Fire and Ice (Guardians Book 1)

Rick Grayson gripped his head as he tried to shake off the vacuum that had threatened to swallow him. He could barely hear a thing. He shook Lizveta beside him to get her attention and gave her the thumbs up to ask her if she was okay. She nodded her head, still in a daze.

Forcing himself to his feet, he trudged slowly through the aftermath of an illeoic gas explosion. It had punched a huge hole in the ceiling revealing the first floor. It’s surprising that the whole house had not collapsed on them.

“Maia!” Rick shouted. His voice sounded strange and distant from himself. He winced at the carnage and tangle of limbs by the door. His heart sank as he looked at the area where Maia was supposed to be and found nothing. It was like a tidal wave had pushed everything to the back of the room.

“Maia!” Rick yelled again in increasing panic. He started turning over floor boards and God knows what other debris looking for a sign of the red-haired AGS Guardian. He saw the wood table and what looked like a dust-covered limb sticking out from underneath it.

“Oh my God,” Rick muttered as he carefully heaved the heavy table away to reveal the unmoving body of Maia Pierce. “No, no, no,” Rick sank to his knees as he reached out to feel a pulse. He couldn’t discern one and started CPR. Almost immediately Maia coughed and started choking, Rick assisted her and rubbed her back. Then he made her lie down again as he gestured for Lizveta to approach.

“Make sure she stays awake,” Rick ordered even if he wasn’t sure Lizveta could hear him at this point but she appeared to understand.

Rick walked around the demolished laboratory looking for something with which to hoist them up. He made himself walk over the grouping of dead bodies to see if there was a way to use the basement stairs, but the explosion caused the wall and ceiling to cave-in and block the passageway.

Great job, Maia, Rick thought in derision.

Rick saw the flashing lights first before he could make out the sounds of the siren. He heard someone shouting but could not understand what they were saying.

“Here! We’re down here!” Rick shouted.

A fireman peered down the open floor.

Rick pointed to his ears. “Explosion messed up my hearing. I won’t be able to understand verbal instructions.”

The fireman nodded and disappeared to return with a couple more first responders. They were assessing the stability of the structure. Some of them were shocked at the bloody mess by the door.

While they figured out how to get them out of the basement, they lowered some food, water and blankets to the survivors below. They also lowered a notepad so Rick could write down some contact information that may be useful, like the DEA’s Joe Kennedy and what caused the explosion. Rick was tempted to write: Maia Pierce.

After what felt like forever, ropes were lowered and rescue workers started to rappel down. They had to call in people with the experience to deal with such rescue. Two people carrying a stretcher approached them.

“What happened?” the lead person asked.

“She got thrown by the explosion. She was hunkered down over there and ended up over here. I couldn’t keep her conscious. Her name is Maia,” Rick said.

The paramedic nodded grimly.

“Maia,” the man said as he tapped her cheek lightly. “Maia, wake up.”

Her eyes blinked and she croaked, “What…where am I?”

He waved the beam of a flashlight on her eyes. Her pupils remained dilated and she was unresponsive.

“Shit, she’s got severe concussion and is in shock. We need to get her to the trauma unit ASAP.”

The AGS chopper descended a short distance from the grouping of emergency vehicles parked in front of a massive colonial-style home. A gaping hole was visible in the side of the house. The implication of an explosion and someone in critical condition kept replaying itself in Jack’s mind. He kept consoling himself that if Rick was okay, then Maia should be too. Hadn’t she just survived a boat explosion? Christ, wasn’t that just a little over a week ago? At the rate he worried about her, it was surprising he had not had a heart attack by now.

Jack spied Rick Grayson among the numerous police officers, firemen and EMTs at the scene. The minute the helicopter touched down, Jack jumped off and headed straight for the DEA agent.

“Rick!” Jack yelled. Grayson turned and broke into a smile.

“Jack! Can’t believe how glad I am to see your ugly face.”

“You OK, man?”

“Banged up and a bit deaf but otherwise …”

“Is Maia with you?”

Rick’s face sobered which sent a twinge of fear racing through Jack’s nerves.

“They’re stabilizing her. They should hoist her up any moment.”

“What?” He had trouble comprehending what Rick meant.

“Come on,” Rick said as he walked over to the crater over the first floor. A police officer moved to stop them but Rick explained that they were part of the team involved in the operation.

“Jesus Christ, what happened here?” Jack said as he took in the rubble and the smattering of bodies and body parts. And then his heart stilled as he spotted Maia in a neck brace getting hoisted up in a stretcher. “Maia!”

Turning to Rick, “What the hell happened?”

“Short story?” Rick sighed. “We were running out of ammo, Reznikov and his men were bearing down on us, Maia decided an illeoic gas tank explosion was the best option.”

Jack was speechless. Though he wanted to throttle his woman for coming up with such insane idea, he couldn’t disagree that it wasn’t an effective plan given the circumstances.

“Why am I not surprised?” Viktor muttered behind them.

“The blast threw her against the wall. Believe me, we were arguing about who was going to take the shot, but she insisted it be her. Said I was the most qualified to dig her out.”

“Hmm, it would be a shame to have her survive the explosion only to be murdered by her boyfriend,” Derek added as he watched Jack’s jaw clenched in response to the news of Maia’s disregard for her safety.

“And Reznikov?” Viktor asked.

“Somewhere between the wall and the floor, I presume,” Rick said showing no regret about the Russian’s brutal demise. Turning to the three men he said solemnly, “Maia is one crazy chick and we’ve had our differences on how to handle things. But no question, she saved my life.”

Rick suddenly gripped the crown of his head. “I need to have myself checked out. I have this blasted headache and my hearing is not a hundred percent. I’ll probably see you guys around at the hospital.”

Maia’s stretcher reached the first floor and Jack rushed to meet it. A paramedic cautioned him on what to expect. “She has some cognitive difficulties.”

But Jack didn’t seem to hear him. His focus was on Maia. “Hey, babe. You are going to be fine.” He walked with the stretcher towards the waiting medical chopper.

Her blue eyes were glazed in pain, her face had some bruising and a frown creased her forehead. “What?”

“Maia, babe, everything is going to be all right, I’m right here.”

“Sorry…who…who… are you?”

Jack stopped short in dismay as they loaded the stretcher on the chopper and slammed the double doors shut in his stunned face.

Derek and Viktor caught up with him. He turned to them and said slowly, “She doesn’t know who I am.”

“Damn,” Derek said.

She first became aware of voices. Hushed murmurs and whispers talking about memories, head injuries and … explosions? How she wanted to tell them to go away but her body wouldn’t move and her eyes were so heavy. When the jumble of voices receded there was that one deep baritone voice she found appealing and comforting, her anchor in the blackness. He was begging her to open her eyes, for her to come back to him.

She tried to climb out of the chasm of darkness that seemed to have engulfed her, but she couldn’t. She could only wander in oblivion, a dark tunnel of nothingness.

Maia’s eyes fluttered open. Her eyes caught sight of a woman in light blue scrubs arranging the covers by her feet. Off to the corner, a big man was slouched uncomfortably in a chair. He was sleeping but his face looked weary, covered in more than a day’s worth of stubble. She must have made a sound because the woman jerked her head up and moved quickly to reach for something behind the bed.

A person in a white coat appeared, the big man on the couch also got up and hovered anxiously behind the doctor.

“Maia,” the doctor said as he waved a beam of light on her eyes which annoyed the heck out of her. She tried to move her head but the doctor held it steady. “Maia, can you hear me?”

What do you think? Maia wanted to rant but couldn’t bring herself to speak. The doctor shifted to the other eye and continued speaking to her. The voice started to fade as she promptly fell back to sleep.

When next she opened her eyes, the dark-haired beautiful stranger was peering down at her. His face still looked gaunt but a smile lit up his face. His hand was stroking her hair gently. She stiffened at his touch. He frowned and took his hand away.

“You probably don’t remember me,” he said ruefully.

“What happened?”

“You were in an incident, an explosion. You got banged up pretty badly.”

“An explosion?”

He nodded. Maia peered up at him suspiciously but he started to look familiar, dearly familiar actually, as pieces of her memory started unlocking themselves in her brain. She flinched, the flashcards in her head were getting too much for her to bear.

“Maia?” He sounded worried. “Is there anyone you want me to call?”

A name immediately popped in her mind.

“Viktor.”

The man’s face fell but he nodded. He moved to kiss her on the forehead but Maia shrank away. His eyes suddenly filled with anguish, his jaw tightening as if controlling a strong emotion.

“I’ll go get him,” he mumbled hoarsely.

But as he turned away, Maia suddenly remembered him along with a wave of the tender feelings that came with the memory.

“Wait!” she said urgently.

He turned around, an unspoken question furrowing his brows.

“Jack?” Maia whispered tremulously.

A huge smile broke across his face as he rushed back to her bedside.

“God, Maia,” he said brokenly as he gingerly hugged her and buried his face in her hair. “Thank God. I was afraid… I missed you.”

“How long was I out?”

“Almost 24 hours.”

“Oh…I’m tired, I don’t think I can keep my eyes open.” Maia slumped as the mental exercise of memory recovery took its toll on her.

“That’s okay, babe. I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Jack promised.

As Maia slept, Jack was overcome with huge relief. He even said a little prayer of thanks. When she asked for Viktor, he felt a burn of resentment. He knew the amnesia wasn’t her fault but he couldn’t help how he reacted. When she pulled away when he tried to kiss her forehead, it hurt. Real deep. Just when he felt like throwing himself in front of a bus, she called him back and said his name. Man, was that sweet. It took all his restraint not to kiss her senseless.

Bending down and giving a sleeping Maia a light kiss, Jack made his way to the hospital cafeteria. Derek had texted him that he and Viktor had just returned from the DEA offices and were grabbing something to eat. Jack didn’t know why they wanted to eat hospital food but he guessed they were eager to get back quickly.

When he slid into a chair beside the two men, Derek paused in mid-bite and said, “You look like a happy man.”

“She woke up and finally remembered me,” Jack said and then looked at Viktor. “She asked for you.”

Viktor looked pleased and Jack felt an odd sense of jealousy. He shook this off as Derek quipped, “I wonder if she remembers me yet.”

“I’m just glad they didn’t have to drill a hole in her head to relieve the subdural hematoma,” Jack said. “I don’t think I could live through the last 24 hours, not to mention the last 48 hours again.”

“Jack, my advice to you is to get used to it,” Viktor said. “As you can tell by now, Maia is fearless. She has absolutely no problem taking big risks to get the job done.”

Jack glowered at Viktor while Derek laughed and said, “You’re one to talk, Viktor. How many times have I heard you say, God damn it Maia.”

Viktor chuckled, but Jack was not amused.

“I’m gonna have a serious conversation with her about these stupid risks she takes once she gets better.” He got up as he regarded the two men. “I’m going back to her room, see you guys in a bit.”

Viktor followed Jack’s imposing figure stride out the cafeteria. “I think our dear Maia is going to have her hands full handling that one.”

Derek snickered. “Oh I don’t know, the odds are evenly stacked. We should start a betting pool.”

“You’re fortunate that the swelling in your brain is receding and the clot was small enough so we did not have to relieve the pressure by drilling a hole through your skull,” Doctor Anderson explained. “You should expect some dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and memory problems. But these should go away as the swelling disappears. I expect you to take it easy young lady.” The doctor looked at Maia sternly. “From your medical records it looks like you were in a boating accident a week ago. I have no idea what you do for a living and I probably don’t want to know, but if you continue at this rate, another bump on the head and you may not survive the year.”

Jack, who was holding Maia’s hand as the doctor lectured her on her lifestyle, said, “Don’t worry doc, I’ll make sure she treats herself like crystal for the next few weeks.” He gave Viktor a pointed look. “Preferably until the end of the year.”

Viktor snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“It would help if you quit dragging her into the line of fire,” he replied acidly.

Viktor raised an eyebrow. “She’s got a pretty high threshold for pain. She can hack it.”

Doctor Anderson quickly weighed in. “Regardless of Miss Pierce’s pain threshold, a brain injury of this gravity should not be taken lightly. I recommend at least three weeks of rest.” Looking at Maia, he continued, “I’m keeping you for another 48 hours to monitor that blood clot in your brain. I’ll see you for a follow-up a week from then.” He turned his attention to Jack. “If she experiences any blackout within that time, take her to the ER immediately, understood?”

“Yes, doctor,” Maia said grudgingly while Jack nodded.

Doctor Anderson inclined his head and excused himself from the room.

“So, Maia, tell me what happened after Reznikov abducted you?” Viktor asked without preamble.

Jack detonated and stormed over to Viktor and got in his face. “Fuck off! She has a fucking head injury, you prick!”

“Guys …” Derek started tentatively.

“Viktor, stop baiting Jack,” Maia said wearily, rubbing her forehead.

Viktor smirked at a fuming Jack and walked over to Maia and kissed her on the forehead, “OK, Katerina.”

Jack noticed the slip but didn’t say anything. He then realized Viktor Baran did not make slips: he had said Maia’s real name deliberately, either to irritate him by reminding him of their history or to figure out if Jack knew about Katerina Luski.

Probably both, as Viktor raised a brow as if saying: I’ve found out all I need to know.

Prick. Jack thought.

“I do have one question though,” Viktor said to Maia.

“Shoot.”

“The DEA wants something they say you had taken from the lab.” Viktor shrugged. “Of course I could tell them because of your amnesia you have no idea what they’re talking about.”

“Fuck, if I give that up,” Maia retorted showing spirit for the first time since she’d woken up. “What, they couldn’t find it on any of the salvageable computers?”

Viktor shook his head.

Jack closed his eyes in resignation.

“What is it?” Derek asked curiously.

“We have to give them something,” Viktor said.

“It should be with my personal stuff. Ask the nurse. But make a copy of it, we can use it for leverage.”

“Against who? Reznikov is dead,” Derek said.

Viktor cleared his throat. Maia’s eyes widened and she mumbled apologetically to her boss. “Sorry, my brain is still addled.”

“I’ll go ask for it at the nurse’s station,” Viktor said as he left the room.

“Babe,” Jack said in a calm, reasonable voice as he approached the bed, “This didn’t end with Reznikov, did it?”

Maia shook her head.

Jack’s jaw clenched in frustration as Derek muttered a string of curses.

“It’s okay,” Jack said gently as he tucked a stray curl behind Maia’s ear. “We’ll talk about this later. I want you to rest.”

A few minutes later, Viktor came back waving a few sheets of paper triumphantly. “Got it. Great job, Maia.”

Jack walked up to Viktor, “A word, please.” And he walked out the room.

When they were out of earshot from Maia, Jack whirled on the older man and thumped him twice on the chest.

“You’re a dick, do you know that?” Jack said through gritted teeth.

“I know,” Viktor said coldly. “And I warn you not to lay a hand on me again.”

“Maia thinks the world of you, but you treat her like a fucking pawn in your crusade against God knows what. She almost died yesterday and you can’t wait to see what you can get out of her? You’re no better than a leech.”

“She’s tougher than she looks. You forget, I’ve known her for eighteen years, you’ve known her for what? Two weeks? And most of your knowledge of her you’ve learned between the sheets,” Viktor sneered.

“Fuck you, Viktor,” Jack hissed aware of the stares they were attracting from the medical personnel milling around the hallway.

“I will concede that Maia needs to recover her strength,” Viktor said quietly. “She’s got a couple of weeks of rest at least. I suggest you get to know the woman she is rather than bubble wrap her away from the world she knows. She is what she is, you can’t change her. If you can’t accept that, walk away now.”

“Are you trying to scare me off?” Jack challenged.

“I like you, Jack, I really do,” Viktor said. “You have an idea of the life we lead and if you back off from your overprotectiveness, things will be easier for everyone.”

“You mean you,” he bit out tersely.

Viktor gave a short derisive laugh. “Jack, as I’ve said you’ve only known Maia for a little over two weeks. I don’t care if you’re a God in bed, I warn you not to get between Maia and her job. And that means not making her choose between you and me, because you’ll always lose.”

With that, Viktor turned around and headed back to Maia’s room.

Jack stood in the hallway trying to regain control of an overwhelming fury. He itched to wipe that sneer off of Viktor’s face with his fists but he didn’t want to cause a scene in the hospital and add to Maia’s distress. It did kind of sting that Viktor was right that he had only known Maia for a short time, but it was wrong of him to insinuate that his only connection to her was sex. He wanted more from her; he wanted her body and soul. He wanted her heart.

Much to Jack’s satisfaction, Viktor left after a few hours. Even with Derek’s easy-going nature, there was simply too much testosterone bouncing around the walls. Apparently, Jack was not the only one to notice that.

A nurse came in to check Maia’s pulse and other vitals and remarked to the two men, “Whew, good thing the blond one left. I was afraid this room would spontaneously combust with all the raw male energy from you guys.”

Maia giggled as a blush crept up Derek and Jack’s faces.

“Lucky girl,” the nurse muttered and batted her eyelashes at the men before she left the room.

“Don’t you guys need to be somewhere? I’m sure you all have something better to do than babysit me?”

“Trying to get rid of us, Maia?” Derek asked.

“I need to be at New Park tomorrow morning,” Jack said. “But I can be back tomorrow night and check you out on Wednesday. Derek will stay with you in the meantime.”

“You don’t have to do that, Jack.” Maia said, “I’m sure I can ask one of the Guardians to take me to my house in DC.”

Jack glanced at Derek as he took the hint and left the room.

Jack sat at the edge of Maia’s bed and said gently, “What do you think is happening here, Maia?”

“Why don’t you enlighten me,” Maia replied, looking uncomfortable.

“You’re moving in with me,” Jack said bluntly. Maia’s eyes grew huge.

“I know we’re together, Jack. But don’t you think that’s moving too fast? New Park is 30 minutes from DC, we can still see each other.”

“Have you forgotten the beltway traffic? I’m not wasting time driving back and forth,” Jack said. He gently grazed the back of his hand up and down her cheek. “I want to take care of you while you’re recovering from this. Most of all I want to go to bed with you at night and wake up with you in the morning.”

“Jack …you sound serious…” she laughed nervously.

“I am serious about you, babe. Have you not figured that out yet?”

Maia’s breath hitched and Jack smiled. “I don’t want you to stress about it. Just sleep on it and if you want to argue about it, we can do so when I come back tomorrow night. But if you remember how bull-headed I can be, best you let me have my way.”

Maia grimaced. “Neanderthal.”

“I see you remembered. Get some rest, Maia, I can see you slowly fading. I need to get back to the hotel and freshen up. I’ll send Derek in to sit with you.”

She leaned back on her pillows and slowly closed her eyes. Jack got up slowly. Maia’s eyelids fluttered to half-mast. “Jack?”

“Yes, babe?”

“You shouldn’t let Viktor get to you. He’s got a twisted way of showing he cares.”

Jack smiled. “Don’t worry, babe, he won’t.”

The visitors started pouring in on Tuesday afternoon. Rick Grayson was the first to stop by. The bruising on his face was darker, but the swelling had gone down. Maia imagined she didn’t look any better.

“Rick!” Maia greeted enthusiastically. Working on the Baltimore project and spending time together in captivity had forged a bond between them. “I never did thank you for digging me out.”

“You crazy fuck,” Rick muttered affectionately as he gave Maia a kiss on the forehead. He nodded to, Derek who was lazily observing from the couch.

“Rick, have you met Derek Lockwood?” Maia made the introductions between the two men. Derek stood up to shake Rick’s hand. “So you’re the famous Richard Grayson.”

“More like infamous,” Rick said mockingly. “Getting myself abducted like that.”

“So how’s the head, lady?”

“I’ve felt better, but I can’t complain.”

“She gives a new meaning to the term rock head,” Derek added. “So how did you two escape anyway? Maia hasn’t been exactly forthcoming.”

“Boring story,” Maia answered quickly. “I had a blade in my shoe to cut the restraints. Then we used the old playing sick game.”

Derek laughed. “Don’t tell me they actually fell for the stomach ache line?”

Rick looked at Maia thoughtfully before saying, “Not exactly.”

“What?” Derek frowned.

“Rick …” Maia warned.

“Our friend here seems to have a death wish.”

“What, is this a bash-Maia day?” she grumbled.

“No, it’s a Maia-intervention day,” Rick retorted. “She incited Sergei to beat her up.”

“The bruising on her face wasn’t from the explosion?” Derek asked as he looked at Maia with concern.

“Nope, and I bet her ribs are worse. Sergei kicked her good,” Rick said without apology.

“Gee thanks, tattle-tale,” Maia snapped and then yelped in outrage when Derek tried to raise her pajama top to look at her torso. “Hey!”

But Derek, in a rare departure from his general easy-going demeanor, out-armed her. He hissed at the fierce black and blue bruising that covered more than half of her abdomen.

“This was from Sergei?” Derek asked angrily.

“Makes you want to kill the bastard all over again, doesn’t it?” Rick said.

“Look, some of it may have come from the explosion. I did have a table land on me after all,” Maia explained. “Doctor Anderson said none of my ribs were cracked. They did a full body MRI, I’m fine.”

“He had a gun to your head too,” Rick added, sounding pissed-off all over again. “And you down on the floor with blood gushing from your mouth still mouthing off and daring him to pull that trigger. Jesus, Maia you need to work on your instincts for self-preservation.”

“Jack’s gonna go through the roof,” Derek murmured in reflection.

“You’re not telling him anything,” Maia ordered, then turning to Rick. “That’s enough from you. If all you’ve come here for is to lecture me, you can leave.”

Rick didn’t seem deterred at all. “Maia, sweetie, I promised myself if we got out of there alive, I was going to give you a piece of my mind. It bothers the shit out of me that you talked me into letting you be the one to take the shot at the tank.”

Maia rolled her eyes and groaned, “Not that again.”

“You castrate a man with your take-no-prisoners approach,” Rick said fiercely. “It should be me in that bed, not you.”

Maia’s eyes softened. It was not the first time men in her team had felt the need to be the man and protect her when they could. It had been a struggle in the beginning but after her long years at the AGS and having proven herself numerous times she didn’t even think of things being a gender issue. Which was why when she made snap decisions, gender was never factored in, just the best person for the job.

“But didn’t my logic make sense? You think I could have dug you out to give you CPR in time?”

Rick grunted his agreement.

“By the way, what happened to Lizveta?” Maia asked, changing the subject.

“She’s under DEA custody right now, but I’ve weighed in and told my superiors to be lenient with her and that she may have been an unwilling participant. They’re still investigating, though.”

“No other survivors?”

“None. Even the guard we tied up. Reznikov’s men freed him and he was part of the assault at the lab.”

A look was exchanged between Maia and Rick recalling their discussion about the moral choices of taking lives.

Rick stayed for another half an hour mostly tag-teaming with Derek to reform her “reckless” ways, or what Derek termed a de-indoctrinization from Viktor Baran’s ways.

When Rick finally got up and left, he said, “Hope to see you around, Maia Pierce. Call me if you need a partner anytime. You’re one heck of a lady.”

Later that afternoon, Lee Isaac walked into her room. Luckily, Derek had to call-in to a conference with Jack and had decided to do it from his hotel room.

Lee had his arm in a sling. Maia had been relieved to hear that the bullet had not hit any vital organs.

He still had a haggard look to his face, suggesting he had not been sleeping well.

“Maia, Princess,” he said in a warm, soft voice. His eyes roamed over her bruised face and his mouth tightened. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, Lee,” Maia said firmly. “It wasn’t your fault. Sergei Reznikov had been after me for weeks.”

“And he finally got to you because of me,” Lee said bitterly.

“I was supposed to draw him out anyway,” she said as she grasped one of Lee’s hands to reassure him. “We were able to find the other DEA agent and we’ve shut him down. Everything turned out for the best in the end.”

“I still don’t understand why you can’t do something else,” Lee said, returning to the argument they had had before the abduction. “I love you, I want to be with you but knowing you put your life on the line each time you go on assignment, that’s gonna drive me insane.”

Maia smiled sadly. What could she say?

Lee cleared his throat and asked, “Are you and Jack …”

“Lee, don’t do this to yourself.”

“I need to know, Princess,” Lee whispered.

“We’re together, yes.”

Lee gave a short mirthless laugh. “He sure looked like he wanted to break my neck a couple of times. He’s lucky to have you. Unlucky too.”

Maia didn’t say anything, just stared at their entwined fingers.

Lee pulled his hand away to lift her face to look up at him. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“What are you going to do now that Addison is under investigation?”

“Move to another club. I’m already fielding offers,” Lee replied. “But with my shoulder injury, I’m thinking of going on vacation for a while.” He looked at Maia half-grinning. “Wanna come to Bali with me?”

Maia grinned, “I don’t think I can fly anywhere just yet. And I think I’d prefer you to have all your teeth.”

Lee chuckled. “That kind of guy, huh?”

After another uncomfortable moment, Lee leaned over and gave Maia a long, deep kiss. He pulled back with a grin. “Don’t be a stranger, you know where I am.”

With that, Lee turned around and left. He crossed paths with Derek at the door who didn’t bother disguising his scowl.

“He didn’t waste any time,” Derek muttered.

“Don’t start,” Maia warned.

Derek looked at her innocently. “I’m not. Let’s order pizza. Hospital food sucks.”