by Wade, Maddie
“Yes, go. Take Liam with you,” Zin said, “I’ll let Zack know.” Turning to Liam, he put out his hand, “Thank you for taking care of the chopper.” Liam laughed and shook his hand, “No problem. Glad I could help.”
Zin turned and walked back towards Zack’s office, motioning for Daniel to follow him. Daniel gave Liam a glare, then strode purposefully after Zin.
Nate and Liam quickly walked back outside and Nate told Liam to meet him at the hospital. Luckily, both the cars, although now covered in holes, were drivable. He slipped into the driver’s seat and he noticed his hands were covered in dust and smoke from the explosion.
Chapter Twenty-Two
He needed to wash up before he saw Skye and frightened her to death. She knew what he did, but she didn’t need it shoved in her face. He quickly parked and raced to the entrance where Liam was waiting.
“I need to wash up. I don’t want to scare Skye and Noah.”
“Good plan, Batman,” Liam replied and followed him inside. Nate found Liam quite amusing and he had certainly proved he could cut it in a crisis.
Pushing through the door of the ward, they were met by Ambrose who was standing at Noah’s door. Liam went straight over to Ambrose and Nate went through the door quietly in case Noah was asleep. He immediately saw he was awake and put his finger to his lips to quiet him. He looked at Skye, who had her back to the door, and his world righted. She was fine. Noah was fine. He walked up to her on silent feet and slipped his arms around her waist from behind and dropped a kiss to her neck.
She jumped a mile high and turned, “Nate, you scared me.” She laughed and tapped his chest. He grinned and dropped a kiss on her mouth.
“Sorry, mi cielo, I couldn’t resist.”
“Why do you smell of smoke?” she scrunched her nose and it looked adorable. It made him wish they were alone so he could show her just how adorable.
“We had a little incident at Fortis, but I’ll explain later when little ears aren’t around.”
She frowned and nodded, “Okay. Noah has been discharged, haven’t you, baby boy?” she turned to Noah who was grinning at them.
“Yep, and I beat Ambrose at chess.” His excited little face was beaming.
“Wow, that’s great, buddy, well done. I get to take you guys home, then. I need a quick word with your mum outside, okay, pal?”
“Are you going to make kissy faces again?” he asked, giggling.
“You got me, pal,” Nate said laughing. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door.
Walking past Ambrose and Liam, he went round the corner and sat her in a chair near the ward clerk’s office.
“What’s the matter, Nate,” she asked looking concerned.
“Fortis was attacked,” he held her hand tight as she gasped.
“Is everyone okay?”
Yeah, everyone’s fine. Zack has a lot of cleaning up to do, and I think Celeste and Ava are a bit shaken, but the point is, we managed to get some information. The men were working for Felicity Lockwood. They still want Noah.”
He felt her hand start to shake in his and pulled her out of the chair, into his arms. “It’s okay, Skye. I won’t let them get him. Either Ambrose, Liam, or I will be with you at all times. But I want you to come stay at my place. It offers much more protection and security,” he watched as several different expressions crossed her face.
But she looked up at him and said, “Yes, of course. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe.”
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, “Good. I’ll sort out whatever Noah needs. If you write a list, I’ll get Ambrose to pick it up.”
“Well, we’re ready now. I was just about to call you.”
“Okay. Let’s go tell Noah.” They broke the news to an ecstatic Noah, who was practically bouncing now. Skye had apparently told Noah about his place and it pleased him to no end that she liked it so much that she had talked about it.
They proceeded to get Noah packed up and all his medication bagged and dispensed from the pharmacy in record time. Even with Noah asking a hundred excited questions per minute.
An hour later, they were driving to his house, with Ambrose and Liam following in separate cars behind them. Nate waited until Liam and Ambrose where in place on either side of Noah and Skye before ushering Noah and Skye up the steps to his front door.
~~~
That was the start of a perfect two weeks in Nate’s eyes. Apart from the fact that they had a threat hanging over them, and were having to stay in a lot, he felt happy. They cooked together, with Skye even giving him a baking lesson–which he enjoyed immensely–they played games, did puzzles, he and Noah had many, many re-matches on the Xbox.
He and Skye had decided that it was okay for Noah to see them sharing a bed since Nate had been around for a while now and was used to him. Noah had taken that like everything else, in stride. The first morning he had jumped on them both at 6 am, asking for pancakes for breakfast.
Thankfully, he and Skye got the evenings together, which were mostly spent putting something on the T.V., and then making out until it was time for bed, by which time they were both more than ready to go up in flames. It was insane how much he wanted her.
He loved the fact that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He went from making slow seductive love to her, driving her crazy with pleasure, to the next day, fucking her hard against the wall. Just thinking about it made him want to drag her to bed.
It was the eighteenth of November, and Skye received a call from Noah’s doctor. He wanted to see Skye and Noah, urgently. He made an appointment for two that afternoon. Nate knew she was nervous about what the doctor would say. Noah had seemed better–his colour had improved and he seemed to have more energy than Nate had ever seen. He prayed that his health hadn’t started to deteriorate. He loved that boy as if he was his own.
Skye had discussed it with him and she had decided not to tell Noah about the urgency, letting him think it was a routine appointment. They enjoyed a lunch of chicken noodles, but Skye had picked at hers, and hardly eating anything. Her face looked pale, and he realized that the last few weeks had been the most carefree he had ever seen her.
Even the constant presence of Ambrose or Liam downstairs hadn’t upset her. In fact, she had charmed them both with her baking frenzy, constantly making Nate take them, treats. Nate didn’t mind, it gave him a chance to check on things.
Noah had equally charmed them and had challenged Liam to chess, but Liam had declined and said he was more of monopoly kind of guy. Noah had taken that and run with it making Liam promise to play him as soon as he could.
They were in the car on the way to the hospital at just after 1:15pm. Noah was in the back and seemed fine and Skye was trying really hard not to let her nerves show, but failing. Nate reached over, put his hand on her Knee and squeezed gently.
“It’ll be okay, mi amor,” he tried to reassure her. She smiled a small smile and put her hand over his, holding on tight. He parked and they went to the paediatric outpatient department.
The young, friendly male receptionist told them to wait, and Noah sat and played with the toy farm. Skye had her hands clasped so tight her knuckles were white. Nate stayed silent, but slipped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head.
Dr. Azzabi walked out, “Skye, Noah would you like to come through?” Skye and Nate stood and Noah jumped up from the toy farm he was playing. Nate watched her look at Noah and felt her stiffen her spine under the hand he placed on the small of her back. She tipped her head to him and offered him a firm nod. She would get through this whatever happened.
Chapter Twenty-Three
He’d been looking for this prick for two weeks and had finally caught up with him, here of all places. He couldn’t believe he would be so stupid to come back home. Maybe he had run out of rich friends to sponge off of. Kanan had been watching his bank accounts, as had Fortis, and they hadn’t been touched.
Hugo Lockwood had not
been home since the police had released him. At first, he thought he might have gone to the Green Dragon hotel, but he hadn’t. He’d checked all his usual haunts, almost running into Nate and some cockney guy he didn’t know. But Hugo was gone.
He finally caught him going into Lockwood Manor. He didn’t want to confront him, but was certain he could lead him to Felicity, that cold hearted evil bitch. Never in his life had he felt such a strong need for vengeance.
He could not explain why, either, except there was something about Noah that called to him. His innocence and bravery had made him ashamed of the man he’d become. The fact that Felicity could so easily endanger him for her own cause, made him want to kill. Yet, he was forced to recognize he had done the same thing.
When he’d seen Noah, lifeless on that bed, it reminded him so much of Catherine, that he’d lost it. The fact that she had died of Leukemia made it so much worse. Every time for the last two weeks that he had closed his eyes, he had dreamt of her, and in every dream, she morphed into Noah, crying and asking why he had killed him.
He rubbed his hands over his face and stretched his aching body. His neck was healing well from the gunshot wound, but he wasn’t twenty anymore, and his body ached from exhaustion.
He knew Zack was looking for him, but being around him made him feel worse. Every time he looked at Zack, he saw Catherine–he’d had to get away. Even the need to stick around and check on Celeste wasn’t as strong as his desire to make Felicity die a slow, painful death for putting Noah through what she had.
He had caught glimpses of Celeste as she went into Fortis, and was proud of the beautiful woman she had become. He knew Zack and the team at Fortis would protect her, and he’d seen one of Granger`s men slip into her house and install cameras and alarms.
He, also, knew Zack would only have told her about the alarm system. He ached to get to know her, but his life was such a mess, and it had been so dangerous, that he hadn’t wanted to endanger her, or so he told himself.
It troubled him that she had so few friends and seemed so alone. He hoped being surrounded by a tight knit group, like Fortis, would help bring her out of her shell. She seemed to love that dog, though, and what an amazing and loyal animal he was. He knew if he dropped a puppy at her door she would automatically take it in and was glad he’d done that one, small thing for her.
He would keep his distance and hope she went on to have a normal, happy life–not one marred with grief and distrust like he had. He wasn’t feeling sorry for himself, most of his bad luck was down to his own shitty decisions. He just wanted to put this right with Noah, and then that cabana on the beach, the one calling his name, could become a reality.
So, he sat in cold, wet woodland in South Wales with his binoculars, watching Lockwood Manor, and waiting for Hugo to lead the way. He might have failed Catherine, but he wouldn’t fail Noah.
~~~
It had taken a huge amount of wrangling for him to talk his way out of the destroyed Russian chopper behind Fortis. The police commissioner had done some major string pulling, and Zack had never been more thankful for that connection.
The investigation was going well and Lucy had made some minor inquiries about the Pure Living clinic. Her alias was good and so was the cover. She was a twenty-eight-year-old woman looking into private fertility options. Her husband was away on business and she would be at the meeting alone.
They hadn’t gone in thinking about using the fertility angle, but when they got there and seen it advertised, Lucy went with it. Her original angle had been cosmetic surgery for breast enhancement, which Lucy had found hilarious.
The other reason she had taken the initial meet alone, was Zack wasn’t sure about sending Dane in. He’d been really worried about Lauren, who was struggling with losing her father, even though she hadn’t really known him. Zack had thought it was probably Dane worrying too much, but he was no good going in and not having his mind fully on the job.
Zin had gone as her back-up, but stayed in the car with an earpiece in case she needed him. Lucy was the consummate professional, though, and had played her part to perfection–even getting the name of a sister company that handled exclusive clients only.
Lucy had an appointment set up for a week after Christmas. Will was now back in the fold, and was setting up some dummy medical records, stating Lucy’s fertility issues.
Will had taken over mentoring Drew, whose reaction to his father’s death had been to go out and get completely pissed. Zack had asked Will to take him under his wing and keep an eye on the boy. He hated to see his skill and ability go to waste because his lousy excuse for Father had croaked it.
Zin had disappeared for two days, tracking Usov, and had some interesting information for them regarding his links to Bulgaria. All lines kept leading back there. Ava also found more references to five rings in the data she was trying hard to decipher. The whole team agreed this made the Olympics the most likely target of a big attack.
Ava. Zack poured himself a glass of the fifty-year-old scotch from his bottom draw, and thought about the woman who seemed to occupy his every spare thought. She’d been a consummate professional since that first blowout at the beginning. She was polite and succinct in her discussions with him, friendly with the team, and had even gone out for drinks with Celeste, twice.
So why did he feel so angry about it? Was it because she treated him with indifference, or was it because she didn’t seem to be as affected as him by the sexual chemistry between them, or was it because he couldn’t stop thinking about her every hour of every day?
Was it because he had to fight the urge to storm into the conference room, bend her over the desk, and see if those stockings were as sexy as they seemed, as he thrust into her.
He found himself looking for the smallest excuse to go and talk to her. Never in his life had he been like this over a woman…and he didn’t fucking like it.
He decided it was all of the above, and it was driving him crazy. He knew he’d been an idiot when he told her what they had in the past was just fucking. Maybe he should try talking to her and see if they could come to some sort of arrangement? Maybe a fling would get her out of his system…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Skye tensed as she followed Dr. Azzabi to his office. Her hands kept clenching at her sides, the muscles in her neck starting to ache from tensing and grinding her teeth. She felt Nate grip her hand and his thumb rubbed a circle over the top, the soft rhythmic pattern soothing her.
She was further relaxed by Noah’s calm, happy countenance. He smiled at Dr. Azzabi and took the doctors outstretched hand.
“Hello, Noah, how have you been?”
“Hi, Dr. Azzabi, I feel great. Nate’s going to teach me how to play rugby.” The joy and happiness on Noah’s face made Skye smile.
“Really?” said the doctor with a huge smile, “well that sounds wonderful. I love rugby.”
“He can teach you, too, can’t you Nate?” Noah turned his big eyes on Nate, who smiled widely at him
“Sure can, buddy.”
“See,” Noah grinned.
“Well, now let us take a look at you.” Noah climbed up on the examination table and let the doctor check his blood pressure, weight, height, and listen to his heart. Dr. Azzabi smiled and noted everything down on Noah’s chart.
“Why don’t you go and see if Jeremy, at reception, has a sticker for you while I talk to your mum a minute?” he spoke to Noah, but turned his expressionless face to Skye. Her heart beat faster as she nodded to Noah. Her hand gripped Nate’s in a death grip and she smiled until the door shut behind Noah. She was happy to let Noah go because she knew Liam and Ambrose were outside the locked doors to the children`s pediatric department and nothing would get past them two.
“Tell me,” she demanded of the doctor, a bit harshly. Skye was surprised to see the doctor smiling widely.
“We have Noah’s blood results,” he didn’t make her wait. “His blood shows no irregularities at all. All the co
unts are within the normal range and there are no cancerous blood cells at all. As you can imagine, we were shocked. We double-checked the results and they are accurate. Noah is perfectly healthy.”
Sky’s hand flew to her mouth, tears making her eyes blurry. Her hands shook as she looked at the doctor, trying to take in his words.
“Hhhe…he’s okay? No cancer?” she asked shakily, her voice struggling to form the words.
“No cancer. He is perfectly fine.” With those words she threw herself into Nate’s arms, burying her face in his neck, and sobbed tears of pure joy.
She felt Nate’s strong arms come around her and hold her tight.
He stroked her neck, bending to her ear, he whispered soft words–she wasn’t, exactly, sure what he said–but the soft murmuring calmed her until she managed to pull herself together.
Dr. Azzabi offered her a tissue and she wiped her eyes and tried to get her head round the fact that her beautiful boy was healthy. She looked up at Nate, who was still holding her tightly to his side. She offered a smile and he tilted his head, briefly touching his mouth to hers.
“Better, mi amor?” he asked, as he touched his knuckles to her cheek in a soft caress. Skye nodded and turned her eyes to the kind doctor.
“Sorry,” she stated, slightly embarrassed.
“Don’t be,” he said, “I have never, in all my years, seen anything like this. The change is nothing short of miraculous. We can only attribute it to the drug he was given. As you know, we know nothing about it. We would ask that if you do come by any more of it, you submit it to the relevant authority for testing,” he turned to Nate as he said this. “This kind of development could be revolutionary for medicine.”
Nate tipped his head in a nod, “Of course,” he stated.
“So, what now?” Skye asked.
“Well, we will need to keep an eye on Noah and check regularly that things are remaining stable. I will arrange for blood tests in three months. Other than that, go home, play rugby, let him be a boy.”