Beside Leo, Dameon watched Winter with his quiet eyes. When Winter met his gaze, he saw something else there, as if Dameon was asking him a question without saying a word aloud.
Winter tore his gaze away. “I’m sorry,” he said. He could hear the emotion in his own voice. “You were both only there because of me. I put you in that position.”
“We’re all adults,” Dameon replied, and this time, Winter saw sympathy in his friend’s eyes. “We came here with you because we wanted to.”
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” Leo replied. He looked around the room, a little lost, uncertain of what to do next.
“Hey,” Winter said, and his friend turned to him. “You’re going to be okay. I promise. Your family will be safe, and so will you.”
“And you?” It was a question, and Leo’s voice sounded uncharacteristically hesitant.
Dameon’s gaze was searching Winter’s face, the corners of his lips turned down into a thoughtful frown.
Winter looked back at Leo. “Me too,” he said with a nod. “We’ll figure everything out together.”
Leo seemed desperate to believe it. “Okay,” he answered.
Over by the door, Claire cleared her throat, and Leo shifted against Winter’s bed to look at her.
“Just a few more minutes, boys,” she said. “Leo, I heard from your dad. Give him a call when you’re done here, okay?”
As Leo answered her, Dameon suddenly leaned closer to Winter. “Hey,” he whispered, his voice calm and warm. Winter blinked at him. “I know there’s something going on with you that you can’t talk about. Something big.”
Winter felt heat rising on the back of his neck. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said.
Dameon shook his head. “You do,” he replied. He gave Winter asmall smile. “I haven’t been at your side almost every day for five years to not sense when something’s up with you.”
Winter stared quietly back at him, not knowing how to respond.
When he didn’t answer right away, Dameon nodded once. “I know you have your reasons, and you don’t have to tell me what they are. Maybe someday you will.” He searched Winter’s face again. “Just remember who’s here for you. You don’t have to work alone.”
Alone. It was a coincidental statement for Dameon to make—and reminded him of how Sydney had once told him about the loneliness of being an agent. Winter felt himself nodding in return. He thought of all the times when Dameon was able to read his mind, sense his emotions, know when he was exhausted or sad or uncomfortable without ever hearing Winter utter a word about it. His instincts were always impeccable.
Then Leo was turning back to them, and Dameon had leaned slightly away again, the knowing light in his eyes fading to their usual serenity. He nudged Leo. “We should go,” he said, glancing at Winter. “Let him rest.”
Leo nodded. “Right. Yes.” He gave Winter a hesitant smile. “See you back in the States?”
Maybe Winter would take his secrets to his grave. But at least he could still walk through the rest of his life with them. He smiled, then leaned toward Dameon and Leo as if they were huddling before a concert. They leaned instinctively to him in return. He felt their arms around his shoulders, pulling him in. Over their shoulders and by the door, Winter saw Claire rest her head against the doorframe and give him a knowing nod.
“I have news,” she said.
36
The Heart Is Wide and Deep
Claire waited for the boys to leave before entering. For once, she didn’t look entirely put together. Her yellow collar shirt had a noticeable coffee stain on its sleeve, and a smudge was clear on her glasses, as if she’d fallen asleep with them pressed against her face and hadn’t bothered to wipe them clean yet.
Winter raised an eyebrow at the sight of her coffee cup—a disposable one from the hospital. “You never drink anything that’s not cold brew,” he said, right before she put the cup down on his dresser and enveloped him in a hug.
“Limited options at the hospital,” she said. “But believe me, I’ve got one of our guys out right now searching for a decent cup of coffee.”
“Ouch,” he groaned.
“Sorry,” she breathed, letting go of him and extending her arms wide. “How are you feeling? I know it’s only been a week.”
Winter blinked. He didn’t know he’d been in here for that long. Already, the memory of Leo and Dameon visiting him earlier felt like a blur. He shrugged, careful of what he could say in front of her. He had just run a dangerous mission for a private agency; he’d been shot and kidnapped and nearly killed. His body felt destroyed in a way that it’d never been even after his most grueling performances. His mind was unsteady, exhausted.
“What have the doctors been saying?” he asked.
