“Tell me more.” It came out half yawn, half demand.
“It could be nice to have a doorway into another office where there was a whole wall of monitors. More monitors than most people would ever use at one time. But I think I know someone who might like that. With a comfortable couch to take breaks and a coffeemaker, so no one has to go down to the kitchen.”
Even with her eyes closing, Jenna’s lips curled into a smile. “See? Designing a house already.”
“Who knows? Maybe I could be good at it.”
She was fading now, her body craving the safety of sleep, and she focused on the movement of Mark’s hand in her hair. Somewhere far away, she thought she heard him say something else, but she was already gone.
* * *
When Jenna woke, Mark wasn’t next to her anymore. Her heart deflated a little before she heard the low voices nearby. Both Ian and Mark.
“Do we need to go somewhere more private?” Ian asked him.
“No,” Mark said. “Jenna already knows, if she wakes up. And it’s not like my peripheral neuropathy is going to be a secret forever.”
“It could be.” Ian’s voice was serious. “There’re any number of reasons you could use to say you didn’t want to be in the field anymore. No one has to know your business but you, Mark.”
There was a pause, and Jenna curled closer under a blanket that hadn’t been there when she fell asleep.
“I don’t want to hide it. Hiding it makes me want to feel ashamed of it, and I don’t. Is it hard? Hell yes. I don’t love the feeling of being out of control of my own body. But this is what’s happening to me. I can’t run from it, and I can’t ignore it. If I do, someone’s going to get hurt.”
“Well,” Ian said, “I respect you for that decision. And no one is going to give you shit about it on my watch, I promise you that.”
“I appreciate that.”
“So, is thistheconversation?” Ian asked.
Mark sighed. “I guess so. We both knew it was coming. I love what we do, and the idea of hanging that up is terrifying. But what happened two days ago back at the hospital? I can’t help but think it’s partially on me.”
Ian huffed a laugh. “Do I really have to tell you that you’re not responsible for the actions of a terrorist?”
“I know that. But I am responsible for letting the man who tried to kill our victim get away. My leg went dead, Ian. I let someone run straight back to Joaquin and tell him the robot was alive and protected. She could have died because of me.”
“I’ve seen the footage. Nobody else even figured out the guy wasn’t a real doctor. You saved her life way before your leg gave you shit.”
“Maybe. But what about Jenna? Obviously, Joaquin knows how involved she is if he sent all those robots after her last night. That robot at the hospital could’ve told him she was there.”
“Joaquin isn’t a fool. He’s probably known about Jenna all along. There’s no point in carrying guilt that isn’t yours, Outlaw.”
Jenna would’ve high-fived Ian if she’d been at the table. Mark wasn’t responsible for any of these attacks.
“I know.” Mark took a breath, and Jenna could have sworn it was shaky. “How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Mark laughed, but it didn’t sound like humor. “Keep your shit together when Wavy was taken? When she could have died?”
“I absolutely did not keep my shit together,” Ian said. “I don’t know. Maybe it looked like I did, but I was falling apart. Like the thing that was keeping me tied to the earth was crumbling, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Hell, it’s still hard for me to let her out of my sight.” He laughed. “Which is why it nearly gives me a heart attack every time she tries to ditch her security detail.”
“Understandable.” There was a hesitant silence before Mark sighed again. “I guess this will be my last official Zodiac assignment, then. I can’t guarantee to keep people safe, and questioning myself on missions is going to keep them even less safe.”
“I’m sorry to see you go,” Ian said. “But just because you’re not directly working for me anymore doesn’t mean you’re not part of the Zodiac family. Whatever you decide to do, whatever you need, I’ll help you.”
“Thank you. When I have a clue what I’m doing, I’ll let you know.”
Ian chuckled again. “I think you know exactly what you’re doing. And I think you’re going to be in Oak Creek a lot more now, aren’t you? Maybe permanently?”