Maverick told the doctor not to tell anyone, and her chest tightened, making her eyes sting with tears. She let some spill down her cheeks, but soon she would have to get a grip on herself and hide her feelings.
If Maverick didn’t want anyone to know, then she would have to pretend she didn’t.
Yesterday, I was worried about losing him because we are too different, and I could put him in danger … how right I was. I just didn’t realize how easily I would hurt him!
It had been blind negligence, not a misplaced love bite or scratch that would take her lover from her. Pilar couldn’t accept this, and she didn’t know how she was going to stay by Maverick’s side without him realizing that she knew.
Pilar listened to Maverick moving around and getting dressed. The doctor had left, and it was clear that he intended to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible, even though the doctor hadn’t discharged him.
He wants to go back to work.
Of course, he did. It was the only place he felt whole and useful. He would want to try to finish his research, if at all possible.
That means you have to support him. You support everything he wants to do, and stop being so selfish!
Pilar hurried to the bathroom, washing her face and wiping away all her tears. She stared at herself in the mirror, looking into her own blue eyes with determination.
You can do this.
She gave herself a brief nod, then headed into the hall.
Maverick was coming out of his room, the loose pants and shirt she’d bought for him making him look slender and fragile. His skin was very pale, shocking against his night-black hair.
He turned to look at her with those big, deep brown eyes, and Pilar’s heart twisted in her chest.
I love him so much!
Tears threatened her again, the grief raging through her like her blood was full of razor blades. They cut her from the inside out and sliced her heart to shreds.
“Hey,” Maverick said, hurrying to her. His smile was wide, easy, and seemed completely genuine.
Only Pilar could see the exhaustion at the edge of his eyes, the strain lurking behind the smile. She tried to smile back, swallowing a lump stuck in her throat.
“Hey,” she said, relieved that her voice sounded normal. “Are we getting out of here?”
“Sure are,” he grinned. “Their poison must have been shit. I feel fine.”
“Okay,” she said, smiling even though it felt like her ribs were being broken by the effort of holding in her screams. “Let’s go.”
They went by the front desk, somber-faced nurses creating Maverick’s discharge paperwork and bidding him goodbye. Pilar stood through it all, trying to act like everything was fine, and she didn’t know that Maverick was dying right now as he stood by her side.
He wanted to go straight to the lab, and he let Pilar drive. When they arrived, she scouted his room and the surrounding halls, engaging safety locks so no one could get through without the system notifying her. An assassin could still steal a badge, but the system would let her know when someone came through so she could immediately check them out.
Maverick moved between his bench and his computer, sometimes making slides to look at in the microscope. She wanted to talk to him, touch him, but she kept her distance.
It was my stupid flirting that let him get hurt last time. I have to do my job…and honor his last moments. I have to let him work.
Her phone started to buzz, and she glanced down at the screen. Nick's name flashed there, and she sucked in a deep breath before swiping her thumb across the glass.
"Hello?"
"Where are you?"
Pilar's eyes continued to track the cameras as she talked. "At Maverick's lab."
"I got your voicemail," her boss said.
She nodded slowly, relieved. It was so unlike Nick not to be near his phone, and it only made her more panicked when she called headquarters while Maverick was unconscious and Nick was out. "How is he?"