Page 41 of Resolution

He held up his hand when Raven opened his mouth to argue. I could see it on his face but Dr. Reeves went on.

“Raven, I promise that we know what we’re doing. You and Miguel are not going to get lost in the system. We won’t let that happen. Yes, the job you were hired to do is to find the missing gems. But in a way, the work we’re doing here, will accomplish the same goal. But your recovery cases have turned into way more than finding diamonds and rubies. An insurance investigator was brutally murdered, a vicious Mexican drug cartel is involved, and former CIA operatives want you out of the way because the moment you arrested Lyle Trench, you became first a nuisance and then a target. Alex Filmore and probably others, are still out there. Do you get how dangerous things have gotten? You and Miguel need to be taken off the board so that we can put all these men behind bars.”

Raven nodded, and I could see that the kind doctor had finally gotten through. He’d made a lot of good points. “Okay, Dr. Reeves. When you put it like that, of course, I’ll cooperate.” He looked around at all the agents before glancing at me. “You need to lie down. You’re green around the gills.”

I nodded, grateful that he was always on my side. I squeezed his hand and then said to Dr. Reeves, “Thank you, Doctor. We understand and we’ll help you any way we can.”

Lincoln stood. “Okay then. Why don’t you get some rest, Miguel. We’ll meet again tonight to let you know what kind of progress we’ve made in hunting these fuckers.” He smiled, and again I was reminded how good and true all these FBI agents were.

I stood on shaky legs, and Raven got off the couch with me. “Thank you for having our backs.”

Snow stepped forward and held out a hand to me. “Get some rest, Miguel. Raven’s right. You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”

“I feel like it,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Thanks again, Lincoln,” Raven said. “We promise to be no trouble at all for you.”

We left the room then, heading down one of the hallways to a massive bedroom at one end of the suite. The room was furnished with heavy, polished cherry wood furniture and a huge four poster bed covered by a pale yellow comforter with small light green flowers of some sort. It looked so soft and inviting, all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and sleep for a year. Instead, Raven led me to a bench at the foot of the bed and then pulled me down on it.

I reached for him but instead, he squatted to pull off my shoes and socks, putting them aside. “Stay put,” he said, going to one of the large suitcases and pulling out my favorite plaid, flannel sleeping pants and the oversized Abba T-shirt he’d bought me for Christmas. I wore it to run practically every morning and then threw it into the washer soaked in sweat afterward. It had been washed so many times, the cotton felt like heaven when I put it on. Raven knew me so well.

“Let me help you into these,” he said, walking over.

I stood to pull off the sweatpants and grudgingly let him help me into the clothes. Before he could walk away to start the unpacking I knew he was itching to do, I wrapped him up in my arms and kissed him.

“How’s the head?” he asked, breaking the kiss and looking me over critically as he leaned back.

I kept him in my arms and offered him a smile. “I’m good but I’m more worried about you. Are you scared?”

He shrugged, looking deeply into my eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. There’s a contract killer hunting us, we’ve been forced to flee our home after stashing my nana at her nurse’s house, and FBI agents are our new roommates. Shouldn’t I be a little scared?”

I had to concede that. They were facts. “Yeah, just a little, but Snow’s on it. With not only the FBI, but also Homeland Security, and the U.S. Marshals Service searching for our would-be killer, I think they’ve got it covered, Raven, just like Doctor Reeves said. He made a good point. All those agencies are in essence doing what we were doing. And don’t forget, the CIA is pissed as hell that Alex Filmore, an operative that they trusted, is caught up in war profiteering on a massive scale. They’re no doubt hunting him not only overseas where they have the mandate to do so, but here in the States too. They have egg on their face and they can’t have that. It makes them look like total fuckups.”

“I’d argue that the CIA is full of total fuckups already,” he said, letting me go. “Now, get in bed. You need a lot more sleep to combat your head injury and I need to get these bags unpacked before everything wrinkles. Four minutes wasn’t long enough to neatly pack everything we needed.”

I sighed, letting him go. He was right. I was fucking exhausted. I walked over to the bed, threw off the decorative pillows in the center of it, and slid between what felt like 1000-count sheets that were as soft as butter. I’d have to write a letter to Sheraton to tell them how lovely my stay was. I closed my eyes, listening to the love of my life walking around the room, putting things away, and a few minutes later, I’d drifted off, safe in the knowledge that Raven and I were protected, at least for now.

I opened my eyes sometime later and glanced at the clock, noting that several hours had passed. I was lying in a comfortable bed in the darkened hotel bedroom, but when I rolled over and reached for my better half, the other side of the bed was cold. Sitting up, I looked around for Raven. He was nowhere to be found. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood, swaying just a bit. Tentatively touching my forehead, I noticed most of the swelling was gone.

I blew out a long breath, knowing Raven would be relieved, and I considered playing down how fucking miserable I felt. However, my head was killing me again. I needed more meds even though I hated taking them. I’d had several concussions during my years in the Marine Corps, but I’d never had one like this. This was going to be a much different recovery, so it was probably a good thing I didn’t have to work. The pain was making everything difficult and I knew that drawing a weapon to defend myself or worse, Raven, would be tricky with slowed reflexes.

I headed toward the bathroom on shaky legs just as the bedroom door opened, letting light flood into the room. I squinted instantly.

“Miguel!”

Raven rushed over and grabbed me by both biceps. “Sit down. You’re not steady on your feet.”

I took a few steps to the bench where I’d been sitting before, hating the fact that my overprotective partner was right. He squatted in front of me.

“Look, baby, I know you hate thinking of yourself as an invalid but you’re not. You are the strongest person I know.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “At the moment, though, you’ve had a traumatic brain injury which is going to take time to heal. You need to take care of yourself.”

I wanted to protest but he held on tight. “Look at me, Miguel. I’m not letting up on this.” His cobalt blue eyes were beautiful in the dim light. “Take it easy, that’s all I’m asking.”

I nodded, saying nothing.

“Did you get some rest? Do you need pills? Are you hungry?”

I smiled. “So many questions.”

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