Chapter 15- Stay Forever

It had felt like a dream. An uncomfortable dream, but a dream nonetheless. She dreamt of Cabe. Dreamt he visited her side every day, offering her updates on the FBI's case in bringing the Irish down. He told her about the FBI going to her storage unit. He told her that Andy, Sean, and several other high ranking members of the Irish mafia, in addition to a few hired guns, were now in federal custody awaiting their arraignments.

She woke up slowly, like coming from a haze. The first thing she saw was the hospital ceiling. It took her a second to process what she was seeing. Looking around the room, she came to realize she was in the hospital. Feeling pain, she knew she wasn't dead. So it wasn't heaven and it certainly wasn't hell.

Although some days, Leah was sure she could make an argument for why earth was actually hell.

The next thing she saw was Agent Gallo. The man was asleep in a chair next to her bed, his head drooping to the side awkwardly. He looked quite serene when he was asleep. His wrinkles smoothed out slightly, he looked a good ten years younger than he actually was. As she stared at him, Leah wondered how long he had been there. He was in a suit, so he clearly had gone to work at some point.

How long had she been out? A day? A week? She felt like she had been unconscious for a year and for only a minute, all at the same time.

Looking down at her body, she wasn't surprised to find her left leg was in a cast. The guy had hit her fairly hard with a metal pipe. She knew without seeing that her ribs had been broken. The thing that surprised her the most was her throat. Leah lifted her right hand, which was in a cast from her hand to her just below her elbow, to her throat. It was wrapped in gauze. What had happened here?

Leah tried to sit up, but her numerous injuries prevented her from doing so. With a sigh, Leah turned to look back at Agent Gallo.

How sweet of him to visit her.

Why, though? Why show her any sort of sympathy?

"Agent Gallo," she said in a whisper. Leah cringed at her hoarse voice. She needed water.

But Gallo didn't stir.

"Gallo?"

Still nothing. She momentarily considered letting him sleep.

"Cabe," she said a little bit louder.

Gallo's eyes shot open and he sat up, staring right at Leah.

"Water?" she asked.

Cabe took a second to process it, then nodded and got up to get her a glass of water. Sticking a straw in the cup, he walked it over to her and she gratefully took a few sips.

"Welcome back," he said, watching her drink.

When she was done, he sat the cup on the tray table next to her bed.

"How long?" she asked sadly.

"Day three," he answered, smiling apologetically at her.

Three days. Jesus Christ. She tried not to cry.

"Andy?"

"I sent along the information to the FBI. They got everything out of your storage unit and based on a lot of the evidence, they were able to make several key arrests, including Andy Greene," he told her.

Leah let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. It wasn't going to be clear days from here, but it would be slightly easier for her as long as Andy was in prison. He was probably quite pissed at her.

Well, so was she.

"What next, Agent Gallo?" she asked, staring up at him.

His forehead creased as he thought. "I don't know. The FBI wants to talk to you, so…that could go anyway, really."

Leah shrugged slightly. "I've never been to prison, but considering what I just went through, I'm sure I'll be fine." She smiled softly at him, but Cabe didn't smile back. "Speaking of. What's wrong with my neck?"

"You took a bullet for me," he said. There was something in his voice. A question? Concern? Surprise?

"The whole point of me coming back to tell you was to keep you safe as much as I could. Although, now I realize it was never about you."

Confusion crossed Cabe's face, his eyebrows sinking in. "It wasn't?"

"No. Andy set me up. He wanted me gone, for whatever dumbass reason he has, and he knew I'd never kill a cop. Especially a cop with no discernible bad record. He knew I'd be too curious as to why he wanted you gone, so he knew I'd come out here. And that I wouldn't go through with it. It was the perfect way to kill me. He could tell Sean whatever he wanted and Sean would probably accept it," she explained. "His mistake was hiring a bunch of low level losers to do the job. I don't know why he didn't take it seriously."

"Maybe he was afraid using a known contact would make Sean suspicious?" Cabe posed.

Leah thought it over. "That could be it. Not to mention, a lot of the known contacts would never do it without a legitimate reason. We may not all get along, and we may be hired killers, but there is still some sort of code amongst us. Andy probably wanted to avoid that, but he messed up."

Cabe nodded. "Do you think he'll try again?"

She shrugged. "Maybe at some point, but he risks Sean finding out. Sean was always fond of me, so Andy will have to be careful. I suppose. Or maybe he'll be very pissed and I'm fucked. Who knows." Leah smiled at Cabe. "Thank you. You know."

"Thank you. You didn't have to take a bullet for me."

"I wasn't really thinking about it, I suppose. Besides, you've been nice to me from the get go, even though I was sent here to kill you. I was never going to, but the sentiment remains," she said, almost sheepishly. "I don't think your friends would have appreciated it if you got shot because of me."

Cabe laughed; a gritty sound that made her smile. "No, probably not."

They stared at one another for a moment, smiling softly. Leah was once again lost in his blue eyes, but she let herself enjoy it this one time. Nobody was shooting at them. They weren't dying. They were just here.

"Have you been visiting me every day?" she finally asked.

It was Cabe's turn to shrug. "We couldn't find any family for you," he explained. "And you need support. So I stop by before and after work."

The smile fell from Leah's face. Family. She had family, but she didn't want them to know what happened. She saw Cabe's confusion and she forced a smile. "I appreciate it, Gallo. You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to."

Leah felt a blush come to her cheeks.

Oh stop, she told herself. You're not a teenager. You can take a compliment.

"Well, go home Gallo. Get some rest in a real bed. I'll be here when you come back tomorrow."

He nodded and picked his suit jacket up from the chair. "Rest easy, Leah. You're safe here."

She didn't completely believe him, but for that night, as she watched the agent leave, she let herself believe she was safe. She let herself believe there could be some sort of future for her here.

But in the morning, she'd remember the truth.

The only thing in her future was prison.

Maybe he'd visit her there? That was a nice thought.