I watched as he worked silently, dabbing antibiotic ointment across my hand. The cut was now the beginning of a bright pink scar, the infection had dissipated days ago.
After a long pause Jared answered me. “I didn’t kill him. Not that I didn’t have to exercise restraint. He gave up information, but not nearly enough. I let my emotions get in the way,” he sighed and shook his head, “he was never conscious long enough to tell me everything I needed.”
“You tortured him,” I said, watching Jared fasten the last piece of tape on the flawlessly wrapped gauze. I braced for his answer; the Jared I knew couldn’t be capable of the horror that I imagined.
“I wanted to snap his spine and throw him in the Narragansett to drown, Nina. He’s lucky he ended up with his life.”
His job was to protect me by any means necessary; I just hadn’t stopped to think what that would be. “What did you find out?”
“We’ll discuss it tomorrow. You need to rest,” he whispered. He placed me gingerly on the bed, kissing the palm of my bandaged hand.
When he tried to pull away, I squeezed his fingers with mine. “I was worried. I drove here prepared to beg you back.”
He laughed once. “In what alternate universe would you ever have to beg me back?”
“I’ve had to rip out two microphones and nearly freeze to death in the pouring rain to get you back before. Driving to your apartment and knocking on your door isn’t the most extreme measure I’ve taken.”
Jared’s expression was pained. “I noticed your car out front. I’m sorry I had to leave without an explanation. I didn’t have a choice.”
“It was better than the alternative,” I said, my grin fading as I considered the possibilities.
Jared touched the side of my face, and then left me to walk toward the stairs. I sat up to protest, but Jared paused. “I’ll be right back,” he assured me.
Relaxing against the bed, I listened to his footsteps jog down the steps, silence when he reached the couch, and in the next moment climb the stairs again.
He sat beside me and held a small red box in the palm of his hand. “Don’t get too excited. It’s nothing major.”
I smiled and took the box from his hands, pulling on the small silver loop on the top. I looked at him, raising my eyebrows in surprise.
“It’s to make up for tonight. So? What do you think?”
Hanging from the lid was a shiny silver key.
“To the loft,” he explained. “Next time something comes up, you won’t have to wait outside in the cold.”
“When did you have time to do this?” I asked, still processing the shiny object spinning around from a thin red ribbon.
Jared shrugged. “I had it made a few days ago. I’ve been meaning to give it to you, but you haven’t needed it until now.”
“You’re giving me a key?” My eyebrows lifted in disbelief.
Jared nodded and then his brows pulled together. “I promised you I would never leave you. I meant it. If something like this happens again, come here. Wait for me.” He touched his hand gently to my cheek. “I’ll earn your trust back.”
“I trust you,” I said, mimicking his expression.
Jared leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. “And I trust you. Nice work in your room today.”
I cringed. “You heard that, did you?”
Jared chuckled. “All of it. I think it’s going to take me by surprise every time I hear you say my name in perfunctory conversation. It’s a good thing Ryan….”
“It’s a good thing Ryan what?” I asked, leaning over to bring his eyes to mine.
“It’s a good thing I have patience,” Jared said, looking everywhere but my eyes.
“You have a lot of patience, but that’s not what you were going to say.”
Jared’s eyes bounced from me to the floor to other things in the room, uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed. “It has to do with what I told you we would discuss later.”
“Claire’s training has to do with Ryan?”
Jared sighed. “You’re not going to wait now, are you?”
I shook my head slowly, not sure what to expect. The two names seemed to be on different sides of the universe.
Jared leaned his head down, looking at me from under his eyebrows. “The night at the pub, when you first met Claire, Ryan put his hands on me.” I nodded and Jared continued, “When she grabbed his hand, she felt something. She felt his pain.” Jared patiently waited for me to comprehend.
“Ryan is Claire’s Taleh?” I whispered, knowing she could hear me, anyway. I couldn’t believe it, and at the same time I felt excited, like I’d just heard a juicy bit of gossip. “But, when we were mugged...,” Claire was talented, even among her kind. She wouldn’t have let Ryan be hurt in that way.
“That’s why the situation went farther than I normally allow. Claire had them targeted. It would have just taken a second to take them out, but when Ryan jumped in, Claire couldn’t get a clear shot. She couldn’t risk it. That’s when I decided to intercede.” Jared’s eyes began to cloud over. The worst was coming.