Dangerous Protector (Aegis Group Book 5) (27 page)

26.

Fiona reached for the
pillow behind her, but it was awkward only having one mobile hand.

“Here, let me.” Marco was there, ready to help.

She should be grateful. Thankful. Something other than irritated. She was alive because of him. But right now she just wanted to throw something.

“Thanks.” She eased back into her throne of cushions.

Ian said she’d only been out for a day, but it felt longer. The hotel room had that lived-in-too-long look to it, but that could be in part to the surplus of medical supplies on every available surface.

Had she known Marco was also an EMT?

She did now.

Her arm was stitched up nicely, and he’d been the most attentive nurse she’d ever had.

Didn’t change the fact she wanted to bash him over the head.

The commercials flipped off and the live broadcast started again. The wide shot was of the NueEnergy building she’d worked in for years. Uniformed officers and lots of people in FBI jackets went in and out.

Randy must have plugged the drives in as soon as he could.

The data, all of it, was out there.

NueEnergy was just the tip of the iceberg. Their connections were everywhere, and they’d taken the whole organization down in a very public fashion. By accident, more or less.

“Authorities have just confirmed that several tons of hazardous material were illegally dumped outside of Moab, Utah,” the news anchor said, staring right at her.

The broadcast flipped to an on-scene reporter.

All that mattered was that the truth was out there.

“Are you happy now?” Her neck hurt too much to look at him, but she could see his stony expression out of the corner of her eye.

He’d been proven right. This was what he’d wanted. Why they’d met. Why wasn’t he jumping for joy or something? Someone would have to pay for the cleanup. The Benally family home might be tied up in legal proceedings for a while, but they could likely make a case for getting it returned.

She leaned her head back against the pillows. It still felt too heavy. She closed her eyes and listened to the continued live coverage of the NueEnergy meltdown. Now, it was the next Enron fiasco, only worse. There were confirmations of a dozen private planes being forced to land so the decision makers behind this corporate iceberg could be arrested. The scope of it was staggering. How many companies were going to go under? How many people were losing their jobs?

The good of what they’d done was hard to see amidst all the bad. It wasn’t even over. The investigation, ferreting out all the tendrils of the parent company—it would take ages. They wouldn’t have been able to do so much without Ghost. He was…scary. Marco had aimed Ghost at her and he could so easily have flayed her alive. Instead…hell, she didn’t know what she was or where she was going.

She was just…tired. And hurting. It was hard to tell if the pain was physical or emotional. Yes, she’d forgiven Marco in those moments when she’d thought she was going to die. She didn’t regret it. He’d moved heaven and earth to keep her alive and bring down the bad guys. But the hurt was still there. She didn’t know if she could trust him again, if love was enough.

Her mother hadn’t known when to stop loving her father, and it’d nearly killed her. Even after he was gone, she’d been a shadow of her former self.

Fiona didn’t want that. She didn’t know what she wanted, but it wasn’t that. The crazy thing was, she might not have a choice in the matter. Her heart had already decided in favor of Marco, even if her brain couldn’t get behind the idea.

Marco watched Fiona doze
for the last time.

It was over.

All of it.

Even the mess with Danny. He’d gone home almost immediately, scared shitless and begging forgiveness.

Marco reached out a hand and gently brushed Fiona’s hair off her cheek. The painkillers he’d given her would keep her out for a bit. He’d have liked to have said goodbye, but it wasn’t in him. Leaving her, letting her go, that was the hardest thing he could think of doing. And he was going to do it.

He’d told her he loved her, and he meant it. To prove it, he’d do the hardest thing he’d ever done. Leave.

Maybe he could go on so long as she was out there somewhere, happy and healthy. He wasn’t good enough for her. He hadn’t loved her the right way or realized it soon enough. Quite frankly, he didn’t deserve her, and he wasn’t going to try to hold her back.

Fiona had a life ahead of her. One free from fear and the threat of Nova or Scott or whatever the hell his real name was.

Marco wasn’t going to clip her wings or weigh her down. Maybe someday she’d find someone who would deserve her. Yeah, Marco would want to punch the guy’s lights out, but he hoped she’d find that someday. Even if it wasn’t him.

A knock at the door signaled his time was up.

He leaned over and took her hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles for the last time.

His world fractured a little as he rose to his feet. All his life he’d survived without her, and now that he’d known her for a moment, he didn’t know how he’d go on. He’d figure it out, because he had to. He wasn’t a pansy ass that’d waste away because he’d fucked up something good. No, he’d learn from this mistake. There would never be another Fiona in his life, but he could be better because of her. She’d taught him that much.

Marco grabbed his bag from the closet and slung it over his shoulder.

It was over. Really over.

He peered through the peep-hole, just to make sure, then flipped the bolt.

A man in slacks and a button down stood on the other side. He had a lanyard around his neck that dubbed him Eric.

“Mr. Benally.” Eric peered over his shoulder. “How is she?”

“Anyone else with you?”

“Uh…downstairs.”

“Good.”

Marco shouldered past. He should say more, give the guy some indication of Fiona’s physical state. She had bumps and bruises galore that only time would heal. The arm was the worst of it and even that was looking pretty damn good, all things considered.

He put one foot in front of the other. It felt as though little parts of him broke off, littering the floor, with every step he took.

She’d changed him, and he didn’t know how to go on without Fiona, but damn if he’d try his best. For her.

The Marshall’s would take care of her now. She was, without a doubt, innocent. As for the rest of them, the authorities had just about thrown up their hands and buried their heads in the sand. Between the mess Marco and his team had created and someone pulling strings to keep attention off Ghost, they were getting out of this unscathed.

Marco would have to thank Ghost at some point. He’d disappeared after they found Scott. Hadn’t even bothered to find out if Fiona was alive or dead. There was a lot about Ghost that wasn’t right, but he’d more than upheld his end of the bargain. Marco wished him well.

Love sucked, that was for sure.

It stole bits of him, and he didn’t think he’d ever get them back.

The only thing to do…was to go on.

A week later…

Fiona stared at four pictures of herself with four different names.

“You can go back to being any one of them, or you can start fresh.” Eric leaned against the chair across from her.

The Marshalls were being overly helpful. She found it suspicious, but chances were they wanted at least one thing wrapped up easily. Letting her off the hook, out of their hair, and back into society was a matter of paperwork. Nothing more.

She pushed those girls away from her.

Even her birth name felt weird now.

“No, thanks,” she said.

“Are you sure? I know you want to avoid notice, and your Fiona identity was pretty tightly linked with NueEnergy…”

“If they have questions, I can’t answer them.” She shrugged.

The official story was that she’d been hit by a car, and been in a short coma during the the NueEnergy debacle, which was an easy explanation for why she hadn’t been around, and a convenient way to explain away her injuries. The Missing Person Alert was ruled a case of mistaken identity and shoved under the proverbial rug. Everyone was willing to look the other direction right now.

Eric pulled out a chair and sat across from her.

“How are you doing?” He stared at her, his gaze so intent and perceptive.

Fiona shrugged.

Inside she was…dead. Hollow.

Marco was gone. He’d left while she was asleep and she didn’t know what to do.

He’d stolen a part of her. He hadn’t given her the opportunity to decide if she wanted to be with him. He’d just…gone.

And that was her fault.

Hadn’t she told him that if he loved her, he should leave her?

“Fiona?”

“Sorry.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Just…thinking.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay. I guess…this is it. You’ve got yourself set up. There’s money. Identification. Paperwork. It’s all here.” He slid a thick folder across to her.

It was the severance package of the Witness Protection program. She was set for a while, at least until she figured out what she was doing with her life.

“Where are you going to go?” he asked.

“Home.” It was the first thing that came to mind, and the answer felt right. “I’d like to see my parents again.”

“If you need anything, unofficially, I mean, let me know, okay? I know people.” Eric smiled. He’d always been friendly yet professional. She’d pegged him as gay because of his shoes but didn’t know for sure. Not that it mattered. He was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she didn’t know the first thing about him.

“I’m sure you know some very interesting people.” She slid the folder into her tote.

“Interesting is a good word. When are you leaving?”

“When can I book a flight?”

“I can help with that.”

“Would you mind?” She slumped further down in her seat.

Fiona could do it. But…she didn’t know if she’d carry through with it. Going home meant leaving Denver. Where she’d met Marco. Everything that reminded her of him.

She hadn’t heard from him, but she felt him. He was still burrowed deep in her heart. Where he belonged.

Marco sat across from
Mr. Stevens.

Mr. Stevens, in turn, glared at Zain.

Zain glanced between Marco and Mr. Stevens, his arms crossed, and glaring back.

“You can’t keep him grounded,” Zain said again.

“He went AWOL.” Mr. Stevens flung his hand up and sat back in his chair.

“I’m sick of going around in circles. We need guys. We have jobs waiting. You can’t keep him grounded because you’re pissed.” Zain must be angry if he was willing to take direct shots at Stevens with an audience.

Any other time and Marco might have tried diffusing the situation or getting the hell out of there. Now he sat there, watching these two men decide what the hell he was going to do.

Two weeks since he’d last seen Fiona.

He should have taken a picture. Something. Anything. As it was, he had no tangible memory of ever having her in his life. He missed the way she dug into his shoulders so deep she left marks. He missed her wild laughter. The look in her eye before she said something she thought was racy or daring.

“Marco.” Zain barked his name.

“What?”

“Fucking hell, man.” Zain shoved his hand through his hair. “Fine. Whatever. Stay here.”

Zain stalked out of the office, leaving Stevens glaring at Marco now.

“Can I go?” he asked.

“You’re on PT duty.”

Marco nodded and got up.

Aegis was expanding, and in anticipation of opening their Seattle office, they had new guys to put through their paces and test out. It was mindless work that required nothing but a body and a stopwatch.

Usually this kind of thing would annoy the ever-loving hell out of Marco, but now…he just didn’t care. One day was a rinse and repeat of the day before.

Mom and dad called him regularly, keeping him up to date on the progress being made to evaluate the dump site. Their property. Conservationists were all over it, sometimes doing more harm than good, stomping around the site.

Things that before Fiona would have bothered him…just didn’t anymore.

He was dead inside.

Without Fiona, he was nothing more than a shell of a man. A sad, pathetic one at that. How had he ever called this living?

Fiona wrapped her coat
tighter around herself and stared at the marble headstones.

She only had vague memories of them. When her father had passed away, her mother had made all the decisions, and many of them were ones Fiona never understood.

The inscription on her father’s headstone had baffled her before today. She’d always thought it weird and clunky. Now, she recognized it for what it was.