Unexpected Consequences (34 page)

They didn’t have all the test results yet, but the doctor they’d spoken with was confident Nick would be able to leave the hospital in just a few hours. He was fine, so why couldn’t Kelsey shake the lingering fear?

Because I almost lost him.

After their unexpected first meeting, which had progressed to an unconventional relationship, Kelsey had learnt he wasn’t who she’d thought he was and had washed her hands of him—or so she had told herself. She wondered how she could have ever doubted him, but just as fast as she’d got him back, she’d almost lost him again. She couldn’t stop the sights and sounds of the previous night from replaying in her mind.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, almost unaware she was speaking out loud. “When I woke up on the ground with the house in flames, and I knew you were still inside…” She grabbed Nick’s hand and took a deep breath. “I really thought I’d lost you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if…” She was unable to speak the words.

“When I was waiting for Tim to bring you out of the house, all I could think of was how I should have told you. I had my chance. More than once, I had my chance, but I didn’t say it. Why didn’t I say it? I’ve never felt this way before, Nick. I was scared of all the feelings coming at me at once. You don’t know how much I wish I could go back, but I can’t. So I’ll just tell you now.” She leaned in closer, whispering into his ear, “I love you. I love you so much, more than I thought possible.”

Kelsey sat back and wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you in that dingy bar room. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, and you make me the woman I’ve always wanted to be. Now, I can’t imagine my life without you.”

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently as the tears continued to fall. It was such a relief to finally tell him, she wasn’t sure why she’d fought it. Not wanting to let go, she held his hand against her cheek as she dropped her head to his chest.

“I love you, too, baby,” Nick whispered hoarsely.

She looked up, startled by his unexpected voice. He hadn’t moved, but now stared intently at her with a subtle smile on his face. “How much did you hear?”

“I heard everything I ever needed to hear.” He smiled wider. “I feel the same way about you. I would have done anything to stop that bastard from getting to you…”

“Shh…” She pressed her fingers gently against his lips. “He’s gone. We’re not going to talk about him ever again.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks to you. You saved my life.”

“I guess we’re even then, baby. You saved mine, too.”

“How are you feeling?”

He cleared his throat once again with a wince. “Thirsty,” he whispered. She retrieved the cup of water sitting beside the bed.

“Here,” she said while holding the straw to his lips, “drink this.”

He drank heartily before relaxing with a slight smile. “Thank you, baby. Much better.”

“Your throat is probably gonna be sore for a while. We have to make sure you drink enough.”

“Has the doctor come in yet?”

“Not yet. I think they’re waiting for all the test results.”

“What about you? Did you let them check you?” he asked sleepily.

Kelsey smiled at his concern. “Yeah. They checked me out, too. I’m fine.”

“Good. What time is it?”

“It’s almost nine. You slept the morning away.”

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. “I’m glad you’re here, Bright Eyes.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d be.” When he cleared his throat again, she lifted the straw to his lips and offered him another drink. He was probably capable of doing it himself, but she was enjoying taking care of him.

After she had set the cup back on the table, she saw him studying her. “You look tired. Did you sleep at all?” he asked.

Kelsey knew she looked a mess. She still wore the same clothes as the night before—jeans marred with grass stains and reeking of smoke and Tim’s button-down shirt that was four sizes too big. Her hair was slightly damp after her attempt to tame it with a few handfuls of water, and the bags under her eyes probably darkened with every passing moment. “I did a little. I guess the adrenaline hasn’t quite worn off.”

“Problem is, when it does wear off, you can fall where you stand.”

“I’m okay. I’ll be better once you’re out of here.” She saw the space on the bed and sat down facing him with her leg curled beneath her.

“Well, that makes two of us. I’ve never been a fan of hospitals.” He gave her a sexy grin. “But I do have to say, I’ve become a huge fan of nurses.”

“Oh, really?” She raised her eyebrow.

“One nurse, actually.”

“Good save,” she said with a laugh.

Nick chuckled, causing another round of coughing. She offered him more water just as the door opened and a stern-looking man entered. The three remained silent for several minutes before the strange man finally spoke up. “Agent Jensen, I see you are doing well.”

“What do you want, Gunderson?” Nick said coldly.

“I’ve come to see if you’re okay.”

“So you’ve seen me. You can go now.”

The man looked at Kelsey with a smile as he held out his hand. “Samuel Gunderson, Assistant Director, FBI.”

“Don’t you touch her,” Nick growled and pulled her hand to his chest.

“Look, Nick, I know you’re pretty upset right now…”

With his anger outwardly rising, Nick struggled to sit up in the bed. “Upset? You think I’m upset? I’m way past upset, you son of a bitch. What the hell kind of organisation are you running, huh? How many leaks do you have, or do you even know? Hardly a safe house when you have agents revealing the location to random gangsters, is it? Not only was Kelsey almost killed, but she was forced to shoot someone to defend herself! Yeah, I’d say I passed upset a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry about that, Nick. The mole has been found, and we have…”

“Taken care of it? Oh, good. I feel so much better now,” Nick said sarcastically, his one exposed eye flaming with rage. “You guys are pathetic, you know that? The good old Federal Bureau of Investigation. Pffftttt…”

“I can understand your anger, but we took Gianelli down and the only ones injured, well seriously injured, were the bad guys. I’d say that was a pretty successful mission.”

“That depends on your definition of
injured
, doesn’t it? You got what you wanted and to hell with anyone who happened to get hurt along the way,” Nick said through gritted teeth.

Kelsey sat quietly as the conversation became more and more tense. She kept her hand on Nick’s chest and his grip around her palm tightened. She occasionally patted her fingers against the fabric of his hospital gown, her only way of showing support.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” Gunderson was doing a good job of ignoring not only Nick’s outburst, but his apparent hatred as well. “Don’t worry about work, Nick. You’ll have as much time off as you need to recover.”

“You’re damned right I will. I quit,” Nick growled.

“Nick,” Kelsey whispered, “do you really want to do that?” She was concerned not only that he may be making a huge decision without thinking, but that he was also on medication. Was he aware of what he was saying?

“Now, Nick, don’t do anything rash because you happen to be angry. We can talk about this during your debriefing,” Gunderson said.

“I don’t need to talk about anything, and you can kiss my ass if you think I’m spending one more minute with you. You can get all the information you need from Fota. If the prosecutor needs my testimony, I’ll be there. As for the rest, fuck off!” He was obviously thinking clearly, perhaps more clearly than she’d seen before.

Gunderson looked at Nick with a blank expression and gave Kelsey a polite nod before leaving the room without another word.

“Are you okay?” Kelsey noted Nick’s elevated blood pressure and his increased breathing and heart rate.

Nick took a deep breath and turned her way. “I’m fine, baby.”

“Do you really think you should quit? I mean, that’s a pretty big decision.”

“When I think of what could have happened to you because they can’t get their shit together… I don’t want to deal with that anymore. We took down Gianelli. That was the important thing.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Well, what do we have here?” the boisterous voice called as he entered the room.

“Mike?”

“Hey, Nurse Braden,” the friendly doctor said as he stepped up to the bed. “I hope you two don’t mind, but I’m going to check out our favourite spy this morning. The hospital is a bit short-staffed and asked me to cover for a few hours.”

“Fine by me, Doc, as long as you tell me I can get out of here,” Nick said as he squirmed in the bed.

Mike read over Nick’s chart before answering. “Looks like we have a couple more tests we’re waiting on first, Agent Jensen. But if those come back okay, I may be able to spring you. On one condition, of course.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ll need someone to care for you at home for a couple days.”

Nick turned from Mike to Kelsey and flashed her his sexy smile. “I’ll work on that.”

“Okay, okay, enough with the googly eyes.” Mike set the chart on the table beside the bed. “Let’s take a look at you to make sure I can free you, and I don’t need any more cavities, so don’t try any sweet talk, either.”

Kelsey stepped back enough to allow Mike to do his exam, but no farther.
Home.
Since Nick’s house had been destroyed, she began to wonder what exactly that meant to him. Apparently, they had a lot to talk about.

“Well, Agent Jensen…” Mike playfully began.

“Nick.”

“Well, Nick,” Mike corrected, “you seem to be doing well. I just want to wait on the results of your blood work and take another look at your MRI, and if those look good, you’re free to go.”

“Music to my ears, Doc.”

“Any questions?”

“Is it okay for me to take a shower?”

“I don’t see why not. I’m sure Kelsey can help you remove everything.”

“Mike!” Kelsey’s eyes widened and she could feel the heat rush to her face at her old friend’s innuendo.

“Kelsey Braden! I was talking about the oxygen tube and his IV. Where is your mind?” Mike put up his hand to stop her from responding. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

Nick laughed, which naturally set off his coughing again. Kelsey helped him with his water and he was able to regain control.

“Just keep it clean, kids,” Mike called over his shoulder while walking out of the door.

* * * *

Tim nervously bounced his leg as he waited for the doctor to come back into the room. He was fine, but as ridiculous as it was, the medical exam was necessary to make sure he didn’t have any serious injuries as a result from the previous night’s events. He had a long day ahead of him, answering questions and filing reports. The last thing he wanted to do was spend all morning in a hospital. At least he could visit Nick before heading to the office.

“Hello, Agent Fota,” Gunderson said as he walked into the room.

Expecting a doctor, Tim was surprised to see his supervisor walk through the door. “Gunderson. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I was checking on Jensen and found out you were here as well. Are you okay?”

“Seems so. I’m just waiting on the doc to come back to release me.”

“Good. I’ll expect you in the office later, then?”

“I’ll be there,” Tim said, looking at his boss suspiciously.

“Something wrong?” his superior asked.

“What aren’t you telling me? You’re never this nice.”

Gunderson hesitated, but then finally spoke. “Jensen just quit.”

Tim was initially stunned, but then smiled. “Why am I not surprised?” he whispered to himself.

“You knew about this?”

“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. Someone he cares about deeply was almost killed because of a leak, and not the first leak we’ve had. Now that Gianelli is out of business, I guess it’s time for him to move on.” Tim suspected Nick wanted to move on with the beautiful blonde nurse he’d fallen in love with.

Gunderson nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll see you at the office.”

“Sure.”

Tim watched as his disillusioned superior left the room. Nick was a good man, and one of the best agents they had. It was disappointing to lose him, but Nick had a different path to follow. Tim hoped now that Nick would no longer have to walk that path alone.

Chapter Forty-Two

The alarm sounded once Kelsey removed the needle from Nick’s arm. “Oh, shoot, sorry.” She rushed to quiet the noisy machine while trying to keep hold of the small piece of gauze against his skin. Once set, she lifted his arm up and guided his hand to place pressure on the IV site. “Hold that there for a minute.”

He dutifully complied, holding his position while she walked over to the nearby cabinets. She gathered up some supplies and stacked them on the tray beside her before digging through the large bottom drawer.

“Hmm. Stay put. I’ll be right back.”

He folded his arm to keep the gauze in place and reached for his water cup. He drank until the straw gurgled when he hit the bottom. Before he’d barely had a chance to realise the water was gone, Kelsey returned to the room with a fresh foam cup and an armful of folded fabric.

“I figured you’d be thirsty,” she said. She set her pile on the bed before switching his empty cup for the full one.

“You’re too good to me, baby,” he said with a smile, taking a large gulp of the fresh, cool water.

“Let me see this.” She peeked under the gauze he’d been holding. “Okay. This looks good. How about that shower now?”

“You sure you want to help me?”

She answered him with a smile as she flipped his sheets down to the foot of the bed. “Now, swing your legs around and let me help you up, okay? You might be a little dizzy, so take it slow.”

Nick followed her instructions, thinking she was exaggerating until he sat forward and felt his head spin. “Oh, man, you weren’t kidding.”

Kelsey laughed. “Take it easy.” She allowed his head to rest against her breasts. “I’ve done this before, you know.”