Page 28 of Blake

Waggs moved back towards them as he slid the phone into his pocket. “Decker, Reid, and I will be going with you. Also, Jack wants you to call him as soon as you can. He said you know what about.”

“Cool. Thanks, Waggs.”

“Sure. Just ice that fucking knee and we’ll see you at the airport,” Waggs said as they parted at the entrance of the hospital and he walked towards a beefed up Ford Ranger pickup.

“Let’s get what you need and go home. I need to ice my knee and call Jack.”

Chapter Twelve

Blake was exhausted. He had spent the eleven-hour flight to Los Angeles going over details of Sana Pharmaceuticals with Pax. She had told him everything she knew, including who the shareholders were. That list had included both her parents and her maternal grandfather, which he had found odd until Pax explained that it had been his financing that had allowed her father to start the company.

The company was solidly in the black, making an obscene profit each year. It had quite a few lawsuits but nothing above the norm for a company of its size. They had decided between the five of them to divide and conquer. He and Pax would start with her parents and the board members, while Waggs, Reid, and Decker would look into the lawsuits, the current trials, and see if they could find any discrepancies.

Pax had slept most of the flight, her body curled into his, legs tucked under her bum, head on his shoulder. Blake hadn’t slept. He had been watching the three men with him, one in particular. No matter how many times he’d thought back to his recent and older interactions with him, he couldn’t find any memory that sparked anything or indicated he could be the traitor.

His posture was relaxed as it always was, face open. But Blake knew liars were masters at hiding things. Add to that some specialist training like could be found in the military or FBI, and you had someone who could have a pint with you while they stabbed you in the back.

It was a sickening and terrifying thought and one that made him angry, so angry because this team had become extended family to him. There wasn’t one of them he wouldn’t die for and now one of them was causing him to question the entire team.

Blake had closed his eyes and faked sleep the rest of the flight until landing, not wanting to talk to anyone. They had collected their bags with Reid, Decker, and Waggs doing most of the carrying due to his bum leg and taken two cabs to the hotel. Pax had been almost silent the entire time and he could still feel the tense worry coming from her even now as they settled into their room.

She had been on edge since the moment she’d woken for landing and it hadn’t dissipated. He watched her walk out of the bathroom, having washed her face, brushed her hair, and wringing her hands together. It was a gesture he hadn’t seen from Pax before and he didn’t like it one bit.

The woman he was falling for was not nervous and edgy—she was confident and relaxed. Perhaps a little unaware of her own worth—something he was going to rectify with a bit of time—but she wasn’t this nervous wreck who kept watching the window and rubbing her palms together.

“Come here, Pax,” he said softly.

She looked up as if surprised to see him standing not five feet from her. Then she walked towards him without question. He opened his arms and she walked right into them planting her head on his chest and letting him hold her. “Talk to me.”

She stayed silent so long he thought she wasn’t going to share what was on her mind. “It just feels wrong being back here in this city where I grew up. I feel like I don’t fit here anymore. I was always the girl with lots of friends in the in-crowd. I thought I was the shit. I was superior and snooty, went to all the best parties, had the best clothes, best car, everything. But deep down I hated it all. The only person who ever saw that was Benny. He was my best friend and called me out on it all. He made me see that it wasn’t the real me. Then he was gone, and I was alone.” She went quiet for a minute and Blake sensed she wasn’t done. “I just hate this place and these people. They make me feel dirty, remind me of who I was, and I don’t like who I was.”

“You’re too hard on yourself, Pax.” He pulled back a little but didn’t let go of her. “Teenagers the world over think they’re superior. You got caught up in it, but you didn’t become the same adult. You saw yourself and what you were becoming and were mature enough to recognise that. I’m glad you had a friend to help you with that, but I have no doubt that you would’ve seen it on your own eventually. Look at what you’ve achieved. You help people in difficult situations. You’re the backbone of Zenobi—Roz said so herself. You need to stop being so down on yourself and start seeing what the rest of us do.”

“What do you see Blake?”

He saw the vulnerability in her eyes at the question. “I see a woman who is brave and strong, beautiful and kind. A woman who makes me want to be a better person so I’m worthy of her.”

“Blake,” she said in a whisper as she lifted her head and kissed him.

It was passionate and yet so sweet. It made his blood pump harder as he moved in closer to deepen the kiss.

A knock on the door had him pulling back with a sigh. “Time to suit up, baby,” he said with a grin. “We have to go visit the parents.”

She made a sound somewhere between a moan and grimace and he laughed as he checked the peephole and saw a grinning Reid.

“Y’all ready?” Reid leaned against the door jamb looking like he was about to go join a biker gang. Tattoos covered him from head to foot including his hands and neck, his hair was long on top and slicked back with an uppercut underneath. His accent seemed to have deepened into his southern drawl since they’d landed on US soil.

“Your South is showing,” Blake said with a smirk.

Reid’s slow grin was infectious as he replied. “Ladies love some Southern charm.”

“Yeah, I bet they do.” Blake laughed. “Give us ten minutes. We’ll meet you downstairs in the bar for a quick chat before we leave.”

“Sure thing.” With a nod he sauntered away.

Blake shook his head and smiled. Reid was a cool guy, a fantastic team member, and had earned a fearsome reputation with the FBI’s HRT team. It made it that much harder to consider him as a possible traitor. Closing the door he turned to see Pax pulling a pair of wide-leg cream trousers and a pale blush blouse from her case.

“What are you doing?” he asked slightly confused.