"So, what do you need?" Chase asked.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and glanced around the coffee shop. Alec was charming a waitress in a corner, pretending he wasn't there to keep an eye on me. I couldn't go anywhere without having at least one of my guys watching my every move. I turned my eyes away from him. Since Chase had the day off and I couldn't just show up to his door, not to mention that I didn't know where he lived, I had called him and asked him out to have a coffee downtown. I had been a little surprised when he agreed to meet right away.

"Why do you have to automatically assume that I need something?" I muttered, staring down into my cappuccino. The problem was I did.

"Maybe because you haven't said a word to me since you cried in my arms at the New Year's Eve party?" He drank a sip of coffee, but his blue eyes never left me.

"That's not true," I said. "I talked to you."

"You said 'hello' and 'goodbye' when I came for Gary's weekly check up but not much else."

I bit on my lower lip. Maybe he was right. I had been rather distant while still unable to stay away. I couldn't, I cared too much about Gary's welfare. Well, that wasn't the only reason, but this wasn't supposed to be today's topic of conversation.

"Okay, so I'm a bitch." What else was new?

"You can also add to the list owing me a shirt as you smeared mascara all over the front of the one I was wearing," Chase said.

"I never wear mascara. You don't know your make-up."

"That's because I don't wear any. But don't change the subject."

"Fine, I owe you a shirt." I wondered if he would let me take him hoping. Not in a million years. Too intimate.

"You also made me miss out on a midnight kiss," Chase said.

I fiddled with my cup and watched him from underneath lowered eyelashes. "That's not the way I remember it."

"You call that a kiss?"

Come on, it hadn't been that bad. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Okay, a kiss too." Though I would probably have to tie him down to make him accept it. The thought brought wry amusement to my face. "Can we continue this game later and focus on serious matters for a minute?"

Chase smiled and drank from his cup. "What do you want?"

"I have a clone with a faulty chip in his brain," I told him.

"Oh. You got another one?"

I rolled my eyes at him and the casual way he'd said it. "He's not one of mine. He was sent to me to fix it, but the technology is too advanced and I can't do it from the outside. I need access to it, possibly remove it, fix it if I can, and then put it back in."

"Because he can't live without it?" Chase asked.

"I'm not sure about that," I said. "He does seem to like it." Too much maybe. "But he can't have a fulfilled life the way it is now. Whenever the chip acts up, there's a good chance for something bad to happen to him or those around him."

Chase frowned. "Does he get psychotic or something? Shouldn't he be in the hospital?"

"Nothing like that … or at least I don't think so." I shook my head, confused. "Look, I don't know exactly how it works. I just met the guy today. But if there's a slim chance to help him…"

Chase tilted his head. "What if you can't?"

"I don't know. He'll have to decide for himself." I shrugged a shoulder. "We only help with the parts that we can. Isn't that how it works?"

The same waitress who'd been exchanging pleasantries with Alec earlier stopped by our table to ask if we wanted more coffee. I chased her away with a glare. Chase didn't seem to mind, so I reached for his hand to bring his attention back to me.

He didn't retrieve his hand, but his jaw was set when he held my gaze. "Why do I feel like there's a catch?"

Here we go. "He doesn't want to go to the hospital. He's paranoid about people getting into his head."

"Arrgghhh…" Chase leaned against the backrest of the chair and tossed his head back. "Seriously? Do you know what you're asking me to do?"

"Yes?" I answered hesitantly in a small voice.

"We'll need a sterile room and equipment—"

"Del's working on getting everything ready," I said quietly.

"—and even if we have all that, we're talking about brain surgery here. What happens if he dies on the table? What if I maim him for life? This isn't a TV show where everything ends well in the end. There are risks…"

"Look, I wouldn't come to you with this, but you're the best surgeon in the hospital. Maya is away again, and the only other doctor I could trust turned his own son into a living shell."

He gave me a long look.

"Please. I would never do anything to get you into trouble," I said with a little more determinationand desperation than I had intended. "If it goes bad, we'll make everything disappear. No one will ever know you were involved."

"God," he groaned, "stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" I pulled back, hurt by his reaction.

"Like I'm the only person that matters in the whole world."

But he was the only person that mattered right this moment. I bit my lip and looked away. I could never get it right with him, probably never would. "You don't have to do it for me," I said with a resigned sigh. "Do it to save the patient."

"I don't know if this can save him," Chase said. "I haven't even seen the X-rays yet."

"I don't know if we can do X-rays because of the chip, but I'm sure we can figure out a way to look inside his head." My phone beeped. Del's message consisted of one word: Ready. A second later, another message arrived. Bring the Doc. This one hadn't been sent by Del. I gritted my teeth and got up. "So, you'll do it?"

Chase rose from his chair at a much slower pace and dropped some money on the table. "I only agree to take a look. If it's doable…" He nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Yay!" I squeaked like a little girl and refrained at the last moment from hugging him. That wouldn't have been appreciated, even though he might have let it pass since we were in public. "Shall we go now?"

"You haven't finished your cappuccino," Chase said.

I glanced back at the barely touched cup waiting on the table. It was cold by now, but I picked it up anyway and drained it in one long gulp. "There. Done." I grinned up at him.

Shaking his head, Chase walked me out of the coffee shop, his hand resting on my back with a familiarity that never failed to unsettle me. As we passed by him, Alec made kissy faces at us.