Undercover: Book 4 — Chapter 18

Claire’s Point of View

“John Doe died on the way here. We just needed you to call it.” I heard someone in the background and my eyebrows furrowed at the unfamiliar voice and my body being moved. Where was I?

“Time of Death: 16:25,” I heard someone in the background call before I started to lose consciousness again.

I woke up again a few minutes later to find multiple people standing above me, a mask over my face. I looked up at them in fear and tried talking. One quickly removed the mask and talked quickly.

“Hey, calm down, just breathe,” he said as he saw me starting to hyperventilate. What happened? Where am I? What was going on? Is my baby okay? So many questions formed in my head, but I couldn’t get myself to say them.

“I’m Dr. Ernest from Northwest Hospital. Can you tell us your name?” he asked, stopping what he was doing and looking me straight in the eyes.

“Claire Martez,” I responded as I felt my arm being stabbed, an IV being put in it.

“Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

I shook my head, causing my stomach to churn from the movement.

“You were in an accident,” he said.

Suddenly flashes of the red car went through my head, and I heard the sound of my own heart starting to beat faster.

“Liam. Where’s Liam?” I demanded, trying to sit up, but he gently pushed me back down.

“We have to take care of you and your baby, Claire. I’ll have someone go check on him,” he said, but something about the look he was giving another doctor didn’t help my nerves.

“Is Liam your husband?” he asked.

I shook my head, wincing at the pain it brought to me once again. My eyes widened and I leaned over, throwing up all over the person next to me.

“I’m so sorry!” I said, closing my eyes as I let out heavy breaths. “Caiden Anderson, call him. He’s my boyfriend.” I told them before I felt my breathing start to slow down.

“Claire, keep talking to us. We need you to stay awake.”

“I’m still awake,” I mumbled incoherently, my eyes still closed.

“Claire! Claire!”

“Dammit, we’re gonna lose her. Get ready to charge to 100,” I heard them say before someone else yelled.

“Wait,” I heard before I once again lost consciousness.

***

Clover’s Point of View

I sat next to Keith, coffee in front of me as we talked about nothing serious. This was supposedly a date, a lame first date if I do say so myself.

“What about you?” he asked.

I looked up at him surprised.

“You weren’t listening to one word I was saying, were you?” Keith looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

I sighed.

“I’m sorry, I’m just really distracted right now. Work has me stressed,” I lied, and he leaned forward a bit.

“You’re lying. You don’t have to tell me whatever it is,” he said before taking out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his plaid t-shirt that was under his leather jacket.

“Why do you always think I’m lying?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You lied about your name after all,” he said standing up.

“Well, I’m not the only one hiding things here. I mean look at you with your smoking habits. And earlier when I was looking down at my phone, I’m pretty sure you poured whiskey into your coffee,” I pointed out. He smirked.

“Babe, those aren’t secrets,” he said, pulling out a small canteen and taking a swig from it.

“Maybe I’m not into guys who drink or smoke,” I said, standing up as well and he chuckled.

“Something tells me otherwise,” he said, stepping closer to me. He was about to continue before my phone went off. Glancing at the screen on the tabl,e I saw the familiar number and stepped away from Keith.

“One second,” I said before taking the call a few feet away. “Hello?”

“Clove, it’s Claire and Liam. They got in an accident,” Andrew said, causing my heart to drop to my stomach.

“Are they okay?” I asked immediately already grabbing my purse and pulling out Joey’s car keys since he let me borrow his car.

“I’m not sure. We’re on the way to the hospital now,” Andrew said.

I heard Caiden in the background.

“Can you drive any fucking slower?” he yelled at someone.

I winced a bit at the tone. Caiden hasn’t been okay since Claire was taken three days ago. All he’s done is drink, swear, and break things. Andrew had to take the kids out a lot to shield their innocence.

“I’m on my way,” I said immediately into the phone. “Is he at least somewhat sober?” I whispered into the phone, glancing at Keith who seemed to be watching me carefully.

“He was only drinking coffee since he woke up about an hour before the call.”

“Stop fucking talking about me like I’m not right here. Tell Clover to mind her own damn business. Neither one of you are her real friends. Her real friends are Nathan and Mia. If you’re going to be anywhere near that hospital room, then they should be the ones you’re on the phone with,” he hissed, his voice as cold as ice. I actually felt goosebumps crawl up my arm from the hatred in his tone.

Andrew didn’t say anything for a minute. “We’ll meet you there,” he said before hanging up. I turned around and faced a curious Keith.

“Hey, I’m really sorry, but I have to go. There’s an emergency with my friend so I’ll talk to you later?” I said, although it sounded a bit more like a question.

“Yeah, do you need a ride?” he asked. I shook my head.

“This probably wouldn’t be the best way for you to meet my friends,” I told him.

He nodded. In reality, I think Caiden would probably beat him half to death, and Andrew probably wouldn’t be very friendly either.

“I’ll talk to you later then,” he replied surprisingly understanding.

I got in the car and took the ten-minute drive to the hospital. When I arrived I was directed to a waiting room where everyone else was. I immediately spotted Andrew and threw my arms around him.

“Where’s the kids?” I asked.

“Emily agreed to watch them,” he said. I looked over to where Caiden was pacing and a familiar brunette was trying to talk to him. I watched the interaction trying to see and hear what happened exactly,

“Caiden, you need to calm down. When they let us go see her they’re not going to let you in if you’re acting all psycho,” she said. He glared at her.

“Mia, I’m not Claire. Smooth talking won’t help me so just back the fuck up,” he hissed, but the cold tone didn’t seem to faze her.

“Fine, Caiden Anderson, you have about five seconds to chill the fuck out or else I’m going to personally decapitate you to make sure you won’t have another kid. You acting all crazy like this is only stressing every other person in this room out. Nathan is about a second away from having a breakdown, and instead of comforting him I’m stuck standing here and trying to get you to at least sit the fuck down.”

“Fuck,” he hissed before sitting down and putting his face in his hands. “I’m scared,” he whispered to her. She sighed, taking a seat next to him.

Mia let out a deep breath. “We just have to hope for the best.”

“How’s Liam?” Riley asked, joining us. Everyone around us went silent. I looked at Andrew, and he shook his head with a frown on his face.

“Well someone needs to answer me.”

“He’s not doing that great. They brought him into immediate surgery,” Andrew said after a moment of realizing that no one else was going to say anything

“Lovely,” she muttered.

Joey pulled her into a hug.

“What exactly happened?” Joey asked.

Riley shrugged before looking at us for answers.

“They were in an accident,” I said just as a police officer walked over to us.

“Hello, by any chance are any of you related to Claire Martez?” the officer asked.

I looked at Caiden.

“I’m her boyfriend,” he said standing up. The officer walked over before attempting to talk in hushed voices.

“Do you know anyone who would be out to get Claire?” the officer asked quietly, and he glanced at Riley who was focusing on the conversation as well.

“No, she’s always been the type of girl who doesn’t get on people’s bad sides. She would feed every homeless person on the street if she could,” Caiden said, his fists clenching. “Why?”

“The accident Ms. Martez was involved in wasn’t a normal accident. The cameras are showing that the person intentionally hit her,” he said. The look on Caiden’s face was hostile.

“Excuse me, officer?” Riley interrupted.

He looked back at her curiously.

“Yes?”

“I’m Riley Scott and this is my partner, Joey Maxwell. We are from the Europe agency, which if you don’t know is a secret investigation company,” Riley said, pulling out a badge and showing the guy, who quickly studied the item. “Claire Martez and Liam Shea are a part of our current case, and I hope you don’t mind, but from here on out we will take over any further investigation on them. Later I’d like to meet take a look at that camera and follow up on your research so far.”

The officer studied her warily before nodding. “You can come down to the station later, and if our background check confirms everything you just told me, then we will talk,” he said.

She sent him a smile.

“Glad this is all taken care of then, thank you.”

Riley shook his hand before he went to go talk to another officer. As soon as he was out of sight, the smile dropped and she looked at Joey.

“The last thing we need is someone else tracking our every move,” she muttered.

Joey nodded in agreement before putting his arm around her shoulder.

“Just wait everything will work out.”

“I hope so,” she said, leaning her hand against his shoulder.

“I hate to interrupt, but shouldn’t you be worried about someone seeing you two together?” I asked.

“We should be, but if something happens to Liam then this mission will be put on hold. We will need to immediately fly back to London,” Joey said. I felt goosebumps rise on my arms at the thought.

I didn’t know Liam, but I know he’s single and clearly feels something for Claire and he’s young. He’s not even in his thirties yet. He hasn’t lived, and there’s already a possibility that he was going to die. There’s a possibility Claire could even die. Everyone was dying and I don’t know if I could handle it. I can’t watch the black parade, the parade that was leaving behind a lingering scent of death, a trail of blood.

“Clover?” Andrew mumbled and I looked up at him. He wiped my face with his thumb, making me realize I was crying.

“I’m scared,” I told him softly, and he pulled me against him.

“I know, it’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised.

I gave him a weak smile in return.

Claire’s Point of View

All I could see was darkness before I suddenly found myself standing in a cemetery. It was a familiar area, yet I still couldn’t understand why I was here. I looked at the grave two feet away from me and to my surprise, there was someone standing there. Her blonde hair stood out in the dark, gloomy place along with her bright white dress. When she looked up at the sky, I let out a small gasp and took a step back. Why was I watching myself? I watched the familiar scene from almost nine years ago.

“Hey, Eddie, I know it’s been awhile since I last saw you, and I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” I said, smiling as I bent down and waiting for a response.

Silence.

“I was looking through my pictures on my phone earlier and I came across a picture we took once when we were hanging out. It was a long time ago towards the beginning of the year, but one look at it made me cry like a baby for hours, yet at the same time smile for hours. You were sitting there with the biggest smile on your face, and I was right next to you making some disgusted face at the camera. Standing in the back was the guy from Steak & Shake, looking like he was in the middle of twerking,” I told him, wiping the tear that threatened to fall.

Silence.

“I-I miss you,” my voice cracked as I stared at his gravestone.

“I hope you’re happy up there because if not, I’ll make sure to come up there and kick someone’s ass if needed,” I started again after a minute of calming myself down. “You know Caiden finally admitted he doesn’t hate me. I know you always thought he would end up some alcoholic or he would die by the time he reached twenty-five, but I like to think if I keep trying to convince him he will go and finally get some help. You know I got some help. I can’t say it’s definitely working, but recently my therapist keeps telling me I’m improving and getting better.” I looked up as I felt a few drops of water on my face and then watched as it started to pour, water immediately soaking me. I embraced the feeling of the ice, cold water hitting me and finally let myself cry again.

I don’t know how long I sat there talking to Eddie, but I knew it was time to go when it was pitch black with very few street lights on. I kissed my hand and touched the gravestone and gave a shaky smile. “See you soon,” I whispered, before standing up and not even bothering to wipe my puffy eyes.

Pulling my black leather jacket closer to my body, I walked to my car.

I watched as my nineteen-year-old self got into the car and drove away. I turned back around and faced the cemetery, but suddenly all the graves were gone except one. I walked up to it, but there was no name on the stone. Looking up and away from the gravestone my eyes caught sight of a figure in front of me. They were too far to see a face, but I could see them walking towards me slowly. I narrowed my eyes trying to identify the figure, yet they stayed blurry.

Suddenly the scene changed, and I was back in a car. My head started pounding and my eyes watched as the same figure was walking towards me. I looked down at the blood that coated my hands and the pieces of glass all over my lap. Next to me, Liam sat with his eyes closed and his head leaning on his shoulder as blood leaked from his head as well.

Why couldn’t I move? I tried to open my mouth to yell out for help from the stranger but my mouth wouldn’t move.

“Claire, don’t wor—” What was going on?

“When Mom gets here you’ll really be dead in—”

Was I dead? What about Liam, was he dead?

“Claire, babydoll, I know you’ll wake up soon. You have to.”

Was that Caiden’s voice? I looked at the mysterious figure walking towards me one last time before everything turned into darkness.

Slowly I opened my eyes, blinking slowly as I looked up at the white ceiling and the lights that were on low. I turned my head to see a machine with little lines moving up at the same rate. I glanced at my arm to see a needle stuck into my hand. I looked down at the blue and white dress and winced at a sudden pressure in my head. My body ached all over and a bandage covered my left arm.

“Babydoll?”

Someone suddenly called and I looked up at the handsome figure. I saw his brown hair messy and the top buttons of his blue shirt not completely buttoned up all the way. He held a coffee in his hand as he stared at me with what looked like relief. I didn’t respond and watched as he walked towards me. He placed his drink on a seat next to my bed and placed his hand carefully in mine, so carefully that you’d think I would break if he moved any faster. His hazel eyes glanced over my face, and I frowned.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice a bit groggy.

“All anyone knows is that you were in a car accident with Liam. Someone hit you two,” Caiden said.

I squeezed his hand.

“Our baby? Is our baby okay?” I asked, feeling panicked as I placed my hand on my stomach.

“The baby is fine. He’s strong just like his mother,” Caiden said, moving his hand to the one over my stomach.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Is Liam okay?”

“His side was the one that was hit. He’s in the ICU,” he said before looking me directly in the eyes. The look on his face was heart-wrenching, and I wasn’t sure what to say.

“I was scared, Claire. I haven’t been so scared in years. I thought I lost you. If you ever pull any type of bullshit like that again I will tie you to our bed and never let you leave,” he said.

I smiled.

“I love you,” I said.

He frowned, staring at me.

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

“Yes, but I just wanted to let you know I love you. I feel like since we fight so often we sometimes forget to say it. Being in a life or death situation multiple times since I was taken only made me realize how much I actually care about you.”

“Claire, you little ho.”

I looked up to see Mia enter the room with Nathan.

“I’ll go tell the nurse you’re up,” Caiden said. I nodded. He pressed his lips against mine and gave me one last look.

“Thank you,” I mumbled.

He stood up straight. When he walked out, Mia took his chair, setting his coffee on the ground.

“How dare you. You know I had to stop Caiden from killing everyone in his line of vision multiple times for you.” I smiled at my best friend.

“Just give me a hug and tell me you’re glad I’m alive,” I said holding open my arms, and she pursed her lips for a minute before a smile broke out on her face and she pulled me into her arms. It was a little awkward because of the needle in my arm, and I couldn’t move very far since my body was a bit sore.

“I’m glad you’re not dead," Mia whispered in my ear before pulling away.

“What, I don’t get a hug?” Nathan asked, and my smile only got bigger as held my arms open for him.

“You had me worried sick,” he said after kissing my forehead – the side that didn’t have a bandage.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. But if I ever see the asshole who put your life at risk I will—” Nathan stopped when Mia did a few fake coughs before she glared at him.

“Let’s just say I hope you’d be prepared to come visit me in prison.”

I couldn’t help but start laughing at him. It was still amazing how Nathan and I managed to stay friends all these years. I don’t think my life would be the same without him. I noticed his red eyes and his shaky hands and knew my best friend had been here the whole time. I spoke with Nathan for a few more minutes before Mia interrupted.

“Hey, we’ll come back and visit later. Your doctors said only a couple visitors at a time, and I’m sure Jeffery wants to see you,” Mia said.

My eyes widened.

“Jeff’s here?” I asked, surprised that my brother came to visit me. I didn’t get many opportunities to see him these days.

“Yeah, I’ll send him in,” she said before grabbing my hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

“I’m glad you’re okay, slut.” Nathan rolled his eyes at his wife and gave me a lingering peck on my cheek.

“I love you, Claire-bear. I’ll come back later before visiting hours end.”

“Thanks, guys,” I said sincerely as I watched them leave. I let out a long yawn as I patiently waited for my brother to come join me.

As I waited I couldn’t help but wonder about the mysterious man. Memories rushed at me from the time with Jackson, yet I still couldn’t remember ever clearly seeing his face. Was he the one who helped us?

“You are so lucky I didn’t call Mom and Dad. They’d have a heart attack if they found out you’re in the hopsital,” I heard my brother say. A wide smile appeared on my face.

“Jeff, it’s been a while,” I said, letting him carefully pull me in a hug. “Sorry, I haven’t come by to see your new house.”

“You’re fine. I know you’ve been busy with your multimillion dollar company,” he said teasingly.

“I told you that you could come work for me if you ever needed to,” I told him. He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah so I can go get you coffee and plan your dinner reservations? I told you I’m fine with my job as a salesman,” Jeff said.

“That place barely pays you minimum wage. How about I see if Caiden will hire you?”

“Have you see your boyfriend? He’s got that ‘I’m gonna pound your face into the sidewalk if you look at me the wrong way again’ vibe.”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing before groaning from the small pounding it brought my head.

“So what’s wrong with you anyways?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Caiden went to go get the nurse about twenty minutes ago.”

“They still haven’t came?” he asked surprised, and I nodded.

“Must be busy.”

Jeffery pressed the call nurse button on the side of my bed and only a minute later a nurse showed up.

“Hi, we just wanted to let you know Claire Martez is up,” Jeff said. The nurse smiled at me.

“I’ll call your doctors and let them know.”

“Thank you.”

She walked away and it only took a few minutes of Jeff and I talking for three doctors to join us.

“Hi Claire, I’m glad to see you’re up. I don’t know if you remember but I’m Doctor Ernest,” he said with a polite smile. I easily returned it.” Your injuries weren’t very severe, but you did get a few stitches on your hairline on the right side and a small piece of glass did get into your left arm. It was removed but we did have to stitch up the spot as well. You showed signs of a small concussion so we’re going to keep you here for a night or two for observation to make sure it’s just that. Sometimes the CTs that we give miss things so we’re just going to take these precautions,” he said before looking at my chart.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I mumbled. “That’s really great to know. By any chance do you know how my friend Liam is?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Last I heard he was just getting out of surgery,” Doctor Ernest told me.

I sighed in relief.

“Did everything go okay then?”

“His injuries were definitely more severe then yours, but it was a good thing you two were wearing your seat belts or else everything would have been much worse.”

“Can I see him?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the doctor in front of me. I didn’t want to miss anything he was saying.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that just yet. However, If you’re hungry I can have a nurse get you so food.”

I frowned and told him no.

“Okay, well if you need anything just press the button on the side. Dr. Madison, our head gynecologist and obstetrician will speak with you now,” he said before excusing himself.

“Hi Claire, I did an ultrasound when you came in and your baby is thankfully fine and still healthy. I’d like you to meet Doctor Thompson. He will be by to monitor your baby every couple of hours.”

“West,” I mumbled under my breath surprised to see him again. He looked good dressed in scrubs and a white coat with his name on it. I cleared my throat and sent the doctor a smile. “Thank you,” she nodded before telling me something about them coming back later to check on me.

“You’re pregnant?” Jeff asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

“Like I said, it’s been a while.”

I gave him a innocent smile.

“Oh, just wait till Mom hears about this.”

“Jeffery, you got Kim pregnant after a year of you two being together.”

“Don’t judge my life choices,” he said with a guilty look.

I gave him a smug one in return.

“I’m older than you. I should’ve had a kid years ago.”

“Yeah, I always thought you’d get pregnant around twenty-one ish.”

“What? Why?” I asked my jaw dropping.

“Claire, I use to hear you sneak guys up to you room. That started around what? Fifteen?”

I smacked his arm, “Sixteen.”

“Still earlier than most.”

“Touché.”

***

Riley’s Point of View

I looked at Liam who had multiple machines hooked up to him. His arm was in a cast and his head had a bandage from where they went in for surgery. He could barely breathe on his own.

“He looks dead already,” Joey said.

“I’m scared for him,” Rachel whispered, holding his hand as he laid there unconscious.

“He has been shot three times at once and still survived. He can survive this,” Joey said confidently, but I didn’t agree. Liam had bags under his eyes, and he was in surgery for hours. The doctors weren’t promising us anything about his wellbeing and it made me worried. Lex wouldn’t ever forgive me if he died here. She loved him, yet he was always too blind to even notice.

“We need to know how this happened, and we need to know what happened when they were with Jackson. I mean they were gone for three days,” he said from beside me.

“Joey, I know. Don’t worry, it will be okay,” I assured placing my head on his shoulder.

“No, this isn’t fair,” he said, pulling away from me and pulling at his hair with his hands.

“Joey, you said it yourself. He'll get through this.”

I watched as he shook his head, angry tears welling up in his eyes.

“You don’t understand, Riley,” Joey whispered before slamming his fist into the wall but not hard enough to do any damage.

“Excuse me, is everything alright in here?” a nurse asked.

I nodded.

“Everything’s fine. He’s just upset.”

The nurse looked at Joey warily.

“Well, visiting hours are over. You can come back some other time,” she said.

“Okay, we’ll leave in a minu—”

“It’s only five o'clock. We still have another few hours,” Joey interrupted.

“Visiting hours are over for you,” the nurse said sternly before leaving the room.

“What is wrong with you?” I hissed, looking at my fiancé.

“This isn’t fair,” Joey said before walking out. I gave one last look at the unconscious Liam before following after him. After taking the elevator down, I found him already outside leaning against the brick wall of the hospital.

“You need to stop acting out like you’re five, and explain what the hell is going on with you. I’ve know you almost our whole lives and you’ve never acted like this,” I said, standing directly in front of him.

“Liam was our competition for as long as I can remember as well. Him, Lex, and the others would always try to get our cases, but even before all that he was in training with me. We were best friends at one point and he was even there for me that time we almost broke up,” Joey said and I stood there listening and letting him get it all out. I thought back to the time when we were only twenty-one and we got into our only drunken fight after being together for two years. It wouldn’t be as memorable if it wasn’t for the fact that it was the only time we’ve ever been in such a big argument. We didn’t talk for days after the silly argument, and even I almost thought we were going to be done.

“If he dies in this hospital it won’t be on Claire, or Jackson, or even Jesse. It will be on us, Riley. Me and you.”

I took a deep breath and put my hands on his cheeks. “No one is to blame here.”

“Yes, there is!” he shouted, pushing away from me. “Don’t you see that it was us who brought him here? We are agents who are damn good at our jobs, yet we’re acting like we’re twelve years old again, taking months to solve one mission. We have evidence on Jesse and half of that gang.  You’re going undercover there almost every night for what exactly? To get more evidence? We don’t nerd it. This job should be done, and we should all be in London safely and pigging out to Nando’s as we watch a movie in our flat.”

I silently stared at him, unsure of what to say. He knew we had to stay here for many more reasons. This has gone beyond just Jesse being some assassin.  I walked up to my fiancé and placed my arms around him, pulling his against my body. He didn’t resist and only hesitantly wrapped his arms around me.

“I—I just need him to be okay,” he said, his voice cracking as tears started to finally crack.

I nodded, rubbing my hand up and down his back comfortingly.

“I know, Joey. I know.”