“Alex? You alright?”
Startled, Alex turned, nodding. “Fine. Just a little left over jet lag. No problem.” She smiled at Teren, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Teren raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. She’d find out what was wrong eventually, but right now, she’d give Alex the space she needed.
“Okay, then. Let’s get going.”
Alex nodded, and led the way out the door.
Teren confronted her in the car. “Alex?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you worried about seeing David?”
Alex glanced at her partner, and shrugged.
“Still feeling guilty?”
“Mm. Maybe a little.”
“Is that the reason you’re being so quiet?”
They stopped at a red light, and Alex turned to glare at her. “You know for someone with a reputation for being silent you’re asking an awful lot of questions, Teren.”
It was Teren’s turn to shrug. “Sorry.” She paused. “So, is that the reason?”
Her partner sighed, and stepped on the accelerator.
“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head. “It’s Miri. I know you said she forgave me, but I still —”
“No, Alex, she didn’t forgive you, because there was nothing for her to forgive. She apologized, because what she said that night was out of line.”
“But I promised to prote-”
“And you did the best you could. Besides,” Teren smiled gently, “you promised to protect him from me. And I never touched him.”
The corners of Alex’s mouth twitched upwards. “No, you didn’t.”
“So, you kept your promise. The rest of it — well, that’s just something else we need to pay CJ back for.” Her face was grim. “And we will, pal.”
Alex nodded. “Yes, we will.”
Alex turned the car into the driveway at David’s house, and stared at the front door. Her mind kept going back to the night of the ambush, when she’d used her cell phone to call Miri from the hospital.
“Alex? What’s wrong?”
“Miri — I’m sorry. There’s been a shooting —”
“A shooting? Are you alright?”
“I’m —”
“Is David okay?”
Alex took a deep breath. “He’s been shot, Mir. And,” she swallowed, “it’s bad.”
There had been only the static of the phone line for a moment. Then she’d heard a gasp and a sob.
“Miri, I’m sorry. We were ambushed, and Rick was killed — David and Ken —”
“Is David going to die?”
She squeezed her eyes shut against the tears. “I don’t know. I wanted you to hear it from me, first, before Cliff or the doctors called. He was shot in the chest, and last I knew they were taking him into sur-”
“Why, Alex?”
The distraught agent stopped. “Why what?”
“Why? Why didn’t you protect him?You said you would protect him, you promised!” Miri was sobbing openly, half screaming into the phone. “You promised! You lied, and now he’s gonna die. Why didn’t you protect him, Alex?”
“Miri —”
“No! No, don’t even talk to me. He’s the one who’s been hurt, when you promised he wouldn’t be, and you — you — it should have been you, Alex! It should have been you.”
Alex could hear the agony in the other woman’s voice, and it mirrored the pain in her own heart. She was stunned at the accusations, but realized that she did feel responsible — she had been in charge, and had allowed her team to be slaughtered. Miri’s words rang in her ears, even as her sobs cut Alex’s heart.
“Mir—”
The connection ended, and she stared at her now silent cell phone.
“Alex?”
Teren’s voice startled her out of her memories, and she glanced up to find her partner looking at her with concern.
She smiled, putting as much cheer into as she could. Alex knew it wouldn’t fool Teren, but all she wanted to do was get this over with.
“I’m alright, Ter. Really.” She took a deep breath. “Just needed a moment. I’m fine now.”
Teren nodded slowly, but reached out with one hand. “Remember. I’m here for you, partner.”
Alex raised an eyebrow, knowing what that term meant to Teren. She squeezed the offered hand, and smiled a little wider.
They were just a few steps from the front door when it opened, and Miri held the screen door open.
Teren led the way up the stairs, letting Miri give her a hug. Then she stepped back, and reached a hand toward Alex.
For a moment, the two friends just stared at one another. Then Miri reached for Alex’s shoulder and drew her in for a tight hug.
“I’ve missed you, my friend.”
Alex felt a stinging in her eyes, and she pulled away slightly, not wanting to cry on Miri’s shoulder. “I’ve missed you, too, Mir.”
They smiled at each other, then Miri seemed to remember Teren standing in the doorway, and she motioned for both of them to go into the house ahead of her.
“Well, don’t just stand there, go on in. David’s probably ready to come find you himself.”
Alex followed Teren, aware of Miri’s hand on her own shoulder as the smaller woman walked behind her. “How’s he doing? Ken said he was good, but —”
Teren stepped aside to let Alex and Miri pass her. Miri guided Alex into the living room, then stepped away.
Alex stared at her old partner, who was sitting on the couch. He was wearing his pajamas, and wrapped in blankets. As she stood there, he turned from his conversation with Ken, and stared at her.
He was pale, she noticed, and looked much thinner. But the spark in his eyes when he saw her let her know that he was doing very well indeed.
A grin broke across his face, and he reached out with his arms.
“I’m not allowed off the couch, but if you don’t come give me a hug, I’ll get up anyway.”
With a chuckle, Alex walked to him, leaning down to give him a hug. David pulled her down, onto the couch with him. She sat there until her eyes stung, then pulled back.
“You look great, Dave.”
“Thanks. You look pretty damn good yourself.” He grinned, and looked over at Teren, eyeing the bandage on her head. “You, however, look like shit. Didn’t anyone ever teach you to duck?”
She laughed, then leaned over to give him a brief hug as well. His eyes showed his surprise, and delight at the gesture.
“I did duck, Dave. If I hadn’t, the bullet would have hit me in a much worse place.”
“Like the head isn’t a bad place itself?”
Teren grinned at him as she took a seat on an easy chair near Ken. “Not this head.” She thumped the top of it for emphasis. “Too hard. Just ask Alex.”
The four of them were chuckling, when Miri entered the room. She was carrying Arlea.
“Alex, there’s someone else here that wanted to see you.” Miri carefully placed the little girl in Alex’s lap. “She missed you too, you know.”
Arlea immediately threw her arms around her playmate, and began babbling at her. Alex, in shock, wrapped her arms around the child.
The tears refused to be halted this time, and they spilled down her cheeks as she sobbed on Arlea’s shoulder.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Alex watched Arlea sleep in her crib. Every few minutes she’d reach down and stroke the girl’s hair, touching her gently, lovingly.
She hadn’t meant to break down like she did, but the contrast between the absolute good of the tiny child, and the absolute evil that she and Teren had been fighting, had suddenly overwhelmed her. Holding onto her playmate, she’d sobbed for several minutes, with Teren softly stroking her back. Ken and David had looked concerned, as Miri had finally convinced her to stand, and carry Arlea with her to the baby’s room.
There, she’d sat in the rocker that Miri normally used, and held her friend tight, even as Miri had knelt beside them and sung a soft lullabye. Once Arlea was asleep, Miri had placed her in the crib and Alex had watched, her eyes half closed, as Miri put a blanket over her and left the room.
Alex knew she should go downstairs and rejoin the group, but she wanted just a few more moments of peace, as she watched her playmate slumber.