“I don’t like it, but I think it has merit and something we should consider,” Fox replied. “Let me call Ox and the others in so we can all discuss this.”
“Okay.”
It seemed no matter what he did, he managed to bring chaos on to the people he cared about. If he’d known that he was still a threat, he would never have come back. He may never have met up with Marie again, but that would mean she’d be safe.
Or not.
There were so many scenarios that it was impossible to narrow it down to one. All he knew was that if someone was after him, he’d take care of it and make sure that anyone else who had plans to threaten him would find out that they would come off second best.
The sun waslow in the sky when Isaac pulled into a free bay in the hospital’s parking lot. The afternoon had been full of strategy meetings and coming up with various ideas of how to deal with the whole situation. It was decided not to dismiss Marie as being atarget all together, but focus was now being put on him and if someone from his past had decided that he needed to pay for one of the many things he’d done while he’d been undercover. Not just in the Ramirez Cartel. That had been his longest assignment, but prior to it, he’d infiltrated other organizations and had provided the necessary intel to bring them down.
When he’d first joined the DEA he’d been excited and eager and ready to clean the streets of the evil that lurked there. All it had taken was one assignment for his naïveté to be stripped away from him.
Now, here he was in his late forties, and the life he’d given up on was within his grasp but, once again, the evils in the world were trying to take it away from him. Difference this time, was he was even more determined to make sure that they were eliminated and the door closed firmly on the old part of his life. He wanted to leave it all behind, because the possibilities of what lay ahead of him were more rewarding and fulfilling than anything he’d ever done in his past.
“You good?” Irish asked the moment he walked up to the man. All during the afternoon, while they’d been discussing various plans, Irish had been contributing while making sure that nothing untoward happened at the hospital.
“Honestly? I don’t know. Everything is”–Isaacscraped a hand down his face, fatigue threatening to drown him–“a lot.”
“I know. Cass will get to the bottom of whatever’s going on. She’s pissed that she wasn’t able to get a lead on the people that followed you and tried to take Marie.” Irish’s voice softened when he talked about his wife. Isaac hadn’t known much about the man, but he’d seen how protective he was of Cass when Isaac had turned up at Alliez’s offices while he was still Javier Cortez.
“I know, and I appreciate everything she’s doing. And has done for me in the past.” Cass had been his link to the world while he’d been keeping a low profile.
“You’re important to her.”
Isaac nodded. “It’s reciprocal. I don’t want to do anything to hurt anyone.”
Irish didn’t say anything, just studied him. As if he’d come to a satisfactory conclusion, he pointed to the hospital entrance. “All good here, although their security could be taught a thing or two. They wouldn’t be able to deal with anything if shit broke loose in that waiting room.”
He looked over toward the two guards looking at their phones and not watching what was going on—something he’d noted himself while he’d been watching Marie. It didn't matter that he’d told them that there could be a threat, they just did what theywanted. “Hopefully, with what we’ve been talking about this afternoon, we won’t need to be here much longer. I appreciate you and the others taking time out of your days to keep Marie safe.”
“Nothing you wouldn’t do for any of us. I’ll be off now, but if you need anything, call.”
“I will, thanks.” They gave each other a chin lift, and then Isaac made his way inside, not bothering to acknowledge the two guards as he strode into the busy ER waiting area.
The nurses behind the triage counter changed and weren’t always the same, but Isaac recognized the two that were currently manning the desk. One lifted her hand in recognition and picked up the phone, no doubt calling Marie to let her know that he was there.
The seats were full of people waiting to be seen, none looked like they were in deep distress; those patients were tended to quickly. His admiration for the medical profession had risen ten-fold, especially those who worked in emergency. There was no down time, and each case was different.
How many people who were here needed urgent care? How many could just go to their primary care giver and be seen. Or maybe they didn’t have one, and whenever they had an issue they came to the hospital.
All those thoughts disappeared the second Marie walked through the double doors. She was withanother doctor, laughing at whatever he said. When the man placed a hand on Marie’s arm, a red haze formed behind his eyes and the burn of jealousy ate at his insides. Acting purely on emotion he strode over to them, putting his arm around Marie, not giving a fuck that he was laying claim.
“Hey Doc, how are you?” he nuzzled her neck. Logically he knew he was acting out of character. Acting more like a man three decades younger than he was, but he couldn’t help it. This primal urge to claim Marie as his possession was insistent, and he needed to lock it down before he punched the guy who still had his hand on Marie, even with Isaac standing right there, practically devouring her neck.
“Issac!” Marie squirmed, and the red haze lifted. He stepped back, putting some space between them, and he sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm the fuck down. “I’ll see you later, Brendon.”
Marie sidestepped Isaac as he went to reach for her hand and headed for the door. He didn’t even look at the other man, his attention on her retreating back and the realization that he’d fucked up majorly.
He caught up to her quickly and fell in step beside her. Marie didn’t even acknowledge his presence, and if she didn’t know that he was there for her safety, he would bet she would’ve gone in a completely different direction to him and made her ownway home.
"I’m sorry,” he said the minute he shut the door and they were cocooned in his car. “I was out of line. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”
“No you shouldn’t have. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?” Her arms were crossed over her chest and her gaze was directed forward.
He deserved this from her. He’d acted like an ass.
“In all my life, I’ve never been consumed with jealousy like I was when I saw that man’s hand on your arm. Seeing him standing so close to you set something off in me that even I don’t understand.” He rested his hand on the seat, his fingertips lightly touching her thigh. She probably didn’t even feel it, but for him the slight contact was enough for him. “I’m sorry, Doc.”
