Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. Hopefully it won't take as long for the next one.


He blinked again trying to will away the grogginess, the buzzing still persisting in his ears. "Annie?" he asked again. His body was aching from the previous two days beatings.

Annie came into his line of vision, her hair pulled high on top of her head in a knot and dressed all in black. Her hand reached down and grasped her phone sitting on the nightstand and brought it to her ear. "Yes?" she asked softly.

Eyal sat bolt upright, realizing the buzzing in his ear had been Annie's burner phone ringing. He tried to reach for her arm, but she stepped out of reach.

"Uh huh," she turned her back to him and walked over to the sofa and shopping bag of clothes bought the previous afternoon. "Yes. I've got it. One hour," her voice soft. She clicked off her phone and slid it into her back pocket as she retrieved a stack of clothes from the bag.

"Who was that," he asked, trying to to keep his temper in check.

"Auggie," she answered, tossing the stack at him.

For a moment he was distracted, but his eyes widened in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?" Eyal asked, unable to hold in his shock.

"Auggie is on our side," she insisted. "I called him while you where asleep. It's an untraceable number." Before he could speak, she'd climbed onto the bed and sat, strattled over his legs. Instinctively his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer, crushing the stack of clothes between them. She took his face in her hands and rested her forehead against his. "Please, Eyal. You have to trust me on this. This is my home, my turf."

She kissed him then, softly and patiently, her lips curling against his in a smile. When she finally broke away, his breathing was ragged. Eyal swallowed, trying to pull himself back together. "Okay," he said finally. "Okay, but you're going to have to get off of me. Not that I'm complaining. I'd be quite happy to stay right here and forget everything else."

Annie laughed, pulling his hands from her waist and sliding off the bed. "Get dressed," she insisted.

He watched as she retreated to the bathroom, a slight bounce in her step. For a moment he wondered how much of it was because of him and how much was because of Auggie. Jealousy clenched in stomach a moment before he shook it off. There was no reason to have those feelings.

Eyal quickly slid out of the bed and dressed in the new clothes. Annie had picked out a long sleeved black t-shirt, a coal grey pull over sweater, and jeans. Everything fit perfectly.

He looked up when she came out of the bathroom. "You ready?" she asked as she sat down on the sofa and slipped into a new pair of running shoes.

"Just a minute," he called, retrieving his watch from the bathroom where he'd left it the night before. He quickly checked the gash from the day before in the mirror above the sink. It had begun to heal slightly and the darkening bruise on the side of his face didn't seem nearly as bad as he thought it would be.

When Eyal stepped out of the bathroom Annie already had her coat on and was waiting by the door with the shopping bag from the day before. She tossed him his own wool coat as she said, "We need to get going. Auggie's safe house is pretty close, but we should try to get there before him in case anyone is following him."

He nodded as he slipped the coat over his shoulders, glad that she seemed to be thinking clearly. "Speaking of that, how is Auggie going to get to his safe house without a CIA tail? Won't it be hard for him to get to a safe house when he needs to have a driver and can't actually see if someone is following him?"

She shook her head as she thought. "He didn't really give me details. We've just got to trust him." Annie must have seen the hint of doubt in his eyes because she stepped close to him, laid her free hand on his chest, tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "I know that trust doesn't really come all that easy for you, but you have to trust me. Of everyone at the agency, I know I can trust Auggie."

"Yes. I trust you," he answered trailing his thumb over her cheek. "I just can't help feeling we're walking into the inevitable trap, though."

She smiled up at him and let her free hand fall to his. Lacing his fingers with hers he followed her down the hallway and to the lobby where they quickly picked up a cab to take them to Auggie's safe house.

Annie's small hand felt warm in his. He'd held her hand in his many times, in times of reassurance and comfort. If he moved his fingers to just the right position he could just barely make out her pulse. Vaguely he wondered if her heart sped like his did whenever she was close.

He tipped his head back in his seat and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, forcing himself to concentrate. Being distracted would only hinder them.

A few minutes later the car stopped and Eyal's eyes popped open. He handed the driver some bills and slipped out of the car behind Annie. "Is this it?" he asked standing next to her.

She shook her head. "No. It's on the other side of the block. I was thinking we should go in from the alley. We're less likely to be spotted."

"Keyed or coded?" he asked as they took the narrow walkway between two small shops.

"Coded," she answered not looking back as they emerged into an alley facing what looked to be a fairly newly renovated brownstone. "Auggie gave it to me this morning."

Eyal's eyes flicked back and forth scanning the alley as they scurried out into the open. He wouldn't feel safe until they were inside the apartment, and maybe not even then. He was sure he would have felt safer back at the hotel.

He listened as she typed the code and the metal door opened with an audible click. "Come on," she whispered as she slipped through the small opening. He followed cautiously, pulling the SIG sauer from his bag. He held the weapon loosely in his hand and let the door click closed behind him.

Annie had stopped about three steps in and peered curiously down a narrow hallway that ended at the front door and a set of stairs. Without turning she mumbled, "It's the apartment on the second floor. Treading lightly, they both made their way to the end of the hallway and up the stairs.

At the next landing was a small foyer with just a simple wooden door. Instead of a deadbolt, though, there was a keypad that had, instead of numbers, a series of tiny raised dots.

"A keypad in Braille?" Eyal asked curiously as Annie ran her finger over the keys.

"Auggie's design. He has a safe with the same kind of keypad, only that one is numbers. This one has letters too." She turned and smiled back at him as she punched keys at what seemed to be random. "Auggie taught me the alphabet and numbers a few years ago. Who knew it would come in handy like this?"

"Very cleaver," Eyal admitted as the door clicked open.

He entered first, his gun drawn. When he was sure the apartment was clear, Annie followed him inside letting the door close behind her.

"And now we wait for Auggie," she said quietly as she pealed off her coat and tossed it over a chair. She slid down into the sofa and sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"Tired?" he asked, a small smirk playing on his lips. Eyal set his weapon on a counter near the door and leaned up against the granite. Annie made a noise that sounded like a snort. He couldn't help but tease her. There had been far too much seriousness over the past few days.

She leaned back in her seat, smiling, and opened her mouth to speak but Eyal held his hand up. He had heard the soft click of the door unlocking. Quickly, he scooped up his gun, unlocking the safety, and aimed it at the slowly opening door.

"Really not the welcome I was hoping for," Auggie said as he closed the door behind him.

"Auggie," Annie sighed from the sofa.

"Annie. You don't know how good it is to hear your voice. I didn't think I'd ever see you aga- oof!" In a matter of seconds Annie had leapt from her seat, crossed the room, and flung her arms around him, knocking Auggie back a step. "Didn't see you coming," Auggie mumbled into her hair. "I'm so glad you're okay."

After what seemed like ages Annie broke from Auggie's embrace. "Eyal. I never would have made it without him." Annie's gaze lingered on him as he slipped the gun into the waistband of his jeans.

"It's good to see you," Eyal said extending his hand to meet Auggie's outstretched one. He grasped it firmly and smiled. He'd always liked Auggie.

"Likewise, so to speak."

Beside them both, Annie yawned audibly.

"Are you okay?" Auggie asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just tired." She shot a warning glance at Eyal. "I just... I could use a shower. It might wake me up. Do you mind?" she asked, her eyes focused on Auggie.

"No. It's cool. There are clean towels in the bathroom. I had a housekeeping service come by a couple days ago and make sure everything was clean and the fridge stocked." Auggie shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "I had a feeling I'd end up here at some point this week."

Annie stood up on her toes and kissed Auggie on the cheek. "You think of everything," she said, smiling sweetly. As she turned to head into the bathroom, her hand grazed lightly across the back of Eyal's hand and up his arm. It gave him chills to have her fingers brush skin so softly.

His eyes stayed on her as she padded silently into the bathroom.

"You both are crazy, you know?" Auggie's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"You two should have dropped off the radar. You could have taken her anywhere, given her a new identity. I know you have the means," Auggie said, folding his cane and sliding it into his coat pocket before sliding it off his shoulders.

"She would never have let me. You know that as well as I do."

"True," he sighed. He leaned up against the same counter next to Eyal and brushed a hand through his hair.

"Coffee?" Eyal asked not knowing what else could be said.

"Yeah, there should be some in the freezer. I'm not sure how good it is anymore, but at one time it was."

Eyal chuckled lightly as he pushed himself away from counter. He found a bag of ground coffee in the door of the freezer and began brewing a pot. He tapped his fingers on the kitchen counter before turning to Auggie. "What really happened between you and Annie?"

"That story could take a while to explain," Auggie answered tracing his fingers along another counter, stopping suddenly to reach up for to retrieve two mugs from a set on a shelf over his head. He thought another moment before continuing. "That was a hard year for both of us.

"Annie was working on that damn file from Henry Wilcox back then. That was a huge issue, if you remember."

Eyal nodded. He did remember. Annie had taken a lot of risks with that, some that paid out and some that didn't. He was never privy to the entire file but he remembered her calls for no-questions-asked favors.

"The secrets, the lies, the accusations of that file ultimately put a rift between us that took Annie taking a long term deep cover mission for me to finally get over the scars it caused." Auggie reached for the brewed coffee and poured himself a cup. With the cup in both his hands he turned and leaned back against the counter.

"I remember that period well." Eyal picked up his own cup and crossed to a barstool nearby. "I remember worrying about her. She would never tell me much, just ask for favors that I couldn't ask about. I thought it was just the nature of the game. I didn't realize there might have been more..."

Auggie shrugged and shook his head. "The thing was, though, we were always doomed as a couple. We were bound to end, the events of that year just made it all fall apart quicker."

"I'm truly sorry, Auggie. I know she's cared very much about you. She has quite an effect on a man, doesn't she?"

"She does," he laughed lightly. "And I still care about very much. She's my best friend still. She's family." Auggie paused a moment, taking a drink from his coffee cup and sighed. "The real reason she and I could never last as a couple was because there was always someone else in her head."

"Simon," Eyal sighed.

Auggie shook his head. "No. She put that ghost to rest a long time ago." Auggie turned himself to face Eyal. "It was always you."

A heavy silence weighed in the air between the two men. The only sound was rushing of the water in the apartment shower. The feeling was suffocating, like the pressure of water slowly drowning a man.

Eyal heard the water in the shower shut off and he knew that Annie would be joining them in minutes. "You're sure?" Eyal asked quietly.

Auggie smiled and looked as if he could start laughing. "A blind man could see. Think about it. She could have gone to any number of people to help her and she went to you. For her, that says a lot."

"I think that helped," Annie called as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Eyal took another drink of his coffee and turned to her, his mind reeling. She ran a hand through her damp hair and smiled. Even straight out of the shower she was incredible.

"Great," she said cheerily. "If you two are done catching up, I think it's time to get down to business."