Happy 4th of July to my American Readers!

Deutschland ist im Halbfinale! Germany is in the semi finals at the world cup! Shoutout to my German readers and any football fan that supports Germany!

This early update is a gift to you! :)

Chapter 8

Dean took the call and was not happy.

"Wait big guy, I will put you on speaker okay? Because I know what this is about."

Dean switched to speaker.

"Tell him that you are fine." He told Lilly.

"Hello Roman. I am fine. I only caught what Dean said but you don't need to release him for tonight. We are fine and I feel safe here."

"I know but Dean needs some rest. Seth and Claire will take care of you for the night. It is not the worst decision to keep you on the move anyways. Dean, pick up the phone again, I want to tell you what went down here the last couple of hours." Dean picked up the phone and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

When he walked out 10 minutes later he didn't look happy but he sat down beside Lilly and grabbed her shoulders. "We need to talk about something. But it has to stay between the two of us."

"My lips are sealed." Lilly zipped her lips playfully. And Dean started…

Seth and Claire waited in the car at the rendezvous point. They saw a car approaching, an old Chevy Impala. "That son of a bitch has an Impala. Sometimes I wonder what else I don't know about him."

Claire gave him a look. "Honestly Seth, I think we all know just a scratch of Dean." "That's true. Stay in the car."

Seth got out when Dean drove up to his passenger side.

Dean nodded briefly at Claire who waved at him smiling.

Seth leaned into Dean's window.

"Nice car brother. Didn't know you had a thing for vintage cars." "Well Seth, you don't know shit about me. Take care of Lilly, I will pick her up in the morning. Doll, go with Seth, he will take care of you. Remember, I will pick you up in the morning." He reminded her and she smiled. "It's not that hard to remember. I have my watch with me, right? 8 am. Like we said." "8 am. Stay safe."

He wanted to grab her hand or kiss her goodbye, but he grabbed his steering wheel instead until his knuckles turned white.

Seth opened both back car doors and let Lilly climb into his SUV.

"Till tomorrow." He told Dean and got into the car to drive to his secure location for the night.

Dean watched them drive away and made a u-turn. He had some business to do and he knew just where he had to look for it.

A couple hours later Seth, Claire and Lilly had settled in at their suite at the Mariott Hotel. It had two bedrooms, a luxurious bath and a living room which was almost bigger than Dean's whole apartment.

"Interesting choice for a safe house." Lilly pointed out. She had snuggled into the arm chair, leaving the couch for Seth and Claire. They sat at opposite ends and tried to ignore each other.

"Nothing against a little luxury while hiding right? And I can put it on my expense tab, so it is a win:win." Claire shot him a look. "Those client dinners, they are not really your way to eat fancy on cost of the company, right? Because those bills pile up Seth. Only last month you spent over 4.000 $ on those dinners. One bill for a sushi bar was 750 $ alone! You spend in one month what Dean does in a whole year." Seth looked a little guilty. "The clients really like good food, and I do, too." He shrugged.

"You two are really cute together. How long have you been a couple?" Lilly asked and the other two looked at her. "We are not…" "We never…."they both started and became silent again until Seth said: "We are no couple. Just friends." "Okay, my bad. You are just so…intimate…that is all. But, my bad. Listen, I will go to bed. I am a little tired."

"Wait, I will come with you." Claire said and followed Lilly into the bed room they would share.

It was time for Claire to talk to Lilly woman to woman. Just like Roman had instructed her.

So she got down on her bed sitting there comfortable and looked at Lilly. "I have to admit, I have a thing for Seth but he doesn't make a move. Sometimes I think he simply doesn't get it, but then I catch him looking at me and I know he has feelings for me as well. I don't know what to do anymore." She became quiet and waited for Lilly to say something.

Lilly sighed. "Okay, I bite. You want to know how that thing with Dean happened because I know they know, that means you know."

Claire nodded. "Please tell. Because Dean holds a soft spot in my heart. I can't really explain it, but I like him. We are not even friends but I just want to walk up to him sometimes, kiss his unruly hair and tell him that everything will be alright. Did you do that?"

Lilly smiled. Claire was grilling her for information for her bosses but she was honest while talking about Dean and how much she cared for him. "I woke him up, he nearly choked me to death and then we had sex." Lilly simply told the story how it had happened.

Claire waited for a heartbeat, thought that something else was to come, but Lilly didn't continue.

"That's it? He nearly killed you? Why?" "He has PTSD, doesn't the guys know?" "I don't know, I didn't know, but they probably do. They all returned a little broken from the military, I guess every soldier does. They don't talk much about their time there. Dean is the only one who leaves sometimes to do jobs. And each time he returns a little more broken. I thought maybe if you guys hooked up.." "That he changes? No, he made that crystal clear to me before. And even though I have the same soft spot you do for him, I wonder if there is a way to fix him."

Lilly sighed and had to brush a tear away. "Listen, what I tell you I want to keep between us, because once I am out of the picture when this is over, he has just you and the boys to keep him sane. But for now keep this to yourself. Because I know you were told to report to them. Don't look guilty."

"Am I that bad? Could you see right through me?" Claire asked.

"No, Dean told me. He knows his brothers. So, do you promise?"

"I do. Because I care for him."

Lilly nodded. Claire was alright she decided.

"He brought me to his apartment. Like, HIS apartment. It was bare. Nothing personal. No TV, nothing. No bed, only a mattress. He said he takes those extra tours to do something good, but he secretly hopes that one day he will die at one of those missions. Till then he wants to do something good, that's why he doesn't commit suicide. I just want you to keep an eye on him. He is…I would hate it if something happens to him. That he is so matter of fact about this. I wonder if Seth and Roman know."

Claire was quiet for a long while. "I think they suspect it, but doesn't know it. He really is that far gone, huh? Lilly, he told you in one night more than me in nearly three years. Don't you think you should stay in touch with him after this is over?"

"I guess I can't. I can't see him risking his life like that. I can't fall for someone who could be dead tomorrow."

Claire got up walked over to the blonde woman and hugged her. "I understand. Honey, I understand." And they both cried for the man everyone called a lunatic when they didn't know anything about him.