moment.”
“It was the bravest, most foolish thing anyone’s ever done for me.” My voice caught. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m harder to kill than that.” His eyes searched mine. “Did you hear what I said? Before I passed out?”
I nodded, emotion constricting my throat. “You said you love me.”
“I meant it.” His gaze held mine, steady despite his weakness.
“I know.” I leaned forward, resting my forehead gently against his. “I love you too, Con. I think I have since that first night at Blackmoor, when you showed me who you really are.”
His smile was worth every moment of fear and uncertainty I’d endured. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Conrad Carnegie,” I whispered against his lips. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“No promises in our line of work,” he murmured, “but I’ll do my best.”
A nurse interrupted our moment, shooing me away while she checked his vitals. I used the break to find Tag in the waiting area and share the news of Con’s improvement. Gus and Ash were with him, butwhen I offered to let them go see him in my place, they declined.
“He needs you now,” said Tag.
When I returned, Con was fighting sleep, determined to continue our conversation.
“Any news yet on McLaren?” he asked as I resumed my place beside him.
The wound of her betrayal still felt raw. “None, and honestly, I don’t know what to think or even how to feel. For years, she shaped my career, my thinking. Now, I don’t know what was real.”
Con’s fingers found mine. “Her final choice was real. She could have let Labyrinth succeed. Instead, she risked everything to stop it.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked. “Maybe she and Bennett were lying about their motives.”
“The countermeasure worked,” he pointed out. “The system overloaded instead of launching. Whatever their previous intentions, that final act was one of redemption.”
His perspective offered a comfort I hadn’t expected. “I still don’t know how to reconcile the mentor Iknew with the woman who helped create something so deadly.”
“People contain multitudes,” Con said, his eyes drifting closed despite his efforts. “The McLaren who mentored you was real too.”
I stayed awake until his breathing evened into sleep, then curled uncomfortably in the chair beside him, unwilling to leave even for the comfort of a proper bed.
