They drove for almost an hour to get to the historic town of Leesburg, VA. She had always wanted to go on the wine tour, but never got around to it; maybe after they were done here Dembe would drive her around so she could drink herself into oblivion while 'wine tasting.'
They eventually stopped in front of a two story traditional home. It looked as ordinary as all the others on the street. One would never know that just beyond the privacy trees was a safehouse for an international criminal. Dembe got out and opened the door for her. She moved her head from side to side to stretch the muscles and blew out a long breath before allowing Red's faithful friend and bodyguard help her out.
When they walked in she expected to see people milling about waiting for the reading. Instead, she could hear soft jazz playing somewhere from the back of the house. She followed Dembe into a large great room that opened into a chef's kitchen. Mr. Kaplan nodded to her when they walked in and gestured to a nearby seat that Liz promptly took as she looked around somewhat nervously before settling her gaze back on the formidable woman before her. "I expected more people to be here."
Mr. Kaplan looked up at her sharply. "You are about to learn something about Raymond that until now, only Dembe and I have been privy to and that will require privacy."
Liz looked askance at Mr. Kaplan. Was she about to learn the real connection between herself and Red? Her palms were starting to sweat, hopefully they would get things started before the nausea set in.
Mr. Kaplan looked past Liz and smiled as someone entered the great room. Liz turned to see who had arrived and covered her mouth to muffle the small scream that escaped.
Red walked into the room keeping eye contact with Lizzie the whole time. He wasn't sure how she would react to seeing him. He probably should have prepared her for this kind of scenario, especially after the last shot to the chest he received; but like he had once told Dembe, he didn't know how to tell her. How did one broach a subject such as this? He wasn't exactly her favorite person most of the time. He stopped next to the fireplace, wanting her to be the first to speak. The way she was looking at him with a mixture of shock and fear had him feeling a bit off kilter.
Liz stood and walked slowly up to him. She reached out a hand and tentatively touched his chest, running her hand down the buttons on his vest before she looked up at him with tear filled eyes and flung herself into his embrace. Her arms wrapped around him and she buried her face into his neck to inhale the familiar scent. She wanted nothing more than to forget the horror of the last few days, maybe if she just stayed like this everything would be okay.
Red took it as a good sign and wasted no time pulling her further into the embrace. So far this was going much smoother than he thought. He knew they would have to talk and as much as he hated being the one to pull away from the embrace, he needed to make sure she understood everything.
He gently grasped her shoulders and pulled back enough to look in her eyes. "Lizzie, I want you to know I never inten… "
She took a step back and covered his mouth briefly with her hand to halt any story he was about to spin. "I don't want to hear what you have to say." She could barely process the feeling of relief and rage that were warring together for dominance inside her head and heart.
"It has been three days and... " She looked up and all the pain she had experienced over the last few days shone in her eyes. "I grieved for you. I never even left my house, I could barely breathe, let alone function. I couldn't eat or sleep." She could no longer stand in one spot, she paced the length of the room, her hands waving wildly as she spoke.
"And the whole time my heart was being torn from my chest you were here... doing what? Sipping scotch? Having your med school dropout give you a manicure?"
"Lizzie, please let… " She cut him off before he could finish.
"Did you even think about how I would feel? Did I even once cross your mind?" She couldn't deal with this right now, she had to get out and wrap her brain around the fact that he was alive and that he let her believe for three days that he was dead. She turned and grabbed her purse and made a beeline for the front door.
"Lizzie, wait." Red strode after her, she would understand once she knew the whole story. He couldn't let her leave thinking he hadn't thought about her during the past few days. She had been the only thing on his mind.
She opened the door and turned to look at him. "No, you wait. I can't do this right now. I am hurt and angry and a dozen other emotions that I can't even name right now." She turned and quietly added, "I'll call you in a few days when I'm ready to talk."
"At least let Dembe take you home." He wanted desperately for her to stay, but he was learning that pushing her only served to drive her further away.
"I'll call a taxi." She flew down the front steps and out into the neighborhood. Adrenaline and determination keeping the tears at bay for now.
He stared numbly at the door for a few minutes before slowly making his way to his study. He poured himself a glass of scotch and stared out into the back garden, hoping against hope that he hadn't just pushed her away for good. He should have told her when Dembe urged him.
Mr. Kaplan walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "It will be okay, Raymond. Give her a few days and she will come around."
Red walked over to the sideboard and poured another drink for himself and one for Kate. "I was hoping she would have at least stayed to hear what I had to say." He handed her a drink and sat down on the sofa.
"She is unpredictable." She swallowed her drink in one gulp, placing her glass on the table in front of them. "I thought you liked that about her?"
Red huffed an attempt at a laugh. "I did… I do. I just get the feeling that things are going to get worse." He handed his glass to Kate and she dutifully refilled it for him. "I just hope there will be a chance for them to get better."
She handed him his glass and gave him a gentle kiss on the top of his head. "They will, Dearie. Hang in there." She whispered to Dembe to watch over him before taking her leave.
The next morning he was up early and made phone calls and conducted business as usual, but his thoughts were constantly being pulled to Lizzie making it hard to concentrate. He felt a desperate need to know what she was doing. The tail he put on her said she had entered her apartment and hadn't left. At least she wasn't out doing something reckless.
He thought about calling her a least a dozen or more times that evening. He settled for having takeout delivered to her door, he knew she kept an alarmingly inadequate supply of food in the house. When the tail called to tell him that the delivery had been rejected. He had to resist the urge to go there himself and make sure she ate; his stubborn Lizzie needed more time.
The afternoon of the second day, he could no longer stand not having visual confirmation that she was alright. He couldn't send his man to knock on her door; she wouldn't take kindly to that. Then inspiration struck and he quickly dialed his phone. "Donald, Elizabeth is feeling a bit under the weather, I was hoping you could swing by and check on her."
"Why don't you go yourself? What's going on?"
"I'm not in the area right now." The lie rolling easily off his tongue. The truth was that he had gotten up before the sun and begged Kate to move safehouses to be closer to her. He was currently less than a block away.
"Why don't you give us a case Reddington, there's bound to be some angle you're working somewhere."
"As soon as Elizabeth is feeling better I'll give her a file to bring to you." He quickly ended the call.
He called Dembe into the room. "Have someone activate Agent Resslers phone, I want to hear their conversation." He ignored Dembe's look of censure and poured himself a drink.
Less than an hour later Ressler called. "She's not here. Maybe she's feeling better or went to the doctor."
Wasn't there? She had to be, his man tailing her would have called him immediately if she had left the apartment. He felt deep down she wasn't there, that she had run from him, but he refused to believe it. "Thank you Donald, I'll call her later and check in."
He rummaged through his desk and found the burner phone that would show the number on Lizzie's caller ID since she would probably ignore all calls she thought were him. She didn't answer. He periodically tried several times with different numbers supplied by Mr. Kaplan to no avail.
The man watching Lizzie's house called to say that she still had not returned.
"Knock on her door once more to be sure and if she isn't there, find her… quickly." He hung up and threw the phone across the room. He wanted another drink, but he needed all his faculties to deal with Lizzie when she was found.