Liz woke with a scream erupting from her throat; she scanned the room: everything was unfamiliar. This was definitely not the apartment she had been sharing with Red.
There was no sound permeating from beyond the closed doors. She jumped out of the bed to try the door and immediately collapsed on the floor.
Why did her legs feel like jelly and her sides feel like she had gone a few rounds with Floyd Mayweather? Everything came back in a rush making her head spin for a second.
If she was careful she might be able to escape through the window. Ugh, how would she be able to crawl out the window if she couldn't get her legs to move?
There was a knock on the door. She frantically tried moving herself to shimmy under the bed, but her limbs were not feeling very cooperative.
Red stepped quietly into the room. She didn't answer his knock so he assumed she was asleep. He wanted to check on her briefly and assure himself she was alright.
She wasn't asleep, but curled into a ball on the floor repeating, "Please don't hurt me",[,"] over and over.
He reached out and touched her head only to have her flinch away. "Lizzie, sweetheart, look at me, you're safe now."
Liz slowly looked up when she recognized his voice. Disbelief etched in her features. "I thought he still had me. This isn't my room."
"We had to move, we have been exposed and I didn't want to take a chance the men after me would come for you." He stood and offered her his hand. "Come on, let's get you back in bed."
She shook her head to stop him when he reached for her. "I tried to get out of bed, but my legs are like jelly. I don't think I can walk."
"Understandable." He bent down and scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
"It will probably be a few days before you can put your weight on them again. I once had a deal go bad… in Denmark of all places." Chuckling at the memory as he tucked her into bed. "They used those types of paddles on the tops of my feet". He sat down on the bed next to her hip and took her hand in his; lightly stroking comforting for himself and he suspected for her as well. "I'll show you the scars sometime, but it took me almost two weeks before I could walk; sometimes when it's cold, I feel the ghost of that pain."
"Was that little story supposed to make me feel better?"
"Not really, no. I just wanted you to know I understand what you're going through and if you need to talk… " He let the sentence drop off and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Do you need anything?"
"Can you ask Mr. Kaplan to come in?"
His face froze and for a moment his disappointment showed before he masked it again. "Of course."
When he began to stand up Liz grabbed his hand to stop him. "I'm not dismissing you, I just need to use the restroom."
"Okay, I'll go get her. I could look for a book to read to you while she helps you, if you'd like."
"That would be wonderful, thank you."
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Liz spent two days in blissful comfort. Red would come to read to her in the afternoons and in the evenings he would tell her stories of his life on the run; mostly exaggerated she was sure.
On the second night Liz was awoken by a strange noise. Her room suddenly felt oppressive; the hairs on the back of her neck stirred. The sound came again; this time closer. She laid there frozen, unsure of what to do.
When she heard the shuffle of feet near the foot of her bed, she let out a scream but it was quickly muffled by a hand over her mouth. "Liz, it's me. I'm here to get you out of here."
Her eyes widened in surprised horror. How did Tom find her here? He slowly lifted his hand; hovering it over her face in case he needed to stifle another scream.
Annoyed now; she pushed his hand away from her face. "I'm not in any danger. How did you even find me here?"
"Reddington is a dangerous man, he isn't who you think he is." He pulled the covers from her and tried to take her hand.
She batted his hands away and asked incredulously, "Who do I think he is?"
"He is a criminal, and you have no idea what he is truly capable of, Liz." He grabbed her wrist and hauled her out of the bed.
Movement was still painful; but she tried to struggle out of his grasp. "Let go of me!"
He spun her around and hauled her back into his chest, covering her mouth with his hand. He whispered furiously, "Be quiet before you wake up Reddington."
"Too late." Red swung the door wide with one hand while he aimed his gun with the other; Dembe close behind.
"Stop right there." Tom quickly pulled his own gun out and placed it at Liz's temple.
"Are you all right, Lizzie?" Red was deadly calm on the surface, underneath he was battling for control. He knew what Tom was capable of; that Tom would not hesitate to pull the trigger if threatened.
"Yes." Her voice shook with her fear. She kept her gaze on Red; it helped to calm her even though his eyes never left Tom.
"Let her go and we let you walk out of here alive." Red sidestepped from the doorway to allow Dembe clear sight of Tom. He wanted nothing more than to kill the little rat; he just wasn't sure how Lizzie would react.
Tom huffed a laugh. "I was just telling Lizzie about the real Reddington. I have no doubt she will come with me willingly."
"You're an idiot Tom, I'm not going anywhere with you." She felt his hand slacken at her declaration. She used her elbow to jab him in the stomach and flee his grasp; running straight into Red.
He hugged her with one hand while still leveling his gun at Tom with the other. "I'm a man of my word: Get out, now."
Tom stood there watching Liz in Reddington's arms, he noticed then a suit jacket draped over the end of the bed. "I don't understand… "
"There only thing to understand is that you need to leave, before I change my mind." Red pushed Liz behind him when he noticed Tom's gun twitch.
"The cabal wants you dead, Reddington. I'll let them know she is a weakness and they'll use her to get to you; better keep my leftovers close." He winked at Liz as he backed himself to the window.
"You sick bastard," Liz cried. She reached up and squeezed Red's hand causing him to pull the trigger; shooting Tom in the heart.
Red stood looking down at Tom Keen's body with his mouth hanging open for a long moment before turning to Lizzie.
She looked coldly up at him. "I won't let them use me to get to you."
"They probably already know about you sweetheart. They will send someone else after you."
"Then I guess Tom was right about one thing."
"You're not leftovers Lizzie. You are a main course I would very much like to feast upon."
A blush heated her face and chased a trail down her neck, across her clavicle, and between her breasts; Red tracked it until it disappeared below her tank top
"I meant that you should keep me close."
He handed his gun to Dembe. He cupped her face with his hands; bent until his lips hovered just above hers and whispered, "I plan to," before kissing her softly.
Mr. Kaplan walked in dressed and ready to go. "The jet is waiting for you, best hurry up. My team is on their way to help me clean up this mess."
Liz understood then what Kate had meant when she said she was a cleaner. "When you said clean, I thought you meant… wow."
Mr. Kaplan smirked before fishing out a pair of medical gloves from her bag, pulling them on while she bent to her task of the eradication of Tom Keen.
Red took hold of Liz's hand gaining her attention. "Are you sure you want to stay with me, Lizzie? There is no going back, you will be labeled a criminal."
She smiled happily up at him. "Yes Ray, I choose you."
"I'm gonna make you famous, Lizzie." Together they would be strong. He couldn't imagine a life without her and he wasn't going to let her go now that he had her. He led her out the door and into their future.
Fin