Chapter 26

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The next day all hell broke loose.

On the newspaper's front page was a photo of her and Valentine. It was taken as they were leaving her apartment the night before and showed Valentine kissing her. The headline read, Russian Spy Living in Sleepy Savannah. The press had camped outside the hospital, and Chloe had to keep her head down as she forced her way into work.

She had only been there half an hour when she was told to go home because she was too much of a liability to work on patients for the time being. When she reached her house, the press was there too, and she had a hard time gaining access to her apartment.

Her father didn't want her, Valentine didn't want her, and now her own city didn't want her. How much lower could she sink?

She spent the next two days holed up in her apartment, waiting for the reporters to grow bored and leave. When they didn't, she was desperate to escape. Her chance came from her friends and a well-planned rescue.

Chloe heard a commotion outside and ran to the window in time to see Valentine turning to face the crowd on the sidewalk. She watched his broad shoulders tense as a million questions were fired at him at once. It had to be worse than some of the battles he had fought.

There was a knock at her window by the fire escape, and she looked over to see Silas looking back at her. It only took her a minute to race to the window and open it.

"You have five minutes to collect what you need," he instructed.

Chloe raced around the apartment without wasting time, throwing things in a bag. When she rejoined Silas, he was looking at his phone.

"Let's go," he said. There was no way for Chloe to lock the window behind her, so she would just have to take a chance that it would be alright. She was so desperate to get away that she hardly cared.

They snuck down the fire escape and to a waiting car that was in the alley behind her house. Chloe was pushed into the car and told to get down as they drove onto the main road. Lia was sitting in the passenger seat beside Silas, turned partially to face him, which left her able to keep an eye on Chloe as well.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked from the back seat where she was lying flat.

"Just a few blocks, but Silas is going to drive around for a bit," Lia explained.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a coffee shop and parked. "Wait here," Lia said as she and Silas got out and went into the shop.

They returned about five minutes later and drove a few minutes to a house that was surrounded by a tall wall. They pulled around back and into a garage. After the car stopped and the garage door closed, Chloe sat up and looked around.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Lia looked at her with a huge grin. "You get to stay in Mason Stevens's house!" Lia squealed, and Chloe saw Silas wince at the high tone. Then Chloe watched as Lia hopped out of the car with a key in her hand and darted through the door and into a courtyard beyond.

Chloe exited the car more slowly, looking across the hood at Silas.

"I guess this is one more I owe you? Thanks for saving me again." Chloe gave him a sad smile.

Silas gave her a good-humored smile in return. "Between you and Faye, it seems to be a full-time occupation."

Silas opened the back door and reached for Chloe's bag. "Valentine will be here shortly."

Chloe's eyes grew wide. "He's coming here?"

"Do you not want him to join you?" Silas asked with a frown.

"No, it's not that, but shouldn't he keep away from me right now?" Chloe followed Silas as he led the way out of the garage, into a courtyard, and through an open door into a garden-level apartment.

"And he thinks he should stay away from you right now," Silas mused as he set Chloe's bag down just inside the door to a beautiful kitchen.

"Then why is he coming here?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Because I told him the only way I would help him rescue you was if he came to stay here as well. I'm tired of watching the two of you try to figure this out. We wouldn't be in this mess if you had figured it out by now. Lia! We have to go!" Silas called.

"What does that mean?" Chloe asked.

"Ask Valentine," he insisted, turning to face Lia as she rejoined them from the back of the apartment.

"The code for the gate and door are on the table. Stay on the lower level, and don't go anywhere. The courtyard wall provides enough privacy if you want to spend some time outside," Silas explained as he led the way to the door of the apartment. "Sam Evers lives next door if you get in a bind."

Lia stopped to hug Chloe. "We miss you. It won't last very much longer."

"What won't last very much longer?" Chloe asked, frustrated that they all seemed to know what was going on, but she didn't.

"Let's go, Lia," Silas said from the doorway.

"He is so bossy, poor Faye," Lia said while sticking her tongue out at Silas. "But he is handy to have around in an emergency." Lia gave her one more hug and then followed Silas out the door.

Chloe watched Silas and Lia leave through the front gate and then retreated into the apartment, closing the door behind her. She looked around with a deep breath, taking in the elegance that surrounded her. It was utterly silent. No traffic sounds or reporters were calling out her name from the street below.

The apartment was one massive room with a set of double doors that led into a second courtyard at one end and a kitchen at the other.  Behind the kitchen was a small hallway that led to what looked like a bedroom and bathroom.

There was only one bedroom. If Valentine was staying here, where would they sleep?

Chloe wandered over to the kitchen, and after a little snooping, she found plenty of food that would last for weeks. After a few minutes, she picked up her bag and wandered into the bedroom. A nap first, then a shower. 

She had just settled into the bed when she heard the beeping of the alarm on the door as it opened. A minute later, Valentine wandered in, his eyes finding her immediately.

He sat in a chair across from the bed as they regarded each other silently.

"What's going on, Valentine?" Chloe asked.

Valentine rubbed his face with both hands, and for the first time since she had known him, he looked exhausted. She watched as he searched for where to start, but Chloe stopped him before he could begin.

"I was going to take a nap. You look as if you could use one too." She pulled back the covers and invited him to join her.

"I should explain," he tried to begin.

"No, not now. I think we will be here for a while by the look of the food in the kitchen. I've waited for days, months, years, to hear all of the answers to my questions. I can wait for another day. Come and rest. You look like you need it." Chloe watched him as he thought about actions and consequences.

"Come on, Valentine. Just let go."

He did that very thing with a deep breath as he kicked off his shoes and joined her under the covers. She wrapped her arm around his waist and buried her face in his back, inhaling his scent, while he grabbed her hand and held it tight.

It only took them moments to fall asleep.


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