Ironically, it took him getting sick for all of them to see it.
“Just pick a date, and we’ll go. I’m in, and I know Callen and Ethan are in. The kids will love it.”
“After I break the new ME in, we’ll plan it. She’s got the science down, but she needs to learn the actual FBI protocols. That’s what takes the longest time. Just because you learn it in school doesn’t mean it’s practical to use when working for you.”
“Yeah, speaking of which, I haven’t worked with her yet. Is that a coincidence or on purpose?” she asked, smiling at him.
He laughed.
“Oh, very much on purpose. We don’t need her to quit this early in the game.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Oh, I’m sure that will be entertaining. There’s only ever been one ME you didn’t break. I’m stubborn like that.”
“And sweet. You were also hot in bed, so…I wasn’t losing that fun.”
He found that funny. They had been really good sexually, and that was the most amusing part of his sickness. He couldn’t touch her, and if he could, Ethan and Callen would kill him.
The universe was humorous.
“Now I’m just hot,” he said, touching his face with his hand.
She immediately went into mothering mode and began worrying about him. If Wyler got him sick…
“Let me feel your chest.”
He stared at her like she’d just asked him something so outrageous.
Really?
“What?”
“Take off your shirt and let me put my cheek on your chest. I want to feel it. I’ll be able to tell if you’re warm. If you are, you’re going home to bed.”
He knew she was worried twenty-four-seven, and while he appreciated it, she was going to kill herself with the stress.
“Elizabeth, I meant in here. It’s warm in here. The air isn’t on. Relax. I feel good. I promise. I never thought I’d say no to taking off my clothes for you, so this is beginning to be a weird day.”
Chris could see her relax.
He patted the table beside him, and she stared at him in horror.
“What?”
“Hands.”
He held them out and she dumped hand sanitizer on them. It made him smile. She was on duty, and he was going to be mothered whether he wanted it or not.
Oddly, he wanted it.
It was nice.
“Have a seat,” he said as she hopped up, she planned to hold his hand until the doctor came into the room.
Someone had to be germ-free.
“You have to stop stressing about me like this. You’re going to make yourself sick.”
“Yeah, well, never going to happen, my friend. I will worry about you until I die.”
“I’ll go first.”
Oh, they could play that game.
“I get shot at pretty much every day of my life as I chase knife-wielding crazies. The odds are the odds.”
“Okay, you’ll go first, but I’ll be right behind.”
She leaned over and gave him a kiss. The doctor came in at that very second as they were sharing a moment.
It caught the man off guard.
“Oh, sorry! I don’t often see people kissing in my exam rooms. This isn’t a cheery place.”
Yeah, she was aware.
The doctor went to shake his hand.
“Hand sanitizer first, Doctor. I don’t want him sick. Wash up and then you can touch him.”
“Are you the germ police?” the doctor asked, washing his hands in amusement.
Chris knew she was. Only, that made her sound crazy, so instead, he tried to rationalize it.
“She’s my bodyguard when it comes to people sneezing, having germs on them, or when I cough.”
The man did as she asked.
“Can I shake his hand now or do you want to break out the Lysol and spray me down too?”
“Is that an option?” she asked.
“Uh, no!” he said, horrified.
“Then shake his hand. I’ll just monitor him for any wayward germs. Oh, and it’s warm in here. You can’t sweat out a cold or HIV.”
He found that amusing and actually laughed.
“Yeah, well, DC in summer. You know how that is.”
He shook Chris’s hand, and then took a seat.
“Before we start, Mr. Leonard, I’ll have your germ cop take a seat outside. Mrs. Blackhawk, we’re going to discuss…”
“She stays,” Chris interrupted. “We’re a couple. She hears it all, and she’ll help me through it.”
He flipped through the chart.
“You have her down as significant other.”
“I’m aware. She’s my emergency contact, and the person I put as my HIPAA contact. You can say it all in front of her. You can call her, and you can notify her. She’s to have full access to my medical files, and she has my living will directive.”
He made notes.
That took care of everything.
“Okay, then let’s get started. Last time, we did a blood draw, we did some other tests, and then we said we were going to compare them to your very first appointment to see how your body is handling the immunotherapy and viral therapy. Ready for the results?”
No, but did it matter?
Chris had to face it.
He held his breath.
They both did.
“Yes.”
“We can review your blood work first. It looks like your counts are high, and that’s really good.”
Elizabeth was a nervous wreck. She’d never had someone in her life this sick. Well, Timothy, but he lied his ass off to them, and they didn’t have to ride this emotional rollercoaster.
“Is it?” she asked.
“Yes, this is the one number we want to stay high. That shows us that the meds seem to be working. Your body is fighting off the virus with the meds and your own immune system.”
He was glad.
No.
Chris was thrilled.
“Have you been eating right and exercising?”
“Every day but today on the exercise. We had to come here.”
“Well, keep it up.”
Chris squeezed her hand.
“The most important thing is the meds. Don’t miss a dose. You’ll think you’re feeling good, but those meds will suppress the virus. The longer they do that, the longer you stay healthy. We don’t want the HIV to go into AIDS.”
Yeah, he knew what was next if it did.
Death.
He couldn’t help but think of the man in the waiting room. It was moments like these that he wished he chased crazies. If it came to them or AIDS, he would prefer to go down in the line of duty.
Heroically.
“Now for more numbers. Your viral load is low. It’s still showing up, but the meds will push it down even further. Our hope is it becomes almost undetectable.”
Yeah, his too.
As a doctor, he knew all of this, but the woman beside him needed this reassurance.
This was for her.
“How do you feel?”
“Tired, but it’s tolerable.”
And that was why she made him hire a secondary ME for their unit. She wouldn’t let him run himself ragged. For Chris to ever even admit that, she knew he had to be REALLY tired. He was like that damn mechanical, pink bunny. He kept going nonstop, but lately…
Yeah, it freaked her out.
And it had nothing to do with him getting older.
“It’s normal, Mr. Leonard. That’s mostly going to be the meds. Unfortunately, they do have side effects.”
Yeah, he was aware.
“This is the part of the talk that’s uncomfortable. It’s mostly going to be directed at you, Mrs. Blackhawk.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sleeping together?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t a lie.
They just woke up in the same bed. While they knew what the man meant, that was NO ONE’S business. The world
talked, and they let them.
The closest Chris’s dick came to her was when he held her in sleep. He was always dressed.
Always.
“Okay,” he said. “I only ask because there is a risk that even with a condom, you can become infected. They do break.”
“I’m aware,” she stated. “We are fastidious with our protection,” she stated, not going into detail.
Chris was trying not to laugh.
They both knew the protection was two big native men who said, ‘no sex with Chris’, and that was the biggest way for her to ensure she would NOT get HIV.
If you didn’t go to the party, you couldn’t bring home any stragglers. That was their motto, and Chris’s too.
“Even with HIV, you can still lead an active and healthy sex life. Just make sure EVERYONE is protected. Gay men have a higher rate of picking up HIV.”
They both knew who that was directed at.
Ethan and Callen.
It was clear the man knew who she was, and who they were all shacked up with. Thank God there were privacy laws, or this whole conversation would be on TV.
“They are well protected too,” Chris stated, once he was able to get the words out without laughing.
“Good. Then carry on.”
“Oh, I will.”
And he would. He’d carry on with celibacy. There was no way he was going to risk it.
Never.
The man flipped through the rest of the records.
“Well, you’re in excellent health. I can’t imagine that you’ll not live a long, healthy life if you continue on the way you do.”
“I have a question.”
“Okay, Mrs. Blackhawk.”
“How much to get you to do these visits in the privacy of our own home?”
“What do you mean?”
“While we don’t mind coming here, Chris’s job depends on this being kept quiet. What can we do to get home visits? We asked your office manager, and she said it wasn’t happening, but that’s not good enough for me.”
“She’s right. I don’t do them.”
Well, when in Rome, play the game. Elizabeth wasn’t above doing anything to make this whole thing safer for Chris.
That was her priority.
Screw it that she was about to bribe someone.
“Lyzee.”
She squeezed his hand.
This mattered.
“What does your office need, Doctor Williams?”
“Pardon?”
“This is me, his girl, who has access to money, asking you, a doctor, what it will take to get you to swing by our house once a month to check on him? Name your price.”
Chris was horrified. She was breaking the law, and for him. A Federal officer of the law could not accept or offer a bribe.
He tried to stop her.
“Sweetness, I can come here. It’s really okay. I don’t mind it.”
She stopped him.
No.
Germs.
Immune system.
Media.
Yeah, that was not happening. She wasn’t out of her mind—yet. For him, she’d take a risk and offer up a bribe.
Family mattered.
“Well, Doctor?”
“I do want one thing. Give me a second.”
He headed out for a second.
“Honey, I can come here. If people find out, that’s life. I’m not going to hide, and you can’t risk your career to protect mine. That’s not worth it. Your job is very important. You get the dead justice. Don’t destroy that for me.”
Was he kidding?
She’d do it for anyone she loved. There was a time and a place to uphold the law, and there was a time to salvage what you could. Chris had been injured in the line of duty. The universe owed him this.
It was the least she could do.
“Please, do this for me?” she asked. “Let me give you this. I couldn’t protect you from what happened, but I can do my damn best to make sure you don’t needlessly suffer.”
Yeah, she was and always would be his champion.
Here was the proof.
Chris took her face in his hands and gently gave her a kiss. His lips lingered.
“I love you,” he admitted.
“Oh, Christopher, I love you too.”
So, he gave in. If she felt this strongly about it, then it was the least he could do for her.
Chris wanted her to be at ease. All of their lives had been chaos, and they deserved calm.
“Okay, UNLESS he wants some ridiculous bribe and that’s not going to happen.”
“Deal.”
When he came back in, he had five books in his hands. They were all Callen’s.
“We love Jackson James’s books. We are all reading them. Do you think you can have your husband sign them? That’s all we really want.”
Oh, that was an easy one.
Here she was expecting a monetary bribe. It made her glad they found this doctor. He was a decent person.
“I tell you what. We’re heading to work, and he’s out of town. When you come to our home, bring them. I’ll make sure he signs them and has a cup of coffee with you. You can pick his brain on his next book. It’s a doozy. I promise.”
The man grinned and shook her hand.
“DEAL!”
Yeah, it was. They got off easy on this one, and Chris was glad. Elizabeth didn’t have to break the law.
Perfect.
Chris’s protection for a coffee date with Callen. That was a pretty sweet deal, and clearly, she would pimp the author out if need be.
Wait until he found out.
He was going to be amused.
“We’ll see you in a month, Mr. Leonard. Make sure you keep taking your pills and you get your blood drawn.”
“I will,” he stated.
The man headed out, and they were right behind him. Pulling out her phone, she called Ivan to give him the heads-up that they were finished and on the move.
“We’re on our way out. Put your dick away. I don’t need to go blind from one of your Blue sex calls.”
She hung up before he could even answer. While he may have asked her to be his best woman, that didn’t mean she was going to go all mushy and not ride his Marine ass.
That was tradition.
That was fun.
As she hung up, Chris was watching her.
“What?” she asked. “Is there something gross on my face?” Elizabeth asked.
He laughed.
“No, but you really like him.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, he’s a boil on my ass, but he’s my boil. See the love?” she asked.
“Sexy. The ass—NOT the boil.”
She snorted.
“Thanks for clarifying,” she said as they headed out of the office and toward Ivan in the parking lot.
“With you, I’ve found that’s safest. I know you,” Chris admitted.
Yeah, wasn’t that the truth.
“Let’s get to work. It’s going to be a good day. I can feel it. Ivan is in a good mood, Callen comes home tomorrow, your blood work rocked, and Ethan…well, he has to deal with the president. We can’t all win.”
Chris was amused as he tucked her arm through his and walked out into the sunlight with her.
Yeah, it was a damn good day.
And he was loving life.
Ivan had just hung up with Elizabeth, and he was glad to be getting them to the Hoover Building.
Oddly, he didn’t feel right.
His gut was telling him something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t figure out what that would be.
Then, as he looked around the parking lot, it was oddly empty for that time of the morning. It was almost nine, and his ride was the only one in it.
It was weird.
Where was all the traffic?
The people?
As he went to turn on the car, someone appeared in the passenger side window.
Immediately, he glanced o
ver, thinking that she was trying to scare him.
Only, it wasn’t a woman.
And it wasn’t Chris.
That’s when Ivan felt the barbs hit him in his arm, which had been resting on the open window as he waited.
The volts hit, and his body jolted from the stun. He felt like his teeth were going to break off as the electricity hit him hard. In that moment, he prayed that his heart didn’t stop.
God knew he’d barely survived being electrocuted.
Then, as the voltage let off, he felt the vicious fist to his face, knocking him out.
“He’s down,” the man said. “Let’s get him contained before she gets here. She’s going to be a handful.”
They moved.
Pulling Ivan from the vehicle, they zip tied his leg, gagged him, and tossed him into the trunk of their ride so he wouldn’t be able to get free.
They’d done their research.
If they wanted to handle her, then they couldn’t risk the two of them teaming up.
“Get down!” he ordered as they got ready for their targets to move.
They saw them.
As she came around the side of the building, the second target with her, two men headed her way. They moved quickly, pulling down their ski masks.
She was talking to Chris when it registered.
She saw them.
“Christopher, stay behind me,” she said, dropping his arm and moving to stand protectively in front of him.
“Come with us,” the one man ordered, reaching for her.
Instinct kicked in.
She shoved Chris back so he was out of their reach. She moved into action, booting one in the balls before going for her sidearm. Before she could reach for it, it was gone.
The second man was back on his feet, and they were about to have a little street fight.
Fine.
Whoever they were, this was done.
Without pulling it, she swung out, elbowing the man in the face. Before she could get to Chris, five more people were there, and they were all dressed the same.
Black.
Masks.
Bulky body armor beneath the clothes.
She felt it as she tried to deliver a few body shots, and they ended up hurting her more than they hurt them.
Shit!
She fought.
All the while, she was trying to figure out who they were, and where the hell was Ivan?
Chris shouted her name, and she watched as he went down when one of them pistol-whipped him.
It pissed her off.
All the King's Henchmen Page 9