Bodie by Nyssa Kathryn

Chapter 29

Bodie tightened his fingers around Maya’s hand. She looked small in the hospital bed. Small and still. Seeing her like this made his chest ache.

She’d been unconscious for hours. An X-ray of her chest had been taken when they’d arrived, but medical staff wouldn’t tell him a damn thing. They just kept repeating the same line—that he wasn’t family so they couldn’t disclose any information, but hopefully she’d wake up soon.

That didn’t cut it for Bodie. Not even close.

He wasn’t going to rest on hopefully. He wanted answers—and he wanted them now.

Wyatt currently sat in the hall working at hacking the hospital files, while Oliver was seeing what physical files he could get his hands on without being noticed.

Christ, this was a mess. The only small positive was that while he and Oliver had searched for Maya and Sinclair, Wyatt had remained with the doctor in the cabin. Forced the asshole to list the contents of the syringe. Every ingredient, including quantities.

When Wyatt applied some extra pressure, the doctor also disclosed the parts of the story that had been missing. About Sinclair’s heart condition. About him arriving at the New York hospital all those weeks ago with the intention of killing Maya, only to change plans when he discovered her heart defect.

But it was the knowledge that Sinclair and his six men were the only ones from the CIA working with Hylar that had them all feeling just slightly calmer. Like Bodie, Wyatt could spot when a man was lying. The doctor hadn’t been.

Once Wyatt had acquired all the information they needed, he’d gotten rid of the guy, making sure no one would find the body. No one felt a second of guilt over it. The man had admitted to killing people with his drug experiments. The world was a better place without him in it.

Bodie dipped his chin to his chest, closed his eyes, and listened to Maya’s heartbeat. It was the only thing keeping him sane. He needed her to be okay. To open her eyes and look at him.

As if she’d heard his thoughts, Maya’s breathing changed. It shifted from long, deep breaths, to short, erratic ones. At the same time, the soft pitter-patter of her heart sped up a notch and her hand beneath his twitched.

Maya was waking.

Bodie tightened his fingers around her hand and leaned closer. He had no idea what she would remember or how she would feel. Hell, he had no idea of her medical state at all.

He did know that he would be there for her. Support her through whatever she was feeling, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Maya’s eyes fluttered open. They immediately went wide, riddled with anxiety. Her head pivoted to face him. The moment their gazes clashed, some of the anxiety was replaced with relief.

“Bodie…”

He breathed his first deep breath in twelve hours. Her gentle voice was everything. “Hi there, sweetheart.” With his free hand, Bodie moved stray hairs from her face, grazing the softness of her skin with his finger. “You have no idea how glad I am to see those beautiful eyes.”

From the moment she’d gone missing, he’d been so damn worried. It had been an agony more intense than any he’d ever felt. And seeing that syringe in her chest…His world had stopped.

A small frown married her brows. Then her hand flew to her chest. “The needle—”

The door to their room opened, causing Maya to go silent. Wyatt and Oliver stepped inside. Neither looked like they were about to drop some bad news on them. Hopefully, that meant they’d found some good news.

“Hey there, darlin’. How you feeling?” Oliver asked in a gentle tone.

The edges of her lips lifted slightly, like she was trying to smile but couldn’t quite get there yet. “Not too bad, I think. I mean, I feel some odd aches and pains from what happened in the woods,” Bodie’s jaw tightened at the reminder, “but recently, I’ve been waking up with a tight chest and some shortness of breath. I don’t feel any of that right now.”

Neither Oliver nor Wyatt seemed surprised by Maya’s words. In fact, they actually had smiles on their faces. Like they knew something Maya and Bodie didn’t.

“Did you find out about Maya’s condition?” he asked, even though his gut already told him they had.

“Yes.” Wyatt’s brows creased as he scratched his head. “That drug Sinclair gave you clotted the hole in your heart.”

Air whooshed out of Bodie’s chest. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. What he’d been praying to hear. The relief was almost overwhelming.

“The scans barely show where the hole was, actually,” Wyatt continued.

He heard Maya’s quick intake of breath. “How is that possible?”

Oliver chuckled. “That’s funny. It’s exactly what the doctors are asking out there. The shock on their faces actually made me laugh. Not often you see a bunch of smart people looking confused.”

Bodie was shocked too, and he didn’t even work in the medical profession. Everything he’d read said that if the hole was too big to close on its own, surgery was the only option.

“The drug he pushed into your heart formed a gel-like structure and found the hole. Then it turned solid.” Wyatt looked as stunned as Bodie felt. “Everyone’s both shocked and impressed. But I shouldn’t be too surprised. If Project Arma can turn men like us into whatever the hell we are, clotting a hole in the heart isn’t a stretch.”

Oliver’s smile widened. “They’re saying that this could be a major medical breakthrough. Could help a lot of people.”

It was about time something good came from Arma.

Bodie lifted Maya’s hand and pressed a kiss to her skin. “Thank god for that.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Maya said softly. “I wasn’t expecting to survive.”

The muscles in Bodie’s body tightened. She had expected to die. The knowledge was like a physical blow.

Oliver shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, we’re done delivering the good news. We’ll wait in the hall.”

“Quinn’s just grabbing coffees from the cafeteria. She should be back in a couple of minutes.” Wyatt shook his head. “Usually, I tease her about her coffee obsession, but she’s been up all night, so I’ll let this one slide.”

Maya chuckled. It was music to Bodie’s ears.

Oliver and Wyatt stepped out of the room. When it was just the two of them again, Maya’s expression sobered. “What happened to Sinclair and the doctor?”

“They’re both dead.”

Maya closed her eyes and sighed. There was so much relief in that sound. “It’s over.”

It wasn’t over. Not yet. Sinclair was but one piece of the Project Arma puzzle. But at least they’d eliminated another chunk of Hylar’s team. They’d weakened him even further. And they would continue to weaken him until the man had nothing. Then they would destroy him.

* * *

Maya steppedinto Inwood Bar and immediately wanted to cry. The place looked nothing like it had a week ago. The explosion had turned the middle half of the bar into ash and blown out the wall between the bar area and the kitchen. A significant amount of roof and flooring was black.

Bodie’s arm tightened around her waist, and he pressed a kiss to her temple.

“This is our fault,” Maya whispered.

“No.” Bodie shook his head. “This is not your fault or mine. This is a hundred percent Sinclair’s.”

Maybe. But Maya was the one who’d decided to come here. Now, because of Trish’s kindness in employing Maya, the woman’s bar was destroyed.

Footsteps sounded from the hall before Trish stepped into view. When her eyes landed on them, Maya half expected to see anger. Maybe even disappointment.

She saw neither of those things.

The older woman sighed before crossing the room and pulling Maya into her arms. It took a moment for Maya to snap out of her shock and hug the woman back.

“I am so darn happy that you’re okay, girl.” Trish pulled away but held on to Maya’s arms. “You scared the crap out of me, missy. When the firefighters finally got everything under control and you and Bodie were missing, I just about lost my mind.”

Maya’s brows creased together. “Weren’t you worried about your bar—”

Trish scoffed. “The bar is a physical structure. It and everything in it can be replaced. That’s what insurance is for. You can’t be replaced.”

Maya’s chest heated at her kind words.

Trish studied her face. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.” Better than okay, actually. She had a fully intact heart now. A heart that was also full of love, thanks to the wonderful man beside her.

“Good. I can’t believe that no-good ex of yours threatened Tina with deportation if she didn’t blow up the bar. That’s a whole new level of psychopath.”

Maya gave a tight nod.

Trish had been told part truth and part lie. Tina had been threatened with deportation for her and her mother if she didn’t set off the bomb in the bar. But of course, the threat had come from Sinclair, not an ex.

They still didn’t know the exact details of how it all happened so quickly. Barely any time had passed between them handing in their resignation, Tina being hired, and that fateful explosion. The only thing they could assume was that Sinclair must have been watching. Watching the bar and everyone who came and went. Being in the CIA, he also had connections. People who could do background checks and find information to be used against a person.

Truth be told, Maya felt sorry for Tina. She’d become unfairly entangled in this mess. To protect herself and her mother, she’d been forced to do something terrible, and was now paying the price.

At the sound of the door opening, Maya turned her head to see Roe entering. He joined them, studying Maya with an intensity she hadn’t quite seen on his face before. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’m okay.”

Roe looked at Bodie. She saw him nod from her peripheral vision.

Roe nodded back. “Good. They catch the asshole?”

“Yes,” Bodie answered before Maya could.

He was silent for a moment before nodding once again. Then he turned to Trish. “My usual, please.”

Maya had to laugh. “There’s only half a bar left and you’re still coming in?”

The man didn’t so much as pause as he took a seat. “Yep. There’s still Trish and there’s still beer.”

Maya understood. This was the guy’s second home. Truth be told, this place had become a bit of a home to Maya, too. She was going to miss it. Not the bar, but the people.

Maya and Bodie stuck around for another couple of minutes, chatting. Shayna popped in during that time and also said a goodbye. The goodbyes were hard. So much harder than she’d expected.

Her heart was full though. The people she’d met in the last few months had all helped to heal her.

When they stepped out, Bodie took Maya’s hand as they headed to the car. “How far is Marble Falls again?” she asked.

“Far enough that a plane is needed. Not so far that we can’t come back and visit.”

That didn’t sound so bad. “Often?”

Maya wanted to make visiting these people—this town—a regular occurrence. With Bodie by her side, of course.

Bodie released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Once we’ve caught Hylar, we can visit as often as you like.”

God, she loved him. “I’m going to miss them.” After being alone for so long, finally having people around who cared about her was a new and wonderful feeling. But she knew they couldn’t stay. Bodie needed to be in Marble Falls. He’d become the single-most important person in her life, so she chose him. Just like she’d always choose him.

“I know. I’m sorry we have to leave. I’m excited for you to meet the rest of my team though. I know I’ve said this before, but everyone’s going to love you.”

She was a bit nervous, especially about meeting the men. They were so important to Bodie that she wanted to make a good impression.

Quinn, Oliver, and Wyatt were all amazing. If the rest of the team was anything like them, she didn’t think she had anything to worry about.

They stopped at the car, but when Maya reached for the handle, Bodie put pressure on her hips to turn her around. “I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but you’re amazing. The way you took on Sinclair. Ran and fought for your life…”

She leaned into him. Absorbing his warmth and strength. “Thank you. But I think you’re the amazing one, Bodie. Thank you for coming for me.”

“I’ll always come for you.”

Lowering his head, he touched his lips to hers. The loneliness that had become a constant companion in her life was no longer there. Bodie had replaced it with his love and his unwavering commitment.