Bodie by Nyssa Kathryn

Chapter 23

Maya’s eyes popped open at the sound of voices. Hushed voices coming from the living room.

Bodie, Oliver, and Wyatt.

Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was almost four in the morning. Bodie had fallen asleep with her, but she’d known before they’d headed to bed that he’d be leaving at some point in the night to check out a location in the hopes of finding Sinclair.

The voices in the other room continued but were too quiet to understand. Sheshould go back to sleep. After all, Bodie would tell her everything she needed to know in the morning.

Her eyes had only been closed for a second before they shot back open.

Nope. She couldn’t sleep. Not while the guys were out there, possibly discussing whether or not they’d caught Sinclair.

Creeping out of bed, Maya moved to the bedroom door. It was cracked open. A sliver of light poked through. Standing as close to the opening as possible, she could just hear the conversation.

“You have to have a lot of power to change military records,” Oliver said quietly.

There was light tapping of a keyboard before Wyatt spoke. “Being an agent in the CIA, he would have had lots of connections. Connections to people who could be bought to do just about anything.”

“He was our commander for years,” Bodie sighed, “yet he never mentioned his SEAL team from when he’d served. That alone should have been a red flag for us.”

More typing.

“Maya.”

A squeal escaped Maya’s lips and she jumped backward at Bodie’s voice. His close voice. So much closer than it had been a second earlier.

Nibbling her lip, she slowly pulled the door open to find Bodie exactly where she thought he was…less than a foot away.

Crap. He must have heard her get up. Actually, now that she thought about it, of course he did. The man had super hearing. A fact she needed to remember. He probably knew the moment she woke. She expected him to ask her why she was eavesdropping. Maybe give her a disapproving look. Something to illustrate his annoyance.

He didn’t. Instead, Bodie reached out his hand and laced his fingers through hers, leading her to the couch. He dropped down before pulling her onto his lap.

Maya relaxed against him. Loving that he trusted her enough to be part of this conversation.

Wyatt sat on the other end of the sofa, computer on his lap and focused expression on his face. Oliver stood across the room, staring at the floor, his arms folded.

She was about to look away when she noticed Oliver’s torn black shirt. There were two tears, one on the left shoulder and another on the bottom.

There were also specks of blood splattered across his arms and neck.

Immediately, Maya turned to study Bodie. He also wore a black shirt and jeans but there were no tears or blood. There was a light bruise across his cheek bone from where someone had clearly hit him.

Lifting her hand, Maya trailed her fingers across his cheek. “Are you okay?”

A small smile stretched his lips. “I’m okay. We didn’t find Sinclair tonight, but we ran into a couple of his men. We got crumbs of information. We’re going to see if we can build on it.”

Crumbs were better than no information. “What did you learn?”

“That Hylar didn’t establish Project Arma alone.” Bodie paused, the thumb of the hand on her waist sneaking beneath her shirt to stroke her skin. “Sinclair and Hylar were equally responsible for Project Arma.”

Whoa. That was a big crumb. “And you guys had no idea.”

It was more a statement than a question. She knew they had no idea. That until Maya had confirmed Sinclair’s involvement in the project, they’d only had suspicions.

“We assumed Sinclair was probably paid to protect Hylar and his organization.” That was a fair assumption. “We also found out Hylar and Sinclair served in the military together.”

“Got him.”

Bodie’s thumb stilled on her waist as everyone’s attention shot to Wyatt.

He turned the laptop around to reveal an image of eight men. They wore military attire with weapons strapped to their bodies.

Wyatt pointed to a man in the middle. “Hylar.” He shifted his finger to the man beside him. “And Sinclair. With the rest of their SEAL team.”

Maya worked hard to suppress the sliver of fear threatening to course down her spine at the sight of a younger-looking Sinclair. He looked happy. They all did.

Wyatt spun the laptop back around. “I hacked the US military files. Now that I know what to look for, it’s a hell of a lot easier.” He pressed more keys, studying the screen in front of him. “There are some reports here.”

The room remained silent.

A few seconds later, Wyatt frowned before madly typing again. Then he blew out a long breath.

Oliver stepped forward. “What is it?”

“I found a report of Hylar’s final mission. It didn’t look right to me, so I dug a bit deeper, and I found the original.”

“The original?” Bodie asked.

“I think someone rewrote it and tried to hide the original from anyone who might come looking. Unfortunately for them, most things that have been online can be found if a person looks deep enough.”

“What does the original report say?” Oliver asked.

Wyatt scanned the information. Every second that passed felt heavier. Maya could tell that it wasn’t good news by the expression on his face.

“The team was sent to South Sudan to extract some of the country’s political leaders who’d been taken hostage.” Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face. “Something went wrong. The team was captured. The military took a long time to send help. Months. By the time help arrived, Hylar and Sinclair were the only team members still alive.”

Oliver swore under his breath while Bodie stiffened.

Maya just sat there, unsure what to think or say. Movie scenes where people had been captured and tortured flashed through her mind. They must have gone through hell. And possibly had to watch their teammates be murdered. She couldn’t even imagine the pain.

“Sounds like a damn good reason to hate your country,” Oliver said quietly.

Bodie nodded. “Enough to build an army to use against it.”

* * *

Maya stepped into the bathroom.She hadn’t gone for her run today. Bodie had flat-out refused to let her, while Quinn had threatened to barricade the door with her body.

She knew they were right. Hell, she’d passed out yesterday, she should be in bed resting.

Then why did the fact that she couldn’t run make her feel so damn upset?

She knew the answer to that. Because, until now, she’d refused to let her heart be just one more thing to have power over her…and now it was.

Maya had grown so used to using runs to forget her problems. She needed that escape this morning. Needed to forget Sinclair’s voice. Needed a break from the knowledge that she needed the surgery sooner rather than later but had no means to afford it.

Closing the door, she stood at the mirror. She saw everything in her reflection. All the emotions. The exhaustion. The uncertainty about the future.

The only thing that was keeping her going was the discovery that she loved Bodie. The very fact that he hadn’t let her run this morning, that he’d protected her from herself, just confirmed it further.

Love. Even the word in her head made her want to gulp down giant breaths of air.

He was the first man she’d ever loved. And what was more, she trusted him with her heart. Trusted that her feelings were reciprocated. She’d lived thirty-three years not knowing that this kind of connection existed. A connection that drew you to another person’s soul in such an intimate way.

The tough part would be saying the words out loud. She could speak them in her head, but wasn’t sure if she was at the stage of saying them to Bodie yet.

Dropping her chin, Maya took some deep breaths. Her chest was still tight. Bodie and Quinn had been right, of course. She had to accept that running was beyond her right now.

Stripping off her clothes, she stepped into the shower. Closing her eyes, she worked on taking deep breaths.

A knock on the door had Maya’s head lifting.

“Can I come in?”

When she was quiet for a bit too long, Bodie spoke again. “Maya?”

“Uh…sure.”

She expected Bodie to talk to her from outside the shower. She was surprised when he stepped inside the bathroom, stripped naked, and got under the spray with her.

The man took up all the space in the best kind of way. The heat radiating from his body almost felt hotter than the water.

Bodie placed gentle hands on her waist. “Deep breaths with me. In,” they both took a long, slow breath in, “out.” Then slowly exhaled.

They repeated that over and over again, Maya’s eyes never leaving Bodie’s.

This was the third time Bodie had asked her to breathe with him. Each time, her chest felt that much better after.

“Tell me about your heart,” Bodie said, eventually.

“What do you want to know?” She knew what he wanted to know. But she was nervous to tell him the truth. That she needed surgery but wouldn’t be getting it. At least, not for the moment.

Bodie’s hands tightened, and he lifted her body against his. Her legs immediately wrapped around his waist. The hold was intimate. Her blood warmed at their touch.

“Do you need surgery?”

Crunch time. “Yes. I was booked for surgery. I was supposed to have it a week after the lab break-in. But I left New York.”

Not just left. Ran away and disappeared. Hid until Bodie found her.

Concern flickered across his face. “What happens if you don’t have the surgery soon?”

There was no point in lying. “I’m at risk of developing other heart, lung, and blood problems. Serious problems.”

This time, a myriad of emotions passed over his face. Worry. Frustration. Anger. Even sadness. “We’re booking the surgery today.”

If only it was that simple. “I had good health insurance when I worked for Novac Pharmaceuticals. I no longer work there, so I no longer have insurance. I don’t have the means to pay for it.” Surgery without insurance was beyond expensive. She ran her fingers across Bodie’s wet shoulder before she continued. “My plan was, when I felt safe enough, I would try to negotiate a payment plan with a hospital.”

Although, to be honest, she hadn’t put too much thought into it because she’d questioned whether she would ever feel safe enough.

“I’ve got money, Maya. You’re having the surgery.”

Bodie had his money. She couldn’t let him pay for such an expensive operation. She had no idea when she would be able to pay him back. “We haven’t been seeing each other that long.”

“Guess I fell for you fast then.”

Her eyes widened. “Fell for me…?”

“You’re right. I should say it properly. I love you, Maya.” Her breath hitched at his words. “I don’t expect you to say it back, I just need you to know that’s how I feel. I love your smile. Your sweet nature. I love that you treat customers at the bar—complete strangers—like you have all the time in the world for them. I love you.”

She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she was able to make her voice work. Her heart was working overtime, so too was her brain. “No one’s ever loved me before.”

Saying those words out loud again hurt. She’d always felt them, always been affected by them, but never voiced them before Bodie.

Bodie pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “That makes me unbelievably sad and angry. You deserve better, Maya. You deserve so much love. I hope I can even partly make it up to you. I want to make you feel as special as you are.”

God, what had she done to deserve this man? His words, his touch…they almost made her heart feel whole.

“Thank you.” She moved her hands to his neck. “I’m sorry I’m not ready to say it back yet.” She hoped she would be ready soon.

Bodie didn’t appear annoyed in the slightest. “You don’t need to say sorry for anything. Part of loving someone is being patient.” He lowered his head and touched his lip to hers.

Emotions stirred up in her chest. Warmth. Appreciation.

Love.